How It Was Recorded

Petula Clark · Album, 1964

Downtown

This is an album-level record: the sources describe how the album as a whole was recorded, not one song. Where a detail belongs to a single song, the row says so.

Songs this record stands for: Downtown. We found nothing specific to this song, so this album record is the closest account we have.

Lead and backing vocalsDrum kitPianoInferred5

What the sources do and do not say

One Sound On Sound Classic Tracks article read in full. Prickett recalls the session layout and miking, but most microphone statements are phrased as his usual practice and are marked general-practice. Pye Studio 1's Neumann four-track desk, Ampex four-track machine and EMT 140 plates are listed as studio gear without a stated function for this song, so they have no rows. Bass and guitar amps, strings and woodwind microphones are described without models.

Lead and backing vocals

Petula Clark and the Breakaways

Microphone

Neumann U 47

InferredUsual practice

Usual practice, not stated for this record: One of two alternatives the engineer names for the lead and backing vocals; he does not say which was used. (recalled with uncertainty)

A suggestion, not a documented fact: Prickett describes his usual miking in the course of discussing the session, with 'either' alternatives.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Neumann U 67

InferredUsual practice

Usual practice, not stated for this record: The other alternative the engineer names for the lead and backing vocals; he does not say which was used. (recalled with uncertainty)

A suggestion, not a documented fact: Prickett describes his usual miking in the course of discussing the session, with 'either' alternatives.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Drum kit

Ronnie Verrell

Microphone

Sennheiser MD 421

InferredUsual practice

Bass drum microphone in the engineer's usual three-microphone drum setup.

Position
On the bass drum

A suggestion, not a documented fact: Prickett explains how he would usually record drums.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model. The MD 421 is still made.

Neumann U 47, U 67 or U 87 (whichever was available)

InferredUsual practice

Pair of drum overhead microphones in the engineer's usual setup, using whichever of these models was to hand.

Position
Overhead

A suggestion, not a documented fact: Prickett explains how he would usually record drums.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Piano

Microphone

Neumann SM 2

InferredUsual practice

Usual practice, not stated for this record: Stereo microphone used on the piano.

Position
Inside the piano with the lid partly open and a cover over the top

A suggestion, not a documented fact: Ray Prickett describes this as usual practice; it is not stated for this record.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: Petula Clark 'Downtown', Sound On Sound, 2012-01. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
Verified

Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.

Reported

Stated by a reputable secondary source.

Inferred

An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.

Disclosure: plugin links currently go straight to the maker and earn us nothing. If that changes, affiliate links will be marked here. Suggestions are chosen on fit, never on commission, and are kept separate from the recording facts. More.