Top 5Has said they use
“Cuts like "Raid" I did in my hotel room in Brazil on a portable turntable, my (Boss SP) 303, and a little tape deck.”
Said in Stones Throw: Mad Skills (Madlib interview from Scratch magazine), May 2005
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Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Madlib. Every item links to its public source.
19 items · Last checked What's in Madlib's studio?
Madlib has said he made much of Madvillainy on a Boss SP-303 with a portable turntable and a tape deck, and he has named the Roland SP-606, E-mu SP-12 and SP-1200 too. Remix magazine reported he mixed on Roland VS-880 and VS-1680 recorders, and he has said he plays a Fender Rhodes, a Nord Lead and a Korg VC-10 vocoder.
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Top 5
Where to start with Madlib's gear.
01
02
Top 5Has said they use
Roland
SP-606“I like the 606, 'cause it has a gang of effects on it.”
Said in Stones Throw: Mad Skills (Madlib interview from Scratch magazine), May 2005
03
Top 5Has said they use
E-mu
SP-12“I just have my 303 sampler, or SP 12, or whatever I use and just records.”
Said in Stones Throw: Madlib Interview, October 2004
04
Top 5Seen using
E-mu Systems
SP-1200“To supplement his trademark SP-1200 sampler, Madlib creates a fictional fivesome called Yesterday's New Quintet”
Seen in Stones Throw: Buried Treasure, January 2002
05
Top 5Seen using
Roland
VS-880“the main ingredients are a Roland/Boss SP-303 Dr. Sample and a Roland VS-880 digital 8-track”
Seen in Stones Throw: Raw Genius (Bill Murphy on Madlib's Bomb Shelter studio), September 2003
What gear Madlib uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Samplers
Has said they use
“Cuts like "Raid" I did in my hotel room in Brazil on a portable turntable, my (Boss SP) 303, and a little tape deck.”
Said in Stones Throw: Mad Skills (Madlib interview from Scratch magazine), May 2005
Has said they use
Roland
SP-606“I like the 606, 'cause it has a gang of effects on it.”
Said in Stones Throw: Mad Skills (Madlib interview from Scratch magazine), May 2005
Has said they use
E-mu
SP-12“I just have my 303 sampler, or SP 12, or whatever I use and just records.”
Said in Stones Throw: Madlib Interview, October 2004
Seen using
E-mu Systems
SP-1200“To supplement his trademark SP-1200 sampler, Madlib creates a fictional fivesome called Yesterday's New Quintet”
Seen in Stones Throw: Buried Treasure, January 2002
Recording
Seen using
Roland
VS-880“the main ingredients are a Roland/Boss SP-303 Dr. Sample and a Roland VS-880 digital 8-track”
Seen in Stones Throw: Raw Genius (Bill Murphy on Madlib's Bomb Shelter studio), September 2003
Seen using
“Madlib tracked and mixed almost all of The Further Adventures of Lord Quas using only a Boss SP-303 Dr. Sample and a Roland VS-1680 digital workstation”
Seen using
AlphaTheta / Pioneer DJ
CDJ-1000“settles into a chair, and begins dialing through recent beats on a Pioneer CDJ-1000”
Seen in Stones Throw: Mad Skills (Madlib interview from Scratch magazine), May 2005
Find it on
Keys and synths
Has said they use
Fender
Rhodes electric piano“I usually use the Moogs and the Fender Rhodes.”
Has said they use
Nord
Nord Lead“I'm way into that and the Nord Lead or even the old-school stuff.”
Has said they use
Korg
VC-10 Vocoder“One of his favorite units is a Korg VC-10 vocoder, which he uses, for instance, on "Greenery”
Vocal chain
Seen using
Audio-Technica
AT4033a“Madlib then tracked his vocals on an Audio-Technica 4033A and a Shure 5M7”
Seen in Stones Throw: Raw Genius (Bill Murphy on Madlib's Bomb Shelter studio), September 2003
Seen using
Shure
SM57Seen in Stones Throw: Raw Genius (Bill Murphy on Madlib's Bomb Shelter studio), September 2003
Seen using
Seen in Stones Throw: Raw Genius (Bill Murphy on Madlib's Bomb Shelter studio), September 2003
Find it on
Seen using
Universal Audio
1176LN“a Universal Audio 1176LN limiting amplifier and finally a dbx 902 De-Esser”
Seen in Stones Throw: Raw Genius (Bill Murphy on Madlib's Bomb Shelter studio), September 2003
Seen using
dbx
902 De-EsserSeen in Stones Throw: Raw Genius (Bill Murphy on Madlib's Bomb Shelter studio), September 2003
Find it on
Records that shaped him
Has said they love
Beastie Boys
Paul's Boutique“Back in the day I loved the Dust Brothers' shit.”
Said in Stones Throw: Mad Skills (Madlib interview from Scratch magazine), May 2005
Has said they love
Prince
ControversySaid in Red Bull Music Academy: Madlib lecture, Festival New York 2016, May 2016
Listen
De La Soul
3 Feet High and Rising
Has said they love
De La Soul
3 Feet High and Rising“I grew up on them dudes. That album actually changed my production.”
Said in SPIN: Madlib Muses on Methods Behind His Madness, March 2014
Buy
Has said they love
Cesar Mariano & Cia
Sao Paulo Brasil“Me and Dilla used to bump that whole record.”
Said in Red Bull Music Academy: Madlib lecture, Festival New York 2016, May 2016
Questions
About Madlib's gear.
What sampler did Madlib use for Madvillainy?
Madlib told Scratch magazine (reposted by Stones Throw in 2005) that he made cuts like "Raid" in his hotel room in Brazil on a portable turntable, his Boss SP-303 and a little tape deck.
Does Madlib use an MPC?
He has said he likes an MPC too, but prefers small box samplers like the Roland SP-606 and Boss SP-303 because they are easy to turn on and use. He named no MPC model.
What did Madlib record and mix on?
Remix magazine reported in 2003 that his main tools were the SP-303 and a Roland VS-880 digital 8-track, and in 2005 that he tracked and mixed almost all of The Further Adventures of Lord Quas on the SP-303 and a Roland VS-1680.
What keyboards does Madlib play?
He told Remix in 2005 that his usual keyboards are Moogs and the Fender Rhodes, that he is way into the Nord Lead, and the magazine named the Korg VC-10 vocoder as one of his favorite units, used on "Greenery".
What mic did Madlib record vocals on?
For Jaylib's "React", engineer Dave Cooley said Madlib tracked vocals on an Audio-Technica AT4033a and a Shure SM57, through a GML 8200 EQ, a Universal Audio 1176LN and a dbx 902 de-esser.
What records does Madlib love?
He has called the Dust Brothers' work on Paul's Boutique his favorite, said De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising changed his production, named Prince's Controversy era, and said he and Dilla used to bump Cesar Mariano's whole record.
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Madlib
About this guide · Last checked
Madlib (Otis Jackson Jr.) is the Oxnard producer and Stones Throw mainstay behind Madvillainy with MF DOOM, Quasimoto, Jaylib with J Dilla, Pinata and Bandana with Freddie Gibbs, and Sound Ancestors. This guide covers the samplers, recorders, keyboards and vocal chain named in his interviews and studio features, plus the records he has 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. Madlib didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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