All things must pass by Billy Preston: studio, gear and credits

All things must pass by Billy Preston: produced by Billy Preston, George Harrison. See the credits and gear, then recreate the sound in your DAW.

Details

Song: All Things Must Pass
Artist: Billy Preston
Genre / Style: Gospel / Soul / Rhythm & Blues
Date(s) Recorded: January–March 1970
Original Record Company & Catalog #: Apple Records – ST-3370 / SAPCOR 14
Release Date: September 1970
YouTube Search: Listen on YouTube

Personnel and session credits

Producer(s): Billy Preston, George Harrison
Mastering Engineer(s): Sam Feldman
Musicians & Session Performers:

Billy Preston - Lead Vocals, Hammond B-3 Organ, Steinway Model D Grand Piano
George Harrison - Electric Rhythm Guitar (1968 Fender Rosewood Telecaster)

Studio and recording technology

Studio details for this recording are still being verified.

Reported gear and setup (not independently verified)

Tracking Studio & Room: Olympic Sound Studios, London, England (Studio 1) (Inferred: no studio documented in Discogs/MusicBrainz)
Mixing / Overdub Studio: Olympic Sound Studios, London, England (Studio 1 Control Room)
Mixing Console / Desk: Helios Custom Wrap-Around Console (Studio 1)
Multitrack Tape Machine & Format: 3M M56 16-Track (2-inch @ 15 IPS)
Studio Monitors: Tannoy Dual Concentric Gold 15" (Lockwood Custom Cabinets)
Key Outboard Processors & Hardware Units:

EMT 140 (Plate Reverb): Chamber auxiliary send on lead vocal, piano, and brass for natural spatial decay
Fairchild 660 (Tube Limiter): Tracking limiter inserted on lead vocal and bass for peak leveling and vintage harmonic density
Pye 4060 (PWM Compressor/Limiter): Parallel mix bus and drum overhead control, delivering aggressive transient glue
Helios Type 69 (Inductor Equalizer): Console strip equalization applied across rhythm beds and brass stabs

Synthesizers, Drum Machines & Electronic Instruments:

Hammond B-3 Organ (Tonewheel Organ): Core gospel harmonic rhythm bed and chorale swells, routed directly into a dual-rotor Leslie 122 cabinet

Signal chains covered in the full track sheet

Instrument-by-instrument recording pathways, including: Kick Drum, Snare Drum, Drum Overheads, Electric Bass, Acoustic Grand Piano, Hammond B-3 Organ, Rhythm Electric Guitar, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Horn Section.

Want to sound like All things must pass?
Get the full signal chains and a step-by-step plugin recreation for Logic Pro, Ableton, Pro Tools and more.
Open the full track sheet

More from the archive