The Guitars on the Makaveli Album

[MOBNigga06]

I bumped the Makaveli album in its entirety last night and was really impressed by how well it's put together musically. The guitars that recur throughout the album are the best touch. Whoever was behind that idea - perhaps it was Pac himself - was really a genius. The way the music is controlled at the end of Life of an Outlaw and Just Like Daddy is especially powerful.

It's amazing to listen to how rich the music on the Makaveli album is and to compare it with so many of the bare-bones unreleased tracks from that time. Listening carefully to Makaveli convinces me that Pac never would have released (in their leaked form) First 2 Bomb, Still Ballin, Die (Um Dumpin), or many of the other unreleased tracks that have such minimalistic production on them. If they came out during Pac's life time, I'm certain that they would have been heavily enhanced with additional instrumentation to make them more interesting. 

[ETtheLost1]

I agree with that totally!! The sound is even more crisp when listening to the remastered version. Everything especially those guitars really stand out.

[MOBNigga06]

I agree with that totally!! The sound is even more crisp when listening to the remastered version. Everything especially those guitars really stand out.

What do you mean by the remastered version? Is that the standard version in circulation now?

[TidyKris]

I agree with that totally!! The sound is even more crisp when listening to the remastered version. Everything especially those guitars really stand out.

What do you mean by the remastered version? Is that the standard version in circulation now?

He means the digitally remastered versions that came out in the 2000's, i would guess they are the ones in circulation now...ive not heard them as i have all the original
pressings bought when they were first released but i have heard the remasters are not very good although i cant say myself as ive not heard them.

It always blew my mind why they would want to digitally remaster something that was originally mixed and mastered on analogue, especially AEOM
that was mixed and mastered by Quik and sounds amazing...all digital mastering would do to make it better is make it louder...which isnt always better, it just gives
the impression it sounds better. But i suppose its just another money making tactic to sell the records again

[DeeezNuuuts83]

The "good" remaster to get of the Makaveli album is the DualDisc version (I think it was from 2005 or 2006), rather than the first remastered one that was re-released in the early 2000s.  The difference is much more obvious.

[Sccit]

a lot of people overlook how much a master affects the quality of a track.....makaveli was good when it was originally released tho, so i duno about the remaster, but the production was top of the line from the get.

[DeeezNuuuts83]

No, there is a big difference.

If you have the actual CDs, play Toss It Up from the original Makaveli release and compare it to the same song from the import CD single.

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

I bumped the Makaveli album in its entirety last night and was really impressed by how well it's put together musically. The guitars that recur throughout the album are the best touch. Whoever was behind that idea - perhaps it was Pac himself - was really a genius. The way the music is controlled at the end of Life of an Outlaw and Just Like Daddy is especially powerful.

It's amazing to listen to how rich the music on the Makaveli album is and to compare it with so many of the bare-bones unreleased tracks from that time. Listening carefully to Makaveli convinces me that Pac never would have released (in their leaked form) First 2 Bomb, Still Ballin, Die (Um Dumpin), or many of the other unreleased tracks that have such minimalistic production on them. If they came out during Pac's life time, I'm certain that they would have been heavily enhanced with additional instrumentation to make them more interesting. 

I agree... and I would take this argument a step further and say that I don't understand why everyone is so obsessed with the O.G.'s?   I always thought that all Pac's posthumous albums up until Loyal To The Game were very well done, and dramatically enhanced from the O.G.'s. 

[b.laden]

was Tupac a bass player ?

[MOBNigga06]

was Tupac a bass player ?

I don't think Pac could play guitar. If I recall correctly, all the guitars on Makaveli album were played by a certain Robert Rouse. In most cases, he was probably directed to add his element to the beat by Hurt Em Badd, Darryl Harper, or Pac, but in one interview it was said that Rouse actually wrote the melody for Me and My Girlfriend and wanted credit for it.

[mrfranklin]

The gutiars and strings are what made some of those tracks hits

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Pac was just starting to learn more about production and getting hands-on with it.  But in a lot of cases, he was able to tell the musicians/producers what he wanted to hear, and they were able to make it happen.  For example, the behind-the-scenes footage of Good Life, it shows the guitarist messing around and Pac critiquing it and asking him to play certain octaves that they ended up using for the finished product.

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

was Tupac a bass player ?

He was in Gridlocked

[b.laden]

was Tupac a bass player ?

He was in Gridlocked

yeah i know but a real bass player told me it was not him .. i still dont know the real ..b/c if its Tupac, he's a genius

[makaveliapostle]

ricky rouse is a motherfucker on them guitars!  that guy is brilliant.  he also played a major role in the production on R U Still Down (part of wegotkidz productions), which is why it sounds so damn good.  btw, he was in parliament and was musical director for chaka khan.  dude's the real deal.

and if you look at the footage of the bass player in gridlock'd, it's a close-up shot on the bass and fingers when the guy is playing with no head shot.  his fingers also look super long as well.  never thought this was pac.  i believe it's a stand-in.

and yes, pac really orchestrated a lot of the production elements, especially during the makaveli era.  truly a genius.

and those leaked unreleased/outtakes/alt versions of the makaveli album have some awesome guitar work that didn't make the final cut.  "white manz world" comes to mind as having some really great guitar elements that didn't make it to retail.