How is Dr. Dre's mixing so much better than everybody else's?

[Carr]

I sat in on MixedByAli mixing "Smile"

I was lowkey disappointed when I heard the final version

the mixes and different versions with lil FX here and there had me in the studio like

dude is a beast with it

 

[Sound (∀√a) Maths]

I sat in on MixedByAli mixing "Smile"

I was lowkey disappointed when I heard the final version

the mixes and different versions with lil FX here and there had me in the studio like

dude is a beast with it

Word? What's his process like? Is he totally In The Box or does he use outboard gear? Or both? Spill breh

 

[freetroit]

Low master buss compression that preserves transients
A 1.5 to 2 db shelf bump on the high end starting around 1k
Treating each sound like a lady, then making sure everything is panned well and finding its fundamental frequency
Eliminate mud around 300k

Wah la

Yo man thats the formula-dr dre

 

[1-8-7-Skillz]

Was playing the chronic in the car againt today, I got a good sound system in there and damn the shyt still sounds so clean
Im still findin some lil elements on the songs I never really noticed before

 

[TheDarceKnight]

That's one thing that's crazy about Dre. A lot of people are blessed with the ear and they can get busy on the pads, but they need other people to come in and properly mix their shyt. A lot of these guys find a good engineer and keep working with them. DJ Premier had Eddie Sancho, and now Alchemist has him. Kanye West has Andrew Dawson. Rappers do it too. Jay-Z has Young Guru. Kendrick and TDE crew have Ali.

But then there are the super rare cats like Dre that can do both.

 

[TEKBEATZ]

I was listening to Compton today the mixing on that album is




The album sucks thou

 

[Flav]

Was playing the chronic in the car againt today, I got a good sound system in there and damn the shyt still sounds so clean
Im still findin some lil elements on the songs I never really noticed before

Put on "nikka wit a gun" and just feel that kick drum,hard snare and that crazy ass bass line.



Dre always been a beast when it came to mixing and that's basically what I look forward to when I hear he's on somebody project.

 

[1-8-7-Skillz]

Put on "nikka wit a gun" and just feel that kick drum,hard snare and that crazy ass bass line.



Dre always been a beast when it came to mixing and that's basically what I look forward to when I hear he's on somebody project.

I know like you can hear any lil Element completely Clear

 

[C-Styles]

i have always said that LAD and 2001 are on PAR with mixing as far as any other hip hop goes. I wouldn't be surprised if Dre ghost mixed life after death because that album sounds like a movie score the way its mixed.

People here hating on COMPTON wont get this album till a few years from now. That album is one of the best of this decade and just because it ain't the "usual dre sound" everyone starts crying about it. I'm one of the few that can appreciate the direction he was going with.

 

[DaveyDave]

I think Dre said that when he was getting interviewed by scratch magazine.

Yeah it was in Scratch I couldn't remember if it was Em saying it about Dre or Dre actually talking about it

 

[dubsmith_nz]

Aside from the beats, the vocals are crisp too

The only album I think Dre didn't do a good job mixing was that Jay Z album

Yeah outside of his own shyt and the Khalil joint the mix on that album was terrible for the most part. I still feel he doesn't know how to mix a Just Blaze beat.

 

[Carr]

Word? What's his process like? Is he totally In The Box or does he use outboard gear? Or both? Spill breh

I didnt hear the final mix...or at least he didnt finish when I was there. I know it was a two track mix...but that shyt sounded live. When they called me to the studio all the main vocals were already recorded...Isaiah got back in the booth and added all the ad libs you hear at the start of the 2nd verse.

I can say this, one part that stuck in my head was before the part where the hook starts back after the 2nd verse...Ali did this lil echo on the "can you take me" when the beat cleared out....shyt was gospel

they took it off the final version tho.

 

[Double J]

i have always said that LAD and 2001 are on PAR with mixing as far as any other hip hop goes. I wouldn't be surprised if Dre ghost mixed life after death because that album sounds like a movie score the way its mixed.

People here hating on COMPTON wont get this album till a few years from now. That album is one of the best of this decade and just because it ain't the "usual dre sound" everyone starts crying about it. I'm one of the few that can appreciate the direction he was going with.

Nah Compton just sucked

 

[shopthatwrecks]

Damn, it just clicked with me. It's like I really get it now.

Enlightenment

Dap and +rep, great post, my nikka.

Dre really is the goat of this Hip Hop shyt.

i realize dre was 1 to quiks 2..

when quik was tryin 2 do 50ways with el debarge...



vs

the version with wanya




og



quik couldnt clear the sample with paul...prolly because quik snuck pieces of the sample in wonder why they call u bytch when he mixed the all eyez on me...

anyway..

when he couldnt clear it...quik had to redo it..n dre told em..the original foundation builds everything..

dre had alot of input on under the influence..

come 2 nyte has 2 different beats n versions..

n 50ways..

prolly a reason why the song be4 one on 1 got taken off kuz quik couldnt clear the sample on it..too

if uti was dropped on arista..from the og..that would have been quiks best produced album today..dre was quik ears on that whole album...quik jus didnt have the budget...

 

[shopthatwrecks]

I think the key factor is the fluidity between Dre's composition and mixing.

If you handed him an instrumental with 15 tracks on it, he wouldn't just wave his wand and make the track come to life.. .

Dude's biggest strength, at least from the mid 90s on, is getting the most out of like 1 single instrument, drums bass and crispy hi hats. Every element of his track occupies a distinct place in the frequency spectrum, so the listener can process the minute details of every instrument.

And so he's probably one of the few producers who caters his style specifically towards sonic perfection... his primary goal is compose his beats in a way that allows for the perfect mix.

People talk about the difference between a producer and a beat maker... in hip hop, I think 99% of musicians in hip hop are beat makers.. they learn all the mixing techniques to make their beats come to life, but they see it as a secondary stage in the process. Dre is a producer first.

dre will take out ya drums...n goto his dungeon..find some obscure album n take those drums..n shyt on ya whole existance