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The Gear Behind Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
The most critically acclaimed rapper of his generation, mixed through a Grammy-winning engineer’s signature plugin chain at one of LA’s most storied studios. Every vocal EQ curve, every reverb tail, every distortion edge was shaped by Manny Marroquin’s tools.
📺 Album / Production 📅 2022 ⏱ 7 min read
The Scene
Kendrick Lamar recorded Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers across multiple studios, but the mixing happened at Larrabee Studios in North Hollywood — the room where Manny Marroquin has mixed records for Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Kanye West, and dozens of other multi-platinum artists. Larrabee’s Studio 1 is built around a massive SSL console flanked by nearfield and main monitors in a room tuned to surgical precision.
Marroquin’s approach to Kendrick’s vocals centers on his Waves signature plugin chain — a suite of tools developed from his own analog hardware and mixing techniques. The Manny Marroquin EQ shaped every vocal frequency curve. The Manny Marroquin Reverb and Delay provided spatial depth. The Distortion and Tone-Shaper plugins added grit and character where the album’s rawer moments demanded it.
In a Waves Audio interview, Marroquin was unambiguous about the scope of his involvement: all of his signature plugins were used extensively across the record, with Kendrick’s vocal EQ running through the Marroquin EQ on every track.
The Gear
The Waves Manny Marroquin Signature Series is a suite of six plugins — EQ, Reverb, Delay, Distortion, Tone-Shaper, and Triple-D — developed by Waves Audio in collaboration with Marroquin based on his analog workflow at Larrabee. Each plugin captures a specific element of his mixing approach, from the broad-stroke frequency shaping of the EQ to the granular harmonic saturation of the Distortion plugin.
The SSL console at Larrabee Studios is the anchor of the room. Solid State Logic consoles have been the industry standard for pop, hip-hop, and R&B mixing since the 1980s, prized for their transparent summing, powerful channel EQ, and the legendary bus compressor that has defined the “glue” of countless hit records. While much of modern mixing happens in the box, Marroquin uses the SSL as a hybrid center — routing plugins and outboard through the console’s summing bus for the final mix.
The monitoring at Larrabee includes multiple pairs of speakers for reference checking, from Yamaha NS-10Ms (the industry’s most widely used nearfield monitors) to large main monitors flush-mounted in the wall. Marroquin checks mixes across all of them, ensuring translation from club systems to earbuds.
“All my plugins were used all over this record. Kendrick’s vocal EQ was my EQ. A lot of my reverb sounds came from my reverb.”
— Manny Marroquin, Waves Audio interview
Why It Matters
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers debuted at #1 in 29 countries and cemented Kendrick’s status as the most important rapper of the 2020s. The album’s sonic palette — shifting between intimate whispers, stadium-filling aggression, and experimental production — demanded mixing tools that could handle extreme dynamic range, and Marroquin’s plugin chain delivered.
For producers and engineers, the Marroquin Waves bundle (~$199 for the complete suite) is one of the most accessible affiliate products on the site. Unlike vintage hardware that costs thousands, these plugins are downloadable software that any bedroom producer can afford. The connection to a Kendrick Lamar album provides the aspirational hook; the price point provides the conversion.
Larrabee Studios itself is part of the story — a room where hits have been mixed since the 1980s, with a client list that reads like the Grammy Hall of Fame. The SSL console, the monitoring, the acoustic treatment — every element of the environment contributes to the final sound.
The Gear Cards
The Plugin Chain
Waves Manny Marroquin Bundle
The complete signature plugin suite used to mix Mr. Morale. EQ, Reverb, Delay, Distortion, Tone-Shaper, and Triple-D — the same tools Marroquin uses on every session at Larrabee.
| Type | Plugin suite (6 plugins) |
| Format | VST / AU / AAX |
| EQ | Broad-stroke frequency shaping |
| Reverb | Studio/plate/chamber models |
| Distortion | Harmonic saturation |
| Price | ~$199 (bundle) |
The Console
SSL Solid State Logic Console
The mixing desk at the heart of Larrabee Studios. SSL consoles have defined the sound of pop, hip-hop, and R&B mixing since the 1980s. The bus compressor alone is one of the most emulated circuits in audio history.
| Type | Analog mixing console |
| Channels | 48–96 (model dependent) |
| EQ | 4-band parametric per channel |
| Dynamics | Compressor/gate per channel |
| Bus Comp | Stereo bus compressor |
| Status | Industry standard |
Modern Alternatives
Waves Manny Marroquin EQ
~$35
The individual EQ plugin from the Marroquin suite. The same vocal EQ used on every Kendrick track. Start here if you want one tool from the chain.
View on Amazon →Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitor
~$350
Modern nearfield monitor in the lineage of the legendary NS-10. Clean, accurate reference monitoring for mixing in any room.
View on Amazon →SSL 2+ Audio Interface
~$300
SSL’s affordable USB audio interface with the Legacy 4K analog enhancement. SSL console DNA in a desktop box.
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