All the Plugins You Need to Make Drake Beats Like Noah '40' Shebib
Have you ever wondered how Drake’s signature atmospheric sound comes together? Whether it’s the deep, brooding bass or the emotionally resonant synth lines, the production behind Drake's tracks is all about blending the right tools to craft that distinct, moody vibe. Today, we’re going to break down some of the most essential instruments and plugins used by Drake’s producers like Noah '40' Shebib and Boi-1da. These tools help to create those expansive soundscapes, nostalgic chords, and crisp rhythms that define Drake’s sound. If you're aiming to make beats that resonate like "Marvins Room" or "God's Plan," you're in the right place. From Kontakt 8 to RC-20 Retro Color, these tools are the magic behind the music—enabling creativity without limits. Let’s dive into how you can use the same synths, samplers, and effects to capture that unmistakable OVO sound, elevate your production skills, and build something that's both timeless and contemporary.
All the Plugins You Need to Make Drake Beats Like Noah '40' Shebib
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Synth and Instrument Plugins
Native Instruments Kontakt 8
Kontakt 8 is a go-to for Noah '40' Shebib and Boi-1da, particularly for crafting the atmospheric textures that have become synonymous with Drake's sound. With its extensive library of sampled instruments, Kontakt provides the lush orchestral strings, ethereal pads, and organic timbres that underpin many of Drake's tracks. '40' liked Kontakt so much that he developed signature synth and drum instruments in collaboration with Native Instruments, designed specifically to achieve the distinct sonic qualities of his productions. These custom instruments feature rich, moody synth sounds and carefully curated drum samples that contribute to the minimal yet impactful vibe of Drake's music. It’s the ability to manipulate these samples creatively that allows '40' to create dense sonic landscapes that feel both modern and timeless, like the immersive strings found in "Take Care."
If you're looking to make a Drake-type beat, Kontakt’s versatile sound library, along with '40's signature instruments, is perfect for building the layered, cinematic elements that fill out a track's background without overpowering the vocals. Use the sound-shaping tools to adjust pitch, reverb, and modulation to make the sound feel unique and moody, bringing an atmospheric depth that echoes Drake’s best tracks.
Output Arcade
Output Arcade is a key tool for adding vocal chops and atmospheric textures, which are integral to creating the immersive soundscapes heard in many of Drake’s tracks. With its loop-based workflow and a wide array of vocal sample libraries, Arcade makes it easy for producers to introduce unique vocal elements that add an emotional, human touch to their beats. The drag-and-drop simplicity and real-time manipulation features allow for instant experimentation, ensuring that vocal elements can fit seamlessly within the larger production.
If you’re aiming for that Drake-type beat, Arcade's vocal chops from the Hooked line can be used to create haunting, ethereal hooks or background vocal swells that fill out the track and provide a layer of depth. For example, the vocal textures in "Passionfruit" rely on similar elements to provide a lush atmosphere. Experiment with pitch shifting, time stretching, and built-in effects to craft vocal sounds that evoke different moods—be it introspective, haunting, or uplifting.
Spectrasonics Omnisphere
Trap producers often utilize Spectrasonics Omnisphere for its versatile soundscapes and deep atmospheres, giving Drake’s tracks that broad, expansive feel. Omnisphere is known for its wide range of synthesizers, blending traditional and digital sounds to create complex textures that are both cinematic and emotionally impactful. It’s a powerhouse for creating evolving sounds that can act as the foundation for an entire track.
To capture the essence of a Drake beat, use Omnisphere’s rich synth patches to establish a moody undertone, and take advantage of the orb modulation feature to add subtle changes over time. You can hear these evolving soundscapes in tracks like "Over My Dead Body," where the music feels alive and constantly moving, creating a deep emotional connection.
Xfer Serum
Xfer Serum is one of Boi-1da’s preferred VSTs for designing synth leads, pads, and bass that cut through the mix while still fitting seamlessly into the overall production. Serum’s waveform manipulation allows for an incredible level of customization, making it easy to sculpt unique sounds that give tracks an edge. Boi-1da uses this capability to create the kinds of lush, futuristic leads and punchy basslines that provide the driving force behind Drake’s more energetic songs.
