What makes my beats sound good

[@mpchead]

Merch mpchead.com/collections/merch

[@istvantoth7431]

The Portuguese shogun shares his secrets. Thanks bud, appreciate this!

[@danielrobinofficial]

after 35 years of producing hiphop beats myself… i never get tired of listening to a talented and enthusiastic beatmaker who knows his gear. Thank you so much for inspiration with every video you drop.

[@fire.aux.chords]

preach brother... this the video weve all been waiting for. secret sauce

[@happyjessus]

Listened this on good speakers. The difference is extreme between dry and wet. Low end is more tamed but the huge difference is on the HF where everything sounds more organic and playful, almost "alive" you could say.. You make really good use of that gear

[@mpchead]

Thanks for sharing ✌🏼

[@neorahmusic9245]

is this achievable with plugins???? Should I mix with plugin analog emulations like this? Im confused please help!!

[@aristonmain]

​@@neorahmusic9245yes it's possible, everything is possible now. Especially these gears u see is alr on a software

[@3nochendtimesmusic925]

The sound you're getting from that chain is gold bro, that anolog heat is doing a lot for the character while the rack gear is adding heft weight and dimension. I have a similar chain but with less expensive gear and an SP-303 instead of an anolog heat and instead of 2comps a Mic pre, comp then eq but I also have two and almost three different chains now. Great choice of gear by the way, the beat is ill as well sounds like some 90's Heltah Skeltah.

[@3nochendtimesmusic925]

I think this is topic a lot of beat makers need these days since it takes sonics and sound quality to a level that plugins just can't achieve. Sorry for the rant but this vid got me hype, anyway keep doing you're thing Marlow and stay humble bro I really admire that about you. Peace!

[@neorahmusic9245]

is this achievable with plugins???? Should I mix with plugin analog emulations like this? Im confused please help!!

[@celestial5693]

@@neorahmusic9245there’s no harm in trying. Plugins although (imo) aren’t at the level of outboard have definitely gotten better in the last few years. The main thing is if it sounds good, then that’s it!

[@christdolphin69]

man, really selling that symph eq. did not expect to hear that much presence in the high frequencies between the bypassed and wet signal

[@mpchead]

Love this eq, it is so nice.

[@rodrigoelcabondo]

Yo this beat is hard! I would listen to this on repeat for hours on headphones while watering my garden. Peace!

[@mpchead]

🔥🔥🔥

[@mnlrbeats]

thank you for the inside!

[@datapusher-]

The chimes and effects really POP through with that EQ and comp. Everyone hears the snare because its obvious but I love the life breathed into the subtle sounds. A+

[@mpchead]

YES that's the thing I love about the eq. Always brings extra harmonics.

[@dans5529]

Man, night and day difference with the external processing on and off! Great beat and great sound too!

[@dans5529]

Oh, and a full studio tour would be cool to see too for sure.

[@mpchead]

Appreciate it! ✌🏼

[@HouseDarten]

Nice!

[@804EBEATS]

Tegelar compression a secret weapon. Got one myself.

[@davidscott2095]

Awesome! That Electron Heat really colors that sound! Yes, please do a studio tour. Blessings!

[@sourcemonet]

Nice workflow ✊ Great to see composing, sound designing and mixing rolled up in one 💯

[@Dolle_Man]

subbed after 5 sec. awesome!

[@mpchead]

🔥🔥🔥

[@georgegeez8708]

Great video. I personally separate all my sounds out of my MPC being that it has 8 outs plus the stereo outs for a total of ten outputs. I use the 8 outs for mainly drums and the stereo out for the main sample. I double and triple my kicks to sound really punchy. From there, in the mixer, I have outboard EQs, compression and effects which puts the icing on the cake when it comes to the sound. After all that, I record into the DAW and finish there. Or I go completely dawless and record straight into a DAT recorder to keep the mix completely warm. That's how I make my music smack hard.

[@neorahmusic9245]

is this achievable with plugins???? Should I mix with plugin analog emulations like this? Im confused please help!!

[@georgegeez8708]

@neorahmusic9245 Hey, from what I know, it is achievable. I just personally use outboard gear to achieve my sound. But yes, there are plug-ins that mimic certain outboard gear that can give you the sound you are looking for.

[@neorahmusic9245]

@@georgegeez8708 Thanks

[@NME_REK]

Always know plug ins are secondary and trying to mimic the real version of hardware gear

[@mas8538]

This was dope man thank you for sharing! I would love a full tour foo!!

