How It Was Recorded

Atlanta Rhythm Section · A Rock and Roll Alternative, 1977

So in to You

Lead vocalElectric Wurlitzer pianoBasic trackingVerified4Reported5

What the sources do and do not say

One Mix Classic Tracks article, read in full, with engineer Rodney Mills describing Studio One sessions. Vocal chain statements are phrased as his usual practice with Hammond, so they are album-level. The Harmonizer was also said to be fed from every reverb send, which is not recorded as a separate row.

Lead vocal

Ronnie Hammond

Microphone

Neumann U 87

ReportedAlbum sessions

Album sessions, not stated for this song: Mills's regular microphone for Ronnie Hammond's vocals, as the article describes his approach on these sessions.

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

UREI 1176

ReportedAlbum sessions

Album sessions, not stated for this song: Compressor the Neumann vocal signal passed through, alongside an outboard Spectrasonics unit.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

compressor

Models several revisions of the 1176, including the blackface units.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter (Models two 1176 revisions (blacky and bluey)).

UREI 1176

VerifiedAlbum sessions

Album sessions, not stated for this song: Used for gentle compression of the vocal.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

compressor

Models several revisions of the 1176, including the blackface units.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter (Models two 1176 revisions (blacky and bluey)).

Spectrasonics Compressor (model not stated)

VerifiedAlbum sessions

Album sessions, not stated for this song: Used in limiter fashion on the vocal when Mills wanted a harder stop-gap limiting effect.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Electric Wurlitzer piano

Dean Daughtry

Instrument

Wurlitzer Electric piano (model not stated)

Verified

Played in the control room during tracking and kept through to the end of the song, as the signature part.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia Wurli V

instrument

Physical model of the Wurlitzer 200A electric piano. The source does not give the model used.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Amplifier

Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier

Reported

The keyboard was recorded direct rather than miked.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Input chain

Langevin Passive graphic EQ (model not stated)

Reported

Mills believes an outboard unit of this type was also used to EQ the electric piano, in addition to console EQ.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Mix effects

Lexicon H910 Harmonizer

Verified

Detuned slightly below unison at the mix, it gave the electric piano its distinctive sound.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Eventide H910 Harmonizer

multi-effect

Eventide's own plugin version of the H910.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Basic tracking

Input chain

Scully 8-track tape machine (model not stated)

Reported

Machine the band's basic tracks were recorded to, with only drums and some bass kept from those takes.

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).

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: 'So Into You,' Atlanta Rhythm Section, Mix, 2014-07-01. 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.

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