guitars Archives - Unstoppable Recording Machine

Mixing Fall Out Boy guitars w/ Sean O’Keefe

More than meets the eye

Sean O’Keefe demonstrates using the raw multi-tracks for “Lake Effect Kid” by Fall Out Boy from their 2018 EP of the same name.

MIXING FALL OUT BOY GUITARS w/ Sean O’Keefe

In this clip from his Nail The Mix session, Sean O’Keefe shows how he mixed the guitars in Fall Out Boy’s “Lake Effect Kid.”

What’s notable is that although the song is focused on the vocals, and at first glance is a pretty straightforward pop punk song, there’s actually a lot of subtly and nuance in the guitars (courtesy of Joe Trohman and Patrick Stump)– and the trick is to bring those out without getting in the way of the vocals.

Want more? Click here to get instant access to Fall Out Boy multi-tracks and Sean’s full mix session!

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, Meshuggah, Machine Head, A Day To Remember and Bring Me The Horizon. Join now for instant access!

Perfect death metal guitar tone?? w/ Kristian Kohle + Aborted

Bring on the juns!

Kristian Kohle dials in what might be the perfect death metal guitar tone using the raw multi-tracks for “Vespertine Decay” by Aborted off their album “TerrorVision.” The tone is a blend of several amps, cabs and pedals including a Mesa Dual Rectifier and a Boss HM-2.

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He fine tunes it a bit with Fabfilter Pro Q to remove flubby low end, quacky low end, and harsh fizz– watch and learn, because death metal guitars don’t get much better than this!

Want more? Click here to get instant access to these multi-tracks and Kristian Kohle’s full mix session!

Mixing MESHUGGAH lead guitars w/ Daniel Bergstrand

Dissecting one of the most iconic solos of all time

Heavy music can essentially be divided into two categories: before Meshuggah and after Meshuggah. They completely changed the game with not only their songwriting, but also the groundbreaking and unique production on “Destroy Erase Improve” courtesy of the one and only Daniel Bergstrand.

Mixing “Future Breed Machine” lead guitars w/ Daniel Bergstrand + Meshuggah

Watch Daniel Bergstrand mix the lead guitars in the iconic Meshuggah song “Future Breed Machine”! He uses Pro Tools, Brainwork Shredspread and Soundtoys Echoboy.

We consider ourselves insanely fortunate to have Daniel on Nail The Mix to take us through one of Meshuggah’s most well-known songs “Future Breed Machine,” and for those who may have missed it, here’s a little peek at the pure awesomeness of this session – check it out as Daniel mixes the iconic solo from the bridge!

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, Monuments, Machine Head, A Day To Remember and State Champs. Join now for instant access!

Mixing MESHUGGAH guitars with Tue Madsen

Sometimes more is actually more

You’ll often hear us say that less is more – that if you’ve got a ton of plugins on every channel or super complex signal chains that it’s probably compensating for a mistake you made somewhere else. And while that is generally true (#tbt when I first started out and had like 4 or 5 EQs on my guitar tracks), there are exceptions. Sometimes more is actually more, with each new element adding something new and vital.

Mixing MESHUGGAH guitars w/ Tue Madsen | Nail The Mix

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Such is the case with the guitars in this clip from Tue Madsen’s NTM session where he mixes “MonstroCity” by Meshuggah. This session is nuts, with over a dozen layers of guitars that blend 4 or 5 different tones (several amps, mics, etc).

And for 99% of bands, we’d probably say this is overkill. But as you’ll see and hear in the video, every one of these tones fills in a little gap in the other tones – it’s subtle, but they all layer on top of each other and combine into a guitar tone that’s fucking gigantic and absolutely crushing! Pay special attention to when he turns on the 4 “C-WATT” tracks and check out how it adds that extra bit of saturation that really takes them over the top.

A word of caution before you try this at home, remember that these guys are some of the very best players in metal and Tue is a ridiculous mixer. Go ahead and give it a shot if you want, but don’t let yourself get distracted by fancy stuff like this if you haven’t yet nailed the basics.

If you’re not super happy with your guitars, the answer is VERY rarely “add more tones.” 99% of the time that’s only going to make things worse– you’re almost always going to be better off focusing on the performances, cab/mic selection/placement, and other basics.

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, A Day To Remember, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!

Andrew Wade’s hack for re-amping without re-amping

Expect the unexpected

A producer is far more than a mixer, songwriter or engineer. You’re also a psychologist, creative consultant and most of all a resourceful problem-solver.

While every session is different, the one thing you can always count on is that you’re going to get some curveballs – and you’ll only be as successful as your ability to deal with those when they come across the plate. We’ve seen just about everything: bands who come to the studio expecting to record an album but with only a handful of songs written,drummers who throw a fit when you ask them to play to a click, guitarists who write in Guitar Pro and have never actually played their songs, and way more things that we can’t talk about here.

Is this stuff frustrating, annoying and a distraction from doing what you are all there to do (make music)? Yes, yes and hell yes– but it’s part of the job so you need to learn how to roll with the punches without ever showing a hint of fear or weakness. You’ve got to be the master of the situation.

As one simple but common example, let’s say the band decides they don’t like the guitar tone. No problem, right? Just re-amp. Except they didn’t give you a DI… problem! What do you do??

Andrew Wade’s trick for “re-amping” without a DI ( ft A DAY TO REMEMBER )

So you need to make a new guitar tone but didn’t get a DI… wut do? Here’s a little trick via Andrew Wade using tracks from “Right Back At It Again” by A Day To Remember.

In this clip from his Nail The Mix session, Andrew Wade shows what “resourceful” really means and why it separates the men from the boys– here’s a mindblowing little hack he uses to create a new guitar tone without having a DI (using the session from “Right Back At It Again” by A Day To Remember).

File this one away in your bag of tricks and remember that your job as a producer is to always find a way over, around or through whatever obstacles are between you and an amazing recording!

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, A Day To Remember, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!