[@MYD369]

I’d dig that full tour u were speaking about 🤙🏽

[@tsunderelobster7247]

We're def gonna need that full tour...

[@eyesintheskies]

Nice been thinking of getting the symph for awhile… it’s sounding great & the m/s functionality is sweet. 👌

[@mpchead]

I love it!

[@eyesintheskies]

@@mpchead thats good to hear, been able to boost the bass in the middle & keep the highs on the sides crisp sounds ideal & adds a ton of versatility. Im sold!!!

[@Samples4me]

Thank you Marlow Diggs. I recreated this Chain in Abelton and my beats feels more alive now!!

[@beatsbyattarus80]

Interesting! I also use Ableton. which plugins are you using to recreate this setup?

[@Samples4me]

The secrets in the stock plugins

[@PacificDownstreams]

How come you don't do Q&A's??

[@mpchead]

You want a q&a?

[@SniggyMoo]

Impressive what the limiter does with the snare. Very snappy. Dope 🤜🏽🤛🏽

[@SniggyMoo]

I wish Akai has a compressor where you can compress specific Frequencies.

[@PeteOnTheBeat]

Sounds amazing! The main difference I spotted was on the snare. I'm making a Marlow type beat rn with your rhodes chords and I applied the some of the tricks here!

[@mpchead]

I guess when I m making the beat it is very dark and when I run it through these machines it brightens up the mix and adds harmonics.

[@beatsbyjiro8291]

Thanks for sharing some secret sauce, every producer go their little secret chain that usually stays a secret, so do you monitor through the whole chain as your making the beat or do you bypass them and engage them after the beat is done trying to get the best sound striaght out of the MPC before recording.

[@Richard_P_James]

Great video - excellent loop!

[@djshancabass9353]

Thanks, for the lesson.

[@joshuamercado4596]

I’ve bought some of your drum kits before and thought the kicks were way to heavy to work with but now seeing that this being the work flow they’re being utilized in I gotta give em another go

[@chrisdavis9135]

Dope mane.. definitely Diggs ya technique fo sho!🏆

[@hidhoman954]

Each pass sounds good then gets better & better with each processor added. Please share some of your Analog Heat presets

[@jermainelong1843]

Night and day. Informative video.

[@HarryLoveTV]

the make up analogy is pretty funny & apt. some lovely gear you been acquiring man!!

[@Reggi_Sample]

How do you navigate the noise floor that comes with the analog heat?

[@thepanicroommastering2062]

be louder than the Noise 👍 easy

[@RuggedAndPrez]

The mix knob on the Successor is a real nice touch

[@lindasson]

Great conversation and demonstration fam. I use almost the same chain, but gonna experiment with the X SE to Analog Heat to the SP-404MK2 with a few fxs, just to see what I can come up with 🙏🏾✊🏾💚

[@j.gonsalves]

Peace Marlow, how did you decide which compressors would work for your instruments / mixes? Was it trial & error or did you know what to go for from the jump?

[@mpchead]

Trial and error, also budget and also did a lot of research on different types of compressors and their sound. But at the end of the day you just gotta try and test different kinds.

[@alexmarkwell6595]

Sounds rad my man! Out of interest what type of saturation is the Analog Heat doing? bit of saturation and EQ, or is it just the saturation? it's kind of bringing out the mids and a high kinda like running things through a blended in / really clean guitar amp or something .

[@mpchead]

Saturation EQ and filtering

[@alexmarkwell6595]

@@mpchead dope. Thanks legend.

[@notafunc]

Nice setup, simple and effective.

[@FolieEnPublic]

Hi Marlow, love the channel. Very helpful. So I was looking into buying either an analog heat or add an Akai S950 to my setup (MPC Live 2 + Macbook) to add some character to my sound. I've had an S900 in the past but am unfamiliar with devices like the analog heat. I saw you use the MPC60 for it's sound so I was wondering which made more of an impact on your sound. The MPC60 or the Analog heat? Thnx and keep up the good work!

[@mpchead]

The analog heat is better for sound, no brainer.

[@FolieEnPublic]

​@@mpcheadCool thanks! I'm going to try one.

[@smackdammit4266]

That Analog Heat tho🔥🔥🔥🔥👌🏽

[@elident7828]

Thanks Marlow, you are giving me ideas that are really helpful and valuable… in the music industry I’m learning that people aren’t as transparent as you are and tend to keep secrets. I’m definitely looking at a hardware compressor for my outputs and like your signal chain. Thanks great video !

