Jack White

Used for the vocals on Icky Thump, as stated by recording and mixing engineer Joe Chiccarelli in this October 2007 Sound on Sound interview.

• Vocals: Teletronix LA2A, Roland Space Echo, echo chamber, Neve 8078 EQ

“Jack always wanted more distortion on the vocals! The main vocal effect is a distorted slap echo, which I recorded: I overloaded the tape machine. When you severely overload something, it squashes the waveform so much that it almost sounds like a different instrument. Instead of being a delay of the original signal, it becomes its own sound and adds a vibe to the track. When it came to the mix, Jack wanted still more distortion on the vocals and more edge, so I overloaded an LA2A compressor, setting the output to 80. This meant that I was getting the distortion from the last tube stage of the compressor, which creates a really beautiful distortion.

“I also added some Roland Space Echo spring reverb to the vocals during the mix, and ran the vocals through the echo chamber. Any reverb that I used on the album would have been dark-sounding, and in a lot of cases I made it mono as well. In the case of ‘Icky Thump’ I’d pan a mono reverb left behind the vocal that was panned left, and the other mono reverb was panned right behind the vocal that was panned right. Both were panned at about three quarters. I might also have rolled some top end off the distortion, just to get rid of any ugly harmonics."

This Space Echo is specified to be an RE-201 by the official Blackbird Studio audio rental rack gear list.

Used to record Lazaretto, as stated in this October 2014 Sound on Sound interview.

All of Lazaretto was recorded to one or, usually, two of Third Man Studio’s Studer A800 two–inch machines, which have John French’s JFR Magnetic Science’s Ultimate Analogue eight–track headstacks with a proprietary ninth timecode track for link–up, which allows the two eight–track machines to be combined for 16–track recording. In addition, while Pro Tools was barely used in the making of Blunderbuss, it saw extensive mileage during the making of Lazaretto.

Used to record Icky Thump, as stated by recording and mixing engineer Joe Chiccarelli in this October 2007 Sound on Sound interview.

“Jack and Meg are big supporters of the analogue format, and he’s a big believer in the old-school approach: punch it in, no comping. If you don’t like a vocal take, just erase it and redo it. He has a Studer A80 eight-track recorder at home, and we used a Studer A827 with a 16-track head, and Emtec 900 2-inch tape, 30ips, no Dolby. I recorded pretty hot, because I wanted the stuff to have an extra little bit of distortion, and more edge and lots of tape compression. These things became part of the sound. I also had to make sure my levels were consistent, so when I spliced something in, it didn’t become unmixable and out of control.”

At 8:20 we can see Jack White and Ben Blackwell talking about the Teac A-2340SX tape recorder. It was Jack White's first multitrack recorder.

Used on the Elephant Tour for the guitar, as stated by monitor engineer Matthew Kettle in this July 1, 2003 Mix Online interview.

Kettle relies on number of outboard processors, including a UREI 1178 compressor on guitar and an Empirical Labs Distressor on vocals. “I compress almost everything going on, because he can go from screaming into his mic to singing really quietly,” says Kettle.

Used for the guitar on Icky Thump, as stated by recording and mixing engineer Joe Chiccarelli in this October 1, 2007 Mix Online interview.

The Twin was one of two amps that Jack White used, the other being a rare Silvertone piggyback amp. Chiccarelli used an assortment of ribbon mics on the amps, including an AEA R84, a Royer 121 and a Coles. He would also put a Neumann 67 back in the room for ambient tracks. As far as outboard gear, Neve 1073 preamps and UREI 1176 compressor/limiters were typically used, with a Fairchild compressor also being employed occasionally.

Chiccarelli was careful with the track's loudness. “I don't record extra-hot levels to tape,” he explains. “I like to have headroom and the openness, so stuff was not overly distorted to tape. I prefer having the transience left intact, and if I need to overdrive something, I'll do it with an outboard box.”

