How It Was Recorded

Derek and the Dominos · Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, 1970

Layla

Lead vocalGuitarsBassDrum kitKeyboardsConsole and effectsVerified4Reported12

What the sources do and do not say

Single source: Sound On Sound Classic Tracks (Buskin, 2006) with Ron and Howard Albert as speakers. Mic and drum rows are the journalist's narrative of the session (reported); the Alberts' own words cover the Champ amps, the piano mics, the console and the guitar Leslie. The Leslie row is album-level. Not stated: preamps, tape machine function (MCI JH16 only named as in the room), slide-guitar and piano part gear. The text says 1970 sessions for the album.

Lead vocal

Eric Clapton

Microphone

Neumann U 87

Reported

Microphone Clapton sang the lead vocal into while overdubbing it in the live room over several nights.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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

Compressor applied to the comped lead vocal.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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)).

Guitars

Eric Clapton and Duane Allman

Amplifier

Fender Champ (Tweed)

Verified

Small amps used by both Clapton and Allman, kept low in volume and placed on the closed piano to help isolate them from the drums and piano.

Position
On top of the closed piano lid

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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: 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).

Fender Guitar Leslie

VerifiedAlbum sessions

Album sessions, not stated for this song: Rotating-speaker cabinet for guitar that Clapton loved and the studio used a lot across the sessions; pedals switched it and its rotor on and off.

Settings
Motor speed set by a large Variac, run neither too fast nor too slow so the pedal gave a start-stop effect

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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: 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

Shure SM57

Reported

Used on the guitar amps, in combination with Electrovoice 635s.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Electro-Voice 635

Reported

Used on the guitar amps, in combination with Shure SM57s.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Bass

Carl Radle

Amplifier

Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier

Reported

Radle bass recorded direct.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Drum kit

Jim Gordon

Microphone

Sony ECM51

Reported

Telescopic microphone on the hi-hat.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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 47

Reported

Pair of microphones used as overheads.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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 KM 84

Reported

Microphone on the snare drum.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Altec 633 Salt Shaker

Reported

Microphone on the bass drum.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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

Microphones on the toms.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Keyboards

Bobby Whitlock and Jim Gordon

Microphone

Shure SM57

Reported

Microphones on Whitlock's Hammond B3 Leslie speaker.

Position
A couple at the top of the Leslie and another at the bottom

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

AKG 414 (variant not stated)

Verified

Microphones put inside the piano so the guitarists could hear it, with the lid closed and the piano covered in quilts and gaffer tape.

Position
Inside the piano, on foam

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Console and effects

Input chain

MCI Custom studio console (24-in, 16-out)

Verified

Console the track was recorded on, in Criteria Studio B.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

Metric Halo MBSI Channel Strip

channel strip

Models the channel strip of a custom MCI desk built for Criteria Studios in the 1970s, so it is the same maker's sound. It is not a model of the desk on the record.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Mix effects

EMT Echo (model not stated)

Reported

One of the only effects on the track, alongside tape loops.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

Universal Audio EMT 140 Classic Plate Reverberator

reverb

Models the EMT 140 plate, the firm's best-known reverb. 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: Soundtoys Little Plate (A simple plate reverb based on the EMT 140, the firm's best-known reverb. 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).

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: Derek & The Dominos 'Layla', Sound On Sound, 2006-09. 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.