[@Rondware71]

Great insight and valuable information, great video. Thanks.💎

[@mpchead]

Thanks for tuning in to the channel 🔥

[@prodcountryjames]

Huge Difference well rounded everything. I've been producing over 20+ years mainly on Reasons so I decided to buy the MPC Live and Roland Integra 7 a couple weeks back. Man the sound from digital to analog is so much lovelier lol. I have the Audio Scape Comp, Distressor and Dbx 160A which now I will start adding to my beats after watching your video. I would have to record into Protools because man I can't keep rewiring cables 😅Thanks a lot for the video..

[@whawha9016]

Sounds like you got rich parents or a very well-paid job?

[@prodcountryjames]

@@whawha9016 Far from rich parents its call Sweetwaters, Zzounds, Some TV placements and overtime, plus years of saving lol.

[@crue11]

Hey Marlow, thx for this, the difference is amazing! How would you send out your stems if an artist wants to rap on your beat? send them clean? I mean without that master chain it would lose so much sauce and the mixing engineer would maybe not catch the same vibe you gave to the beat. Thanks!

[@mpchead]

Yeah that's right, just the stems without all the mastering sauce. It would be up to the other person to finish it.

[@crue11]

@@mpchead Thanks for the quick answer. Keep up the good work! cheers

[@socialnarcotics1147]

Wow thats a huge amount of processing and compression. The result sounds like a less extreme version of the vinyl sim on the sp303. I find the vinyl sim sound to get fatiguing quite quickly though

[@cooksoni.a]

holy shit, that side by side comparison

[@TheSame92]

this might sound like a newbie question, but I love running my audio through tape for some stems and bounce then back to digital from tape to add analog saturation, compression and more dynamics and little imperfections. I know that this can be a long topic but I was wondering if it makes sense to invest in the heat given the number of different cassette recorders and r2r machines. I'm talking marantz pmd series, sony tcm-5000ev, the 4 track porta two, and so on.

[@bornshamir7792]

Obvious improveme ts of sound. Thanks for the jewels

[@spvidz]

Awesome video man, thanks for sharing! I wish I would have invested in outboard equipment instead of a ton of different samplers lol. Can't believe the difference these make...!

[@mpchead]

You and me both! Spent some money on samplers that get hardly used.

[@NME_REK]

I can dig this vid here bro

[@undergrounderCDA]

Thanks!

[@iengineer_247]

Wow good to see this video I want the heat unit!!!!

[@dopesnare]

Assuming you "mix" in the MPC this is crazy to hear what some good stereo processors can do..Boom!

[@KW-zs7zv]

hey marlow amazing. its night and day for sure. your channel and soccer is what brings me joy these days. haha. more videos please!

[@mpchead]

Glad you like them! ✌🏼

[@brianendthelandartifacts6521]

Ur boom bap is that! Soulful also! I’m going to work on me a rack!

[@inputmonitor]

That Tegeler Audio Magnetismus 2 sounds amazing...

[@northkaskazini721]

You are appreciated 💯

[@Beatsbynovember]

That was so dope. Very informative and entertaining. Keep up the great work 💯

[@westerncivilization]

Word to the Pulp Fiction VHS tape. That thing got me laid a lot back in the day.

[@thekeysman6760]

Yet you still mixing what is essentially a mastering chain, brother. Something that is very hard to do and very restrictive. The kick will always duck the rest of the mix like Dilla if you want that, or requires tweaking to not. Plus although you say each compressor was aimed at different aspects, it's still across the whole mix, affecting everything. Tricky work, generally. I moved away from this in the early '00s in favour of multitracking where I can treat individual instruments and channels with eq and/or compression prior to a mastering or mixdown chain with eq, comp, and limiter. For this reason, I'd have to resample with that first box back into the MPC prior to any compression, to have the control I like to have. But if it sounds good, that's all that matters! 😎👍

[@mpchead]

Thanks for sharing 🙏🏼

[@thekeysman6760]

@@mpchead When I started with an S-900 back in the day, I realised the fact that vinyl samples were pre-eq'd lent to the sound and were dictating the mix, so I often think that multitracking and doing anything more than just a high or low cut eq or filter isn't necessarily the way to get a retro HH sound anyway. Thereby making everything I say irrelevant! 🤪 Although I still do like the clarity of early DJ Krush and DJ Shadow due to the more multitrack, multi channel studio sound, and the depth of the final mixdown.

[@CinemaTaGraffiti]

Hey Marlo, this video inspired me to buy the same analog set up. I have a question. When going back into your audio interface is your MPC in standalone mode or in controller mode? I ask because I had my MPC modded by Black Lion and I am going from my MPC audio outs into the chain and then into my Apollo Twins inputs and I can't get any audio output. Any advice? Thanks for this video man, I was blown away.

