Rod Stewart

Used for vocals on Another Country, as stated by mix engineer Kevin Savigar in this February 2016 Sound on Sound interview. An image of the settings can be found here.

“When we were at his house in LA I had a Neumann U67 for Rod, which I rent from LAFX. It’s an old vintage mic, which is in great shape, and which has been used on Rod’s voice for years. I also rented acoustic panels from LAFX, to control the room, which was a little live. They help to deaden the sound and also to give Rod a physical space to sing in. We kept the panels a little apart in front of him, because he likes to see me, which allows me to cue him in and give him feedback and things like that. I sat facing him, with a low table on which I have my laptop and the UAD Apollo Twin mic pre. Rod sings with Sony MDR-7506 headphones on. He likes them as they are crystal-clear and punchy.

“When we were in London I could not get a 67, so I used a U47 instead, which worked out great as well. His vocal mic goes straight into the Apollo Twin, and I used the UAD 610B tube preamp and EQ plug-in on him, which sounds nice, and some UAD 1176 with a very low threshold and not much compression at all, and UAD Helios 96 EQ to brighten his vocal sound up a bit. That was my entire input chain. Rod has a very loud voice, but also sings some passages very softly, so there’s quite a dynamic range in his vocal, and I needed the 1176 to keep that under control.

“It’s quite amazing really, because he had this nasty operation on his throat [in 2000, for thyroid cancer], with the scalpel coming within millimetres of his vocal cords. It was touch and go whether he could ever sing again. He had to completely retrain his muscles to get his voice back. But it’s now in great shape and he takes good care of it. He warms up extensively with a half-hour vocal exercise routine before he goes up to the microphone.”

(...) Kevin Savigar’s vocal chain for Rod Stewart began with the Universal Audio 610B Unison preamp plug-in, with brightness added by the same manufacturer’s Helios EQ, and dynamic control from the UAD 1176 emulation. Once again, the Waves CLA bundle came into effect, with a Waves De-Esser providing the final touches.

While discussing the nuances of choosing vocals mikes in this R / E / P forum thread, producer J.J. Blair mentioned his use of the C12 on Stewart.

I will choose a U47 typically for a male singer who has any texture in his voice, if it's not "airy." If I use my C12 or Manley Gold on those singers, I can't add compression without bringing out that throat texture in an unflattering way.

I'll name drop here, simply because you know these voices: I used a U47 on Johnny Cash, because it captures perfectly that granite resonance in his voice. On Rod Stewart, who has texture, but lets a lot of air pass through his throat, I used the C12 to capture that air. His texture was more crackle, where John was gravel.

Mentioned in this article from the official Shure website.

Andy Johns, record producer for the Rolling Stones, and Rod Stewart often chooses an SM58 over pricer condenser mics in the studio

Used for vocals on Another Country, as stated by mix engineer Kevin Savigar in this February 2016 Sound on Sound interview.

“When we were at his house in LA I had a Neumann U67 for Rod, which I rent from LAFX. It’s an old vintage mic, which is in great shape, and which has been used on Rod’s voice for years. I also rented acoustic panels from LAFX, to control the room, which was a little live. They help to deaden the sound and also to give Rod a physical space to sing in. We kept the panels a little apart in front of him, because he likes to see me, which allows me to cue him in and give him feedback and things like that. I sat facing him, with a low table on which I have my laptop and the UAD Apollo Twin mic pre. Rod sings with Sony MDR-7506 headphones on. He likes them as they are crystal-clear and punchy.

“When we were in London I could not get a 67, so I used a U47 instead, which worked out great as well. His vocal mic goes straight into the Apollo Twin, and I used the UAD 610B tube preamp and EQ plug-in on him, which sounds nice, and some UAD 1176 with a very low threshold and not much compression at all, and UAD Helios 96 EQ to brighten his vocal sound up a bit. That was my entire input chain. Rod has a very loud voice, but also sings some passages very softly, so there’s quite a dynamic range in his vocal, and I needed the 1176 to keep that under control.

