How It Was Recorded

Maroon 5 · Album, 2018

Red Pill Blues

This is an album-level record: the sources describe how the album as a whole was recorded, not one song. Where a detail belongs to a single song, the row says so.

Songs this record stands for: Wait. We found nothing specific to this song, so this album record is the closest account we have.

VocalsBass layersDrums and loopsVerified4Inferred1

What the sources do and do not say

One Waves Audio interview with Noah Passovoy about the Red Pill Blues album; it never mentions 'Wait'. All rows are therefore album-level (statements about other songs on the record) or general practice, and all are Waves plugins used in the mix. No microphones, consoles or tracking gear are named for this album. Producer credit for 'Wait' and Conway as the studio came from search snippets only and are not used.

Vocals

Adam Levine

Mix effects

Waves C6 Multiband Compressor

Verified

Used on Adam Levine's vocals in the mix to pull back harsh or resonant frequencies where they stuck out.

Source: Waves Audio, accessed 15 Nov 2026

The plugin used on the record

Waves C6 Multiband Compressor

compressor

The plugin named in the source.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Waves H-Delay

Verified

Used for delay throws on the Adam Levine and SZA vocals on 'What Lovers Do', with its filters shaping the repeats.

Source: Waves Audio, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Waves OneKnob Filter

Verified

Filter heard on the sampled vocal effects at the start of 'What Lovers Do'.

Source: Waves Audio, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Bass layers

Mix effects

Waves CLA-76

Verified

Used to level the stacked live and synth bass layers together on 'Best 4 U'.

Source: Waves Audio, accessed 15 Nov 2026

The plugin used on the record

Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter

compressor

The plugin named in the source.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Drums and loops

Mix effects

Waves SoundShifter

InferredUsual practice

His usual choice for pitching or time-stretching drum samples and loops, nudging them a few cents to sit with the music.

A suggestion, not a documented fact: Noah Passovoy describes this as usual practice; it is not stated for this record.

Source: Waves Audio, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Sources

  1. Producing Maroon 5's Red Pill Blues with Noah Passovoy, Waves Audio, 2019-02-07. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
Verified

Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.

Reported

Stated by a reputable secondary source.

Inferred

An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.

Disclosure: plugin links currently go straight to the maker and earn us nothing. If that changes, affiliate links will be marked here. Suggestions are chosen on fit, never on commission, and are kept separate from the recording facts. More.