only built for cuban linx ii

[IIIII]

two tracks in and its pretty dope. always love hearing new inspectah deck and raekwon... kinda sick of the rest of wu other than rza and ghostface. anybody listen to the whole album yet?

[drewzle]

it's been in non-stop rotation since i got it

amazing album, rae's flow is real slick. his voice has changed a bit since the first one, but the flow an rhymes are all still top notch

two amazing Meth verses, four Deck joints, Ghost rhyming like an animal all over the place....

the beat on Surgical Gloves is
every beat is pure sickness. Alchemist, RZA and Jay Dee did most of 'em

best Wu album in a long time

WU TANG FOREVER

[PHeMoX]

Yep, I'm spinning that album here too. Some crazy tracks on there, but the beats at times do sound a bit weak, it's really the MCs most of the time that carry the music and make it truly topnotch material.

[Nothingless1987]

some heavy verses on this, copped it today

[1_inch_punch]

sounds good - wanna drop soon - fell off my couch last nite watching the rza interview on afro samurai resurrection - bragging about how he so happy he got to use protools for the entire 36 chambers. Am so dumb I thought it was all ol school to tape.

Anyways - makes my admiration for what folks done here all the more greater.

[Les Braun]

Oh, this album's great. I just wished that GZA would have had more appearances. I'm glad Inspectah Deck got enough shine on this one, that cat is great.

[Nothingless1987]

yeh man, inspectah deck got some dizope rhymes on this, he is one of my fav wu tanagers. im jus glad this isn't a disapointment. was never gonna live up to the hype, but overall it's solid from start to finish.

im a definant album man, like to hear things all the way through.



ref that protools for 36 chambers, you sure that wasn't jus remastering or something??? was it even out then???

[PHeMoX]

sounds good - wanna drop soon - fell off my couch last nite watching the rza interview on afro samurai resurrection - bragging about how he so happy he got to use protools for the entire 36 chambers. Am so dumb I thought it was all ol school to tape.

That's neither true, nor realistically possible. The music industry only began to really care about ProTools in 1997. In 1993 and before that, it was only a 4-track mastering suite basically, only experimentally used for mastering purposes.

Ricky Martin’s Livin’ La Vida Loca is assumed to be the first album fully mixed and mastered with ProTools, which clearly means the Wu album can't have been mixed in 1993. In fact, RZA only produces the beats (and lyrics / raps he does himself obviously), he let The Hit Factory master the album.

I respectfully think RZA is lying his ass off bigtime there, just like with his funky claims about a Final Scratch-like device / software.

[IIIII]

yea half of 36 chambers was sp1200 raw shit

[Dr Van Nostrand]

such a tight album, agree with all the opinions here, just thought i'd add that i feel like cappadona sucks on the mic, he has always had mediocre rhymes and never blew me away, but his appearance on this album sold it for me, and it was such a shame cause ghost and rae were crushin it over one of my favorite dilla beat tape beats

[Nothingless1987]

to add to the dilla bit, i can't listen to "10 bricks" without hearing madlib shoutin hey what the fck is this!! haha

all good

[Teewok]

i was gonna make a post about this just now as I finally got my hands on the album...checked to see if anyone else spoke on it... yes the album is soo dope... surgical gloves=my fav song so far.... and the odb tribute is such a powerful song, with dilla on the beat dammmn man.

[Platypus Beird]

a direct quote from Carlos "C12" Bess who recorded/mixed the album

Hey!! Just wanted to contribute to this post. This is a list of all the gear that I used to record and mix the first wu-tang album.

Console

Peavey Production Series 2400 With Megamix Automation (Run with a Mac SE-30)

Audio Recorders.

Ampex MM1200 24 track - Originally own by Prince. "Purple Rain" album was recorded with this machine.