Used on the album 'Lazarettto'. "I recorded Jack’s vocals mainly with a Shure SM57. Sometimes we used a Neumann U47, as well as an RCA 77D and a Shure SM7, and I often pushed his vocals hard through an 1176(...)"

"‘Just One Drink’ is kind of a straightforward rock song. We did an early rough mix, that I ran through a Waves MaxxBCL, which we use to ‘heat’ our mixes, and Jack fell in love with it."

(about 'Would You Fight For My Love?') "[Jack] did a vocal double that I ran through a Neve 2254 compressor, plus there was an amped vocal track. You can hear this track after the bass break."

Used on the Elephant Tour for vocals, as stated by monitor engineer Matthew Kettle in this July 1, 2003 Mix Online interview.

Kettle relies on number of outboard processors, including a UREI 1178 compressor on guitar and an Empirical Labs Distressor on vocals. “I compress almost everything going on, because he can go from screaming into his mic to singing really quietly,” says Kettle.

Used extensively on Icky Thump, as stated by recording and mixing engineer Joe Chiccarelli in this October 2007 Sound on Sound interview.

“The Trident at Blackbird Studio D was used for monitoring, and also some guitar microphones, plus most of the room microphones. Some room mics went through an API 512, and a few through a crazy old RCA OP6 tube preamp. Most of the other close mics went through various Neve 1073, Brent Averill API 312 and Chandler TG2 preamps. Jack loves the sound of ribbon microphones, so we used a lot of them, on guitar amps, vocals, and as room mics: Coles 4038, Royer 121, AEA R84. I would have six to 10 room mics up, and would chose a stereo pair from them.

(...) “For the song ‘Icky Thump’ I had the Royer and an AEA on Jack’s two guitar amps, and a couple of U67s for room ambience. In a few cases I used the Shure SM7 guide vocal mic. Ribbons are prone to overloading, so we blew out four Coles mics on the guitar amps. Luckily Jack had several Coles 4038’s with him! The guitar mics went through Neve and Chandler preamps, and then always through an API 550A EQ, and then an 1176. The Univox sounded great acoustically in the room and was miked with a U87 across the room, going into a Chandler TG2 preamp and then some slight compression with an LA2A."

This is restated by Chiccarelli in this October 1, 2007 Mix Online interview.

Most of the vocals were recorded on a RCA 77DX ribbon microphone, but a U47 and an old Altec 633 salt shaker mic were also pressed into service. Processing, depending on the track, included a Telefunken V76 tube preamp, an 1176, an LA-3A, a Fairchild and a Chandler Limited EMI TG2 compressor. “Sometimes the vocal went through a guitar amp, sometimes through a Neve module with a preamp turned all the way up,” he says. “He's great about working the distortion, knowing how to sing to a certain microphone. He knows how to back way off and come way in when he needs to. The vocal is different on every single song."

Used for the vocals and guitar on Icky Thump, as stated by recording and mixing engineer Joe Chiccarelli in this October 2007 Sound on Sound interview.

• Vocals: Teletronix LA2A, Roland Space Echo, echo chamber, Neve 8078 EQ

“Jack always wanted more distortion on the vocals! The main vocal effect is a distorted slap echo, which I recorded: I overloaded the tape machine. When you severely overload something, it squashes the waveform so much that it almost sounds like a different instrument. Instead of being a delay of the original signal, it becomes its own sound and adds a vibe to the track. When it came to the mix, Jack wanted still more distortion on the vocals and more edge, so I overloaded an LA2A compressor, setting the output to 80. This meant that I was getting the distortion from the last tube stage of the compressor, which creates a really beautiful distortion.

“I also added some Roland Space Echo spring reverb to the vocals during the mix, and ran the vocals through the echo chamber. Any reverb that I used on the album would have been dark-sounding, and in a lot of cases I made it mono as well. In the case of ‘Icky Thump’ I’d pan a mono reverb left behind the vocal that was panned left, and the other mono reverb was panned right behind the vocal that was panned right. Both were panned at about three quarters. I might also have rolled some top end off the distortion, just to get rid of any ugly harmonics.

