More Dr. Dre Tips and Techniques Straight from His 2001 Magazine Interview
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- You don't want to miss this one! Dropping all sorts of Gems that Dr. Dre would never tell anyone about nowadays. He had no problem sharing these things in magazines back in 2001 because the plugins that emulate the gear he used did not exist then. Now you would be hard pressed to find any info legitimately of any engineer working in the box now. A lot of what was used back then is still an industry secret for the most part and is still being used today. But I am exposing the dark art of audio engineering right here on my RUclips channel. Come chill with me where we talk about all this stuff, we also talk a bit about Mike Dean, the SSL "Pultec" EQ (yes you read that right) and do a tiny bit of mixing and plugin analysis with plugin doctor. This is the Christmas present you have been waiting for!!! Enjoy!
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Nice video bruh. OG here, started producing in ‘94. I studied Chronic 2001 very closely back in the day and it took me about 4 years to get to that sound level in my home studio, by around 2004. The game changer for me at that time was getting access to the UAD-1 plugin system, which was a huge step up from stock plugins at that time. The other game changer was I bought 2 UA-LA610 mic pres around that time and I tracked all my hardware sound modules through those with light compression and into an Apogee Rosetta 800 with Big Ben master clock. I had Reason 2.5 with the drum refill which allowed me to link drums into my DAW straight out of Reason so my kicks and snares were finally on par with Dre. I’d say up until 2004 it was damn near impossible to get that Dre loudness in a home studio. The other thing is it really isn’t about the settings on the gear and plugins so much as it is about sound selection, having the right arrangement that allows the track to breathe and not get too smushed when you throw a limiter on it. My cleanest tracks that pop the hardest typically have very little processing or plugins on them but excellent sound selection. Honestly I started to realize that the more plugins I used, the more mushy my mixes sounded. Less is more if you want that Dre sound. One other really important technique I learned was to play chords and melodies with my left hand not my right. If you sit down at a full size 88 key piano / controller, sitting in the middle, your left hand should be where you play your main chords or melody, your right hand is where the vocals and snare should occupy the sonic space. Before I leaned this my vocals were always competing with the melody but once I shifted the melody down an octave, my mixes opened up and got louder and bigger, and I could drive the limiters and clippers even harder on the drum bus, and master bus. Good video 🎉.
Great tips! And you're right 100%! Less is more and picking great sounds and not cluttering up the song is essential to getting that big smacking sound Dr. Dre had on his records! Absolutely! 💯💯💯
@@vigilantestylezrespect
very informative and this comment is better for my attention span so i appreciate that
I started in 1998….what a great advancement they’ve achieved since those years….i use to actually use acid to do my stuff, I didn’t even have a good microphone….i had a desk mic literally 30$ and I still did some cool stuff.
Great video, but at 23:38 area you said he came up the G funk theory, and that's just not true. He commercialized it, but Cold 187um from Ruthless Records Above The Law, Willie Hutch's nephew created that theory. him and Dre worked hand in hand, and during his leave and the start of death row, Warren G was close with laylaw and those guy's in above the law and they basically were influence and took the sound over there, with the help of Chris The Glove and Donovan the dirtbiker Smith they alll were taught how to use the ssl. Black Mafia Life was done in 92 same time NWA's Niggaz4life Album but ended up being help up due to label switches because they didn't want to call them Above The Law but Atl due to it sounding anti establishment,etc. so it came out 45 days after the chronic and if you listen to it, you can hear the same sample like Never missin a beat is dre day, parliament sample flip, its 187 on a mf cooop, that's cold187um whole persona if you listen to it. Living like Hustlers w freedome of speech, the last song, kickin lyrics that was originally all done by big hutch, cold187um. him and dre just went back and recut everything with ssl bc eazy wanted the record to be big and like in big studios, that was 89. Tupac first coined the word G funk (which was named by lawlaw kmg and Cold 187um) on a song with above the law in like 89 titled Call It What U Want, Eazy is in the beginning of the music video. Just to throw that in, and that's facts from their mouth. Alot of ppl skip over history and say Warren and Dre created G funk, but that's not true and in warrens 2018 documentary he stated that. They helped get it big, commercialize it; but that theory came from Gregory Hutchinson, Cold 187um Mansa Musa's mind. along with funky george clinton based harmonizing from Kokane.
