Skip to the content
How It Was Recorded

Cream · Disraeli Gears, 1967

Sunshine of Your Love

11 sourced items across 4 sectionsReported11

What the sources do and do not say

Single source: Dan Daley's Mix Classic Tracks piece, based on Tom Dowd's recollections, which is about this song. Dowd's words are mostly paraphrased by the journalist, so rows are reported rather than verified. The article says the setup stayed the same for the whole record; the remote EQs on the snare and hat mics are not identified as a unit and are omitted. The Louder article was read but gives no gear.

Lead and harmony vocals

2 items

Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton

Microphone

  • The real chain

    Neumann U 47

    Reported

    Microphone on one of the two vocals, probably Bruce's lead, though Dowd allows the U47 and U48 may have been the other way round.

    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

    Neumann U 48

    Reported

    Microphone on one of the two vocals, probably Clapton's harmony, though Dowd allows it may have been the other way round.

    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.

Guitar amplification

3 items

Eric Clapton

Amplifier

  • The real chain

    Marshall Stacks (model not stated)

    Reported

    Very loud Marshall stacks, described as carrying the guitar and bass, which were close-miked.

    Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

    Get the sound · our suggestion

    Covers this kind of unit

    IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5

    amp and cabinet simulator

    An amp and cabinet simulator that covers a wide range of amplifiers and speaker cabinets of this kind. It is not a model of this unit, so pick the nearest one in it by ear.

    Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for
    Also worth a look 1
    • Native Instruments Guitar Rig 7 Pro (An amp and cabinet simulator that covers a wide range of amplifiers and speaker cabinets of this kind. It is not a model of this unit, so pick the nearest one in it by ear)

Microphone

  • The real chain

    B&K Ribbon microphone (model not stated)

    Reported

    A single ribbon microphone close to one speaker of the stacks, angled to cope with the sound pressure.

    Position
    About two inches from one speaker, at a 45 degree angle

    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

    Western Electric 639A

    Reported

    Cardioid microphone on a stand pointed at the amps, set further back than the ribbon.

    Position
    About two and a half feet farther out than the ribbon microphone, on a stand aimed at the amps

    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.

Drum kit

5 items

Ginger Baker

Microphone

  • The real chain

    Neumann U 47

    Reported

    Pair of overhead microphones over Baker's rack and floor toms and cymbal trees.

    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

    Electro-Voice RE20

    Reported

    Close microphones on the kick 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

    Electro-Voice 666

    Reported

    Close microphone on the hi-hat.

    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

    Electro-Voice 667

    Reported

    Close microphone on the snare 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

    Unidentified Condenser microphones (model not stated)

    Reported

    Pair of condenser mics set up behind the drummer's seat.

    Position
    In an X pattern behind Baker's seat, about eight feet high

    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.

Tape machine

1 item

Input chain

  • The real chain

    Ampex 8-track recorder (model not stated)

    Reported

    Eight-track machine that recorded the session, with drums on three tracks, guitar in stereo, bass in mono and the rest for vocals and overdubs.

    Settings
    15 ips

    Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

    Get the sound · our suggestion

    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 1

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love", Mix, 2001-09. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.

What the ratings mean

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.