Neil Young · Harvest, 1972
Heart of Gold
11 sourced items across 8 sectionsVerified10Reported1
What the sources do and do not say
Single source: producer Elliot Mazer's own Classic Tracks account (first posted 2001, republished 2023) of the song's session at Quadrafonic Sound, Nashville, in early 1971. Rows are song-specific. Mazer says no compressors were used, so none is listed; the mix location is not remembered and no mix gear is named.
Lead vocal
2 items
Neil Young
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann U 87
Verified
Mazer used this as the microphone on Neil Young'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
Unidentified Tape slapback (machine not stated)
Verified
Gave Young's voice a slapback echo from tape, and the effect was recorded onto the multitrack rather than added later.
- Settings
- 15 ips
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Covers this kind of unit
Soundtoys EchoBoy
delay
Includes tape-echo and studio tape-machine delay styles, the same method as the delay on the record. The machine is not identified, so it is not a model of the unit used.
Backing harmonies (Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor)
1 item
Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann U 87
Verified
Mazer says an 87 on a cardioid pattern faced the two singers as they added harmonies sitting in the control room.
- Position
- Control room, set to cardioid and facing the singers
Source: Mix, 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.
Neil Young guitar
1 item
Neil Young
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann KM 86
Verified
Mazer used this as the microphone on Neil Young's guitar.
Source: Mix, 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.
Teddy Irwin guitar
1 item
Teddy Irwin
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann KM 86
Verified
Mazer says a KM86 was on Teddy Irwin's guitar.
Source: Mix, 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.
Bass
1 item
Tim Drummond
Amplifier
The real chain
Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier
Verified
Mazer says the bass was recorded direct.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. Recorded direct, so there is no amp to model. Leave the amp simulator off.
Drum kit
3 items
Kenny Buttrey
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann KM 86
Verified
Mazer says the drum overhead microphones were KM86s.
Source: Mix, 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.
The real chain
Shure SM56
Reported
Mazer believes, though is not certain, that the snare microphone was an SM56.
Source: Mix, 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.
The real chain
AKG D 224 E
Verified
Mazer names a 224E as the hi-hat microphone.
Source: Mix, 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.
Steel guitar
1 item
Ben Keith
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann U 87
Verified
Mazer says an 87 was used on the steel guitar.
Source: Mix, 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.
Whole-band recording chain
1 item
Input chain
The real chain
Unidentified 2-inch 16-track analogue tape machine
Verified
Mazer says the song was tracked to 2-inch 16-track tape; the machine make is not given.
- Settings
- Scotch 206 tape, 30 ips, no noise reduction
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
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: Neil Young's "Heart of Gold", Mix, 2023-11-17. 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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