How It Was Recorded

Peter Gabriel · So, 1986

Sledgehammer

Lead and backing vocalsGuitarsBassDrum kitKeyboardsVerified16

What the sources do and do not say

One Sound On Sound Classic Tracks article, read in full, with Kevin Killen describing the Ashcombe House sessions for this song. The backing vocal microphones (a 47 and a 67, maker not stated) are left out. The article credits the RE20 to Sennheiser; it is an Electro-Voice model, so that maker is used. The guitar and keyboard passages sit inside the Sledgehammer account but speak of the sessions' set-up, so a reviewer may wish to treat them as album-level.

Lead and backing vocals

Peter Gabriel

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Verified

Gabriel's lead vocal microphone, the one he chose in a blindfold comparison of about six microphones in the control room.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Mix effects

AMS DMX 1580

Verified

Used to sample and shorten the word 'sledgehammer' so the chorus shouts sounded artificial and robotic, on Lanois's suggestion.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio AMS DMX Digital Delay & Pitch Shifter

delay

A model of the AMS DMX 15-80 S itself, covering its two delay channels and its pitch shifting.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Guitars

David Rhodes, Daniel Lanois

Amplifier

Roland JC-120

Verified

One of the two amplifiers the guitars went through.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5

amp and cabinet simulator

An amp and cabinet simulator that covers a wide range of amplifiers and speaker cabinets of this kind. It is not a model of this unit, so pick the nearest one in it by ear.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Native Instruments Guitar Rig 7 Pro (An amp and cabinet simulator that covers a wide range of amplifiers and speaker cabinets of this kind. It is not a model of this unit, so pick the nearest one in it by ear).

Fender Deluxe (model not stated)

Verified

The other amplifier the guitars went through.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5

amp and cabinet simulator

An amp and cabinet simulator that covers a wide range of amplifiers and speaker cabinets of this kind. It is not a model of this unit, so pick the nearest one in it by ear.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Native Instruments Guitar Rig 7 Pro (An amp and cabinet simulator that covers a wide range of amplifiers and speaker cabinets of this kind. It is not a model of this unit, so pick the nearest one in it by ear).

Microphone

Shure SM57

Verified

Main microphones on the guitar amplifiers.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Sony C500

Verified

Occasionally used instead of the SM57s to mike the guitar amplifiers.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Bass

Tony Levin

Amplifier

Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier

Verified

Levin's bass was recorded direct.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Input chain

Boss Octave pedal (model not stated)

Verified

Levin's octave pedal gave the bass part its final tone, replacing the slightly different tone of the earlier version.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Native Instruments Guitar Rig 7 Pro

amp and cabinet simulator

Includes a range of modelled pedals. Whether this exact pedal is among them was not checked.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Drum kit

Manu Katché

Microphone

Electro-Voice RE20

Verified

One of two kick drum microphones on the kit.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

AKG D112

Verified

The second kick drum microphone, alongside the RE20.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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 D112 is still made.

Shure SM57

Verified

Snare drum microphones.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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

Tom microphones.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Neumann U 87

Verified

Overhead microphones.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Mix effects

AMS Digital effect (model not stated)

Verified

An AMS effect was printed onto the snare, blending non-Linn material, ambience and a little plate echo to give the snare its characteristic sound.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Keyboards

Peter Gabriel

Instrument

Fairlight Fairlight (model not stated)

Verified

Gabriel played the synthesised shakuhachi flute part on it.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Microphone

Neumann U 87

VerifiedAlbum sessions

Album sessions, not stated for this song: Room microphones in the live room recording Gabriel's keyboards played back through a PA stack, when not taken direct.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: Peter Gabriel 'Sledgehammer', Sound On Sound, 2014-08. 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.

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.