U2 Achtung Baby (1991)

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U2 Achtung Baby (1991)

Instruments

Drums:

  • Sonor White Marine Pearl kit: used for most of the album
  • Yamaha kit /w Brady snare and Paiste cymbals: Larry Mullen Jr’s main

Guitars (Edge, except where noted):

  • Fender Stratocaster
  • Fender Telecaster (1961, natural): Edge’s, also played by Daniel Lanois
  • Gibson J-200 acoustic
  • Gibson Les Paul Custom (cream, 1970’s): Edge’s main guitar on album
  • Gibson Les Paul Standard Goldtop: e.g. “Until The End Of The World”
  • Gibson ES-330 sunburst: e.g. “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”
  • Gretsch 6196 Country Club (1959, green): Bono’s, used for DI to work out chords
  • Rickenbacker 330/12 Fireglo 12-string (1967): e.g. “Even Better Than The Real Thing”
  • Washburn acoustic

Guitar rig:

  • Amplifiers:
    • Vox AC30
    • Randall RG80 112 SC – used for most of the album
  • Effects:
    • Korg A3 processor – used for most effects
    • Korg SDD-3000 digital delay

Basses:

  • Gibson Les Paul Triumph
  • Gibson RD Artist: e.g. “Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World”
  • Fender Precision

Keyboards, pianos & synthesizers:

  • Yamaha CP70 acoustic/electric piano
  • Yamaha DX7: Brian Eno, The Edge?

Recording & studio equipment

Microphones:

  • Drums:
    • Bass drum:
      • AKG D12
      • Sennheiser MD421 (extra, if double-headed)
    • Snare:
      • Shure SM57
    • Hi-hat:
      • AKG C451
    • Tom-toms:
      • Shure SM58
    • Overheads:
      • Shure SM58: mono overhead in later sessions
      • Neumann U67 or U87: stereo overheads
  • Percussion:
    • Shure SM58
  • Guitars:
    • Shure SM57 or SM58 (close)
    • Neumann U87 or AKG C414 EB (ambient)
  • Bass cabinet:
    • Neumann U47
  • Vocals:
    • Shure SM58 or Beta 58

Tape recorders:

  • Otari MX-100 24-track
  • Otari MTR-10 2-track mastering

Outboard (partial list):

  • AMS DMX 15-80S digital delay/harmonizer/sampler
  • AMS RMX-16 digital reverb
  • Drawmer DL421 Dual Compressor
  • Drawmer DS201 Dual Gates
  • Eventide H3000 Ultra Harmonizer
  • Pultec EQ
  • T.C. Electronic 2290 digital delay processor
  • Yamaha SPX1000 multi-effects

Consoles:

  • Neve/EMI custom 36-channel: Hansa, Elsinore & Windmill Lane (loaned by Audio Engineering ltd.)
  • Soundcraft 6000 44-channel: initial Elsinore sessions, later replaced with Neve and used for monitoring
  • Solid State Logic: Windmill Lane
  • Ramsa PA desk: for wedge monitors, run by Joe O’Herlihy

Monitors:

  • EGV
  • Westlake BBSM-12
  • Yamaha NS10

Sources

Various photos (including 2011 reissue liner notes)

Musician, September 1992 (PDF page 56)

Musician, May 1993 (Flood, pages 56 & 58)

Guitar Player, June 1993 (Daniel Lanois)

Robbie Adams: Recording U2’s Achtung Baby and Zooropa (Sound On Sound)

Guitar World, September 1997

Reinventing U2: The Making of Achtung Baby (Gibson.com)

Billboard, 14 December 1991 (Studio action PDF page 57, “Mysterious Ways”)

Billboard, 2 May 1992 (Studio Action PDF page 82, “One”)

Various

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