Skip to the content
How It Was Recorded

Neil Young · Freedom, 1989

Rockin' in the Free World

6 sourced items across 2 sectionsVerified5Reported1

What the sources do and do not say

One Mix Classic Tracks article by Blair Jackson, read in full. Bolas is light on microphone detail because the sessions were improvised; the guitars, bass and drums are not given any named gear. The 57, SM7 and 421 rows are Cromwell recalling what he saw, not assignments to parts; the SM58 on the lead vocal is Bolas hedging.

Lead vocal

1 item

Neil Young

Microphone

  • The real chain

    Shure SM58

    Reported

    The engineer thinks he may have used this microphone on Young's lead vocal, but he is not certain.

    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.

Band tracking and mix (not split by part in the source)

5 items

Microphone

  • The real chain

    Shure SM7

    Verified

    Drummer Chad Cromwell recalls seeing this microphone type used a lot in the barn sessions, with no part named.

    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. Its successor, the SM7B, is still made.

  • The real chain

    Sennheiser MD 421

    Verified

    Drummer Chad Cromwell recalls seeing this microphone type used a lot in the barn sessions, with no part named.

    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 MD 421 is still made.

Input chain

Mix effects

  • The real chain

    DiMedio Console (model not stated)

    Verified

    One of two boards Bolas mixed the song on at the ranch, an old green console.

    Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

    Get the sound · our suggestion

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

  • The real chain

    Neve Console (model not stated)

    Verified

    A Neve sidecar used alongside the DiMedio console when Bolas mixed the song at the ranch.

    Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

    Get the sound · our suggestion

    Approximate

    Waves NLS Non-Linear Summer

    console emulation

    Adds the summing character of three desks, one of them a Neve. The source does not name the console model, so this is only a family resemblance.

    Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: Neil Young "Rockin' in the Free World", Mix, 2011-03-01. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.

What the ratings mean

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.