If you want to make a Drake-style beat, Serum’s intuitive interface makes it easy to experiment with LFO modulation and filter effects that can add movement and complexity to your sound. Think about the sharp leads and dynamic pads found in "Nonstop," where the bass drives the track’s energy—Serum is the perfect tool to achieve this.
NI Massive
Massive by Native Instruments has been used by Drake collaborators for designing synth leads and pad sounds that add richness to his productions. Known for its oscillator flexibility and powerful wavetable synthesis, Massive helps shape the lush, ambient backgrounds and sharp, cutting leads heard in many of Drake's songs. The powerful modulation options in Massive make it perfect for evolving pads that provide a sense of movement and intensity.
To emulate this sound, you can use Massive to create detuned saw leads and wide, atmospheric pads that fill out the sonic space, lending an epic quality to your beats—like the emotional builds found in "Started From the Bottom." Play around with the macro controls for dynamic sound changes, as these are essential for keeping a track engaging and adapting to the emotional flow.
u-he Diva
u-he Diva is renowned for its lush analog pad sounds, making it a favorite for creating those deep, evocative backgrounds that anchor many of Drake’s tracks. With Diva's circuit-modelled analog synthesis, it captures the warmth and imperfections of classic hardware synths, bringing an unmistakably organic texture to the music. These sounds are perfect for slow-burning beats that emphasize emotional depth and space.
To achieve a Drake-style sound, use Diva for creating thick, evolving pads that envelop the mix, providing a soft bed for vocals to sit on. You can hear these atmospheric layers in tracks like "Emotionless," where the pads add a reflective, late-night vibe that’s key to Drake’s introspective moments.
Effects & Processing
SoundToys Decapitator
SoundToys Decapitator is a go-to for adding analog warmth and saturation, helping to create the distinct sonic character often heard in Drake's productions. This saturation plugin emulates the natural distortion of analog hardware, which can add richness and harmonic complexity to almost any element of a track, from drums to vocals. By dialing in just the right amount of drive, you can bring a gritty edge to basslines or give synth leads an extra bite, helping them cut through the mix without sounding harsh. The versatility of Decapitator makes it perfect for achieving that organic, warm feel that Drake’s songs are known for—where each element has a presence that feels alive and textured, like the drums in "Hotline Bling."
Eventide Blackhole
Eventide Blackhole is used to create lush, spatial reverb effects, helping to build the deep, atmospheric soundscapes like the ones present in many of Drake's songs. Known for its expansive and otherworldly reverb, Blackhole excels at crafting wide, immersive environments, perfect for placing synths, pads, or even vocals in a rich, spacious context. This reverb plugin allows producers to add a sense of depth and mystery, making individual elements sound as if they are floating in a vast expanse, adding to the emotive qualities of the track. To create a Drake-type beat, you can use Blackhole to turn even simple sounds into grand, evolving textures that feel cinematic and emotionally impactful, similar to "Cameras / Good Ones Go."
Noah '40' Shebib likes to use the Lexicon PCM Reverb and Soundtoys EchoBoy for adding reverb, delay and spatial depth to both vocals and instrumental tracks, helping create the ethereal, immersive soundscapes that characterize much of Drake’s music.
Antares Auto-Tune
Antares Auto-Tune is a staple in modern music production and is used on Drake’s vocals for subtle pitch correction, ensuring smooth, polished vocal delivery. Unlike the heavy, robotic Auto-Tune effect often heard in trap and pop music, the way it’s used in Drake's music tends to be more nuanced, providing just enough correction to maintain pitch accuracy while retaining the emotional nuances of his vocal performance. Using Auto-Tune in a subtle way can help enhance vocal performances without making them sound artificial, which is key in preserving the authentic and introspective quality of Drake's vocal style. You can hear this in tracks like "Too Good," where the vocals remain expressive while perfectly tuned.
For beatmakers, Auto-Tune can be a very creative tool. You don’t need to sing well to be able to add synth-y tones and soulful ad-libs to your beats. Just plug a mic in, put on some headphones and start humming. The results are often interesting, and impossible to replicate with a synth.