“It’s quite amazing really, because he had this nasty operation on his throat [in 2000, for thyroid cancer], with the scalpel coming within millimetres of his vocal cords. It was touch and go whether he could ever sing again. He had to completely retrain his muscles to get his voice back. But it’s now in great shape and he takes good care of it. He warms up extensively with a half-hour vocal exercise routine before he goes up to the microphone.”

Used while recording vocals, as stated by mix engineer Kevin Savigar in this February 2016 Sound on Sound interview.

"Rod sings with Sony MDR-7506 headphones on. He likes them as they are crystal-clear and punchy."

Used for vocals "for years", particularly on Another Country, as stated by mix engineer Kevin Savigar in this February 2016 Sound on Sound interview.

“When we were at his house in LA I had a Neumann U67 for Rod, which I rent from LAFX. It’s an old vintage mic, which is in great shape, and which has been used on Rod’s voice for years. I also rented acoustic panels from LAFX, to control the room, which was a little live. They help to deaden the sound and also to give Rod a physical space to sing in. We kept the panels a little apart in front of him, because he likes to see me, which allows me to cue him in and give him feedback and things like that. I sat facing him, with a low table on which I have my laptop and the UAD Apollo Twin mic pre. Rod sings with Sony MDR-7506 headphones on. He likes them as they are crystal-clear and punchy.

“When we were in London I could not get a 67, so I used a U47 instead, which worked out great as well. His vocal mic goes straight into the Apollo Twin, and I used the UAD 610B tube preamp and EQ plug-in on him, which sounds nice, and some UAD 1176 with a very low threshold and not much compression at all, and UAD Helios 96 EQ to brighten his vocal sound up a bit. That was my entire input chain. Rod has a very loud voice, but also sings some passages very softly, so there’s quite a dynamic range in his vocal, and I needed the 1176 to keep that under control.

“It’s quite amazing really, because he had this nasty operation on his throat [in 2000, for thyroid cancer], with the scalpel coming within millimetres of his vocal cords. It was touch and go whether he could ever sing again. He had to completely retrain his muscles to get his voice back. But it’s now in great shape and he takes good care of it. He warms up extensively with a half-hour vocal exercise routine before he goes up to the microphone.”

Used for vocals on Another Country, as stated by mix engineer Kevin Savigar in this February 2016 Sound on Sound interview. An image of the settings can be found here.

“When we were at his house in LA I had a Neumann U67 for Rod, which I rent from LAFX. It’s an old vintage mic, which is in great shape, and which has been used on Rod’s voice for years. I also rented acoustic panels from LAFX, to control the room, which was a little live. They help to deaden the sound and also to give Rod a physical space to sing in. We kept the panels a little apart in front of him, because he likes to see me, which allows me to cue him in and give him feedback and things like that. I sat facing him, with a low table on which I have my laptop and the UAD Apollo Twin mic pre. Rod sings with Sony MDR-7506 headphones on. He likes them as they are crystal-clear and punchy.

“When we were in London I could not get a 67, so I used a U47 instead, which worked out great as well. His vocal mic goes straight into the Apollo Twin, and I used the UAD 610B tube preamp and EQ plug-in on him, which sounds nice, and some UAD 1176 with a very low threshold and not much compression at all, and UAD Helios 96 EQ to brighten his vocal sound up a bit. That was my entire input chain. Rod has a very loud voice, but also sings some passages very softly, so there’s quite a dynamic range in his vocal, and I needed the 1176 to keep that under control.

“It’s quite amazing really, because he had this nasty operation on his throat [in 2000, for thyroid cancer], with the scalpel coming within millimetres of his vocal cords. It was touch and go whether he could ever sing again. He had to completely retrain his muscles to get his voice back. But it’s now in great shape and he takes good care of it. He warms up extensively with a half-hour vocal exercise routine before he goes up to the microphone.”

(...) Kevin Savigar’s vocal chain for Rod Stewart began with the Universal Audio 610B Unison preamp plug-in, with brightness added by the same manufacturer’s Helios EQ, and dynamic control from the UAD 1176 emulation. Once again, the Waves CLA bundle came into effect, with a Waves De-Esser providing the final touches.