Thanks! Learn something new everyday! 💯💯💯
I've been a big fan of Dr Dré's for almost twenty five years. At first, I used to work with an ASR-10 because I learnt he had one for his drums. I read a lot of interviews such as this one. Depending on the era, Ilearnt a few of his tricks. here's a list of what i know and/or do: 1-Don't overcrowd your beat, less is more, as it leaves more space for the few elements of your final composition 2-While programming drums, try shifting the timing of simultaneous elements, even a micro-nudge can do the trick, as the human ear will will falsely assume they hit exactly at the same time and add up the amplitude "in the real world": this trick will help you avoid clipping 3-Among the machines Dr Dré as used at some point you can find a Studer tape recorder (to print the mix), a DAT machine he may still use even if the technology is somewhat obsolete because of a very specific type of clipping. 4-Nevermind if everything is hitting in the red area or clipping: trust your ears, if they tell you it's good, it's good, if they don't solve the problem 5-Use some official drums from Dr Dré's team of producers or known collaborators (you can find official packs from DJ Khalil, Focus, and Havoc) 6-If a sample sounds too small or lacks some frequencies and you can afford it, hire musicians to recreate it and record it with the best equipment you can. 7-All vocals are recorded through a C800G from Sony. Some instruments too. This mic is very expensive but so good you can record almost anything with it. Pointless if you don't have an excellent room to record though. 8-I managed to get very hard hitting drums close to Dré's sound with a combination of these plugins and parallel compression: Soundtoys Decapitator, Sonnox limiter and Sonnox Inflator, UAD LA2A and Urei 1176, Fairchild compressor, EMT250, Roland Dimension (this last one also emulated inside Serum Fx). 8-There is an effect in the ASR10 fx unit that is called Fast Pitchsh. No idea what it really does but I used it and had some success recreating some Dré sounds and also found it useful to emulate Timbaland's sound.
Excellent info! Thank you so much! Yeah, I would love to get a hold of a good old ASR10 again. Wish they would make a plugin, and the sound of that thing is so punchy and warm. I used to mess around with that and the EPS16 back in the day. They have such a vibe. 😊
@@vigilantestylez Ensoniq ASR-10 Kontakt Library Virtual Instrument NKI Software
@@kausious75who is 8-1??
Very cool going through this article from an old mag. Thanks for finding this.
The thing with the SSL channel compressors is that they tend to let the attack through, even at high ratios (unless set to fast attack, but even then on very fast transient material it still let's some of the transient through untouched) which is actually increasing the dynamic range because the attack is passing through before the compression is happening. That is why those compressors are known and loved on drums because they tighten up drums sounds and add more punch.
When using the Brainworx SSL Channels make sure the little LED (Which is the fast attack setting) next to the release knob isn't engaged, cause you won't get the classic SSL punch with it engaged.
Oh nice! Good stuff! Ok, I'll make sure to leave fast attack off on the channel compressor for the SSL smack. 😊😎🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯
@@vigilantestylez the fast attack works better for vocals or sounds you want to be smoother and less punchy/attack heavy.
Love what you are doing with your videos on going back through articles to find the vintage vibe of classic Hip Hop through today's plugin emulations. I find it really inspiring. Thanks brother, keep it up.
@@Mike_Benz_ thanks my friend! I have more planned! I found a few more magazines and will be making more videos as a result! 😁😁
@@vigilantestylez Sick, I look forward to it 👊
Yo thank you 💯
So what was dr Dre’s vocal chain? ...
1. mic > neve 1073 > SSL compressor > DBX 160 > Studer tape?
Or was it...
2. mic > neve 1073 > DBX 160?
Thanks
🙏🏻
sony c800 mic -> 1073 -> DBX 160 -> tape -> SSL channel compressor -> hardware de-esser of some kind.
@vigilantestylez thank you 🙏🏻
people should stop idolizing and learn the craft, if you really want to be like Dr.Dre fall in love with the craft like he did and in that you will discover your own greatness the same way he did and guess what else, You just might surpass him! ..dope ass beat and mix at the end by the way!!
Thank you! I also agree! 💯💯💯
Side chain to the bit crusher and side chain to a distortion plug in then blend them up when they return back. See how it sounds.
