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How It Was Recorded

The Emotions · Rejoice, 1977

Best of My Love

10 sourced items across 4 sectionsVerified2Reported8

What the sources do and do not say

One Mix Classic Tracks article, read in full, with engineer George Massenburg and co-producer Clarence McDonald. Console, compressor and vocal microphone details are tied loosely to the song, and the modified KM 84 Massenburg describes in the vocal passage is not clearly stated to be the vocal microphone, so it is omitted. The Sound On Sound candidate was an editorial leader unrelated to the record.

Lead and group vocals

1 item

The Emotions

Microphone

  • The real chain

    Schoeps CMC 5 with MK 4 capsule

    Reported

    Massenburg says the final vocals were probably recorded with a Schoeps CMC 5 body carrying an MK 4 capsule.

    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.

Drum kit

3 items

Fred White

Microphone

  • The real chain

    Neumann KM 84

    Reported

    A modified KM 84 was the top microphone on the drum kit.

    Position
    on top

    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

    Schoeps CMC 4

    Reported

    Schoeps CMC 4 microphones, with pads, served as the drum overheads.

    Position
    overheads
    Settings
    with pads

    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 D12

    Reported

    An AKG D12 was used on the kick drum.

    Position
    on kick

    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.

Horns

3 items

Horn section

Microphone

  • The real chain

    Neumann KM 84

    Reported

    Massenburg recalls the trumpets being miked with a Neumann KM 84.

    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

    Neumann U 67

    Reported

    Massenburg recalls the trombones being miked with U 67s.

    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 C12 or C414

    Reported

    Massenburg recalls the reeds being miked with either AKG C12s or AKG C414s, without settling which.

    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.

Console, compression and tape

3 items

Input chain

  • The real chain

    Bushnell Console (model not stated)

    ReportedAlbum sessions

    Album sessions, not stated for this song: Massenburg believes, if his memory serves, that the board was a Bushnell.

    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

    GML Prototype compressor (early 8900)

    VerifiedAlbum sessions

    Album sessions, not stated for this song: Massenburg says he used an early prototype of what became the GML 8900 compressor on every overdub across these Earth, Wind & Fire related sessions.

    Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

    Get the sound · our suggestion

    Close match

    Massenburg DesignWorks MDWDRC2-Native

    compressor

    George Massenburg's own software dynamics processor, built on the same loudness-sensing ideas as the 8900 rather than modelling the hardware.

    Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Mix effects

  • The real chain

    3M M79 24-track

    Verified

    Massenburg says these records, this one included, were mixed down to a 3M M79 tape with no bus compression.

    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.

    Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for
    Also worth a look 1

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: The Emotions’ “Best of My Love”, Mix, 2016-10-04. 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.

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