[@mpchead]

Thanks man, I always use the mpc in standalone. It works just fine, either you have the wrong outputs selected or the chain aint working right. Idk but make sure you get audio out the main outs of the mpc.

[@CinemaTaGraffiti]

Figured it out. Thanks again!@@mpchead

[@GoodAfternoonDave]

Do you ever use the envelope follower on the Analog Heat to reduce the dynamic range/glue things together....works well

[@mpchead]

Because of the compressors I don't have that need but yes that option works well.

[@mmmmmmyeeeaaahhh3880]

You oughta get a wood rack for those my dude, the wood racks are sick. Plus you won't see all the exposed wiring.

[@mpchead]

I like this one because it has wheels and I can move it around the studio

[@carbonvibes]

Thank you for sharing Marlow, appreciate you for all the gems. Much respect brother 🫡

[@mpchead]

✌🏼thanks for tuning in once again 🔥

[@mcbublick]

nice mix!

[@kursive1]

Dope video. Need some gear.

[@flunkedouttanasa9450]

I'd love to see the full tour for sure. Really interesting that the final touch is just a limiter in your DAW. You really don't mess with it much after the rack units?

[@mpchead]

No I don't, after it passes the machines it is done.

[@DJDigitalJosh]

Magic PURE Magic!

[@lelandchapman1]

Full tour ❤

[@projectsmarsh]

Thanks for putting us on game time after time 🙏 this one shouldnt be taken lightly

[@mpchead]

🙏🏼

[@ak51ziomucz]

Dope Spaceship Men ! ❤

[@DJ279V]

Thx for sharing as there is definitely a difference in the sound and feel through each device.

[@Knick_Fury]

Great vid especially for a novice like me. Thanks for sharing. Was gonna ask more about Analog Heat but just found your vid from a couple of years back doing a deeper dive on it...nice. Much appreciated! 🫡

[@mpchead]

Awesome, thank you!

[@WilfridCyrus]

Great idea for a video. Loved seeing your outboard gear and got inspired to get some myself.

[@mpchead]

Go for it!

[@beatsbyattarus80]

Very interesting. Of course similar results can be achieved ITB, but hardware is more fun! I was wondering, working this way you always deliver a finished beat that is already mixed and arranged, right? there are no separate tracks for further mixing and arranging in a DAW, am I correct? How this work for you? are rappers and mix engineers ok with this approach? Thanks

[@mpchead]

I just work for myself, I don't export anything for anyone. If that was the case I would do things differently

[@beatsbyattarus80]

@mpchead thanks for the answer, I understand. Since I usually make beats for rappers and recently I started using using an old MPC500 (I love the lofi sound and the basic workflow), I had to find a workaround to record separate track and process them in the DAW. But work on the whole mix like this is very satisfying!

[@SuperALBSURE]

I'm curious, if you had to track this out (say you sold a beat to an artist or major label and they wanted the stems etc..) how would you deal with that? So much of the sound is dynamic that if you muted one instrument (say the kick), the mix would fall apart. Obviously you may never intend to do any of that but alot of producers will need to provide stems at some point. What's your take? (great comparison at the end btw, I think it's probably blown some minds!)

[@NME_REK]

Perfect question- I wonder the same - im assuming it be a completely different sound

[@mpchead]

You said it, I don't tend to sell anything. And if anyone wants to buy the beat I'll send them the stems without any of the outputs. Selling beats is not even something I think about. I just make beat tapes. If I ever work with anyone in the future this method will not be applied.

[@piqle]

hey @marlow, do you run your master outs through this? or do you bus out the drums and stuff into seperate equipment?

[@mpchead]

Master outs all in

[@Ross_Antonich]

Great video Marlow! I loved seeing this. I need to get into rack mounts!

[@philip6252]

Goated with the sauce 🥵

[@DBX79]

Your videos inspire me to keep making more hip hop music!

[@mpchead]

Happy to hear that!🔥🔥🔥

[@RoomAtTheTopStudio]

Hey Marlow this is great. I'm thinking of getting a couple of Tegeler channels. Do you use the individual outputs on your MPC or do you level inside the MPC? I started by leveling inside the MPC because my eight outputs weren't working on my 2000 XL when I got it but I'm used to using individual outputs on analogue drum machines so aside from my portable MPC all my other MPCs have the individual outputs and for me it's a must to run it through an analogue desk. What's your opinion?

