Bonnie Tyler · Faster Than the Speed of Night, 1983
Total Eclipse of the Heart
14 sourced items across 5 sectionsVerified3Reported11
What the sources do and do not say
One Mix Classic Tracks article, read in full, with Neil Dorfsman (tracking and mix engineer) and Frank Filipetti (background vocals). Much of the mic list is journalist narrative of Dorfsman's memory, so it is marked reported. Guitar and synth overdubs are named as parts but no gear is stated for them.
Lead vocal
2 items
Bonnie Tyler
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann U 67
Reported
Engineer thinks the live lead vocal was probably sung into a U67, with a Telefunken 251 as the alternative.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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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 real chain
Telefunken 251
Reported
Engineer thinks the live lead vocal was probably sung into a Telefunken 251, with a U67 as the alternative.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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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.
Background vocals
1 item
Rory Dodd and Eric Troyer
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann 269
Reported
Engineer says he usually used this tube-equipped Neumann on vocals then and probably did so for the background vocals at Right Track.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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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
7 items
Max Weinberg
Microphone
The real chain
Shure SM57
Reported
Used on the top and bottom of the snare.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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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 SM57 is still made and inexpensive: the real thing is the practical route.
The real chain
AKG D12
Reported
One of two microphones on the kick drum.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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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 real chain
Neumann U 47 fet
Reported
One of two microphones on the kick drum.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
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 real chain
Sennheiser MD 421
Reported
Used on the tops and bottoms of the toms.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
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.
The real chain
Neumann U 87
Reported
Used as room microphones for the drums.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
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 real chain
Shure SM7
Reported
Dorfsman believes he also set one up as a room microphone.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
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. Its successor, the SM7B, is still made.
Mix effects
The real chain
UREI 1176
Verified
Engineer says he multed the snare and squashed the copy with it, as parallel compression, during the mix.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection
compressor
Models several revisions of the 1176, including the blackface units.
Also worth a look 1
- Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter (Models two 1176 revisions (blacky and bluey))
Piano
1 item
Roy Bittan
Instrument
The real chain
Yamaha Piano (model not stated)
Reported
Piano recorded live in the piano booth; Dorfsman remembers it as very bright.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. The source does not name the model, so no specific plugin can be suggested.
Mix and reverb
3 items
Mix effects
The real chain
Neve 8068
Verified
Console in Power Station studio B on which the song was mixed by hand, after the SSL in studio C failed to match the rough mix.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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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.
The real chain
EMT Plate reverb (model not stated)
Reported
Engineer recalls two, possibly three, plates contributing the heavy reverb on the mix.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Close match
Universal Audio EMT 140 Classic Plate Reverberator
reverb
The 140 is the EMT plate most studios have; the source does not name the model.
Also worth a look 1
- Waves Abbey Road Reverb Plates (Models the EMT 140 plates at Abbey Road)
The real chain
Unidentified Live chamber (Power Station stairwell)
Verified
The studio's multi-floor stairwell chamber supplied reverb heard all over the record.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Covers this kind of unit
Universal Audio Capitol Chambers
reverb
A real echo chamber, the same method as the one on the record: a loudspeaker and microphones in a hard, empty room. It is not a model of this chamber, so set the decay by ear.
Sources
- Classic Tracks: Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart", Mix, 2019-09. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
What the ratings mean
Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.
Stated by a reputable secondary source.
An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.
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