How It Was Recorded

The Clash · Album, 1977

The Clash

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: (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais, Complete Control, White Riot. We found nothing specific to these songs, so this album record is the closest account we have.

Lead vocalGuitarsBassDrum kitVerified2Reported8

What the sources do and do not say

One Sound On Sound Classic Tracks article with engineer Simon Humphrey, read in full. The microphone list is Buskin's narrative about miking the Clash sessions in general, so it is album-level and reported. The Telecaster and Twin Reverb come from Humphrey's own words, also about the sessions generally. The three Mix Online pages candidates were read and contain no usable gear detail.

Lead vocal

Joe Strummer

Microphone

Neumann U 67

Reported

Microphone used to record Strummer's lead vocals on the sessions for the band's debut.

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.

Guitars

Joe Strummer, Mick Jones

Instrument

Fender Telecaster

Verified

Strummer's battered, rusty Telecaster, recorded as it was without attempts to improve it.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A guitar is the source of the sound, not a process applied to it. No plugin stands in for it.

Amplifier

Fender Twin Reverb

Verified

Amp that Strummer's Telecaster was plugged into, giving a very toppy sound that was left untouched.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5

amp and cabinet simulator

An amp and cabinet simulator that covers a wide range of amplifiers and speaker cabinets of this kind. It is not a model of this unit, so pick the nearest one in it by ear.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Native Instruments Guitar Rig 7 Pro (An amp and cabinet simulator that covers a wide range of amplifiers and speaker cabinets of this kind. It is not a model of this unit, so pick the nearest one in it by ear).

Microphone

Neumann U 67

Reported

Close microphones on the guitar amps.

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.

Bass

Paul Simonon

Amplifier

Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier

Reported

The bass was recorded direct, in addition to a microphone.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Recorded direct, so there is no amp to model. Leave the amp simulator off.

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Reported

Microphone used on the bass, alongside a DI feed.

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

Terry Chimes

Microphone

AKG D12

Reported

Microphone on the bass drum.

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 KM 64

Reported

Microphone on the snare drum.

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.

Sennheiser MD 421

Reported

Microphones on the toms.

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 67

Reported

Valve microphones used as drum overheads.

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: The Clash 'White Riot', Sound On Sound, 2013-10. 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.