Author: Finn McKenty

EP80 | Billy Decker

Nashville mixing legend Billy Decker is here to provide insight into what it takes to mix #1 singles consistently and at a breakneck pace.

Pouring over your mix for hours on end in order to get that snare hit at 2:47 into that song just right? You could do that. You’ll probably end up doing it with 100 other things before you finish that mix though. Billy Decker is here to talk about a better way to work. We’re not sure if all the producers in Nashville have it down to this much of a science, but Billy certainly has some amazing ideas that you need to pay attention to.

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“You find a good balance, and all of a sudden you’re happier. You get better at engineering because you keep that passion for it, and all of a sudden the money starts rolling in.” – Billy Decker

THIS WEEK, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

– Why you should learn to get great results fast
– The value of templates
– What it’s like to work as a mixer in Nashville
– The importance of customer service
– Incorporating elements from multiple genres
– Chris Lord Alge’s opinion of L2
– How to price your mixes
– Moving to where the work is
– Using “Top Of Mind” strategy to grow your studio
– Staged compression
– And much, much more

Links:

Billy’s Website

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Sign up to our [cp_modal id=”cp_id_7934d”]mailing list[/cp_modal] to discover more!

Nail The MixNail The Mix is our online mixing school that gives you REAL multi-tracks from REAL bands, plus a mixing class from the producer who recorded it. Past guests include Periphery, Chelsea Grin, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!

Leave any questions, comments, or feedback in the comment section below.

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Nolly from PERIPHERY dials in a bass tone

Wanna know the dirty secret of mixing metal? Here it is: 75% of “guitar tone” = bass tone

Guitar tone is obviously a huge part of part of mixing metal, and you’ve probably spent many, many hours chasing “that” tone. What’s not so obvious to many beginning mixers is that a huge part of what you think is “guitar tone” is actually bass tone. When you think of the punch, thickness and attack of a great guitar tone, that’s probably coming from the bass. And it’s not just the low end– the right bass tone usually has some distortion in it that fills in some areas where the guitars are weak.

But as you probably know, getting that bass tone is easier said than done. It’s very, very easy to go overboard with the low end, turning your mix into a soupy mess. And while distortion adds the presence and grit that’s key to a good bass tone, it will also kill the low end. So, how do you get both low end and distortion, since these two things don’t want to get along?

The solution is that most metal mixers use two layers of bass: one clean layer for low end (high passed), and a distorted layer for grit (low passed)– some people even add a third layer for sub-bass.

Nolly from Periphery dials in a bass tone – Nail The Mix preview

In this clip from his Nail The Mix class, Adam Nolly Getgood from Periphery and GetGood Drums mixes his bass tone from “Periphery III: Select Difficulty” in Cubase using a DI track, FF Saturn and Slate VMR. Get the Periphery multi-tracks and Adam Nolly Getgood’s full mixing session ► https://goo.gl/25BAK3

In the below video, Nolly from Periphery shows a really elegant alternative to the above, recreated the amazing bass tone on their most recent album “Select Difficulty” using a DI track, Fabfilter’s Saturn and Slate VMR. If you’re like most of us, you were wowed by the incredible bass tone Nolly got on the album, so you probably want to take notes on this (and try to find a bassist who plays as well as Nolly… good luck with that).

Pay special attention to the multi-band saturation trick at around 4:30, which uses Saturn as an alternative to splitting your bass track into clean + distorted layers– very slick solution that we haven’t seen too often!

 

Nail The Mix

Nail The Mix is our online mixing school that gives you REAL multi-tracks from REAL bands, plus a mixing class from the producer who recorded it. Past guests include Periphery, Gojira, Chelsea Grin, Papa Roach, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!

EP33 | Kane Churko

Production powerhouse Kane Churko (Ozzy Osbourne, Papa Roach, In This Moment) talks about the process of writing chart topping hits.

For a producer, songwriting can be one of the most artistically and financially rewarding skills they can acquire. Kane Churko has written songs for various standout artists and delves into how to navigate that process.

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“Some people in life are starters, and some people are finishers” – Kane Churko

THIS WEEK, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

– How to wear multiple hats in the studio
– The things that Kane feels make a great song
– The value of deadlines
– The importance of music theory
– How arrangement factors into the songwriting process
– How legality comes into play for producers with a hand in writing
– How not to end a song
– And much, much more

Links:

Kane’s Website
Kevin & Kane’s Studio

Thanks for listening!
Sign up to our [cp_modal id=”cp_id_7934d”]mailing list[/cp_modal] to discover more!

Nail The MixNail The Mix is our online mixing school that gives you REAL multi-tracks from REAL bands, plus a mixing class from the producer who recorded it. Past guests include Periphery, Chelsea Grin, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!

Leave any questions, comments, or feedback in the comment section below.

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Mixing MACHINE HEAD Quad Guitars

If you’ve ever tried quad-tracking your guitars, you know that they present some challenges. No matter how tightly you track them, you’ll always be dealing with some phase issues in addition to the challenge of keeping their thickness and depth.

In this clip from our September 2016 Nail The Mix session featuring the Machine Head song “Is There Anybody Out There,” Joel discusses the pros and cons of quad guitars and works to balance them against the bass and drums. Note that if you’re hearing some nastiness in the cymbals, that gets EQ’d out later.

This entire session (including the full mixing class and the multi-tracks) is available exclusively to Nail The Mix members.

Mixing MACHINE HEAD quad-tracked guitars on Nail The Mix

In this clip from NAIL THE MIX, Joel Wanasek works with quad-tracked guitars in a Machine Head session, using some smart EQ moves and a little limiting to balance them against the bass and drums while retaining the thickness and depth of the guitars.

 

Nail The MixNail The Mix is our online mixing school that gives you REAL multi-tracks from REAL bands, plus a mixing class from the producer who recorded it. Past guests include Periphery, Chelsea Grin, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!

EP79 | Josh Schroeder

Producer Josh Schroeder talks about what it means to discover and produce an artist’s core artistic message.

It’s easy to get swept up in the technical side of audio production. We all know it. We all geek out over fun things like preamps and and compressors, but are we losing sight of the fact that music is an artform? On this episode Josh Schroeder discusses crafting great sounding songs that have something to say. If you want to make your productions truly connect on a human level, this one’s for you.

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“Why are you screaming?” – Josh Schroeder

THIS WEEK, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

– Working with King 810 to craft an artistic statement
– The value of cinematic influence on audio production
– Maintaining a balance between technical and human elements
– Being a trendsetter
– Using the tool that’s best for the song
– How to get peak performance from musicians
– And much, much more

Links:

Josh’s website
Dream Cymbals

Thanks for listening!
Sign up to our [cp_modal id=”cp_id_7934d”]mailing list[/cp_modal] to discover more!

Nail The MixNail The Mix is our online mixing school that gives you REAL multi-tracks from REAL bands, plus a mixing class from the producer who recorded it. Past guests include Periphery, Chelsea Grin, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!

Leave any questions, comments, or feedback in the comment section below.

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