How It Was Recorded

Cheap Trick · Heaven Tonight, 1978

Surrender

Lead vocalRhythm guitarBassDrumsMix console and effectsVerified2Reported10

What the sources do and do not say

Single Mix Classic Tracks piece (originally posted 2001, republished 2024) built on engineer Gary Ladinsky's recollections and producer Tom Werman. Many mic choices are guesses, so they are marked hedged; the synth, piano and live chamber have no identifiable gear and are left out.

Lead vocal

Robin Zander

Microphone

Neumann U 47 fet

Reported

Microphone Ladinsky recalls using to record Zander's lead vocals.

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

Reported

Compressed the lead vocal while tracking, a pairing Ladinsky says worked well with Zander.

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)).

Mix effects

UREI 1176

Reported

A pair of 1176s used to limit the lead vocal and its double at the mix, per Ladinsky's mix notes.

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)).

Eventide Delay unit (model not stated)

Reported

Ladinsky believes an early Eventide device gave a delay on the lead vocal only at the mix.

Settings
65 milliseconds

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Rhythm guitar

Rick Nielsen

Mix effects

B&B Equaliser module (model not stated)

Reported

Equalised the middle rhythm guitar at the mix; Ladinsky thinks it thickened the guitar for the chorus.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Bass

Tom Petersson

Amplifier

Unidentified Cabinet (model not stated)

Verified

After trying many amp combinations, the bass was recorded through one cabinet with a single 15-inch speaker, on track 8.

Settings
Turned down soft

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5

amp and cabinet simulator

An amp and cabinet simulator covering this style of amplifier. Whether this exact model is included was not checked.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Native Instruments Guitar Rig 7 Pro (An amp and cabinet simulator covering this style of amplifier. Whether this exact model is included was not checked).

Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier

Reported

A DI signal of the bass was recorded on track 9 alongside the cabinet track.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Drums

Bun E. Carlos

Microphone

Shure SM57

Reported

Ladinsky can only guess the snare microphone, saying it was probably an SM57 or alternatively an AKG 451.

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.

Mix effects

Pultec EQ (model not stated)

Reported

Equalised the snare at the mix, according to Ladinsky's mix notes.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio Pultec Passive EQ Collection

equaliser

Models the Pultec EQP-1A, MEQ-5 and HLF-3C. The source does not say which Pultec was used.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves PuigTec EQs (EQP-1A and MEQ-5) (Models the Pultec EQP-1A and MEQ-5).

Mix console and effects

Mix effects

API Console (model not stated)

Reported

Console at the Record Plant where the song was mixed, as Ladinsky remembers it.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Universal Audio API Vision Channel Strip Collection

channel strip

Models the channel strip of API's Vision console, built from the same module family.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

EMT 250

Verified

Reverb on send 2, used in its Chorus mode rather than as echo; Ladinsky does not recall what it went on.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio EMT 250 Classic Electronic Reverb

reverb

Model of the EMT 250 digital reverb, made with EMT.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Eventide Phaser unit (model not stated)

Reported

Phaser effect on send 3; Ladinsky thinks it was probably used on background vocals and possibly rhythm guitar.

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: Cheap Trick's "Surrender", Mix, 2001-02-01. 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.

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.