Used for vocals on Another Country, as stated by mix engineer Kevin Savigar in this February 2016 Sound on Sound interview. An image of the settings can be found here.

Kevin Savigar’s vocal chain for Rod Stewart began with the Universal Audio 610B Unison preamp plug-in, with brightness added by the same manufacturer’s Helios EQ, and dynamic control from the UAD 1176 emulation. Once again, the Waves CLA bundle came into effect, with a Waves De-Esser providing the final touches.

"I did very little to Rod’s lead vocals during the mix. I just had the CLA Vocals plug-in on him, with a bit of ‘spank’ compression and some reverb, and a Waves De-Esser, and that was it. I used the same plug-ins on his harmony vocal, where he sings a third above his lead vocal. I think it’s the first time he has ever done a harmony vocal with himself. It’s a great sound. The backing vocals also have the CLA Vocals plug-in, on the ‘Start Me Up’ preset, plus the Tape Delay on the ‘ohs’, and they’re all sent to an effect track with the Logic Stereo Delay and Space Designer. The latter had a ‘Vocal Delay’ preset, which adds some air and room to the backing vocals."

Used for vocals on Another Country, as is visible in this image of the vocal effect chain from this February 2016 Sound on Sound interview with mix engineer Kevin Savigar. The plugin is in Insert 1 of Analog 2 of the UAD Console plugin.

Used live for Tour 2004: From Maggie May to the Great American Songbook, as stated by FOH engineer Lars Brogaard in this May 1, 2004 Mix Online interview.

“We’re using the new AKG WMS4000 on all vocals and wireless instruments. In-ears are AKG SST-1. We are beta testing the new TC Electronic EQ Station and Motor Fader [sic], using it for system EQ. This is a great unit, and you’ll soon be seeing a lot of them.”

Producer Steve Hoffman has stated his use of the LA-2A for Stewart.

My Teletronix LA-2A, ganged for stereo or mono reproduction via the handy toggle switch in the center of the two units. (...) I've used it on countless projects, Nat "King" Cole, Frank Sinatra, Beach Boys, Doors, Eagles, Ringo, McCartney, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Peggy Lee, Jethro Tull, Chuck Berry, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Van Morrison, White Stripes, Tom Petty, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ella Fitzgerald, Yes, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Steely Dan, Steppenwolf, Bad Company, Jim Croce, Elvis Presley, Billie Holiday, Judy Garland, Dave Mason, Paul Simon, America, The Band, Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Cars, ZZ Top, James Taylor, Art Pepper, Steve Miller Band, Queen, Rod Stewart, Duke Ellington, John Lee Hooker, Al Jolson, Roy Orbison, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis, Jr., The Who, Lightnin' Hopkins, Bill Haley & his Comets, Miles Davis, Mamas and Papas, Blue Öyster Cult, The Byrds, Eric Clapton, Bill Evans Trio, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Phil Collins, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Jeff Beck, Doobie Bros., Faces, Grand Funk, Heart, Billy Joel, Linda Ronstadt, Ten Years After, Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, Pat Benetar, Elton John, Leon Russell, Metallica. etc.

Used to record Stewart's vocals on Another Country, as stated by producer Kevin Savigar in this February 2016.

For the Another Country sessions, Savigar’s recording approach was positively Spartan. “We just rented some baffles and set up a mic and a laptop and the Apollo Twin and cut the vocals. It was great! I needed something portable, because Rod moved around a lot because of his touring schedule, so I’d be hopping on a plane at times with just my laptop, the Apollo and a couple of mics. It was also great to have everything in the box, because it meant that I could always pick up where we or I had left off.

“When we were in London I could not get a 67, so I used a U47 instead, which worked out great as well. His vocal mic goes straight into the Apollo Twin, and I used the UAD 610B tube preamp and EQ plug-in on him, which sounds nice, and some UAD 1176 with a very low threshold and not much compression at all, and UAD Helios 96 EQ to brighten his vocal sound up a bit. That was my entire input chain. Rod has a very loud voice, but also sings some passages very softly, so there’s quite a dynamic range in his vocal, and I needed the 1176 to keep that under control."

