Donald Fagen – Morph the Cat
The music gear and equipment used by the artists, producers, engineers, and more involved in the making of the 2006 album Morph the Cat.
Music from Morph the Cat
Artists on Morph the Cat
Gear Used On Morph the Cat
Explore the instruments, equipment, software, and production tools used in the making of Donald Fagen – Morph the Cat (2006). Click more on each item to see exactly how it was used.
Donald Fagen
Roles:
Microphones used by Donald Fagen on Morph the Cat
Avg price: $8,457.50
A pair was used for the piano on Morph the Cat, as stated by mix engineer Elliott Scheiner in this August 2006 Sound on Sound interview.
According to Elliott Scheiner, the following mics were used on the Morph The Cat recording sessions.
- Kick drum: AKG D112.
- Snare: SM57 (only on top).
- Hi-hat: Neumann KM81 or 84.
- Toms: Audio-Technica ATM25.
- Overheads: Neumann U67.
- Room mics: Electrovoice RE20.
- Electric guitar: Shure SM57 right on speaker cone.
- Piano: 2x AKG C12 mics, about 12 inches from the strings.
- Trumpet and trombone: Coles ribbon.
- Tenor sax: Neumann U67.
- Baritone sax: Neumann FET47.
Studio Equipment used by Donald Fagen on Morph the Cat
Fagen is known to have used two different 8078s in his career. The first, owned and later sold by him, was used to record and mix Aja, according to this May 2019 Reddit post.
ColbyKill I can currently enrolled in The Blackbird Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. If you haven't heard of it, should definitely check it out. So this console used to belong to Donald. John McBride, Martina's husband, had bought it from him a few years ago now. It has been slightly modified, but it is pretty much exactly how it was while they were using it to record Aja. Its amazing to be able to get to be in the same room let along get to work on it as well. Figured y'all would enjoy seeing this.
The second was the in-house console at the now defunct Clinton Recording Studios. It was used to record and mix Morph the Cat, as stated by Fagen and mix engineer Elliott Scheiner in this August 2006 Sound on Sound interview.
Scheiner adds that he 'seldom' uses EQ during the mix, and that Morph The Cat was recorded via Clinton's Neve 8078 directly to analogue 24-track. Straightforward recording to analogue without much processing is now Fagen's favoured approach, says he. "It's the sound I like. It's not necessary to have the latest equipment. Today I think that I could use any studio, and any equipment, and all I need is good players and it will sound good. I like the sound of jazz records recorded in the late 1950s. I love the sound of Rudy van Gelder's records for Prestige. I can't imagine anything sounding better. Van Gelder's jazz recordings definitely influenced the Steely Dan recording and mixing style."
