Linda Ronstadt · Heart Like a Wheel, 1974
You're No Good
12 sourced items across 5 sectionsReported12
What the sources do and do not say
One Mix Classic Tracks article read in full, covering the July 1974 sessions at The Sound Factory. Most gear is stated in the journalist's narrative, so rows are reported rather than verified. The article does not describe the bass, the strings or the console in use beyond the studio description.
Lead vocal
2 items
Linda Ronstadt
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann U 67
Reported
Microphone used to record Ronstadt's lead vocal.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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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
The real chain
Lang PEQ 2
Reported
Equaliser on the lead vocal, used to boost the top end and reduce the effect of sibilance.
- Settings
- Boost at 20 kHz
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Heritage Audio LANG PEQ-2
equaliser
A plugin model of the Lang PEQ-2 from Heritage Audio, which now owns the Lang name.
Guitars
7 items
Andrew Gold
Instrument
The real chain
Fender Stratocaster
Reported
Black 1962 Stratocaster with a rosewood fingerboard on which Gold worked out the three sections of the middle guitar break.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. A guitar is the source of the sound, not a process applied to it. No plugin stands in for it.
The real chain
Gibson Les Paul
Reported
Guitar on which Eddie Black came up with a riff heard in the first verse and the string build-up.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. A guitar is the source of the sound, not a process applied to it. No plugin stands in for it.
The real chain
Fender Telecaster
Reported
Guitar used for the arpeggios that follow the string build-up later in the song.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. A guitar is the source of the sound, not a process applied to it. No plugin stands in for it.
Input chain
The real chain
MXR Graphic equaliser (model not stated)
Reported
Small graphic EQ placed first in the guitar chain, adding top end to the direct signal before anything else.
- Position
- First in the chain, before the console
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. The source does not name the model, so no specific plugin can be suggested.
The real chain
UREI 1176
Reported
Two limiters used in series to compress the guitars, each with the input turned up.
- Position
- Two in series, after the MXR EQ and ahead of the gate
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection
compressor
Models several revisions of the 1176, including the blackface units.
Also worth a look 1
- Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter (Models two 1176 revisions (blacky and bluey))
The real chain
Unidentified Kepex noise gate
Reported
Noise gate after the compressors so the guitar burst through the moment the strings were touched.
- Settings
- Fastest possible release time
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. The source does not name the model, so no specific plugin can be suggested.
The real chain
EMT Sound Retardation System
Reported
Delay unit with a warped disc that gave a warbling sound, heard on the first section of the lead break and the later arpeggios.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Covers this kind of unit
Soundtoys EchoBoy
delay
A delay with tape-style modes, which record and replay the sound magnetically as the original did, wobble included; it is not a model of this unit.
Drums
1 item
Andrew Gold
Microphone
The real chain
Telefunken 251
Reported
Tube microphones used on the toms and as overheads for Gold's drumming.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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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.
Wurlitzer electric piano
1 item
Andrew Gold
Instrument
The real chain
Wurlitzer Electric piano (model not stated)
Reported
Electric piano played by Gold in two tracks, one an octave above the other, added after the rhythm tracking.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Arturia Wurli V
instrument
Physical model of the Wurlitzer 200A electric piano. The source does not give the model used.
Recording medium
1 item
Input chain
The real chain
3M M79
ReportedAlbum sessions
Album sessions, not stated for this song: Tape machine Garay recorded to, using Agfa PEM 468 tape.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Approximate
Slate Digital Virtual Tape Machines
tape
Models two Studer machines, not this recorder. It gives the general behaviour of analogue multitrack tape.
Also worth a look 1
- Universal Audio Studer A800 Tape Recorder (Models a Studer A800, not this recorder. It gives the general behaviour of analogue multitrack tape)
Sources
- Classic Tracks: Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good", Mix, 2014-11-05. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
What the ratings mean
Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.
Stated by a reputable secondary source.
An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.
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