I'll try that! Thanks! 😎
A very nice combo to get that sound in hardware is wa 412 four channels and you could throw some pultecs on it, Presonus studio channel is based on a 1073 architecture and has the same 300 volt power rails to handle high volume signals as the Manly and Neve consoles keep in mind that a rack units power supply will not run as hot as the console. la Chapelle has rack and 500 series power supplies that will have a consoles power and if you want a really awesome sound on a budget get the Mackie 32.8.2 board and run it into a Presonus Quantum 4848 32 channels on d sub connectors in buckets of 8, then i would come out to a uad apollo x8p and use there plugins as your 8 bus. Then instead of going back in slam it to a real tape machine. Let the mastering house take your tapes and bring them up and into digital masters.
Good tips!
well done I mgot these plugins tooo. never thought about dr dre analog ware, do more keep it up. but that harrison is the shit .
Absolutely! 💯💯💯
Dropped some gems on us! Right after this video I went to listen to Kush by Dre. I wonder if you would like to share your comments on that sound. Keep up the great work!
Considering how HiFi it sounds, I think that would probably be an SSL 9000 that Dre might have used to mix that song. Same techniques I think, but I don't know for sure.
My boy went to Full Sail, and now he's $60,000 in debt with an old azz Mac Laptop😅. What he learned in the early 2000's, is now irrelevant today. No more big studios like they promised him he could go work in to make money to pay off debt. Sad story man, he hates music now. He's working construction with his pops.
Yeah man, if people go to college to learn audio engineering they will be in debt and disappointed. RUclips University is all you need for learning audio engineering / production etc. You get better info, and it's free. He should have gone into a business major, or something like that so his degree wasn't wasted. Sad, he has to do construction for a living now. I used to be a concrete construction worker, and that sucked!
Or he just didn't apply himself. Getting a degree doesn't mean anything. You have to hustle and adjust to the times, especially in a field like sound engineering. The same concepts still apply and there is still doing mixing for live performances where they still use a sound board. At the end of the day a degree sends you out with a basic foundation. You have to go out and make it happen.
@Ricardo Moreno 4real 💯. He just gave it up, had a couple kids & changed focus
@@DaMixWizard trust me...I know. I went to a place in Hollywood to learn engineering but was turned off by the long hours and the number of engineers who I worked under while interning who looked burned out and were just going from gig to gig. Only a small percentage of engineers work on the big budget projects which is why you see the same people listed over and over when looking at credits. Luckily I didn't have to pay 60 grand and be in debt because of it.
Great presentation....cool EQ tip!
Glad you liked it! 😊
Awesome video! Thanks for sharing!😎
You bet
What's the best ssl channel strip plugin for driving the pre amps? I've been using brainwrx off your recommendation but it looks like that's not the case anymore. I've read UAD preamp is great. Thanks
I've heard the UAD as well, or the Waves Ev2. You're right the BX SSLs don't have the preamp.
I am veiw 400. This is a jem of a video.
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed the video! I have many more! 😎💯💯💯💯
It depends on the string sound but I actually will compress a long drawn out one tone string sound where I won’t compress a shifting up and down tone one…..hey since we are a hang out group….i have a question for anyone with feedback….has anyone ever had any experience with the weiss DB1 MK2? If so, let me know if I should look into it or maybe if you haven’t tried it out….softube has a whole weiss setup for like $600
That makes sense! Yeah, the only Softube plugin I have is Softube tape, and after getting the UAD stuff, I don't mess with it anymore.
Iv got a little tascam 8 track porta studio I use it with the mpc cause the mastering effects compression and eq on it go's very deep and helps make the mpc sound even better
Been thinking about one myself. People really love the sound of that thing!
I think it's 9 on the lufs scale but i haven't been in front of a laptops simce my insider trading scandal just kidding
😂
Hey thanks for this video, Love you
Thanks! 😊😊💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
Awesome video thank you🎉
No problem 👍Thanks for watching! 😊
So crazy from back then to now I’m 20 trying to produce get in the game makin g funk beats but all this new bs skinny Jean cats fuckin up my game with there trap beats
Just refuse to make their music. Tell them you are a G Funk producer, and when they want a G Funk beat, to hit you up. Boom Bap is getting a bit of a surge again with Griselda Records, Benny, Conway The Machine etc. I feel like G Funk will rise again too. Connect with the right artist, and bring it back. Any music can blow up nowadays with the right marketing, and promotion. 💯💯💯
Keep the content coming 💯 I’m learning the art with details
Guaranteed! Anything new I learn I will share on my channel! 😁
Thanks for watching by the way! I hope some of these gems find their way into your workflow! 💯💯💯💯💯
lol i just realized put that master fader back up, you only making your job harder. Gotta gain stage properly king
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for watching!
