How It Was Recorded

Paul Davis · Singer of Songs: Teller of Tales, 1977

I Go Crazy

Lead and backing vocalsGuitarElectric bassDrumsPiano, Rhodes and synthsTape machinesVerified6Reported7

What the sources do and do not say

One Mix Classic Tracks article with Ed Seay, who engineered at Web IV Studios. Most gear is from the demo and overdub stage, and the article is mostly narrative, so several rows are reported rather than verified. The article gives '87s' on overheads without a maker, so that was left out, and the studio's EMT 140 and Electrodyne console are only listed as studio equipment with no stated use.

Lead and backing vocals

Paul Davis

Microphone

Neumann U 87

Reported

Microphone for Davis's lead vocal, and also for the harmonies and Seay's backing oohs.

Source: Mix, 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.

Guitar

Kenny Mims

Microphone

Shure SM57

Reported

Microphone on Kenny Mims's guitar overdub.

Source: Mix, 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. The SM57 is still made and inexpensive: the real thing is the practical route.

Electric bass

Ed Seay

Amplifier

Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier

Reported

Seay played the electric bass direct on the demo.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Recorded direct, so there is no amp to model. Leave the amp simulator off.

Drums

James Stroud

Instrument

Korg Rhythm Ace

Reported

Early beat box used for the demo.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

Roland Roland Cloud

instrument

Includes Roland's software CR-78, a later preset rhythm box of the same kind, with analogue drum sounds playing set patterns; it is not a model of this unit.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Microphone

Electro-Voice RE20

Verified

Kick drum microphone.

Source: Mix, 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.

Shure SM57

Verified

Microphone on the top of the snare.

Position
top of the snare

Source: Mix, 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. The SM57 is still made and inexpensive: the real thing is the practical route.

Sennheiser MD 421

Verified

Microphones on the three toms, recorded together with the overheads on one remaining tape track.

Source: Mix, 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. The MD 421 is still made.

Piano, Rhodes and synths

Paul Davis and Alan Feingold

Instrument

Baldwin SD-10 Concert Grand

Reported

Feingold doubled Davis's part on this nine-foot concert grand piano during the demo.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Arturia Piano V

instrument

A modelled piano instrument. It is not a recording or model of this particular piano.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

ARP Odyssey

Reported

Feingold doubled the demo part on it.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Korg KORG Collection

instrument

Korg's bundle of software instruments, which includes its ARP Odyssey.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Univox Stringman

Reported

String-machine sound played by Davis, heard in the moody horn-like sounds alongside the real strings.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Arturia Solina V

instrument

Models the Solina String Ensemble, a rival string machine of the same mid-1970s period with the same violin and cello voices and chorus.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Microphone

Neumann U 87

Verified

Second microphone on the demo piano, covering the low strings.

Position
over the low strings toward the back of the piano

Source: Mix, 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.

Tape machines

Input chain

Ampex 16-track tape machine (model not stated)

Verified

Multitrack recorder, run with no noise reduction.

Settings
30 ips, no noise reduction

Source: Mix, 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

Ampex AG-440B

Verified

Two-track machine the mix was recorded down to.

Settings
quarter-inch, 15 ips

Source: Mix, 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).

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: Paul Davis' "I Go Crazy", Mix, 2020-10. 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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