How It Was Recorded

The Pretenders · Get Close, 1986

Don't Get Me Wrong

Lead vocalRhythm and solo guitarsDrums (Steve Jordan)Recording consoleReported12

What the sources do and do not say

Single Mix Classic Tracks article with quotes from Bob Clearmountain and Bruce Lampcov. Gear statements are mostly the journalist's narrative, so rows are reported rather than verified. The vocal chain is hedged in the text ('probably'), as is the AKG cymbal microphone ('some type').

Lead vocal

Chrissie Hynde

Microphone

Neumann U 87

Reported

Probably the microphone on Hynde's lead vocal, recorded in Studio B; the article hedges this.

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.

Input chain

Teletronix LA-3A

Reported

Probably the compressor on Hynde's lead vocal during tracking; the article hedges this.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Waves CLA-3A Compressor / Limiter

compressor

Models an LA-3A from Chris Lord-Alge's collection.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Rhythm and solo guitars

Robbie McIntosh

Instrument

Gretsch Guitar (model not stated)

Reported

Borrowed guitar used for the song's solo.

Source: Mix, 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.

Fender Telecaster

Reported

Also played by McIntosh on the solo.

Source: Mix, 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.

Input chain

Roland Digital Delay

Reported

Delay unit the rhythm Strat was played through.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

Soundtoys PrimalTap

delay

A digital rack delay of the 1980s kind, as the original was; it is not a model of this unit.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Drums (Steve Jordan)

Steve Jordan

Microphone

Sennheiser MD 421

Reported

Microphones on the toms, top and bottom, as set up by Lampcov.

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.

AKG D12

Reported

Bass 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

Reported

Microphones on the snare, one above and one below.

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.

AKG Microphone (model not stated)

Reported

Some AKG microphone on the cymbals; the article is vague about the model. (recalled with uncertainty)

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.

Input chain

UREI 1176

Reported

Used to compress the snare drum.

Source: Mix, 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)).

Pultec EQ (model not stated)

Reported

Used on many of the drums.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio Pultec Passive EQ Collection

equaliser

Models the Pultec EQP-1A, MEQ-5 and HLF-3C. The source does not say which Pultec was used.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves PuigTec EQs (EQP-1A and MEQ-5) (Models the Pultec EQP-1A and MEQ-5).

Recording console

Input chain

Neve 8068

Reported

Console in Power Station Studio A on which the song was recorded.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Waves NLS Non-Linear Summer

console emulation

A console-summing plugin that includes one Neve desk. It gives a Neve flavour, not this console's channels.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: The Pretenders "Don't Get Me Wrong", Mix, 2010-02. 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.