How It Was Recorded

The Temptations · Album, 1973

All Directions

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: Papa Was a Rollin' Stone. We found nothing specific to this song, so this album record is the closest account we have.

Electric pianoTrumpetStudio tracking and mix chainReported2Inferred4

What the sources do and do not say

One Mix Classic Tracks article (originally April 1995) covering this song. It names only a few units for this track (Rhodes, Echoplex on the trumpet). The recording-chain rows are Motown studio general practice from head tech Mike McLean and the journalist, so they are labelled general-practice. The Steve Harvey 2022 article on the Temptations 60 album is about a different record and was not used.

Electric piano

Earl Van Dyke

Instrument

Fender Rhodes

ReportedOne song

Played Earl Van Dyke's soft, spacey electric piano line on the track.

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.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Trumpet

John Trudell

Input chain

Unidentified Echoplex (model not stated)

ReportedOne song

Put echo on John Trudell's short, piercing trumpet lines running through the song.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Universal Audio EP-34 Tape Echo

delay

Models the later EP-3 and EP-4 Echoplex units.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Soundtoys EchoBoy (Includes an Echoplex-style tape echo among its modes).

Studio tracking and mix chain

Microphone

Neumann Microphone (model not stated)

InferredUsual practice

Usual practice, not stated for this record: Motown's engineers of the era used Neumann microphones almost exclusively.

A suggestion, not a documented fact: Narrative statement about the studios' usual practice in that era, not tied to this song.

Source: Mix, 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.

Input chain

Ampex MM-1000

InferredUsual practice

Usual practice, not stated for this record: The 16-track recorder at Hitsville Studio A, where the rhythm tracks were done; the article says most of this song was recorded there.

A suggestion, not a documented fact: McLean describes the studio's standing equipment; the article separately says most of this song was recorded at Hitsville.

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

Unidentified Plate reverb (model not stated)

InferredUsual practice

Usual practice, not stated for this record: Plate reverbs supplied track ambience in Motown's sessions of the period.

A suggestion, not a documented fact: Narrative statement about how instruments and amps were usually miked and given ambience, not tied to this song.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Universal Audio EMT 140 Classic Plate Reverberator

reverb

Models EMT 140 plates. The source does not name the plate used.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves Abbey Road Reverb Plates (Models the EMT 140 plates at Abbey Road. The source does not name the plate used).

Electrodyne Console (model not stated)

InferredUsual practice

Custom-built VCA consoles in the Motown Center mix rooms, where mixes typically took place.

A suggestion, not a documented fact: Describes where mixes typically occurred; the article says only that Whitfield and Orson Lewis mixed this song.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: The Temptations' "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", Mix, 1995-04. 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.