02 min

Trailer
19 min

Part 1

Drum machines, samplers, bit depth, PPQ, swing, filters, anti-aliasing, visual distraction, compressor types
10 min

Part 2

Treating vocals with various hardware compressors, approach to parameters, pleasing artefacts
08 min

Part 3

Outboard effects, equalizers, tape machine, harmonic saturation, the behaviour of plug-ins vs. hardware

Mixing

No I.D. Studio

Choosing Outboard Gear

Young Guru

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Song : No I.D. Studio

Duration:08 min / 40 min Subtitles: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, Chinese

Description

Step inside the impressive studio of producer No I.D. for a series with Young Guru!

In these videos, the Grammy award-winning engineer addresses a controversial subject – the benefits of using analog tools instead of their software equivalents, despite the convenience of plug-ins and virtual instruments available today.

He presents some of his favorite drum machines, compressors, equalizers, and effects units, referring to their historical significance and how they continue to play a role in modern music creation. Focussing mainly on outboard compressors, he explains the circuitry types and features of some of the most famous pieces ever built. For demonstration, Young Guru opens the Pro Tools session of ‘Do Better’ by J. Stone featuring T-Pain and inserts a variety of compressors on vocal tracks.

You will learn his approach to choosing a compressor and see how he adjusts parameters to find his dynamic ‘sweet spot’.

Show more

02 min

Trailer
19 min

Part 1

Drum machines, samplers, bit depth, PPQ, swing, filters, anti-aliasing, visual distraction, compressor types
10 min

Part 2

Treating vocals with various hardware compressors, approach to parameters, pleasing artefacts
08 min

Part 3

Outboard effects, equalizers, tape machine, harmonic saturation, the behaviour of plug-ins vs. hardware

Comments

(19)

Fred Beck October 18, 2022 at 2:40 AM

Simply amazing to see all that analog gear. And a great history lesson, too.
Christopher Jenkins October 9, 2022 at 10:46 PM

Beautiful walkthrough of vintage gear and the evolution of urban production.
Miles Hlivko August 31, 2022 at 10:03 PM

Awesome videos, it's cool to see so much amazing gear in one room. I definitely agree that working with hardware causes you to use your ears instead of your eyes, which can be a satisfying experience
Tamas Lippai August 14, 2022 at 10:40 PM

Donon't understand people complaining here. This video is very informative, especially youngsters who are not so familiar with analog gears. Also explains the "mojo" a bit. I liked this video, thanks!
Michał Kupicz August 10, 2022 at 9:43 PM

Quite cool video if you don't know what a compressor is. Looks funny when he have to almost lay on the floor to see the knobs and meters, so much for listening there
Derrick Jones Sr August 9, 2022 at 6:05 AM

Definitely informative Bro! The way you break down the history and how to use the analog gear is helpful.
Vincent Chiarito August 6, 2022 at 8:07 PM

So the take away after 40 minutes is "vintage gear sounds cool." Groundbreaking!
Ryan Henry August 6, 2022 at 7:38 PM

Watching this makes me want to know more and physical use these vintage compressors especially on the API series.
Victor Nery August 6, 2022 at 12:42 AM

Young Guru is freaking great, could hear him talking all day. But for a 40-minute series, only 5 minutes of actual music and tweaking was kinda of a let down.
Nick Aldridge August 5, 2022 at 9:59 AM

There's a fine line between fan worshipping classic hardware and appreciating it for what it actually does. YG makes exactly the right point here re why we continue to love hardware for the tone, texture and creativity. I've recently repaired and refurbished my old Akai S3000i sampler which I bought new decades ago, and I'm really enjoying using it again alongside my DAW.
jano arayian August 5, 2022 at 3:58 AM

dope video love the wisdom
Cole Williams August 4, 2022 at 10:01 PM

ah yes the old ampex 351 compressor
Dom girard August 4, 2022 at 10:57 PM

the 351 is a preamp, originally for Ampex tape recorders

severin zellner August 5, 2022 at 12:30 AM

hahaha thats what I thought too

Clay Schmitt September 13, 2022 at 11:40 PM

Yeah, in the midst of basically pointing at gear and saying "and this, we like this cause its really good" that was a big eye roll moment.
Bastien Malek August 4, 2022 at 9:01 PM

I think this guy is trying to compare hardware vs Plugins.. Just Kidding, it was so interesting, hope we'll see more hardware listening on MWTM
James Geary August 4, 2022 at 12:32 PM

just wow! only a few minutes in and Ive already lost count of all the unobtanium. Oh you know, just a few altecs over here. An old LA2 over there on top of some pyes next to a full stack of Rev As. This studio is a buffet. Cant imagine the amount of time put into upkeep of this space. On a. serious note though as someone thats came up in the era of digital I do feel a sense of responsibility when it comes to preserving the history of analog gear and keeping the art form alive to pass along
Nick Aldridge August 5, 2022 at 9:55 AM

Great stuff from YG. I kept thinking the same thing re the upkeep! I cant even keep my own small modest collection of hardware dust free.
Jovan Hardy August 3, 2022 at 8:55 PM

Dope!

About Young Guru

Revered as “The Sound of New York”, Gimel Keaton, better known as Young Guru, possesses over a decade of experience in sound engineering, production, and A&R for the acclaimed Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Records. Young Guru has mixed 10 of Jay-Z’s 12 albums, and has earned himself a number of shout-outs on Jay-Z’s tracks paying homage to his exceptional skills behind the boards. Known as one of the most notable engineers in the history of Pop and Hip Hop music, Young Guru officially became...

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