How It Was Recorded

Supertramp · Breakfast in America, 1979

The Logical Song

Lead vocalArpeggiated chorus guitarsBassDrum kitElectric piano and stringsSaxophoneVerified4Reported15

What the sources do and do not say

Both articles are Classic Tracks pieces on this song with Peter Henderson as the main voice. The Sound On Sound piece gives +10 dB at 100 Hz and 200 Hz on the bass; the Mix piece has Henderson hedging at up to +12 dB, so the Sound On Sound figure is used. Mix says the Leslie in the guitar part was miked with U47s and mentions a Hammond organ, which conflicts with Sound On Sound (Les Pauls through Leslies, U87s); that was left out. Mixing was at Crystal Studios on a custom 56-channel desk, but no mix gear is named.

Lead vocal

Roger Hodgson

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Verified

Microphone on Hodgson's vocal; he sang the whole track and his vocal on the end section from the original take was kept.

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.

Input chain

UREI 1176

Reported

Compressor on the lead vocal, used because no Fairchild limiter was available at the studio.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

compressor

Models several revisions of the 1176, including the blackface units.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter (Models two 1176 revisions (blacky and bluey)).

Arpeggiated chorus guitars

Instrument

Gibson Les Paul

Reported

Two electric guitars making up the arpeggiated chorus part.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A guitar is the source of the sound, not a process applied to it. No plugin stands in for it.

Guild 12-string acoustic

Reported

Pair of double-tracked acoustic guitars alongside the Les Pauls.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A guitar is the source of the sound, not a process applied to it. No plugin stands in for it.

Microphone

Neumann U 87

Reported

Pair of microphones on the Leslies.

Position
Top and bottom

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.

Input chain

UREI 1176

Reported

Two compressors on the Leslied guitars.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

compressor

Models several revisions of the 1176, including the blackface units.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter (Models two 1176 revisions (blacky and bluey)).

Bass

Dougie Thomson

Instrument

Music Man StingRay

Reported

Thomson's new bass guitar, played with flat-wound strings.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A bass guitar is the source of the sound, not a process applied to it. No plugin stands in for it.

Amplifier

Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier

Reported

Bass recorded direct, with no amplifier or microphone.

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

Harrison Console (model not stated)

Verified

Harrison desk whose EQ put heavy low-end boost on the bass; Henderson praised its low end for bass despite not being a big fan of the desk.

Settings
+10 dB at 100 Hz and +10 dB at 200 Hz

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

Harrison Audio 32Classic Channel Strip

channel strip

Harrison's own channel-strip plugin, taken from its 32-series desks. The source does not name the model, so this stands for the maker's family of units: it is not a model of the one on the record.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

UREI 1176

Verified

Compressor on the bass after the console EQ.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

compressor

Models several revisions of the 1176, including the blackface units.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter (Models two 1176 revisions (blacky and bluey)).

Drum kit

Bob Siebenberg

Instrument

Ludwig Drum kit (model not stated)

Reported

Siebenberg's drum kit for the song, with Fiberskin heads on the toms.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Toontrack Superior Drummer 3

drum instrument

A sampled drum instrument. It does not claim to be this kit or drum.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Microphone

Neumann KM 84

Verified

Snare microphone, chosen for a soft but hi-fi sound in the manner of Alan Parsons' Dark Side of the Moon work.

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.

Sennheiser MD 421

Reported

Henderson believes this was the kick drum microphone, and also used on the toms.

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.

Electric piano and strings

Roger Hodgson

Instrument

Wurlitzer Electric piano (model not stated)

Reported

Hodgson's electric piano part, played live in the drum booth during the backing track.

Position
In the drum booth

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia Wurli V

instrument

Physical model of the Wurlitzer 200A electric piano. The source does not give the model used.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Oberheim Four-voice

Reported

Synthesiser used for the cello string part.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Arturia SEM V

instrument

Models the Oberheim SEM. The Four Voice and Eight Voice are built from several SEM modules.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Elka Rhapsody

Reported

String ensemble keyboard for the high string parts, fed through the chorus pedal.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

GForce Software VSM IV

instrument

A string-machine instrument built from samples of the original hardware, with the Elka Rhapsody among the machines included.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Arturia Solina V (Models the Solina String Ensemble, a divide-down string machine from the same years with a similar chorused sound).

Input chain

Boss Chorus pedal (model not stated)

Reported

Wurlitzer signal was split through this chorus pedal to blend straight and modulated sounds; the same pedal chorused the high string parts.

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

Saxophone

John Helliwell

Microphone

STC 4038

Reported

Ribbon microphone placed in the bell of the saxophone, recorded in the toilet to avoid bleed.

Position
In the bell

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.

Neumann U 87

Reported

Second saxophone microphone, set back from the instrument.

Position
About two feet away

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: Supertramp 'The Logical Song', Sound On Sound, 2005-07. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
  2. Classic Tracks: Supertramp "The Logical Song", Mix, 2000-06. 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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