“I was actually reluctant to use all that vocal distortion during the mix, but again, I had to trust him. One thing I have learned is when you work with great artists you have to put yourself in their hands, trust them and go with the flow. Sometimes the engineer in me would say ‘Oh no, I can’t print all that distortion,’ but then the music fan would go: ‘It sounds great, it’s exciting, who cares?’”

(...) “For the song ‘Icky Thump’ I had the Royer and an AEA on Jack’s two guitar amps, and a couple of U67s for room ambience. In a few cases I used the Shure SM7 guide vocal mic. Ribbons are prone to overloading, so we blew out four Coles mics on the guitar amps. Luckily Jack had several Coles 4038’s with him! The guitar mics went through Neve and Chandler preamps, and then always through an API 550A EQ, and then an 1176. The Univox sounded great acoustically in the room and was miked with a U87 across the room, going into a Chandler TG2 preamp and then some slight compression with an LA2A."

Used for the guitar and vocals on Icky Thump, as stated by recording and mixing engineer Joe Chiccarelli in this October 2007 Sound on Sound interview.

• Main guitars: Neve 8078 EQ, Universal Audio 1176, echo chamber, Neve 33609

“I don’t think I compressed the main guitar any further in the mix; all compression was added while tracking, probably an 1176. The guitars were mainly about balances and rides, and making sure the guitar line cut through, so I added some mid-range at the console. The song has an instrumental guitar chorus instead of a vocal chorus, so it was really important that it spoke. I multed the guitar out to two sets of faders, and one of them I EQ’d very mid-rangy and compressed with a Neve 33609 to get a slightly different tone. Every time the guitar riff came up the automation would switch to these faders. It made the melody pop out a little more. I also definitely used the live room in Studio A to add some ambience.”

• Vocals: Teletronix LA2A, Roland Space Echo, echo chamber, Neve 8078 EQ

“Jack always wanted more distortion on the vocals! The main vocal effect is a distorted slap echo, which I recorded: I overloaded the tape machine. When you severely overload something, it squashes the waveform so much that it almost sounds like a different instrument. Instead of being a delay of the original signal, it becomes its own sound and adds a vibe to the track. When it came to the mix, Jack wanted still more distortion on the vocals and more edge, so I overloaded an LA2A compressor, setting the output to 80. This meant that I was getting the distortion from the last tube stage of the compressor, which creates a really beautiful distortion.

“I also added some Roland Space Echo spring reverb to the vocals during the mix, and ran the vocals through the echo chamber. Any reverb that I used on the album would have been dark-sounding, and in a lot of cases I made it mono as well. In the case of ‘Icky Thump’ I’d pan a mono reverb left behind the vocal that was panned left, and the other mono reverb was panned right behind the vocal that was panned right. Both were panned at about three quarters. I might also have rolled some top end off the distortion, just to get rid of any ugly harmonics."

Used for the guitar on Icky Thump, as stated by recording and mixing engineer Joe Chiccarelli in this October 2007 Sound on Sound interview.

• Main guitars: Neve 8078 EQ, Universal Audio 1176, echo chamber, Neve 33609

“I don’t think I compressed the main guitar any further in the mix; all compression was added while tracking, probably an 1176. The guitars were mainly about balances and rides, and making sure the guitar line cut through, so I added some mid-range at the console. The song has an instrumental guitar chorus instead of a vocal chorus, so it was really important that it spoke. I multed the guitar out to two sets of faders, and one of them I EQ’d very mid-rangy and compressed with a Neve 33609 to get a slightly different tone. Every time the guitar riff came up the automation would switch to these faders. It made the melody pop out a little more. I also definitely used the live room in Studio A to add some ambience.”

