The Weeknd Vocal Chain: 80s Space on a Modern Voice
Vocal chain · based on public interviews
Not affiliated with, authorised by or endorsed by the artist. This is an approximation built by ear and from public sources — not a preset, session file or official chain.
The kind of chain that gets this sound records clean and processes hard: no EQ or compression on the way in, then subtle tuning, de-essing, a deliberately band-limited verse, multiband compression, a slammed parallel drive channel, wide doublers and a long reverb with tape slap underneath.
Contrast, not volume
SMALL VERSE
Band-limited · then the chorus opens wide
The 60-second answer
Record raw, no processing, just avoid clipping. Subtle tuning. De-ess 3–4 dB. For the verse, high-pass 150–200 Hz and low-pass 6–8 kHz. Multiband compression to balance lows against highs. Parallel saturation into a fast compressor doing 10–15 dB, blended 15–25 percent. Reverb 2.5–3.5 s plus a 120 ms tape slap.
Why the take goes in completely unprocessed
In a Sound On Sound Inside Track feature, engineer and producer Carlo ‘Illangelo’ Montagnese described recording Abel Tesfaye raw, with no EQ or compressors on the way in, working at 32-bit and only making sure the take never clipped, because the delivery is extremely dynamic and that range is the performance. Commit compression on the way in with a singer who moves from an almost-spoken low register to a high-register shout and you lose the range the chorus needs.
Why the verse is made deliberately small
In the same feature Montagnese described wanting the verses spacey and lo-fi with a lot of the low end taken out, and everything coming in on the choruses. That is an arrangement decision executed with an EQ: band-limited verse, full-range chorus, so the chorus feels enormous without being louder. A separate Sound On Sound feature on Metro Boomin describes Weeknd vocals arriving already tuned and treated by his own engineer, with long reverb decays typical of the earlier records.
An approximation you can rebuild, step by step
| # | Do this |
|---|---|
| 01 |
Record clean, print nothing No EQ, no compressor on the way in. Set gain so the loudest note peaks near -8 dBFS. Raw take · peaks near -8 dBFS |
| 02 |
Tune subtly, then de-ess Light correction so it reads as modern, then 3–4 dB of de-essing before anything brightens. Gentle retune · de-ess 3–4 dB |
| 03 |
Band-limit the verse High-pass 150–200 Hz and low-pass 6–8 kHz on the verse only. Automate both open for the chorus. Verse: 150 Hz–7 kHz window |
| 04 |
Ride the level, then multiband A level rider or clip gain first, then multiband compression balancing lows against the top. 2–4 dB per band |
| 05 |
Parallel drive on its own channel Saturation into a fast compressor doing 10–15 dB, blended under the dry vocal until it feels solid. Blend 15–25% |
| 06 |
Chorus gets doubling and grit An artificial double or ADT plus light distortion on the chorus bus only. ADT + drive on chorus bus |
| 07 |
Long reverb, tape slap, filtered delay A 2.5–3.5 s plate or hall with pre-delay, a 100–140 ms tape slap, and a filtered long delay. Reverb 2.5–3.5 s · slap 120 ms |
The trick: roll the top off the doubler so the esses stay dead centre
Width on this kind of vocal comes from a doubler and a micro-pitch shifter in parallel, and both spread the whole signal across the stereo field, sibilance included. The result is an S that smears to the sides while the word stays in the middle, which sounds unfocused and gets worse in mono. The fix is one plugin. Put an EQ on the doubler return and on the micro-shift return and low-pass them around 7–9 kHz, or pull 4–6 dB with a shelf from 8 kHz up. Now every S and T comes only from the centred dry vocal, and the wide returns give body and movement with no sibilance of their own. The vocal gets wider and more focused at once, which is why pro wide vocals still read on a laptop.
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- Compressing on the way in. The approach depends on the full dynamic range, so the chorus feels like an event.
- Making the chorus louder instead of wider. Size comes from contrast: a small filtered verse makes a full-range chorus feel enormous.
- Wide doublers with the top left in. The sibilance spreads sideways and the vocal loses focus in mono.
- One reverb for everything. A long tail, a tape slap and a filtered delay do three separate jobs.
The transferable idea is contrast: record everything, take a lot away in the verse, give it back in the chorus.
Keep going
FAQ
Should the vocal be compressed while recording?
In this approach, no. Public interviews describe recording raw and processing entirely afterwards.
How do I get that big 80s reverb without losing the words?
Use a 2.5–3.5 s tail with real pre-delay, duck the return off the dry vocal, and add a 120 ms tape slap.
Why does the chorus sound so much bigger?
Because the verse is deliberately band-limited. Filtering the verse and opening the chorus creates size with no change in level.
Sources
Sound On Sound: Inside Track, The Weeknd · Sound On Sound: Inside Track, Metro Boomin
This breakdown is independent editorial analysis based on publicly available interviews, studio videos and published engineer credits, plus my own recreation of the sound. It is not affiliated with, authorised by or endorsed by the artist or their team, and the settings are an approximation, not the session file. Meshplugins and the Vocal Chain Bible are not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any artist named on this page.
Who's behind this
Ivan Meshcheriakov · IvanFromRnD
5+ years ago I moved to LA with zero connections and started building from nothing — 14-hour days, meeting people and interning at studios. It took me 5+ years to meet and interview 100+ Grammy-winning engineers — then I turned it all into the Vocal Chain Bible.
Read my full story →