The Black Eyed Peas · Album, 2009
The E.N.D.
16 sourced items across 3 sectionsVerified13Reported3
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: Boom Boom Pow, I Gotta Feeling, Imma Be, Meet Me Halfway, Rock That Body. 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
Sound On Sound's Mix Secrets interview with Dylan Dresdow covers The E.N.D. as a whole; it never mentions I Gotta Feeling, so this is an album record and every row is album-level. The song-specific passages are about Boom Boom Pow and were left out. Dresdow says he used a Sony 800 or a Neumann U87 typically; the C800 is not named in full. The Mix 2004 Elephunk article and two Mix mastering news items were read but contain no gear for this album.
Vocal overdubs (album)
5 items
will.i.am and the Black Eyed Peas
Microphone
The real chain
Sony 800
Verified
One of the two microphones Dresdow typically used for vocal overdubs on the album (the text says Sony 800, without the full model name).
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
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.
The real chain
Neumann U 87
Verified
The alternative microphone Dresdow typically used for vocal overdubs on the album.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
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.
The real chain
Pete's Place Blast Filter
Verified
Pop filter placed in front of the vocal microphone for overdubs.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. This is a pop filter placed in front of the microphone, an accessory rather than a processor, so no plugin stands in for it.
Input chain
The real chain
Cranesong Flamingo
Verified
Microphone preamp for the vocal overdubs, with its levels set very conservatively.
- Settings
- Levels set very conservatively
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. No plugin models this preamp. It is a clean, transformerless Class A design meant to add very little of its own, so there is no fair software stand-in.
The real chain
Tube-Tech CL 1B
Verified
Compressor after the preamp, whose make-up gain set the level going to the DAW.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
Emulation of this unit
Softube Tube-Tech CL 1B Mk II
compressor
Made with Tube-Tech as a model of the CL 1B.
Synth overdubs (album)
8 items
will.i.am
Instrument
The real chain
Moog Little Phatty
Verified
One of the keyboards available at the Record Plant for additional synth overdubs on the album.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
Approximate
Arturia Mini V
instrument
A Minimoog emulation. It has the Moog filter and character, but this is a different Moog.
The real chain
Korg OASYS
Verified
One of the keyboards available at the Record Plant for additional synth overdubs on the album.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
Close match
Korg KORG Collection
instrument
Korg's own software versions of its earlier workstations and of the Polysix, MS-20 and Wavestation, whose engines the OASYS also carried; there is no model of the OASYS itself.
The real chain
Roland Juno-106
Verified
One of the keyboards available at the Record Plant for additional synth overdubs on the album (written as Juno 106).
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
Emulation of this unit
Roland Roland Cloud
instrument
Roland's own subscription, which includes its software Juno-106.
Also worth a look 2
- TAL Software TAL-U-NO-LX (Models the Juno-60, the Juno-106's close predecessor)
- Arturia Jun-6 V (Models the Juno-6, an earlier member of the same family)
Input chain
The real chain
A-Designs Pacifica
Verified
One of the preamps Dresdow used for the synth outputs when recording overdubs.
- Settings
- Pad button usually pressed in
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
Covers this kind of unit
MixWave Quad Eight MM-310
preamp and EQ
Models a Quad Eight preamp and equaliser module, from the maker whose circuits this unit draws on; it is not a model of this unit.
The real chain
Neve 3405
Verified
Another preamp Dresdow used for the synth outputs when recording overdubs.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
Covers this kind of unit
Universal Audio Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Collection
preamp and EQ
Models the 1073, a Neve console module of the 1970s; the 3405 is a Neve amplifier module racked as a microphone preamp, so the character is related, but it is not a model of this unit.
The real chain
A-Designs Reddi
Verified
Tube direct box between the preamps and the SSL for the synth overdubs.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. A DI box passes the signal on cleanly. Plug the instrument straight into your interface's instrument input.
The real chain
Avalon E44
Verified
Occasional EQ on the synths while recording, alongside the board EQ.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. No Avalon model called E44 could be traced, so no fair stand-in can be named.
Mix effects
The real chain
Desper Spatializer
Verified
Spatial processor Dresdow used throughout the album, including on some of the synth parts.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
Covers this kind of unit
Waves S1 Stereo Imager
stereo imager
A stereo imager that pushes a mix wider than the speakers, the same job this unit does; it is not a model of this unit.
Studio and mix system (album)
3 items
Dylan Dresdow
Input chain
The real chain
Lynx Aurora 16
Reported
Converters Dresdow brought to the Record Plant for the album sessions.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. A converter, designed to be transparent. Your own audio interface does this job.
Mix effects
The real chain
Solid State Logic SSL 9000 J console
Reported
Console on which the album was recorded and mixed, mainly at the Record Plant in Los Angeles.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
Close match
Solid State Logic SSL Native Channel Strip 2
channel strip
SSL's own channel-strip plugin. It is not a model of this particular desk.
Also worth a look 1
- Waves SSL E-Channel (Models the 4000 E channel strip; the source does not make this the same desk)
The real chain
Avid Pro Tools
Reported
Dresdow's own Pro Tools system, brought to the Record Plant for mixing the album.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
The plugin used on the record
Avid Pro Tools
DAW
The DAW used on the record.
Sources
- Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: Dylan '3D' Dresdow, Sound On Sound, 2009-07. 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.
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.