Kate Bush Hounds Of Love gear

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(last updated: 18/08/24)

Instruments

Keyboards, synthesizers & electronics:

  • Fairlight CMI (Series II or IIx)
  • Linn Electronics LinnDrum: drum programming by Del Palmer

Acoustic pianos:

  • Bechstein upright: possibly used someplace
  • Grotrian-Steinweg grand

Guitars:

  • Squier Stratocaster (white) through Fender Super Champ amplifier: Alan Murphy

Recording & studio equipment

Microphones:

  • Crown PZM: piano
  • Neumann U87: vocals, guitars, flutes and possibly piano

Tape machines:

  • Otari MTR-90 mk. II 24-track: Windmill Lane Studio 1 (Dublin, Ireland)
  • Studer A80 24-track: Wickham Farm
  • Studer A80 2-track: Wickham Farm
  • Soundcraft 310-B 8-track – initially for demo recordings, later used as a slave reel via Q-lock 310

Outboard equipment (partial list, only Wickham Farm):

  • ADR SCAMP rack modules including two S01 compressors/limiters, two S05 high-pass filters and two S06 low-pass filters
  • ADR F760X compex limiter
  • AMS DMX 15-80S digital delay (x2, including one with up to 800 ms delay and de-glitch cards)
  • AMS RMX-16 digital reverb (x2)
  • Drawmer DS201 Dual Gate
  • Drawmer DL421 Dual Audio Compressor
  • Lexicon 224 digital reverb
  • Quantec QRS Room Simulator – e.g. sustained chords on “Running Up That Hill”
  • UREI 1176LN Silverface mono limiter (x2)
  • UREI 1178 stereo limiter
  • Valley People Kepex II noise gates (x4)
  • Misc. graphic & parametric EQ units – hired in for mixing by Brian Tench

Mixing consoles:

  • Soundcraft 2400 24-channel: Kate Bush’s Wickham Farm Studio, used for main recording and final mixing
  • Soundcraft 8-channel: demo recordings before upgrading to 24-track
  • Solid State Logic SL-4000E: overdubs at Windmill Lane Studio 1 (Dublin, Ireland)
  • Neve: String overdubs at AIR Studios

Monitoring:

  • Acoustic Research AR18
  • Yamaha (NS10?) /w HH amplifiers – for foldback

Sources

Keyboard, July 1985

International Musician & Recording World, October 1985

Kate Bush KBC article on making Hounds of Love, circa December 1984

Sound On Sound, April 1990

Photo of flautist Liam O’Flynn from Ireland sessions

Photo of Kate with Bill Whelan at Windmill Lane

HQ photo of Kate at Wickham Farm studio control room in 1985 – note: incorrectly listed as taken in 1982. Gear descriptions consistent with IM&RW October 1985 feature, hence 1985 date.

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