Used for vocals on Another Country, as stated by mix engineer Kevin Savigar in this February 2016 Sound on Sound interview. An image of the settings, which specifies the Rev A plugin, can be found here.

“When we were at his house in LA I had a Neumann U67 for Rod, which I rent from LAFX. It’s an old vintage mic, which is in great shape, and which has been used on Rod’s voice for years. I also rented acoustic panels from LAFX, to control the room, which was a little live. They help to deaden the sound and also to give Rod a physical space to sing in. We kept the panels a little apart in front of him, because he likes to see me, which allows me to cue him in and give him feedback and things like that. I sat facing him, with a low table on which I have my laptop and the UAD Apollo Twin mic pre. Rod sings with Sony MDR-7506 headphones on. He likes them as they are crystal-clear and punchy.

“When we were in London I could not get a 67, so I used a U47 instead, which worked out great as well. His vocal mic goes straight into the Apollo Twin, and I used the UAD 610B tube preamp and EQ plug-in on him, which sounds nice, and some UAD 1176 with a very low threshold and not much compression at all, and UAD Helios 96 EQ to brighten his vocal sound up a bit. That was my entire input chain. Rod has a very loud voice, but also sings some passages very softly, so there’s quite a dynamic range in his vocal, and I needed the 1176 to keep that under control.

“It’s quite amazing really, because he had this nasty operation on his throat [in 2000, for thyroid cancer], with the scalpel coming within millimetres of his vocal cords. It was touch and go whether he could ever sing again. He had to completely retrain his muscles to get his voice back. But it’s now in great shape and he takes good care of it. He warms up extensively with a half-hour vocal exercise routine before he goes up to the microphone.”

(...) Kevin Savigar’s vocal chain for Rod Stewart began with the Universal Audio 610B Unison preamp plug-in, with brightness added by the same manufacturer’s Helios EQ, and dynamic control from the UAD 1176 emulation. Once again, the Waves CLA bundle came into effect, with a Waves De-Esser providing the final touches.

Used for vocals on Another Country, as stated by mix engineer Kevin Savigar in this February 2016 Sound on Sound interview. An image of the settings can be found here.

Kevin Savigar’s vocal chain for Rod Stewart began with the Universal Audio 610B Unison preamp plug-in, with brightness added by the same manufacturer’s Helios EQ, and dynamic control from the UAD 1176 emulation. Once again, the Waves CLA bundle came into effect, with a Waves De-Esser providing the final touches.

"I did very little to Rod’s lead vocals during the mix. I just had the CLA Vocals plug-in on him, with a bit of ‘spank’ compression and some reverb, and a Waves De-Esser, and that was it. I used the same plug-ins on his harmony vocal, where he sings a third above his lead vocal. I think it’s the first time he has ever done a harmony vocal with himself. It’s a great sound. The backing vocals also have the CLA Vocals plug-in, on the ‘Start Me Up’ preset, plus the Tape Delay on the ‘ohs’, and they’re all sent to an effect track with the Logic Stereo Delay and Space Designer. The latter had a ‘Vocal Delay’ preset, which adds some air and room to the backing vocals."

Used for vocals on Another Country, as stated by mix engineer Kevin Savigar in this February 2016 Sound on Sound interview.

"I did very little to Rod’s lead vocals during the mix. I just had the CLA Vocals plug-in on him, with a bit of ‘spank’ compression and some reverb, and a Waves De-Esser, and that was it. I used the same plug-ins on his harmony vocal, where he sings a third above his lead vocal. I think it’s the first time he has ever done a harmony vocal with himself. It’s a great sound. The backing vocals also have the CLA Vocals plug-in, on the ‘Start Me Up’ preset, plus the Tape Delay on the ‘ohs’, and they’re all sent to an effect track with the Logic Stereo Delay and Space Designer. The latter had a ‘Vocal Delay’ preset, which adds some air and room to the backing vocals."

Used for vocals on Another Country, as stated by mix engineer Kevin Savigar in this February 2016 Sound on Sound interview.

