Top 5Has said they use
Ensoniq
ASR-10“The very first one I did all my hits on wow.”
Said in X102.3: Timbaland receives Ensoniq ASR 10 keyboard for his 49th birthday, March 2021
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Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Timbaland. Every item links to its public source.
16 items · Last checked What's in Timbaland's studio?
Timbaland has said he made all his hits on an Ensoniq ASR-10, and Open Labs built Timbaland editions of its MiKo and NeKo keyboards with sounds he requested. MusicTech reports he now works in Ableton Live with a Push 2, and features on his studios list Pro Tools HD, an SSL Matrix console and a Neumann U 87.
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Top 5
Where to start with Timbaland's gear.
01
02
Top 5Has said they use
Open Labs
MiKo Timbaland Special Edition“It’s got everything I need in a single box and when I use it, we make masterpieces.”
Said in Synthtopia: Open Labs Timbaland Special Edition MiKo, July 2007
03
Top 5Has said they use
Open Labs
NeKo TSE Timbaland Special Edition“Having it all right there is great.”
Said in Synthtopia: Open Labs Announces Timbaland Special Edition NeKo Keyboard, February 2008
04
Top 5Seen using
Ableton
Live“Originally an Akai MPC user, Timbaland now uses Ableton Live with a Push 2 controller to create his music.”
Seen in MusicTech: How to make hip-hop and R&B beats like Timbaland, November 2021
05
Top 5Seen using
Ableton
Push 2Seen in MusicTech: How to make hip-hop and R&B beats like Timbaland, November 2021
What studio gear Timbaland uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Samplers and keyboards
Has said they use
Ensoniq
ASR-10“The very first one I did all my hits on wow.”
Said in X102.3: Timbaland receives Ensoniq ASR 10 keyboard for his 49th birthday, March 2021
Has said they use
Open Labs
MiKo Timbaland Special Edition“It’s got everything I need in a single box and when I use it, we make masterpieces.”
Said in Synthtopia: Open Labs Timbaland Special Edition MiKo, July 2007
Find it on
Has said they use
Open Labs
NeKo TSE Timbaland Special Edition“Having it all right there is great.”
Said in Synthtopia: Open Labs Announces Timbaland Special Edition NeKo Keyboard, February 2008
Find it on
Software and controllers
Seen using
Ableton
Live“Originally an Akai MPC user, Timbaland now uses Ableton Live with a Push 2 controller to create his music.”
Seen in MusicTech: How to make hip-hop and R&B beats like Timbaland, November 2021
Seen using
Ableton
Push 2Seen in MusicTech: How to make hip-hop and R&B beats like Timbaland, November 2021
Seen using
Avid
Pro Tools HD“the main Studio A is outfitted for 5.1 surround mixing with a Neve VR-72 console, Digidesign Pro ToolsHD and custom Augspurger monitors.”
Seen in Remix (via WSDG): Timbaland: Enter the Mind of a Hip Hop Hero, November 2006
Studio and recording
Seen using
Neumann
U 87“I used the U87 on Timbaland's vocals and went straight into the desk.”
Seen using
Audio-Technica
AT4060Seen in Remix (via WSDG): Timbaland: Enter the Mind of a Hip Hop Hero, November 2006
Seen using
Solid State Logic
Matrix“The fully soundproofed, room-within-a-room mobile studio is centred around an SSL Matrix console”
Find it on
Seen using
Solid State Logic
X-Rack“seven SSL XLogic X-Racks populated by SSL pre-amp, EQ and compressor modules”
Find it on
Seen using
Genelec
7380A subwoofer“two Genelec 7380A subwoofers”
Seen using
Empirical Labs
Distressor“With an impressive array of outboard gear that ranges from Empirical Labs Distressor to a Lexicon 960 reverb unit”
Seen in Remix (via WSDG): Timbaland: Enter the Mind of a Hip Hop Hero, November 2006
Seen using
Lexicon
960LSeen in Remix (via WSDG): Timbaland: Enter the Mind of a Hip Hop Hero, November 2006
Find it on
Seen using
Yamaha
DM2000“Studio A’s gear includes both a 72-channel Neve VR Series console and Yamaha DM2000 desk”
Seen in Mix: Timbaland's VA Studio Hits the Market, July 2018
Find it on
Records that shaped him
Has said they love
Ann Peebles
I Can't Stand the Rain“But that song has always been a cornerstone for me.”
Has said they love
Rod Stewart
Blondes Have More Fun“The genius of the instrumentation is unparalleled”
Said in Rolling Stone: 10 Things We Learned From Timbaland's Candid New Memoir, November 2015
Questions
About Timbaland's gear.
What sampler did Timbaland use for his hits?
The Ensoniq ASR-10. When his wife gave him one for his 49th birthday in 2021, he wrote that it was the very first one he did all his hits on. Engineer Jimmy Douglass told Sound On Sound that Timbaland played an ASR-10 on the Sexyback session.
What keyboard does Timbaland use?
Open Labs built a Timbaland Special Edition MiKo in 2007 with Ensoniq sounds he asked for, and a larger NeKo edition in 2008. Engineer Chris Godbey told Sound On Sound in 2014 that the MiKo was Timbaland's main keyboard on The 20/20 Experience sessions.
What DAW does Timbaland use?
MusicTech reported in 2021 that Timbaland makes music in Ableton Live with a Push 2 controller. His Virginia Beach studio was built around Pro Tools HD, and his engineers record his ideas straight into Pro Tools.
What is in Timbaland's tour bus studio?
MusicRadar's 2022 look at his mobile studio lists an SSL Matrix console, seven SSL XLogic X-Racks, Genelec 7380A subwoofers and a gold-plated Neumann U87 in the vocal booth, all running into Pro Tools.
What records influenced Timbaland?
In his memoir The Emperor of Sound, Timbaland calls Ann Peebles' I Can't Stand the Rain a cornerstone for him, and he praises the instrumentation on Rod Stewart's Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?, from Blondes Have More Fun.
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Named in this guide
T
Timbaland
About this guide · Last checked
Timbaland is the Virginia Beach producer behind records for Missy Elliott, Aaliyah, Ginuwine, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado and Jay-Z. This guide covers the samplers, keyboards, software and studio gear named in his own words, his engineers' interviews and features on his studios, plus the records he has written about in his memoir.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Timbaland didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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