Mumford & Sons · Sigh No More, 2009
Little Lion Man
22 sourced items across 8 sectionsVerified20Reported2
What the sources do and do not say
Sound On Sound Inside Track with mixer Ruadhri Cushnan covers the mix of this song in Pro Tools, plus some tracking microphones the engineer François Chevallier recorded. Mostly mix-stage plug-ins and outboard; no microphone for lead vocal, acoustic guitar or drums is named. The Telefunken mics are named by maker only.
Lead vocal
7 items
Marcus Mumford
Mix effects
The real chain
Sony Oxford EQ
Verified
Corrective equaliser inserted on the main lead vocal track during the mix.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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The plugin used on the record
Sonnox Oxford EQ
equaliser
The same EQ: Sony's Oxford plugins are now made by Sonnox.
The real chain
Summit Audio TLA100
Verified
Lead vocal was sent out of Pro Tools through this compressor for warmth and colour, then printed back into the session.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Softube Summit Audio TLA-100A
compressor
Made with Summit Audio as a model of the TLA-100A.
The real chain
Neve 1081
Verified
Outboard EQ the lead vocal was sent through alongside the compressor, adding warmth and colour before being printed back.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Universal Audio Neve 1081 Channel EQ
equaliser
Model of the 1081 channel EQ, made with AMS Neve.
Also worth a look 1
- Waves V-EQ4 (Waves' model of the 1081 EQ)
The real chain
Roland RE-501 Chorus Echo
Verified
Lead vocal was sent to it to get a spring reverb sound, which was printed back as its own track.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Close match
Universal Audio Galaxy Tape Echo
delay
Models the Roland RE-201 Space Echo, an earlier relative of the RE-501.
The real chain
Digidesign Reel Tape Saturation
Reported
Plug-in on a tape send fed by the lead vocal, which he recalls driving fairly hard for crunch, body and a little grit.
- Settings
- Simulated tape speed set to 7.5 ips, driven quite hard (stated as how he would have set it)
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. This is itself a plugin, Avid's Reel Tape Saturation, so the record used the software rather than hardware.
The real chain
Audio Ease Altiverb
Verified
Supplied the small-room and plate reverbs on the lead vocal master sends.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.
The real chain
Soundtoys Echoboy
Verified
Delay effect fed from the lead vocal master via a Delay send.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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The plugin used on the record
Soundtoys EchoBoy
delay
The plugin named in the source.
Backing vocals
1 item
Mix effects
The real chain
Audio Ease Altiverb
Verified
Two Altiverb patches were used on the backing vocals: a 480 club preset and a large-hall convolution reverb.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.
Acoustic guitar
2 items
Mix effects
The real chain
Sony Oxford EQ
Verified
Used on the acoustic guitar to take out some lower mids and lift the top end.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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The plugin used on the record
Sonnox Oxford EQ
equaliser
The same EQ: Sony's Oxford plugins are now made by Sonnox.
The real chain
UREI 1176
Verified
Bomb Factory 1176 plug-in on the acoustic guitar track recorded with the more distant microphone.
Source: Sound On Sound, 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))
Double bass
3 items
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann U 47 fet
Verified
One of the double bass microphones, giving more body; used alongside a Telefunken mic.
Source: Sound On Sound, 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.
The real chain
Telefunken Microphone (model not stated)
Verified
Double bass microphone used for the top end, alongside the Neumann FET47.
Source: Sound On Sound, 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.
Mix effects
The real chain
Tech 21 Sansamp PSA-1
Verified
Followed the Sony Oxford compression on the FET47 bass track to add bite.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.
Drums
1 item
Mix effects
The real chain
Neve 542
Reported
The kick print probably went through outboard EQ and compression, probably this unit, according to Cushnan.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Approximate
Waves NLS Non-Linear Summer
console emulation
A console-summing plugin that includes one Neve desk. It gives a Neve flavour, not this console's channels.
Piano and keyboards
2 items
Instrument
The real chain
Solina Solina organ
Verified
One of the keyboards on the track, routed to a keyboard subgroup.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Close match
Arturia Solina V
instrument
Models the Solina String Ensemble, the best-known instrument sold under the Solina name.
Microphone
The real chain
AKG 414 (variant not stated)
Verified
The pair of microphones he ended up using on the piano, which sounded bright and helped it cut through.
Source: Sound On Sound, 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.
Banjo
4 items
Microphone
The real chain
Royer Ribbon microphone (model not stated)
Verified
One of three microphones on the first banjo, alongside a DI and an amp-room mic.
Source: Sound On Sound, 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.
The real chain
Telefunken Elam (model not stated)
Verified
One of three microphones on the first banjo, alongside a DI and an amp-room mic.
Source: Sound On Sound, 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.
The real chain
Neumann KM 84
Verified
One of three microphones on the first banjo, alongside a DI and an amp-room mic.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
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
The real chain
Avid Joemeek VC5 Meequalizer
Verified
First insert on the banjo subgroup, adding a boost around 2 kHz.
- Settings
- Adds 2 dB around 2 kHz
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. This is itself a plugin, the Bomb Factory Joemeek VC5 Meequalizer for Pro Tools, so the record used the software rather than hardware.
Mix bus
2 items
Mix effects
The real chain
Alan Smart C1
Verified
Stereo mix went out of Pro Tools through this compressor on the mix bus.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Close match
Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor
compressor
The C1 and C2 are bus compressors in the SSL style. This models the SSL G-series bus compressor, not the Smart unit.
Also worth a look 1
- Solid State Logic SSL Native Bus Compressor 2 (The C1 and C2 are bus compressors in the SSL style. This is SSL's own bus compressor plugin)
The real chain
Neve 8803
Verified
Stereo mix went through this EQ on the mix bus.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Close match
Universal Audio Neve 88RS Channel Strip Collection
channel strip
Models the Neve 88RS console channel, whose equaliser the 8803 is taken from; it is not a model of the rack unit itself.
Sources
- Mumford & Sons 'Little Lion Man', Sound On Sound, 2011-03. 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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