How the Neve 8078 Console Shaped 'Voodoo Lounge' at Ocean Way

The Neve 8078 console at Ocean Way’s Studio A was the backbone of the Stones’ Voodoo Lounge sessions. Its discrete, transformer-coupled preamps and EQ gave the rhythm section and Keith’s open-G riffs a thick, punchy low-end and present mids — that “big rock” sound you hear on “Love Is Strong” and “You Got Me Rocking.” Producer Don Was and engineer Dan M. Rich liked how the console handled the band’s live-in-the-room tracking without getting brittle, especially on the drum and guitar tracks.

Basic tracks for most of the album were cut at Ocean Way, including “Love Is Strong,” “You Got Me Rocking,” “Sparks Will Fly