Underwater FX by Thenatan
Underwater FX by Thenatan is used for recreating the famous underwater effect that Noah '40' Shebib popularized in many of Drake's earlier hits. This plugin provides a quick and easy way to achieve that signature effect, with filters, modulation, and reverb that make sounds feel as though they’re submerged beneath the surface. By reducing the high-end frequencies and adding a sense of muffled distance, Underwater FX creates a dreamy, detached atmosphere that adds emotional weight to introspective songs. To achieve that classic Drake "underwater" vibe, use this plugin on synths, vocals, or entire sections of your track to create a feeling of depth and isolation, similar to "Marvins Room." This effect can also be achieved with any stock EQ plugin by rolling back a low pass filter!
Waves Renaissance
In interviews, 40 has said he uses plugins from the Waves Renaissance Maxx bundle on every track. Two key plugins for hip hop in this series are Renaissance Vox (Rvox) and Renaissance Bass (Rbass), which play an essential role in achieving the vocal clarity and bass presence that are characteristic of Drake's sound. Rvox is a go-to for vocal compression and leveling, helping to ensure that Drake’s vocals remain front and center, with a smooth, consistent tone throughout the track. This allows his lyrics to be delivered clearly and emotionally, without being overshadowed by other elements of the mix.
On the low end, Rbass is crucial for adding powerful subharmonic content that gives basslines depth and impact, without muddying the mix. This plugin helps to create the kind of deep, controlled low end that gives tracks like "Started From the Bottom" their punchy and resonant bass. By using Rbass, you can make sure that your bass frequencies are felt as much as they are heard, adding that signature weight and presence that makes Drake's tracks so captivating.
Hardware
When it comes to pro audio hardware, achieving Drake’s iconic sound is all about combining the best microphones, preamps, compressors, and monitoring systems to capture every nuance with warmth and clarity. Sony C800G is Noah "40" Shebib’s preferred microphone for recording Drake's vocals. Known for its incredible warmth and detail, this mic is ideal for capturing the intimate tone of Drake's performances, allowing subtle inflections to come through clearly. The Neve 1073 / 1081 Mic Preamp & EQ is a vital part of 40’s vocal chain, adding richness and warmth, which gives Drake’s vocals their characteristic depth and presence. This combination ensures that each vocal take feels both polished and emotionally resonant.
To maintain consistent dynamics while preserving a natural vocal sound, his LA-2A Optical Compressor is used gently on vocals, providing a smooth, musical compression that keeps the performance expressive. For more refined control, his CL 1B Opto Compressor is also often employed, helping to shape the vocal delivery and add subtle smoothness that enhances clarity without overpowering the vocal nuances. These carefully selected compressors contribute to the cohesive and polished quality of Drake's vocal production, ensuring that every word carries emotional weight while fitting perfectly in the mix.
For monitoring during recording and mixing, Focal Trio6 Be studio monitors are utilized for their high-end clarity and detail, allowing for precise critical listening that is essential to perfecting each track. Combined with the RME Babyface Pro audio interface, which offers low latency and pristine sound quality, 40's studio setup ensures that every element, from initial recording to final playback, maintains the integrity and quality needed for Drake’s signature sound. This cohesive blend of top-tier microphones, preamps, compressors, monitors, and interfaces allows for the production of music that is both sonically impressive and deeply emotive.
Fade the Outro
Ready to dive into your own Drake-inspired production journey? The tools discussed here are the backbone of some of the most iconic tracks in the last decade, giving producers like Noah '40' Shebib and Boi-1da the power to craft beats that resonate deeply with listeners. Whether you're working with vocal chops in Arcade or layering pads with Omnisphere, the key is to find what works for you and to experiment with these elements until you capture the vibe that makes Drake's music so captivating.
Keep it creative and trust your ears — the beauty of production lies in making these sounds your own. The goal isn’t to replicate tracks that artists like Drake have already released, but rather to create the original and innovative beats you would send him if he hit you up for a collab.
Dive into the depths of each synth, play with the atmospheric effects, and take risks with your sound design. You never know—you might just end up crafting the next beat that captures the mood of an entire generation, and before you know it, you’ll be running in the 6ix with your VSTs.
Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links, which means Internet Tattoo may receive a commission if you purchase through these links at no additional cost to you.