How It Was Recorded

Boz Scaggs · Silk Degrees, 1976

Lowdown

Lead vocalDrum kitKeyboardsConsole and chamberVerified1Reported12

What the sources do and do not say

Single Mix Classic Tracks article with engineer Tom Perry. Most microphone choices are his hedged recollections. The Trident console, Moog and ARP models are not stated. Perry's mention of 1176 compressors is a general remark and omitted; the API-style console at Hollywood Sound is not given as a named model.

Lead vocal

Boz Scaggs

Microphone

Neumann U 67

Reported

Perry thinks the lead vocal microphone was likely a U67 or a U47, and is not sure which.

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.

Drum kit

Jeff Porcaro

Microphone

Electro-Voice RE20

Reported

Perry believes this was the microphone placed inside the kick drum, with a Sennheiser 421 used at times instead.

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.

Sennheiser MD 421

Reported

Perry says he sometimes used this on the kick drum in place of his usual choice, which he believes was an RE20.

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. The MD 421 is still made.

Neumann U 87

Reported

Perry thinks this was probably the microphone on Jeff Porcaro's snare drum.

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.

Neumann U 87

Reported

Used as the cymbal overhead microphones.

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.

Shure SM57

Reported

Perry says the hi-hat microphone could have been an SM57 or a 546; he does not commit to one. (recalled with uncertainty)

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. The SM57 is still made and inexpensive: the real thing is the practical route.

Keyboards

David Paich

Instrument

Fender Rhodes

Reported

Played by David Paich on the basic 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

Hammond Hammond organ

Reported

Played by David Paich as an overdub.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Arturia B-3 V

instrument

A model of the Hammond B-3. The source's organ is a different or unnamed Hammond.

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. The source's organ is a different or unnamed Hammond).

Moog Minimoog

Reported

Played by David Paich as an overdub.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia Mini V

instrument

Model of the Minimoog Model D.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Universal Audio Moog Minimoog (Minimoog model made with Moog).

Moog Moog synthesizer (model not stated)

Reported

Played by David Paich as an overdub.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

Arturia Mini V

instrument

A Minimoog emulation, so it has the Moog oscillators and ladder filter. The source does not say which Moog was played, so it is not a model of the instrument on the record.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Universal Audio Moog Minimoog (Moog-approved Minimoog emulation with the same oscillators and ladder filter. The source does not say which Moog was played, so it is not a model of the instrument on the record).

ARP ARP synthesizer (model not stated)

Reported

Played by David Paich as an overdub.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

Arturia ARP 2600 V

instrument

Models the ARP 2600, one of the maker's best-known synthesisers. The source does not name the model, so this stands for the maker's family of units: it is not a model of the one on the record.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Console and chamber

Input chain

Trident Console (model not stated)

Reported

The desk at Davlen where the basic tracks were cut; Perry had its fader order reversed by his assistant.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

Softube Trident A-Range

equaliser

Models the EQ of Trident's A-Range, the firm's first and best-known desk. The source does not name the model, so this stands for the maker's family of units: it is not a model of the one on the record.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Universal Audio Trident A-Range Classic Console EQ (Models the EQ of Trident's A-Range, the firm's first and best-known desk. The source does not name the model, so this stands for the maker's family of units: it is not a model of the one on the record).

Mix effects

Unidentified Echo chamber (model not stated)

Verified

Perry says the reverb heard on the track comes from the studio's live chamber, with no electronic echo.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: Boz Scaggs' "Lowdown", Mix, 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.

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