The majority of the record was recorded on 2" tape except "Protect your Neck" which was record on a Tascam MS16 16 track 1" reel with Without Dolby NR

Sony APR5003 2 track 1/4" with SMPTE
Tascam DA-30 DAT Recorder
Tascam 244 portastudio 4 track was used to bounce final mixes from DAT to highspeed 4 track Cassette with Maxell MX 60 Crome Cassettes.

Speakers and Amps

Westlake Audio BBSM12
Yamaha NS10m
Aurtones C5
(2) Bryston Amps 4B
(2) OCS amps MX 700

Signal Processors

Ampex 350
API 3124
Quad 8
Focusrite ISA 215
API 550A
Pultek Custom 2 eq's
Aphex Lunch Box (2) eq's (2) Compressors
1 UREI 565 Notch Filter
2 UREI 1176
2 UREI LA-4
2 DBX 166
1 DBX 160x
2 DBX 266
2 DBX 563x The Silencer
1 Alesis 3630
Valley People Dynamite Comp/gate
Valley People Gatex
Barcus Barry BBE802 Aural Exciter

Efx Units

Tascam 122 MKII was used on "repro" as an Analog slap back delay used on the vocals. You hear it more on "Bring the Ruckus"
Roland R888
Yamaha Rev 1 (Without the Remote...HaHa)
Lexicon PCM 60
Echo Plate III
Stocktronics RX 4000A
Lexicon LXP1-LXP5 + MRC
Lexicon PCM 41 & 42
(2) Yamaha SPX90
(2) Delta Lab 1024
Ibenez AD202
Roland RE-301

The only microphone that was used was an AKG-C414 EB


At the time RZa used an SP-1200, EPS 16 Plus then Graduated to an ASR-10. We would lockup the units to tape using a Roland SBX-80

The Following machines were used for the following Tracks

1 Bring da Ruckus - EPS16+
2 Shame on a Nigga - ASR10
3 Clan in da Front - ASR10
4 Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber - ASR10
5 Can It Be All So Simple/Intermission ASR10 /Sp-1200 for Intermission
6 Da Mystery of Chessboxin' ASR 10
7 Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F' Wit - EPS16+
8 C.R.E.A.M. EPS16+
9 Method Man SP1200
10 Protect Ya Neck EPS16+
11 Tearz -EPS16+
12 Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber, Pt. 2 ASR 10 ( I provided the live Drums )

Most vocal Performaces were flown in using Akai -S-1000 Stereo Sampler. We would sample a lead vocal on the left with a Snare or kik on the right for reference then fly in the verses in their places.

and a little more info from Tony Belmont

36 Chambers Studios was in Manhattan (although the original was in Staten Island) .... Wu Tang did not have a studio in Brooklyn, but at one time had 2 studios in Manhattan.

Rza's main engineer's were Carlos Bess, and then Choco starting after Wu Tang Forever. There was also some tracking engineer's over the years that was cool people... TP Big Beatz worked on almost everything at the SSL studio I put together for them. Things like the Kill Bill soundtrack, etc. He later went on to work with Swizz, and tracked Cassidy "I'm a Hustla" album, and most of the Swizz tracks of that era (Swizz bought the original 36 Chambers/ Manhattan from Wu).

"Enter the 36" was done at Firehouse Studios which was on 28th Street. It was mixed by Carlos Bess.

Also.... most of the first round of solo albums, like Method Man's "Tical" and ODB's "Return to the 36", were mixed at several different studios in NYC including Platinum Island, Battery, and Chung King (they bounced around a lot).

[elhuana]

For me it;s one of the dopest album of this year.
House of Flyin Daggers and New Wu tracks are absolutely too dope for me.
Love Rae's voice.

[PHeMoX]

Anyone got a link to that interview where RZA claims to have used Pro Tools in early days? To be honest, I can't believe he would have claimed such a thing, knowing he's a hardware-only guy for like 75% of any music he makes. Probably even more.

He might sample software sounds and he might use software to EQ and master tracks, but that about it as far as I know.