Vocal guide
How to sound like Drake
Crisp, upfront OVO chain — For All The Dogs era.
What defines Drake's vocal sound
Drake's modern vocal sits crisp, upfront and dry — pristine top-end with surgical de-essing and just-enough tail. This chain replicates the OVO mixing template heard on every record from Certified Lover Boy onward.
The chain, step by step
- Clean-up EQ — cut low rumble and muddy low-mids so the vocal sits forward.
- Pitch correction — set the speed to match the artist's style (hard and fast for melodic rap, gentle for R&B/pop).
- Compression — even out the level so every word stays upfront in the beat.
- De-essing & tone EQ — tame harsh "s" sounds, then add air on top.
- Space — reverb and delay on sends, tuned to the record's era.
Dialling this in by ear takes hours. The Drake preset loads the whole chain in one click, with only stock plugins.
Get the Drake vocal preset for your DAW