| Headphones |
| AKG K702-65 |
A special edition of the AKG K702 open backed headphones, produced to celebrate AKG's 65th anniversary.
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Shown prominently in the CD booklet. |
| Miscellaneous stringed instruments |
| Banjo |
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| Celtic Harp |
Compact (29 string?) folk harp, decorated with Celtic patterns. Carved rosewood body, likely made in Pakistan. |
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| Kala KA-SSLNG ukulele |
Long-necked ukulele consisting of a soprano ukulele body with a concert ukulele scale length. Solid spruce top, laminated mahogany back and sides. |
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| Ovation MCS148 Mandolin |
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| Washburn M1S Mandolin |
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| Percussion instruments |
| African Table Drums |
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| Bodhrán |
18" bodhrán decorated with a St John Eagle from the Book of Kells. The bodhrán (pronounced as bough-rahn or bow-rahn) is an Irish frame drum made from goatskin, played with a beater called a tipper or cípín. A bodhrán was also used on Return To Ommadawn in 2016. |
Also used in Ommadawn, Incantations, Five Miles Out, Amarok, Voyager
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| 2.5 octave glockenspiel in case |
Possibly a Yamaha YG-1210 |
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| Wind instruments |
| Penny Whistles |
By Generation and Waltons, in B♭, C, D, E♭, F and G. Used on Return To Ommadawn. |
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| Electric guitars |
| White Telecaster with maple fretboard |
Presumably by Fender |
Shown in one of Mike's collage photos. |
| 2013 (?) Fender Classic Player Telecaster Deluxe with Tremolo – 2-Colour Sunburst |
Used by Mike in the Bahamas era.
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Also used in Tubular Beats, Man on the Rocks
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| Fender Mark Knopfler signature Stratocaster |
Used in the Bahamas era. |
Also used in Tubular Beats, Man on the Rocks
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| 2015 Gibson SG Standard P-90 T – Heritage Cherry |
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| 1989 PRS Signature, Vintage Yellow |
A particularly high grade, limited edition, version of the Custom 24. In Vintage Yellow.
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Also used in Earth Moving, Amarok, Tubular Bells II, The Songs of Distant Earth, Voyager, Tubular Bells III, Guitars, Tubular Bells 2003, Light + Shade
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| Steel-string acoustic guitars |
| 2013 Andy Manson Heron |
Acoustic guitar
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| Bass guitars |
| Fender Kingman |
Acoustic bass |
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| 2007 Fender Roscoe Beck Bass® IV – 3-Colour Sunburst |
Used in the Bahamas era
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Also used in Man on the Rocks
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| Guitar effects |
| Digidesign/Avid Eleven Rack |
Guitar amp simulator. Shown in multiple pictures of Mike's studio around 2016.
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| Roland GP-8 |
Guitar effects processor used for Mike's trademark 90s distorted guitar sound. Sold via ebay in December 2007. |
Also used in Amarok, Tubular Bells II, The Songs of Distant Earth, Tubular Bells 2003
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| Amps |
| 2015 MESA/Boogie® MARK FIVE: 35™ |
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| AVID HD OMNI Preamp I/O Pro Tools HD Native HDX Audio |
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| Fender Twin Reverb |
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Also used in Ommadawn, Incantations, Exposed, Discovery, Tubular Bells 2003
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| Pianos |
| Grandma's pub piano |
Sampled (?) piano used on Return To Ommadawn. |
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| Organs |
| Farfisa Professional Organ |
Return To Ommadawn used a Farfisa sotware emulation.
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Also used in Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, Incantations, Crises, Amarok, Tubular Bells II, Tubular Bells 2003
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| 1970 Hammond L.122 Organ |
Return To Ommadawn used an Hammond software simulation. |
Also used in Amarok, Heaven's Open, Tubular Bells II, Tubular Bells 2003
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| Vox Continental Organ |
Return To Ommadawn used a Vox software emulation. |
Also used in Amarok
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| Synthesisers |
| Clavioline |
Clavioline software emulation used on Return To Ommadawn. |
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| Solina string ensemble |
String synthesiser produced by the Dutch organ company Eminent and later rebadged by ARP. It owed much of its sound to its ensemble effect, created by running the sound through three LFO-modulated delay lines. |
Mike used a software emulation of a Solina rather than the real thing on this album.
Also used in Ommadawn, Incantations, Platinum, QE2, Five Miles Out, Crises
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| Other keyboards |
| IK Multimedia iRig Keys |
37 key mini keyboard controller |
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| Mellotron FX console/tape organ (with original tapes) |
Bought at the Sale Of The Century at Abbey Road Studios on 16/10/1980. Resold to Paul McCartney. Return To Ommadawn used a Mellotron software emulation. |
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| Microphones |
| Apogee MiC USB microphone |
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Shown in one picture in Mike's photo-collage on the album sleeve. |
| Neumann U87 |
Large diaphragm condenser microphone with selectable polar patterns. |
Can be seen in Mike's photo collage on the album sleeve; it looks new, and a Neumann box can be seen in another photo.
Also used in Ommadawn, Incantations
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| Loudspeakers |
| Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 4 computer speakers |
Small pyramid-shaped active speakers, which Mike keeps on top of his Yamaha HS50M monitoring speakers. The BeoLabs are presumably for checking what his mixes are like on consumer-grade equipment. |
Also used in Man on the Rocks
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| Yamaha HS80M |
8" active studio monitors. |
Also used in Music of the Spheres, Tubular Beats, Man on the Rocks
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| Yamaha HS50M |
5" active studio monitors. Used in the smaller recording setup in Mike's Bahamas home. |
Also used in Man on the Rocks
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| Studio effects and outboard |
| Avalon Vacuum Tube VT-737SP Channelstrip |
Valve-based channel strip with preamp, compressor and EQ.
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| Neve 8801 channel strip |
Mike owns eight of these mic preamp/EQ/dynamics units with built in AD/DA conversion, which he uses as a front end to his digital recording setup in the Bahamas.
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Also used in Man on the Rocks
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| Apogee Symphony MkII, multi-channel audio interface |
featuring flagship AD/DA conversion
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| AVID I/O, 8x8x8 Pro Tools| HD Interface |
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