How It Was Recorded

Stevie Wonder · Album, 1972

Talking Book

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: Superstition, You Are the Sunshine of My Life. We found nothing specific to these songs, so this album record is the closest account we have.

Stevie's keyboard stack (control room)Tracking and mix chain (Record Plant Studio B)Delay and echoVerified10

What the sources do and do not say

Both sources are first-person Mix pieces by Robert Margouleff, co-producer and engineer on Talking Book, mainly about Quad monitoring at Record Plant Studio B in 1972. Only the Ampex 440B mix print and tape delay are tied to "Superstition" by name; the rest describes the studio and Stevie's keyboard stack. No microphones, amps, drum or vocal gear are named, and the articles do not say Talking Book was recorded wholly in Studio B.

Stevie's keyboard stack (control room)

Stevie Wonder

Instrument

Fender Rhodes 88

Verified

Electric piano in the keyboard stack Stevie played in the Studio B control room.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia Stage-73 V

instrument

A physical model of the Rhodes Stage and Suitcase electric pianos.

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Hohner Clavinet

Verified

Clavinet fitted with a special bender bar, part of the same control-room keyboard stack.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia Clavinet V

instrument

A physical model of the Hohner Clavinet.

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ARP 2600

Verified

Synthesiser in the same keyboard stack in the control room.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia ARP 2600 V

instrument

A software model of the ARP 2600 itself, including its patch points.

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Also worth a look: Korg KORG Collection (The collection includes Korg's own ARP 2600 instrument, a model of this synth).

Input chain

Mu-Tron Bi-Phase

Verified

Phaser among the guitar-style pedals in the stack, written as "MuTron Bi phaser" in the article.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Native Instruments Guitar Rig 7 Pro

amp and cabinet simulator

Includes a range of modelled pedals. Whether this exact pedal is among them was not checked.

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Tracking and mix chain (Record Plant Studio B)

Input chain

API 16-bus console (model not stated)

Verified

New 16-bus console with a simple Quad monitoring section, bought by the studio owners.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Universal Audio API Vision Channel Strip Collection

channel strip

Models the channel strip of API's Vision console, built from the same module family.

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3M M79

Verified

Master 16-track and 2-track recorders in the studio, running at 15 ips.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Slate Digital Virtual Tape Machines

tape

Models two Studer machines, not this recorder. It gives the general behaviour of analogue multitrack tape.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Universal Audio Studer A800 Tape Recorder (Models a Studer A800, not this recorder. It gives the general behaviour of analogue multitrack tape).

Mix effects

Ampex 440B

VerifiedOne song

Four-track recorder on which the Quad (QS) mix of "Superstition" was printed.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Slate Digital Virtual Tape Machines

tape

Models two Studer machines, not this recorder. It gives the general behaviour of analogue multitrack tape.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Universal Audio Studer A800 Tape Recorder (Models a Studer A800, not this recorder. It gives the general behaviour of analogue multitrack tape).

Delay and echo

Mix effects

Ampex 440B

VerifiedOne song

Four-track machine with a variable oscillator on the capstan, used for the tape delay effect on the stereo version of "Superstition".

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Slate Digital Virtual Tape Machines

tape

Models two Studer machines, not this recorder. It gives the general behaviour of analogue multitrack tape.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Universal Audio Studer A800 Tape Recorder (Models a Studer A800, not this recorder. It gives the general behaviour of analogue multitrack tape).

dbx Noise reduction (model not stated)

VerifiedOne song

Eight channels of noise reduction around the tape delay, four in record and four in playback.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. The source does not name the model, so no specific plugin can be suggested.

EMT 140

Verified

Two plate reverbs used alongside the tape delay returns when mixing in Quad.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio EMT 140 Classic Plate Reverberator

reverb

Models three EMT 140 plates, made with EMT.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Soundtoys Little Plate (A simpler EMT 140 model with one decay control).

Sources

  1. Stevie Wonder, 'Superstition' and the Immersive Music Pioneers, Part 2, Mix, 2024-11-14. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
  2. Stevie Wonder, 'Superstition' and the Immersive Music Pioneers, Part 1, Mix, 2024-11-13. 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.

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