How It Was Recorded

Eric Carmen · Eric Carmen, 1975

All by Myself

Lead vocalSlide guitar soloDrums (two drummers)PianoVerified2Reported10

What the sources do and do not say

Single Mix Classic Tracks article with engineer Jack Sherdel and producer Jimmy Ienner. It covers drum, piano and vocal miking, the slide guitar and the vocal reverb. Console and tape machines are described for the studio and album sessions generally and were left out.

Lead vocal

Eric Carmen

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Verified

Sherdel recalls recording Carmen's lead vocal with this microphone, slightly compressed.

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 Plate reverb (model not stated)

Verified

Reverb for the lead vocal: the send was delayed like a slapback and blended with the dry vocal.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Universal Audio EMT 140 Classic Plate Reverberator

reverb

The 140 is the EMT plate most studios have; the source does not name the model.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves Abbey Road Reverb Plates (Models the EMT 140 plates at Abbey Road).

Slide guitar solo

Hugh McCracken

Instrument

Fender Stratocaster

Reported

McCracken played the slide solo on this guitar.

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.

Amplifier

Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier

Reported

The solo was recorded straight into the console from the control room.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Mix effects

Custom Delay unit built by Dale Ashby

Reported

A delay unit built by a staff engineer was used at the mix on the solo, combined with the raw track for a stereo effect.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A one-off delay built by a studio engineer; its design is not documented, so no plug-in can fairly stand in for it.

Drums (two drummers)

Michael McBride and Donny Krueger

Microphone

AKG C414

Reported

Used on the snare of one of the two drummers.

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.

American Microphone D4T

Reported

Used on the snare of the other drummer, a studio favourite known as the Salt Shaker.

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

Used on the kick drum, alongside an EV 88.

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.

Electro-Voice 88

Reported

Used on the kick drum, alongside a Sennheiser 421.

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.

Beyerdynamic Ribbon microphone (model not stated)

Reported

Covered the toms on one drummer's kit, while Sennheiser 421s covered the toms on the other.

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.

Piano

Eric Carmen

Instrument

Baldwin Piano (model not stated)

Reported

Carmen played this piano live with the band; it had a very heavy action.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Microphone

Telefunken Microphones (model not stated)

Reported

A pair close-miked the piano, and their leakage added some room ambience.

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: “All By Myself,” Eric Carmen, Mix, 2016-07-29. 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.