Used for the solo guitar on "Icky Thump", as stated by by recording and mixing engineer Joe Chiccarelli in this October 2007 Sound on Sound interview.

• Solo guitar: Lexicon Prime Time, room ambience, punch-ins

“I widened the guitar a little because it was a mono track. So I put a short delay on it with the Prime Time and also blended some room ambience back in. The solo guitar sounds deliberately very much like the Univox. The idea was to make people go ‘What is going on? Is that a guitar or a synth?’ Part of the effect was achieved during recording, when Jack asked me to punch in and out as he was playing, so that bits of the solo were clipped, making the notes sound more synthetic. Jack was very specific about how short he wanted the phrases. At first I was puzzled, but as always I trusted him, and sure enough, he was right, it was a really clever effect.”

The lack of specification suggests the original M93.

Part of White's home studio, as stated by recording and mixing engineer Joe Chiccarelli in this October 2007 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Icky Thump.

“Jack and Meg are big supporters of the analogue format, and he’s a big believer in the old-school approach: punch it in, no comping. If you don’t like a vocal take, just erase it and redo it. He has a Studer A80 eight-track recorder at home, and we used a Studer A827 with a 16-track head, and Emtec 900 2-inch tape, 30ips, no Dolby."

In the YouTube video "Jack White - Full Amex UNSTAGED Show" by Ocelot529, Jack White is seen using a Fender '63 Reverb Unit. This vintage spring reverb, resting on a Fender amp, is a key component of his sound, adding a distinct vintage quality. The unit is identified as the original '63 model by its handle, distinguishing it from the '90s reissue.

Used to record Lazaretto, as stated in this October 2014 Sound on Sound interview.

All of Lazaretto was recorded to one or, usually, two of Third Man Studio’s Studer A800 two–inch machines, which have John French’s JFR Magnetic Science’s Ultimate Analogue eight–track headstacks with a proprietary ninth timecode track for link–up, which allows the two eight–track machines to be combined for 16–track recording. In addition, while Pro Tools was barely used in the making of Blunderbuss, it saw extensive mileage during the making of Lazaretto.

Used for the guitar on "Icky Thump", as stated by recording and mixing engineer Joe Chiccarelli in this October 2007 Sound on Sound interview.

“For the song ‘Icky Thump’ I had the Royer and an AEA on Jack’s two guitar amps, and a couple of U67s for room ambience. In a few cases I used the Shure SM7 guide vocal mic. Ribbons are prone to overloading, so we blew out four Coles mics on the guitar amps. Luckily Jack had several Coles 4038’s with him! The guitar mics went through Neve and Chandler preamps, and then always through an API 550A EQ, and then an 1176. The Univox sounded great acoustically in the room and was miked with a U87 across the room, going into a Chandler TG2 preamp and then some slight compression with an LA2A."

Used for vocals on Icky Thump, as stated by recording and mixing engineer Joe Chiccarelli in this October 1, 2007 Mix Online interview.

Most of the vocals were recorded on a RCA 77DX ribbon microphone, but a U47 and an old Altec 633 salt shaker mic were also pressed into service. Processing, depending on the track, included a Telefunken V76 tube preamp, an 1176, an LA-3A, a Fairchild and a Chandler Limited EMI TG2 compressor. “Sometimes the vocal went through a guitar amp, sometimes through a Neve module with a preamp turned all the way up,” he says. “He's great about working the distortion, knowing how to sing to a certain microphone. He knows how to back way off and come way in when he needs to. The vocal is different on every single song."

The lists of compressors on Blackbird Studios' rental website specifies the Urei iteration.

There’s a thing somebody sent me, because I use a Whammy pedal. I’ve always used it since the White Stripes, but this is a new contraption [called a Step Audio Riff-Step] that you can hook up to the Whammy pedal to bounce between four different settings whenever you tap it. That’s going from an octave up to a fourth down to an octave below to a fourth up or something. It just kind of worked out for that song in a cool way. Now I have to do it every time [laughs].