How It Was Recorded

Katy Perry · Teenage Dream, 2010

Firework

Synth bass and bass guitarDrums and drum machine layersMusic mix busVerified18

What the sources do and do not say

One Sound On Sound Inside Track interview with Sandy Vee, co-producer, who built the music and mixed it as stems before Phil Tan mixed the vocals. It covers the drums, bass and music master chain in detail, almost entirely as software plug-ins. It names no vocal microphone or vocal chain (Mikkel Eriksen is said to have cut the vocals), and the string and synth sources are not identified, so there is no vocals section.

Synth bass and bass guitar

Sandy Vee

Instrument

Spector Bass guitar (model not stated)

Verified

Real bass guitar that Vee added in Paris after the New York sessions.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Mix effects

Soundtoys Decapitator

Verified

Distortion on the synth bass for a dirty sound.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

SPL TwinTube

Verified

Used on the synth bass to tame the transients, because the notes had too much sustain.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Universal Audio UAD Pultec EQ

Verified

EQ in the synth bass chain.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

The plugin used on the record

Universal Audio Pultec Passive EQ Collection

equaliser

The plugin named in the source.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Waves CLA-2A

Verified

Compressor in the synth bass chain, helping the bass sit in the mix.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

The plugin used on the record

Waves CLA-2A Compressor / Limiter

compressor

The plugin named in the source.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

SPL Vitalizer

Verified

Used on the synth bass to add more drive.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Universal Audio UAD EL7 Fatso

Verified

First plug-in in the bass guitar chain, adding some colour before a side-chained compressor.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Waves API 560

Verified

EQ on the bass guitar, cutting a resonance that clashed with the kick.

Settings
Cut around 250Hz

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Waves CLA-2A

Verified

Final compressor on the bass guitar, used mainly to control level.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

The plugin used on the record

Waves CLA-2A Compressor / Limiter

compressor

The plugin named in the source.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Drums and drum machine layers

Sandy Vee

Mix effects

Universal Audio UAD EL7 Fatso

Verified

Compressor on the Linn Drum bus, keeping the elements in place.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

URS N12

Verified

Graphic EQ on the Linn Drum bus, chosen because it has a Q control for precise shaping.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Universal Audio UAD EMT 140

Verified

Plate reverb on the Linn Drum bus, adding a little life to the drums.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

The plugin used on the record

Universal Audio EMT 140 Classic Plate Reverberator

reverb

The plugin named in the source.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Universal Audio UAD dbx 160

Verified

Compressor on the main snare track.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Universal Audio UAD Harrison EQ

Verified

EQ on the main snare track, used for added sparkle in the high frequencies.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Music mix bus

Sandy Vee

Mix effects

Universal Audio UAD Manley Massive Passive

Verified

Stereo bus EQ in Vee's master chain for the music stem, enhancing the sound slightly.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Waves API 560

Verified

Stereo bus EQ in the master chain, with a small cut.

Settings
Small cut around 1kHz

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

PSP Vintage Warmer

Verified

Added warmth on the stereo bus in the master chain.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Sonnox Oxford Limiter

Verified

Final limiter in the master chain, used in a very basic way.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Sources

  1. Sandy Vee: Recording Katy Perry's 'Firework', Sound On Sound, 2011-04. 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.