Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars: studio, gear and credits

Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars: recorded at Enormous Studios (Venice, CA); Royal Studios (Memphis, TN); Cherry Beach Sound (Toronto, ON); The Zelig Room (London, UK); Daptone Studios (Brooklyn, NY), produced by Mark Ronson, Jeff Bhasker, Bruno Mars, engineered by Charles Moniz, Josh Bla

Details

Song: Uptown Funk
Artist: Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars
Genre / Style: Funk / Boogie / Minneapolis Sound / Disco-Pop
Date(s) Recorded: May – October 2014
Original Record Company & Catalog #: RCA Records / Columbia / Sony Music Entertainment (Cat: 88875058022)
Release Date: November 10, 2014
YouTube Search: Listen on YouTube

Personnel and session credits

Producer(s): Mark Ronson, Jeff Bhasker, Bruno Mars
Chief Recording Engineer(s): Charles Moniz, Josh Blair, Boo Mitchell, Wayne Gordon, Inaam Haq
Assistant Engineer(s): Ken Lewis, Matthew Stevens, Riccardo Damian
Mixing Engineer(s): Serban Ghenea
Musicians & Session Performers:

Bruno Mars - Lead Vocals
Bruno Mars - Acoustic Drums
Bruno Mars - Electric Bass
Mark Ronson - Electric Rhythm Guitar
Mark Ronson - LinnDrum Programming
Jeff Bhasker - Roland Juno-106 Synthesizer
Jeff Bhasker - Moog Voyager Synthesizer
Phredley Brown - Additional Electric Keyboard
Philip Lawrence - Backing Vocals
Dave Guy - Trumpet
Michael Leonhart - Trumpet
Kameron Whalum - Trombone
Ray Mason - Trombone
Ian Hendrickson-Smith - Baritone Saxophone

Studio and recording technology

Tracking Studio & Room: Enormous Studios (Venice, CA); Royal Studios (Memphis, TN); Cherry Beach Sound (Toronto, ON); The Zelig Room (London, UK); Daptone Studios (Brooklyn, NY)

Reported gear and setup (not independently verified)

Mixing / Overdub Studio: MixStar Studios (Virginia Beach, VA)
Mixing Console / Desk: Avid Pro Tools HD System via Avid ICON D-Control
Multitrack Tape Machine & Format: Avid Pro Tools HD (24-bit / 44.1 kHz via Avid HD I/O)
Studio Monitors: ProAc Studio 100
Key Outboard Processors & Hardware Units:

AMS Neve 1073 (Discrete Solid-State Microphone Preamplifier / Inductor EQ): Tracking preamplification across lead vocals, bass, and brass
Tube-Tech CL 1B (Optical Tube Compressor): Dynamic leveling on Bruno Mars' tracking vocal signal chain
UREI 1176LN Rev E (Solid-State FET Peak Limiter): Peak transient catching on electric bass, snare drum, and acoustic guitars
direct box (Class-A Active DI Preamplifier): Instrument direct injection on electric bass tracking sessions
Roland RE-201 Space Echo (Analog Tape Delay / Spring Reverb): Auxiliary tape slap and saturation during rhythm track development
Waves CLA-3A compressor (Outboard): Documented in published sources for this session / era.

Synthesizers, Drum Machines & Electronic Instruments:

Linn Electronics LinnDrum LM-2 (Digital Sampling Drum Machine): Fundamental 8-bit kick, clap, and percussion patterns driving the core grid groove
Roland Juno-106 (Analog Polyphonic Synthesizer): Analog brass stabs, chord pads, and octave filter sweeps across pre-chorus
Moog Minimoog Voyager (Analog Monophonic Synthesizer): Sub-bass reinforcement underpinning the breakdown drop and transition points

Signal chains covered in the full track sheet

Instrument-by-instrument recording pathways, including: Lead Vocals (Bruno Mars), Backing Vocals (Bruno Mars & Philip Lawrence), Kick Drum (Bruno Mars), Snare Drum (Bruno Mars), Drum Kit Overheads & Cymbals (Bruno Mars), LinnDrum LM-2 Drum Machine (Mark Ronson), Electric Bass Guitar (Bruno Mars), Electric Rhythm Guitar (Mark Ronson), Roland Juno-106 Synthesizer (Jeff Bhasker), Moog Voyager Synthesizer (Jeff Bhasker), Electric Keyboard / Clavinet (Phredley Brown), Trumpets (Dave Guy & Michael Leonhart).

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