How It Was Recorded

Dobie Gray · Drift Away, 1973

Drift Away

Lead vocalElectric guitarsBassDrum kitPianoStringsReported14

What the sources do and do not say

One Mix Classic Tracks article by Dan Daley on the song, recorded at Quadrafonic Sound in Nashville. Almost all gear is stated in the journalist's narrative, so rows are reported rather than verified. The album title is assumed to match the single; the article does not name it. Compressors and console listed as studio kit (Quad 8, LA-2A, 1176) were left out because no use is stated.

Lead vocal

Dobie Gray

Microphone

Neumann U 47 fet

Reported

Lead vocal microphone in the isolation booth.

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.

Electric guitars

Reggie Young, Troy Seals

Instrument

Gibson Les Paul

Reported

Reggie Young's guitar for the soulful double-stop fills.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A guitar is the source of the sound, not a process applied to it. No plugin stands in for it.

Fender Telecaster

Reported

Troy Seals's guitar for staccato country licks in the chorus.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A guitar is the source of the sound, not a process applied to it. No plugin stands in for it.

Microphone

AKG 224

Reported

Microphones on the guitar amplifiers for Young and Seals.

Position
About six inches from the speakers, slightly off-axis

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.

Bass

Mike Leach

Amplifier

Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier

Reported

Homemade DI tap, combined with a microphone on the amp for the bass sound.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Microphone

Electro-Voice RE20

Reported

Microphone on the bass amp, combined with the homemade DI tap.

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

Kenny Malone

Instrument

Unidentified 10-inch field marching drum

Reported

Snare drum Malone chose, with the snares kept loose to give a tail.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Toontrack Superior Drummer 3

drum instrument

A sampled drum instrument. It does not claim to be this kit or drum.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Reported

Kick drum microphone, placed in front of the drum.

Position
In front of the kick 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

Pair of overhead microphones on the kit.

Position
Above the toms, pointing downward

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.

AKG 224E

Reported

Snare drum microphone.

Position
Tightly, a couple of inches in from the rim

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.

Mix effects

EMT 250

Reported

Plate reverb that emphasised the tail of the loosely snared drum.

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

Piano

David Briggs

Microphone

Neumann U 87

Reported

Pair of microphones on the baby grand, giving a stereo piano track.

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.

Strings

Microphone

Neumann U 87

Reported

Used together with 224E microphones to record the strings in the front room.

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.

AKG 224E

Reported

Used together with U87s to record the strings in the front room.

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.

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: Dobie Gray's "Drift Away", Mix, 2024-09-13. 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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