The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel: studio, gear and credits

The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel: studio, personnel and recording gear. See the credits and gear, then recreate the sound in your DAW.

Details

Song: The Boxer
Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
Genre / Style: Folk Rock / Baroque Pop
Date(s) Recorded: November 16, 1968 – early 1969
Original Record Company & Catalog #: Columbia Records – 4-44785 (7" single) / CS 9914 (*Bridge over Troubled Water* LP)
Release Date: March 21, 1969 (Single) / January 26, 1970 (Album)
YouTube Search: Listen on YouTube

Personnel and session credits

Credits for this recording are still being verified against Discogs and MusicBrainz.

Studio and recording technology

Studio details for this recording are still being verified.

Reported gear and setup (not independently verified)

Tracking Studio & Room: Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York, NY; Columbia Music Row Studios, Nashville, TN; St. Paul's Chapel (Columbia University), New York, NY (Inferred: no studio documented in Discogs/MusicBrainz)
Mixing / Overdub Studio: Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York, NY
Mixing Console / Desk: Custom Columbia Records CBS/Ward-Beck Tube Console (30th Street) / Custom Columbia Nashville Solid-State/Tube Console
Multitrack Tape Machine & Format: 2x 3M M23 8-Track 1-inch tape recorders (interlocked via manual pilot tone sync)
Studio Monitors: Altec 604E Super Duplex in utility enclosures
Key Outboard Processors & Hardware Units:

EMT 140 (Plate Reverb): Applied to acoustic guitars, bass harmonica, and vocals to impart smooth mechanical resonance
Universal Audio 175B / 176 (Variable-Mu Tube Limiter): Used during vocal and acoustic tracking for smooth peak leveling
Pultec EQP-1A (Inductor Tube Program Equalizer): Inserted on acoustic guitar and vocal submixes for high-frequency presence
Columbia Custom Variable-Speed Tape Delay (Tape Echo): Routed to the snare drum and vocal sends for ambient spatial doubling

Synthesizers, Drum Machines & Electronic Instruments:

None utilized (Acoustic and electro-mechanical arrangement exclusively)

Signal chains covered in the full track sheet

Instrument-by-instrument recording pathways, including: Lead Vocals (Paul Simon), Co-Lead & Backing Vocals (Art Garfunkel), Chorus Choral Ensemble ("Lie-la-lie" Chorus), Acoustic Rhythm Guitar (Paul Simon), Acoustic Lead/Rhythm Guitar - High-Strung (Fred Carter Jr.), Snare Drum (Hal Blaine), Kick Drum (Hal Blaine), Drum Kit Overheads (Hal Blaine), Electric Bass (Joe Osborn), Bass Harmonica (Larry Knechtel / Charlie McCoy), String Section (Nashville / New York Session Players), Brass & Piccolo Trumpet.

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