How It Was Recorded

The Rolling Stones · Sticky Fingers, 1971

Brown Sugar

Lead vocalKeith Richards guitarMick Taylor guitarBassDrumsPianoConsole and tapeVerified2Reported14

What the sources do and do not say

Both sources are the same Jimmy Johnson interview (ProSoundWeb in full over four pages; Tape Op free part only, rest paywalled). Johnson engineered the December 1969 Muscle Shoals basic tracks and vocals for this song; later London overdubs and the mix are not covered. He says no compressor was available and the only outboard item was the 20 dB pad. Several details are his recollections and are marked hedged.

Lead vocal

Mick Jagger

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Reported

Johnson says Jagger sang on a U47, and he does not think the vocal was overdubbed unless something was fixed later in London.

Source: ProSoundWeb, 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.

Keith Richards guitar

Keith Richards

Instrument

Gibson SG

Reported

Johnson thinks Richards played a black SG for most of his time at the studio.

Source: ProSoundWeb, 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.

Amplifier

Fender Twin

Reported

Richards played through a Fender Twin that the band brought in, run wide open and loud, and Johnson put it in the back booth with the door shut.

Position
In the back booth with the door closed

Source: ProSoundWeb, 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

RCA 77-DX

Reported

Ribbon microphone on Richards' amp, chosen because it helped keep the level down on a very loud amp.

Position
Two or three inches from the grille cloth, in front of one of the two speakers

Source: ProSoundWeb, 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

Unidentified Homemade 20 dB pad

Reported

A pad made by the studio maintenance man, placed between the mic and the console to cut the level and stop distortion on Richards' amp.

Settings
20 dB

Source: ProSoundWeb, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Mick Taylor guitar

Mick Taylor

Amplifier

Fender Twin

Reported

Taylor also played a Fender Twin that the band brought in, set out in the room.

Position
Out in the room on the left side, about the middle, facing the front, as seen from the control room

Source: ProSoundWeb, 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

Reported

Microphone on Taylor's amp.

Source: ProSoundWeb, 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.

Bass

Bill Wyman

Instrument

Dan Armstrong Plexiglas bass

Reported

Wyman played a Plexiglas-bodied bass that Johnson and David Hood recall as a Dan Armstrong.

Source: ProSoundWeb, 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

Fender Bassman

Reported

Wyman played through David Hood's Fender Bassman tube head and separate speaker box.

Source: ProSoundWeb, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Native Instruments Guitar Rig 7 Pro

amp and cabinet simulator

Its Tweedman amp is modelled on the Fender Bassman.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5 (Includes Fender-style tweed amp models; an official Bassman model is sold as an add-on collection).

Microphone

RCA 44

Reported

Microphone on the bass amp; no direct feed was available.

Source: ProSoundWeb, 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.

Drums

Charlie Watts

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Reported

Single mic placed above and in front of the kit to capture the kit as a whole, alongside two other drum mics.

Position
Over the kit, about nose high to the drummer, on a high stand out in front with the mic facing down at the kit

Source: ProSoundWeb, 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.

Electro-Voice 666

Reported

Bass drum microphone.

Position
On a small stand facing the back side of the drum

Source: ProSoundWeb, 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.

Electro-Voice RE15

Reported

Hi-hat microphone; Johnson believes it was an RE15 but says it could have been a 635A, and that an SM57 was more likely than the 635A if it was not the RE15.

Source: ProSoundWeb, 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.

Piano

Ian Stewart

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Reported

Johnson believes a single U47 was the only mic on the piano, moved around to find the best spot.

Source: ProSoundWeb, 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.

Console and tape

Input chain

Universal Audio Tube console (model not stated)

Verified

Ten-input tube-module console in a studio-built frame through which the Stones session was recorded, with a fixed low-end EQ and a limited high-end EQ.

Settings
Fixed low EQ at 100 Hz (boost in two clicks of 2 and 4 dB, cut to minus 3); high EQ around 3.5 kHz in 2 dB steps

Source: ProSoundWeb, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

Universal Audio UA 610 Tube Preamp & EQ Collection

preamp and EQ

Universal Audio's own model of its 610 valve console preamps. 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

Scully 8-track tape machine (model not stated)

Verified

One-inch 8-track machine to which Brown Sugar was tracked, at 15 ips.

Settings
15 ips

Source: Tape Op, 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. In The Studio: Recording The Rolling Stones "Brown Sugar" Sessions (page 3), ProSoundWeb, 2020-11-21. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
  2. In The Studio: Recording The Rolling Stones "Brown Sugar" Sessions (page 2), ProSoundWeb, 2020-11-21. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
  3. In The Studio: Recording The Rolling Stones "Brown Sugar" Sessions (page 4), ProSoundWeb, 2020-11-21. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
  4. In The Studio: Recording The Rolling Stones "Brown Sugar" Sessions, ProSoundWeb, 2020-11-21. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
  5. Jimmy Johnson: Recording Rolling Stones' Brown Sugar, Tape Op. 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.