How It Was Recorded

Meghan Trainor · Takin' It Back, 2022

Made You Look

Vocals (lead, backing, ad libs)Guitar808 and upright bassDrums and percussionCelesta, strings and pianoHornsStereo bus (METER and INPUT tracks)Verified23

What the sources do and do not say

Single Sound On Sound Secrets of the Mix Engineers piece with mixer Jeremie Inhaber, read in full. It covers the mix only (all plug-ins in Pro Tools); tracking, microphones and instruments are not described. Maker names for Millennia and Dangerous Music are inferred from the model names in the text; Dangerous Bax EQ is written there as "Dangerous Bax EQ".

Vocals (lead, backing, ad libs)

Meghan Trainor

Mix effects

Waves Manny Marroquin EQ

Verified

Added high-frequency lift to the VOCALS aux that all the vocals were routed through, to make them more pop.

Settings
Boosts at 8kHz and 25kHz; the 25kHz boost is a very wide bell

Source: Sound On Sound, 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 RVox

Verified

Compressed and saturated the backing vocals together with the SSL Channel plug-in to build the doo-wop ensemble feel.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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 SSL Channel (E or G version not stated)

Verified

Compressed and saturated the backing vocals together with RVox to give the doo-wop ensemble sound.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Waves SSL E-Channel

channel strip

Kinelski names only the Waves SSL channel strip. Waves sells an E-Channel and a G-Channel; the source does not say which he used.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves SSL G-Channel (The other Waves SSL channel strip. The source does not say which version was used).

Plugin Alliance Bettermaker EQ

Verified

Used on the vocals to make them sound poppy and glued.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

FabFilter Pro-MB

Verified

Tamed harshness in the vocals while also gluing them together further.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

AKG BX20

Verified

The lead vocal track had a send to it.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio AKG BX 20 Spring Reverb

reverb

A model of the AKG BX 20 itself, endorsed by AKG.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Guitar

Federico Vindver

Mix effects

PSP Audioware SpringBox

Verified

Spring reverb on a send from the single guitar track, to give it more bounce and a different sense of space.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

808 and upright bass

Mix effects

Waves SSL Channel (E or G version not stated)

Verified

Applied lightly to the 808, and set aggressively on the second upright that plays alone in the pre-choruses.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Waves SSL E-Channel

channel strip

Kinelski names only the Waves SSL channel strip. Waves sells an E-Channel and a G-Channel; the source does not say which he used.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves SSL G-Channel (The other Waves SSL channel strip. The source does not say which version was used).

Plugin Alliance Bettermaker EQ

Verified

Applied lightly to the 808 low end.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Soundtoys Decapitator

Verified

Added with RVox and SSL Channel to the pre-chorus upright to make it as present and warm as the 808.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Drums and percussion

Mix effects

Waves H-Reverb

Verified

Fed from a send for the toms, using his Buckram preset, a short, non-linear gated reverb.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

SIR Audio Tools StandardCLIP

Verified

Soft-clipped the drums group aux to add grit and crunch and a more modern weight.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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 Manny Marroquin EQ

Verified

Added top end to the drums group aux to hype the drums.

Settings
Boost around 15kHz

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

AKG BX20

Verified

Received sends from some percussion tracks to put them in a little space; the sends came with the session he was given.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio AKG BX 20 Spring Reverb

reverb

A model of the AKG BX 20 itself, endorsed by AKG.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Celesta, strings and piano

Mix effects

Waves API 550

Verified

Described as a really helpful plug-in for managing the midrange, and he says an API plug-in is on the celesta, strings and piano.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Horns

Mix effects

Waves Manny Marroquin EQ

Verified

Added brightness to the horns folder, one of four plug-ins used.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

Millennia TCL-2

Verified

Gave very clean compression on the horns folder.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Plugin Alliance Millennia TCL-2

compressor

Made with Millennia as a model of the TCL-2.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Waves PuigChild 670

Verified

Added character to the horns, as the opposite of the clean Millennia sound.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

The plugin used on the record

Waves PuigChild 660 & 670

compressor

The plugin used on the record.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Stereo bus (METER and INPUT tracks)

Mix effects

Universal Audio UAD Pultec EQP-1A

Verified

On the METER track, added low end and grit to support the vintage vibe.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

The plugin used on the record

Universal Audio Pultec Passive EQ Collection

equaliser

The current version of the plugin used on the record.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Dangerous Music BAX EQ

Verified

On the METER track, added clinical, modern high end.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Plugin Alliance Dangerous Music BAX EQ

equaliser

Made with Dangerous Music as a model of the BAX EQ.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Cytomic The Glue

Verified

First plug-in in the chain on the INPUT track of the mix bus.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

SIR Audio Tools StandardCLIP

Verified

On the INPUT track, shaped the groove, affecting how the kick and snare hit and the feel of transients.

Source: Sound On Sound, 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.

FabFilter Pro-L 2

Verified

Came last in the INPUT track chain he lists and added only about one dB.

Settings
Adds about 1 dB

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

The plugin used on the record

FabFilter Pro-L 2

limiter

The plugin used on the record.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Sources

  1. Inside Track: Meghan Trainor 'Made You Look', Sound On Sound, 2023-02. 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.