Top 5Seen using
Akai Professional
MPC3000“Dilla used the MPC3000 on a vast majority of his beats”
Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: J Dilla, April 2025
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Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by J Dilla. Every item links to its public source.
13 items · Last checked What's in J Dilla's studio?
J Dilla made most of his beats on an Akai MPC3000, after starting on the E-mu SP-12 and SP-1200 and the Akai MPC60, according to Mixdown and his own interviews. FACT reported that Donuts was made with a Boss SP-303 and a small record player, and his custom Minimoog Voyager and MPC3000 were donated to the Smithsonian in 2014.
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Top 5
Where to start with J Dilla's gear.
01
02
Top 5Seen using
Akai Professional
MPC60“Dilla was first introduced to the MPC60 in the early ’90s by fellow Detroit artist Amp Fiddler”
Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: J Dilla, April 2025
03
Top 5Seen using
E-mu Systems
SP-1200“a teenage Dilla cut his teeth as a producer by learning to chop up on the E-Mu SP-1200”
Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: J Dilla, April 2025
04
Top 5Has said they use
E-mu
SP-12“I bought an SP-12 back then, so I used to vibe on all his stuff.”
Said in Stones Throw: Do the Math (J Dilla interview), May 2003
05
Top 5Seen using
Akai Professional
S950“brought an Akai S950 into the fold while producing songs like "The Jam" for Richmond, Virginia native Skillz”
Seen in Micro-Chop: J Dilla Disassembled His Cassette Deck to Extend Certain Samples, January 2020
What gear J Dilla uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Samplers
Seen using
Akai Professional
MPC3000“Dilla used the MPC3000 on a vast majority of his beats”
Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: J Dilla, April 2025
Seen using
Akai Professional
MPC60“Dilla was first introduced to the MPC60 in the early ’90s by fellow Detroit artist Amp Fiddler”
Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: J Dilla, April 2025
Seen using
E-mu Systems
SP-1200“a teenage Dilla cut his teeth as a producer by learning to chop up on the E-Mu SP-1200”
Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: J Dilla, April 2025
Has said they use
E-mu
SP-12“I bought an SP-12 back then, so I used to vibe on all his stuff.”
Said in Stones Throw: Do the Math (J Dilla interview), May 2003
Seen using
Akai Professional
S950“brought an Akai S950 into the fold while producing songs like "The Jam" for Richmond, Virginia native Skillz”
Seen in Micro-Chop: J Dilla Disassembled His Cassette Deck to Extend Certain Samples, January 2020
Seen using
“made with a Boss SP-303 sampler and small record player from his hospital bed”
Seen in FACT: J Dilla's Donuts gets 10th anniversary reissue from Stones Throw, February 2016
Synths
Seen using
Moog
Minimoog Voyager“the influential artist/producer's custom Minimoog Voyager and Akai Music Production Center (MPC) 3000 Limited Edition”
Seen in Engadget: Hip-hop producer J Dilla's beat-making gear headed to Smithsonian, July 2014
Seen using
Effects
Seen using
Yamaha
SPX900“he was real fond of this particular program [in the] SPX900”
Seen in Reverb: Engineering Dilla, How J Dilla's Classic Albums Were Mixed and Mastered, February 2021
Records that shaped him
Has said they love
Lootpack
Soundpieces: Da Antidote“That album was crazy. Me and my partners rode that shit for the longest time.”
Said in Stones Throw: High Fidelity (Jaylib feature), March 2004
Has said they love
Run-DMC
Sucker M.C.'s“When I heard (Run DMC's) 'Sucker MCs' and (Whodini's) 'Big Mouth', it made me curious to how the beats were made.”
Said in Stones Throw: Do the Math (J Dilla interview), May 2003
Has said they love
Whodini
Big Mouth“Those song were the first time I heard the beats that weren't melodic, just drums.”
Said in Stones Throw: Do the Math (J Dilla interview), May 2003
Has said they love
Audio Two
I Don't Care“The I Don't Care Audio Two joints, the MC Lyte 'Stop, Look & Listen'... those were beats that really, really inspired me.”
Said in Stones Throw: Do the Math (J Dilla interview), May 2003
Questions
About J Dilla's gear.
What MPC did J Dilla use?
Mixdown reports that Dilla used the Akai MPC3000 on most of his beats, after Amp Fiddler introduced him to the MPC60 in the early 1990s. Engadget reported in 2014 that his mother donated his MPC3000 Limited Edition to the Smithsonian.
What samplers did J Dilla use before the MPC3000?
He told Stones Throw in 2003 that he bought an E-mu SP-12 back when he was studying Pete Rock. Mixdown says he learned on the SP-1200 and moved to the MPC60, and Micro-Chop reports he also used an Akai S950 on songs like Skillz's "The Jam".
What did J Dilla use to make Donuts?
FACT reported in 2016 that Donuts was made with a Boss SP-303 sampler and a small record player from his hospital bed.
What synths did J Dilla use?
He owned a custom Minimoog Voyager, which his mother donated to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2014. Mixdown also says he favoured the Korg microKORG for pads, leads and bass on later tracks.
What records inspired J Dilla?
He said Run-DMC's "Sucker M.C.'s" and Whodini's "Big Mouth" made him curious about how beats were made, named Audio Two's "I Don't Care" among beats that inspired him, and said he rode Lootpack's Soundpieces: Da Antidote for the longest time.
Where is J Dilla's MPC now?
Engadget reported in July 2014 that his mother, Maureen Yancey, donated his MPC3000 Limited Edition and custom Minimoog Voyager to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
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Named in this guide
JD
J Dilla
About this guide · Last checked
J Dilla (James Dewitt Yancey, 1974 to 2006) was the Detroit producer behind Slum Village, Jaylib, Donuts and beats for A Tribe Called Quest, The Pharcyde, Common, Erykah Badu and D'Angelo. This guide covers the samplers, synths and effects reported in his interviews and in features about his work, including the MPC and Minimoog Voyager his mother donated to the Smithsonian, plus the records he said shaped him.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. J Dilla didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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