Mannie Fresh’s unmistakable sound has been the driving force behind smash hits like Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up,” BG’s “Bling, Bling,” and Lil Wayne’s “Go DJ.” Scratch takes a look inside Mannie’s studio to see what he’s working with and asked him about the inspiration behind some of his most memorable hits.

What are four essential pieces of equipment that you have to have in the studio?
I use my SP-1200 and my Ensoniq EPS. Everything else I kinda sample and put it in my keyboard and leave it alone. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, that’s what I’ve been using. I gotta have a SP-1200.

What is it about the SP-1200 and EPS that you like so much?
It ’s just that old analog sound, even though the SP-1200 is a sampler, it still gritty. It don’t make it sound too clean.

What about recording, what do you use?
It took me forever to accept recording on Pro Tools. My philosophy is if there is something that’s working for you then you wanna stick with it. I don’t really look at it like there’s a bunch of essentials that you’re absolutely supposed to have in order to produce a hit record. You got some DJs that’s got some tore up mixers, but they can work it like nobody else.

Do you still own a pair of turntables?
Oh yeah, I’m going to always have that in my setup. I gotta have two [Technics] 1200s. That’s inspiration to me. When I’m producing I might feel like stopping ’cause I need to get down for a second on the turntables, then I can get back to what I’m doing. Whenever I gotta go and do some production I always have two 1200s set up right there.

What kind of Keyboards do you use?
I like to use old school keyboards. Moogs, Yamahas, old school synths—I collect them.

So that’s why some of your music has a ’70s feel to it?
Yeah, exactly.

When you did the Young Jeezy Record, “And Then What,” did the bass line come first or the drum track? Naw, actually [it was] the piano line that came first. There’s, like, a little piano line in it that repeats itself. From the piano line came the drums, then the bass line and the rest was done. Dude sat down and gave me the idea of what he wanted to do and 15 minutes later we were through with it. He can vouch for that.

What about Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up?”
That’s vintage SP-1200 and EPS. The whole idea came from a classical song... just listening to classical music, that’s what it really sounds like, string line and everything. It’s just some classical music, some Johan Bach type of shit with some 808 beats behind it.

The thing that really stood out to me was how you used the strings in a very percussive manner?
Yeah, like Johan did.

What about Lil’ Flip’s song, “What it Do”
Actually, I had that done before he came to the studio. I was waiting for him and just decided to start on a track while I was waiting and a few minutes later he walked in. I was there for about 35 or 45 minutes working on it. When he came in there and heard it he just laid his parts on it. It ain’t too many instruments or nothing in that song, it’s just real simple. So I just kinda did something real simple that would get the club right and get the radio right. By the time he walked in I was finishing the song he just went in and put his rap to it.