"I did very little to Rod’s lead vocals during the mix. I just had the CLA Vocals plug-in on him, with a bit of ‘spank’ compression and some reverb, and a Waves De-Esser, and that was it. I used the same plug-ins on his harmony vocal, where he sings a third above his lead vocal. I think it’s the first time he has ever done a harmony vocal with himself. It’s a great sound. The backing vocals also have the CLA Vocals plug-in, on the ‘Start Me Up’ preset, plus the Tape Delay on the ‘ohs’, and they’re all sent to an effect track with the Logic Stereo Delay and Space Designer. The latter had a ‘Vocal Delay’ preset, which adds some air and room to the backing vocals."

Used for vocals on Another Country, as is visible in this image of the vocal effect chain from this February 2016 Sound on Sound interview with mix engineer Kevin Savigar. The plugin is in Insert 1 of Aux 1 of the UAD Console plugin.

Used live for vocals, as stated by Lars Brogaard, Stewart's FOH engineer since 1985, in this article from the official BAE website. A September 8, 2015 YouTube video on the subject from the official BAE channel can also be found here.

At the recommendation of Stewart's bass player Conrad Korsch, Brogaard tried using BAE Audio 312 preamplifiers on the drum kit during Stewart's residency at Caesars Palace last spring. He was astonished at the sound: "The acoustics at The Colosseum are exceptional to begin with," he recalls. "But when we tried the BAE Audio 312s on the drum kit, we were able to hear a massive increase in both depth and tone. We could hear much more detail in the natural sound of the wood coming off of the drums — the difference was truly amazing."

The experiment on the drums made Brogaard curious about what he could achieve by putting a BAE Audio 1073MPF preamplifier on Rod's vocal, and the resulting sound was hand in glove. "It is all about the depth, and the unit was able to capture the depth in Rod's voice with a certain natural sheen that I hadn't heard before." Brogaard wasted no time integrating the BAE unit into Rod's vocal chain, bypassing the preamplifiers in the FOH mixing console. Once all of these changes were made, there was unanimous approval: "Everyone on the tech team thought there was a noticeable difference and that it sounded exceptional," he says.

(...) Currently, Brogaard is using (8) channels of BAE Audio 312s on the drums, a 1073DMP on the bass and a 1073MPF on Stewart's vocals. Brogaard keeps the preamps nearby the monitoring console to minimize copper cable runs, thus avoiding potential signal degradation. The new preamplifier rig — which consists of an (8) space 3U 500 series rack unit, a 1U 1073MPF and a 1073DMP — is being used for all of Stewarts performances, including the reunion with Faces, the concert in London's Hyde Park next week, and a gig at Rock In Rio scheduled for the end of this month.

Used live for vocals on Tour 2004: From Maggie May to the Great American Songbook, as stated by FOH engineer Lars Brogaard in this May 1, 2004 Mix Online interview.

“We’re using the new AKG WMS4000 on all vocals and wireless instruments. In-ears are AKG SST-1. We are beta testing the new TC Electronic EQ Station and Motor Fader, using it for system EQ. This is a great unit, and you’ll soon be seeing a lot of them.”

Used live for Tour 2004: From Maggie May to the Great American Songbook, as stated by FOH engineer Lars Brogaard in this May 1, 2004 Mix Online interview.

“We’re using the new AKG WMS4000 on all vocals and wireless instruments. In-ears are AKG SST-1. We are beta testing the new TC Electronic EQ Station and Motor Fader, using it for system EQ. This is a great unit, and you’ll soon be seeing a lot of them.”

Used live for Tour 2004: From Maggie May to the Great American Songbook, as stated by FOH engineer Lars Brogaard in this May 1, 2004 Mix Online interview.

“We’re using the new AKG WMS4000 on all vocals and wireless instruments. In-ears are AKG SST-1. We are beta testing the new TC Electronic EQ Station and Motor Fader [sic], using it for system EQ. This is a great unit, and you’ll soon be seeing a lot of them.”

In a 2001 photo taken at the Playboy Mansion, Rod Stewart can be seen using a Shure U2 SM58 wireless microphone.