Just Blaze

In this Wall Street Journal video interview, Just Blaze shows his production process for the track "Higher". At 2:08, Just Blaze shows how he added the lead synth to the track and in his DAW you see the track (#36) is labeled Sylenth1.

Beatmaker 3 has been a game changer and a main driver of the emerging culture of IOS for producers. It combines the tactile intuitiveness of analog equipment with the vast opportunities of VSTs. It’s like having a keyboard, sampler, mixer, MPC 16 pads, Native Launchpad 64 pads, full on DAW all in one. Paired with the IPad Pro there is no stopping it.

Excerpt:

The Mix

For the mixing process, Just Blaze and his engineer Andy Wright used a ton of SSL E Channel Strip plug-ins across all of the drums along with Ocean Way Studios plug-in to create a nice, tight “Studio B” ambience. For the bass, the Ampeg SVT3 Pro plug-in was used to add a touch of flavor along with the UA 1176AE compressor and Neve 1081 EQ. On the guitar subgroup there was an 1176AE, the Sonnox Oxford EQ to roll off lows and highs, focusing the the midrange before being finished with a Neve 1081TM EQ for a little high shelf.

Vocal Mix & Effects

Just Blaze’s lead vocal mix chain on this track is formidable. He started with a Teletronix LA-2A Gray, compressing between 5-7 dB, then to a Sonnox Oxford EQ, high-passing up to about 100, then a Neve 1081 EQ for some high boost, followed by Oxide Tape Recorder and finally the UAD Precision De-Esser — quite a chain.For the time-based effects, he had Lexicon 224 Digital Reverb, EMT 140 Plate Reverberator, and Eventide H810 plug-ins, and a bunch of stock Logic tape delays and Space Designer. On his master bus, the mix was finished off the SSL G Bus Compressor, followed by the bx_digital EQ, and finally the Studer A800 Multichannel Tape Recorder plug-in.

The video is Serato Icon Artist Series

In this Nissan commercial, Just Blaze can be seen dialing in Vulf Compressor on screen at 0:36.

An Instagram Live video between Jake One and Just Blaze happened during quarantine in 2020. In 12:01, Just Blaze discusses with Jake One how he uses the SWAM Engine, a VST full of orchestral instruments. Later in the video(12:33) he says the SWAM Engine is best paired with the ROLI Seaboard because the midi sounds like it’s an actual band recording if played correctly. The SWAM Engine was used in Rick Ross - Big Tyme