Born in the USA

• Born in the USA •

One of the greatest larger-than-life snare sounds. The explosive timbre begins with drummer Max Weinberg — his technique, musicality, and well-tuned kit. The studio gets involved with a heavy hand — strong dose of EMT 140 plate reverb through a Kepex Gate, augmented by the acoustic sound of Power Station Studio A , with a sample layered in for good measure.  

It’s a distinct mid-80s species in the evolution of gated snare sounds that began in 1980, and was made wildly famous a year later.

100% of the rest of the reverb in this mix is the stairwell Chamber One, Power Station.

  • Artist: Bruce Springsteen
  • Album: Born in the USA
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Year: 1984
  • Producer: Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt
  • Engineer: Bob Clearmountain, Toby Scott
  • Studio: The Power Station, New York, NY, USA