How It Was Recorded

Alex Warren · You'll Be Alright, Kid, 2025

Ordinary

Lead vocalChoir / gang vocalsRubber bridge guitar (arpeggio riff and counter-melodies)Claps and percussionHammond C3 organ and pianoVerified21

What the sources do and do not say

One Sound On Sound Inside Track interview with producer Adam Yaron, read in full, covering tracking at Perfect Sound Studios and his home-studio finishing and rough mix. The mix by Alex Ghenea is not described. The Mix article on the live tour was read but concerns touring consoles, not the recording. Yaron describes the U47 age as a guess; the Telefunken 251 and organ microphones are only partly specified (he does not recall the organ mics).

Lead vocal

Alex Warren

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Verified

Lead vocal microphone, chosen for a darker tone than the 251 Yaron would normally use on Warren.

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.

Input chain

Tube-Tech CL 1B

Verified

Compressor on the way in, catching the dynamics as Warren gets louder and softer.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Softube Tube-Tech CL 1B Mk II

compressor

Made with Tube-Tech as a model of the CL 1B.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Choir / gang vocals

Cal Shapiro, Mags Duval and Adam Yaron

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Verified

One of three microphones used to capture the choir vocals.

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.

Telefunken 251

Verified

One of three microphones used to capture the choir vocals.

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 54a

Verified

Centre microphone of the three used on the choir vocals.

Position
In the centre of the three microphones

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.

Rubber bridge guitar (arpeggio riff and counter-melodies)

Adam Yaron

Instrument

Unidentified Rubber bridge guitar (model not stated)

Verified

Acoustic guitar playing the opening arpeggio riff, plus two more layers of counter-melodies.

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.

Microphone

Neumann KM 54a

Verified

One of two mics on the acoustic guitars, giving a stronger transient response.

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 47

Verified

Second acoustic guitar mic, adding warmth and body.

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.

Input chain

Neve 8014

Verified

Restored early-1970s console at Perfect Sound Studios that nearly all the microphones were recorded through.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Waves NLS Non-Linear Summer

console emulation

A console-summing plugin that includes one Neve desk. It gives a Neve flavour, not this console's channels.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Mix effects

Waves SoundShifter

Verified

Pitch plug-in used to raise the guitar seven semitones, from G to D major, instead of replaying the part.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

FabFilter Pro-Q 3

Verified

EQ on the group of three rubber bridge guitar parts, cutting low end and a little high end.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

FabFilter Pro-Q 4

equaliser

Pro-Q 4 is the current version of the same equaliser.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Soundtoys Decapitator

Verified

Used on the rubber bridge guitar group, though not doing much.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Universal Audio 1176LN Rev E

Verified

UAD compressor adding tone and gluing the guitar parts together.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

The plugin used on the record

Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

compressor

The plugin named in the source.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Claps and percussion

Adam Yaron

Mix effects

Arturia Rev Spring 636

Verified

Spring reverb on the quarter-note claps for a slightly vintage texture, rolling off some highs.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Soundtoys Decapitator

Verified

Heavy saturation and compression on the drums and percussion.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Universal Audio Studer 800

Verified

UAD plug-in on the drum bus, adding a little saturation and grit and gluing the drums together.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Hammond C3 organ and piano

Adam Yaron

Instrument

Hammond C3

Verified

Layered organ overdubs that supply much of the low end.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia B-3 V

instrument

A model of the Hammond B-3 with a Leslie speaker. The C-3 is the same organ in a different cabinet.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: IK Multimedia Hammond B-3X (Made with Hammond as a model of the B-3).

Yamaha C7

Verified

Grand piano used for the piano part.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Arturia Piano V

instrument

A modelled piano instrument. It is not a recording or model of this particular piano.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Microphone

Neumann U 87

Verified

Microphone under the piano, alongside left and right mics and a room mic.

Position
Underneath the piano

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.

Mix effects

Empirical Labs Distressor

Verified

UAD Distressor used on the pianos to glue them together.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor

compressor

Model of the Distressor made with Empirical Labs.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Empirical Labs Arousor (Empirical Labs' own plugin, built on the Distressor design rather than copying one unit).

FabFilter Pro-Q 3

Verified

EQ on the pianos, cutting low end and adding some high end.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

FabFilter Pro-Q 4

equaliser

Pro-Q 4 is the current version of the same equaliser.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Sources

  1. Inside Track: Alex Warren 'Ordinary', Sound On Sound, 2025-08. 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.