[@moriaijun]

My question is, if I were to buy it first, which would you recommend: Tegeler Audio Manufaktur/Magnetismus 2 or Heritage Audio/SUCCESSOR? Influenced by Marlow Digs I purchased ELEKTRON/Analog Heat HFX-1 MKII. Thank you.

[@mpchead]

For compression you wanna get the heritage audio.

[@moriaijun]

thank you! Always helpful!

[@GrabThoseKeys]

The punch and clarity that your beats have is always so pleasing to listen to. Do you / have you found the fx within the mpc live 2 and x to be on par with your external gear or do you find that they lack something that you look for when mixing? Or is it simply your love of buying and using different gear because i can totally understand that I'm the same way lol. Always look forward to these types of videos!!

[@mpchead]

I love gear, I feel that all gear has its own sound and feel, they're all different and all have they're unique magic. Plugins in the mpc are the same, some have traits that I can't replicate on the analog gear.

[@GrabThoseKeys]

That makes perfect sense. As I'm still early in my beat making journey I find myself trying to use the plugins on the mpc live 2 and X to see what fx I like and from there I'll venture out to buying gear because I like gear 😂. Catch you on the next video. Thanks!

[@nakauchi_s]

Hey there, great video as always. Just wondering if you're not getting any crazy latency from going through that Analog Heat. Thanks!

[@mpchead]

I don't think I have any problems with latency with the Heat.

[@nakauchi_s]

Just read a lot of comments of people experiencing a lot of latency when using the Elektron with their DAW, some even a tiny bit as stand-alone @@mpchead

[@whawha9016]

The processing sounds dope, but for my taste there is too much upper mids in the processed version after all the processing. In terms of frequency distribution I somehow prefer the raw MPC version.

[@kdeeone]

Same for me. Sounds too squashed for my taste. I like to preserve the dynamics as much as possible.

[@marcelotooty]

Só ensinamento bom, Marlow! Sigo na sintonia 🙏

[@Drinkyoghurt]

Quick question about your Echolette. I see you have individually attached inputs to its channels. My current setup has a 12 channel analog mixer where I have everything plugged into (all my instruments/synths) and I have the Echolette set up as an Effects Send/Return. This way I keep the echo settings on input 1 at max and use the Effects Send to control the dry/wet mix (which is what the echo knob on the echolette does). Is there a reason you went with your setup?

[@beverly007ful]

Cool rig

[@IamDjCorrect]

Dope brother ! ! !

[@mpchead]

🙏🏼

[@The_Sound_Technician]

Do you resample back into the mpc? Or is this what you send to a pc to finalise a finished track?

[@mpchead]

This is the finish product

[@Dj.X-RATED]

Do you have a video on how to use the akai mpc X se ?

[@brianendthelandartifacts6521]

Soo much crispier with the gear!!! Do you still mix inside the Mpc??

[@taller513]

Gracias por compartir esto bro, un gran abrazo

[@lostinjazz]

+ working with actual hardware is so much fun. I love playing around with knobs and buttons and turn an analog signal into the red which is simply not possible when you‘re only working inside the box. Nothing wrong with taking the best out of both worlds. PEACE!

[@saren6538]

Marlow do you ever bother going out to cassette tape once it’s all mixed etc ? Is so what tape deck do you use

[@808pacificstate]

The brain of that chain is THE Prism however. Without that Benzo sound card the rest of this chain can’t perform as well as it is. This is 🎯. Amazing video!

[@mpchead]

💯

[@miladbarikani3591]

I don't know the mpc output seems better to me (but not the greatest) cause it has the mpc's hardware essence and it's more alive the compressor chain is great but to my test it's not used correct it sounds like a recreation of another sound I think the better use is when that essence be there and the compressors are just guiding the sound to be living and make a bold accent of the things that made the original sound good

[@subschnee4573]

A lot of the change in sound could have been done with eqing the samples on the machine itself. Or if not resample for example the snare processed with an eq. Also the reverb that comes with the treatment from the bus comp could have been done on the source. Get it right at the source.

[@eltripps9684]

Marlow! I have a question. My mix bus comes out of my daw. My first hardware gear for the mix bus was the analog heat, but now I added the warm audio 273 preamps. Would you still have the analog heat as the first thing the mix bus hits over the preamps, or would it make sense to put it after the eqs and compressors to add a little last second character?

[@ralfmoss]

Congrats on over 70k subs..... 100 plaque coming soon

[@mpchead]

Yeah working on it 🙏🏼