How It Was Recorded

Led Zeppelin · Physical Graffiti, 1975

Kashmir

Lead vocalGuitarBassDrumsMobile studio effects and limitingVerified4Reported8

What the sources do and do not say

One Sound On Sound Classic Tracks article, read in full, with Ron Nevison speaking about the Headley Grange sessions on the Lane Mobile Studio. Only the phaser on the drums is tied to 'Kashmir' by Nevison himself; the drum mics, limiters, reverb and tape delay are album-level, and the guitar, bass and H910 rows are the journalist's narrative. The Les Paul and Danelectro rows are alternatives for the main riff, and the article says the final orchestral parts and vocal effects were added later at Olympic with a different engineer.

Lead vocal

Robert Plant

Input chain

Revox Two-track tape machine (model not stated)

VerifiedAlbum sessions

Album sessions, not stated for this song: Used as a tape delay hung on the wall of the mobile studio; Nevison varied its speed to set the delay timing and got an Elvis-style sound on Plant's vocal.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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: Universal Audio Studer A800 Tape Recorder (Models a Studer A800, not this recorder. It gives the general behaviour of analogue multitrack tape).

Mix effects

Eventide H910 Harmonizer (prototype)

Reported

Added to Robert Plant's vocal as an enhancement, according to the article's narrative.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Eventide H910 Harmonizer

multi-effect

Eventide's own plugin version of the H910.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Guitar

Jimmy Page

Instrument

Gibson Les Paul (1959 'Number One')

Reported

Possibly the guitar for the main riff; Nevison is unsure, and the article says it was likely either this or a Danelectro 3021.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Danelectro 3021

Reported

Possibly the guitar for the main riff; Nevison is unsure, and the article says it was likely either this or the 1959 Les Paul.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Unidentified Electric 12-string guitar (model not stated)

Reported

Used by Page for his slide parts that he called electric trails.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Bass

John Paul Jones

Instrument

Fender Jazz Bass (1962)

Reported

Jones's bass on the track.

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.

Amplifier

Acoustic 360 bass head

Reported

Head that Jones's bass was played through.

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).

Acoustic 361 cabinet

Reported

Cabinet that Jones's bass was played through.

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).

Drums

John Bonham

Microphone

Neumann U87 FET

ReportedAlbum sessions

Album sessions, not stated for this song: Used as a close stereo pair on the stairway as Nevison's left and right drum sound, after Bonham refused mics by the kit. (recalled with uncertainty)

Position
Stairway to the first floor, about 20 feet (his estimate) from the drums, the two mics about a foot apart

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

Eventide Instant Phaser (PS 101)

Verified

Fed one side of the left and right drum tracks and recorded on a third track; the phaser is heard on the cymbals and the band kept it in the released version.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Eventide Instant Phaser Mk II

modulation

Eventide's own plugin version of the Instant Phaser.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Mobile studio effects and limiting

Input chain

Unidentified Console limiters (Helios, model not stated)

VerifiedAlbum sessions

Album sessions, not stated for this song: Built-in channel limiters of the Helios console in the mobile studio, used as one of two limiting options; the part is not stated.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

UREI 1176

VerifiedAlbum sessions

Album sessions, not stated for this song: A pair used as the alternative to the Helios channel limiters in the mobile studio; the part is not stated.

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)).

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: Led Zeppelin 'Kashmir', Sound On Sound, 2019-10. 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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