Man this is a super intriguing video salute to you bro for the content 🔥🔥🔥
Thanks man! I appreciate it! 😊 💯💯💯💯 I'll be working on more!
Dre didn’t use MIDI sounds on Chronic 2001….Scott Storch played a lot of the keys in real time on the keyboard itself. He may have used the midi controller for some of the bass but I know the MPC 3000 has a lot of those bass sounds in the programs too. Another interesting fact is that Eminem’s aftermath studio now has the console that Dre use to use….that original 4050E series ssl…..it was originally Micheal Jackson’s.
I thought Michael Jackson's stuff was mixed on a Harrison 32C?
I think around 1999 Midi controllers and sound modules were quite popular. The Emu Phatt, Alesis stuff, and the Roland JV80 sound modules were the rave. Maybe he had a rack of modules and the midi controller for only that reason perhaps...
@@vigilantestylez it was….up till thriller I thought was the last one that Bruce Sweden produced
@@vigilantestylez probably, I don’t know why I feel like I know exactly what he was doing….i was just a big fan of all that stuff back then and I hear the MPC having the sounds he used in a lot of that album.
@@vektacular you're right. Dre did use the MPC as well, and a lot.
Dope I still have this Eq Magazine with Dre on the cover
That's cool! I didn't even know about this article until not long ago. 😊
1:1, 2:1, very slight amounts of compression with thst g bus
Absolutely!
Warm has a 1073 pre and three channel EQ
I think I have one of their plugins...
I kind of have some of these but i have never listened over the real consoles sorry i am digital like everyone else. So take or leave my suggestions. Oh try violet eq or bit crushing drums with tape plug in if you don't have fancy outboard gear.
That's a good tip, I'll try that.
Mushy drums jazz older r and b neve 1073 then later the 1073 rs but the old 1073 is smooth on older material.
I've taken a bunch of my drums and ran them through a blue stripe 1176 hardware version, and made 1176 processed drum samples since mixanalog dot com lets you use the 1176 for free. 😎
Oh fl studio board is very similar to a 1073 and tge compressor is modeled after dbx 166s
The fruity blood overdrive, and fruity compressor?
Leave the mastering engineer at least 2.5 db if your really confident if not leave em 3.5
That makes sense. I used to leave 6.
Atr 102 456 and Richard Dodd are a wonderful starting point, the Other tape is a more modern tape machine it might be the last of the tape machines made by studser The 800 will get you close, and remember most people will not be able to tell because they have never worked with these machines. They won't know what to listen too.. Dbx 160s are plentiful on Reverb
Yeah I got the waves plugin version, and it sounds good, but I've never heard the hardware unit except on already released hit songs.
Sound craft and allen and Heath sound very similar to each other.
Yes, you are right! I thought about getting one...
Yo bruh how can I contact you??
Hmu. Midnightmusicnetwork@outlook.com
Yeah uad only has the g bus not the console
You are 100% right! 😎
Mackie 32.8.2 is about 400.00 now a days
Soundwise is it pretty decent? Or is it too warm and noisy?
Dre stuff starts at 19:13
Thanks. I should have done this.
Yo that memes thing is a GREAT IDEA. Hmmmmmmm I may try that. Dre is one of the BEST TO ME. He's a constant professional. My homeboys tell me I'm the local Dr Dre. Wowwwwwwwww I'm on my way. THE OUTSPOKEN. From Your Boy Poorhouzzzzzzzzz SALUTE
💯 Thanks my friend!
It rivaled a 100,000 console and many late 80's and early 90's recordings were made using them.
Facts
You have plenty of room at the end smiling
😊
DOPE BOY. ;P Mix & Master Passion here :D ♥
I have the studer A800 plugin from UAD but I will tell you that by far the greatest tape simulation if you want Drums and Bass is the UAD Fatso Sr.
Just got it 2 weeks ago! And the UAD ATR-102
How do you like the Fatso? I find it great on synth spreads and choosing the correct frequency to spread out in the Sr. With hard attack and released you can make the entire track hum.
I gotta just tell you something I remember when I was like 19….which was 20 years ago man….but I remember Dre performing on a show…Saturday night live? Late night talk show? I can’t remember but he performed Keep their heads ringing’ live….and he had an instrumental band behind him….they literally were ringing chimes and playing the drums behind him….if you could ever find it, watch it….youll be amazed at the sound. I was infatuated with Dr. Dre after I saw that….it was in 1995-1996 somewhere in there…..I already was into Dre then but after I saw that….it was over for me….then he really beat me over the head when he got Eminem….the greatest sounds ever!
