The B-52's – Cosmic Thing
The music gear and equipment used by the artists, producers, engineers, and more involved in the making of the 1989 album Cosmic Thing.
Music from Cosmic Thing
Gear Used On Cosmic Thing
Explore the instruments, equipment, software, and production tools used in the making of The B-52's – Cosmic Thing (1989). Click more on each item to see exactly how it was used.
Microphones used by Keith Strickland on Cosmic Thing
Avg price: $112.54
Used for the guitars on the songs Don Was produced for Cosmic Thing, as stated by mix engineer Dave Cook in this July 2012 Mix Online interview.
All of the Was-produced tracks were recorded analog, to a Studer A80 machine, using the studio’s early ’70s vintage API console. “I used Neumann U 87s on all of the vocals,” Cook recalls. “All the preamps were on board, in the console. I used a couple of Pultecs on drums, and probably dbx 160s on their vocals; [Shure SM] 57s on guitar amps and a Neumann U 47 fet on the bass amp, as well as a DI. The biggest challenge was to get the vocals isolated so we could get all the punches we needed. Later we would do doubles and fixes, and add the horns. I remember we listened very quietly on Auratones while doing vocals. Don was very focused on the vocals, and he heard pitch best when he listened quietly on small speakers. It is a method I’ve used myself ever since.”
Fred Schneider
Roles:
Microphones used by Fred Schneider on Cosmic Thing
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Avg price: $3,629.95
Used for vocals on the songs Don Was produced for Cosmic Thing, as stated by mix engineer Dave Cook in this July 2012 Mix Online interview.
All of the Was-produced tracks were recorded analog, to a Studer A80 machine, using the studio’s early ’70s vintage API console. “I used Neumann U 87s on all of the vocals,” Cook recalls. “All the preamps were on board, in the console. I used a couple of Pultecs on drums, and probably dbx 160s on their vocals; [Shure SM] 57s on guitar amps and a Neumann U 47 fet on the bass amp, as well as a DI. The biggest challenge was to get the vocals isolated so we could get all the punches we needed. Later we would do doubles and fixes, and add the horns. I remember we listened very quietly on Auratones while doing vocals. Don was very focused on the vocals, and he heard pitch best when he listened quietly on small speakers. It is a method I’ve used myself ever since.”
Cindy Wilson
Roles:
Microphones used by Cindy Wilson on Cosmic Thing
Avg price: $3,629.95
Used for vocals on the songs Don Was produced for Cosmic Thing, as stated by mix engineer Dave Cook in this July 2012 Mix Online interview.
All of the Was-produced tracks were recorded analog, to a Studer A80 machine, using the studio’s early ’70s vintage API console. “I used Neumann U 87s on all of the vocals,” Cook recalls. “All the preamps were on board, in the console. I used a couple of Pultecs on drums, and probably dbx 160s on their vocals; [Shure SM] 57s on guitar amps and a Neumann U 47 fet on the bass amp, as well as a DI. The biggest challenge was to get the vocals isolated so we could get all the punches we needed. Later we would do doubles and fixes, and add the horns. I remember we listened very quietly on Auratones while doing vocals. Don was very focused on the vocals, and he heard pitch best when he listened quietly on small speakers. It is a method I’ve used myself ever since.”
Kate Pierson
Roles:
Microphones used by Kate Pierson on Cosmic Thing
Avg price: $3,629.95
Used for vocals on the songs Don Was produced for Cosmic Thing and on Funplex, as stated in the following Mix Online interviews.
Mix Online, April 2008, “Steve Osborne” by Barbara Schultz
How do you capture those amazing female vocal harmonies?
Cindy [Wilson] and Kate [Pierson] would always be in a studio together, and we would record them that way because there would be interplay. Kate has her own [Neumann] M249, and Cindy uses a U87.
Mix Online, July 2012, “Classic Tracks: The B-52s, ‘Love Shack’” by Barbara Schultz
All of the Was-produced tracks were recorded analog, to a Studer A80 machine, using the studio’s early ’70s vintage API console. “I used Neumann U 87s on all of the vocals,” Cook recalls. “All the preamps were on board, in the console. I used a couple of Pultecs on drums, and probably dbx 160s on their vocals; [Shure SM] 57s on guitar amps and a Neumann U 47 fet on the bass amp, as well as a DI. The biggest challenge was to get the vocals isolated so we could get all the punches we needed. Later we would do doubles and fixes, and add the horns. I remember we listened very quietly on Auratones while doing vocals. Don was very focused on the vocals, and he heard pitch best when he listened quietly on small speakers. It is a method I’ve used myself ever since.”