OutKast · Album, 2003
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
6 sourced items across 2 sectionsVerified6
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: Hey Ya!, Roses, The Way You Move. We found nothing specific to these songs, so this album record is the closest account we have.
What the sources do and do not say
Written as an album record: the Sound On Sound Frye interview covers the Speakerboxxx/The Love Below sessions without naming songs. The two song-specific items come from Mix (the Hey Ya! mix at The Hit Factory on an SSL K Series) and a Pogue interview (first Pro Tools mix). No source states the vocal microphone, tracking chain or acoustic guitar mic for Hey Ya! itself. Frye also mentions an Akai MPC3000 and an SSL G-series at Stankonia as general working habits, left out as not tied to the record.
Vocals (album sessions)
4 items
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann M149
Verified
Frye says these microphones give a nice clean signal.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.
Input chain
The real chain
Avalon VT737SP
Verified
Mic preamp used for a lot of the vocal work across the album.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Universal Audio Avalon VT-737 Tube Channel Strip
channel strip
Made with Avalon as a model of the VT-737sp channel strip.
The real chain
Avalon AD2055
Verified
Equaliser used alongside the preamp for a lot of the vocal work across the album.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Close match
Universal Audio Avalon VT-737 Tube Channel Strip
channel strip
Models the same maker's VT-737 channel strip, whose equaliser section is a sibling of this one; it is not a model of the AD2055 itself.
The real chain
Avalon AD2044
Verified
Compressor used for a lot of the vocal work across the album.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Close match
Universal Audio Avalon VT-737 Tube Channel Strip
channel strip
Models the same maker's VT-737sp, whose compressor section is also an optical design, so it is a sibling rather than this unit.
Tracking and mixing system
2 items
Input chain
The real chain
Neve 1073
Verified
A rack of these preamps was used quite a bit on the record, with many sources run through them.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Universal Audio Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Collection
preamp and EQ
Made with AMS Neve as a model of the 1073 preamp and equaliser.
Also worth a look 1
- Waves Scheps 73 (Models the 1073's preamp and equaliser, made with Andrew Scheps)
Mix effects
The real chain
Avid Pro Tools
VerifiedOne song
Pogue says Hey Ya! was the first mix he did in Pro Tools.
Source: Headliner Magazine, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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The plugin used on the record
Avid Pro Tools
DAW
The DAW used on the record.
Sources
- John Frye: Recording Outkast, Sound On Sound, 2004-03. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
- Neal Pogue on mixing Outkast's Hey Ya!, Headliner Magazine. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
What the ratings mean
Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.
Stated by a reputable secondary source.
An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.
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