@@vektacular I don't have fatso yet...
@@vektacular I'm going to go look that up! Yeah, I am a huge Dre fan, and want to know everything he does!
Toft trident is also based on 1073 rs
Oh that's cool! Plus they're cheaper which is nice!
Don't over compress
Yes! I totally agree! 💯💯💯
Vca vs opto compression vs valve
Absolutely!
Actually so is the studio live
Facts
I don't miss the tape days at all. I do wish i had back all the cool old gear i have had stolen though, Ah, nostalgia's just not what it used to be.
I like that tape warmth, but not the tape hiss.
Nerded out on the article about South African Studios. I am form SA by the Way. Amazing video!
Thank you! 😊😊💯💯💯💯💯
2001: when they would make good music
So true!!!! Good music absolutely died completely in 2005…..and it was very few and far between at that time even…..now all you hear is trap clicking and weak snares and not very good song writing at all….there is no vibe to todays sound….i feel like I’m listening to somebody complain every song about their dumb problems that aren’t problems…..every song sounds the same today….rap has died just like punk rock did years ago….and it can never come back.
@@vektacular Absolutely. 2003 even for me... back then it was impossible to find something that moves me... bands like The Strokes and The Hives started to emerge and they are good, but they don’t move me at all... same with hip hop... and well, of course the music industry went broke, so the wouldn’t have the same quality standards and would make artists finish their tracks faster, not having time to work on the craft. Now, people in the industry recommend artists to release a song on Spotify every week or month... it’s a madness... and today, we are listening the consequences... what’s worse, not even high budget artists are releasing anything good... Don’t want to be negative here, but it’s just what’s happening
@@preciseaudioblog 100% true
Agree
Amen
Thank you for the insite on producing the way you mixed that beat was dope where do you get that plugin
Plugin Alliance, Analog Obsession.
Mcdsp, SSL, makes a g channel
I didn't know that. Thanks for the info! 😊💯💯💯
You got a link to the website? Thanks for the video
This was from a magazine. I think I found it on archive . org
Back in my Digi 001 G4 Mac days lol….
🤣
I dont like the high clap , i suggest u to buy a wmd kraken
I'll check that out! Thanks!
Great review G, we all know how Dre changed the game
Absolutely! 💯💯💯
the J 37 plug in from Waves is actually modeled after a certain Studer Tape they had at Abbey Roads Studio . don't remember the exact version tho
You are right it is a studer! www.abbeyroad.com/news/studer-j37-gearthatmadeus-3195
Api on drums
Yes! I have the Lindell 50 series, and can get some smacky drums from that plugin! 😎
@@vigilantestylez The Lindell doesn't give you the API console saturation that you can achieve with the Silver Bullet plugin, but to me, the best API EQs are the ones from Red Rock Sound; these ones are super punchy.
Dope keep up the secret sauce Stylez!!
Thanks! Will do! I'm going to try to dig up some more, and make more videos!
I'm nerding so hard right now!
Thanks! I love nerding out! I'm planning on doing more on subjects like this! 😎
Dope channel!! Glad I came across it 🙏
Thanks, my friend! I try to give out any industry secrets I can find!
"dr dre, where the fuck is he"😂15:07
😂😂😂😂 They put him near the back of the magazine LMAO.
53:00 liked it
Thanks! 😊💯💯💯
God bless
Thank you! 💯💯💯
video starts @ 19:06
Yes. 😂 I talk too much. 😂
Thx
Thank you bro
I was born in 2000 so i appreciate all the insight into how things were
You're welcome my friend! Yeah I'm doing my best to make sure the techniques that they used back in the day will not become a lost art.
19:00
😎💯
39:40
😎
Dope video
Thank you very much! 😊
@@vigilantestylez for the ssl E we’re you saying you use the brown knob version or Dre does?
@@SwimnBird Dre did on the SSL 4052E at CanAm studios.
Ian Shepherd still uses wavelab for his mastering work. Its on my list to buy, great post btw. Bless
Yeah, I have a friend who uses Wavelab. Crazy it still exists, I bet it is a much better DAW now than then. I didn't know but he told me it is "industry standard" for mastering. Much to my surprise!