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Essential snare-mixing technique w/ Beau Burchell of Saosin

Guaranteed you’ve effed yourself many times because of this.

You’ve heard people tell you countless times to watch out for phase issues, but if you’re like most people it went in one ear and out the other because phase issues can be hard to spot, hard to fix, and definitely aren’t a sexy or fun part of the mixing process (“blah blah blah i can’t hear you!!!!!!!” *spends 100 more hours on guitar tone*).

But you know what? I’m 1000% sure that you’ve spent hours beating your head against the wall fighting a phase issue that you didn’t even know was a phase issue! If you’ve stacked EQ after EQ and compressor after compressor with no luck… I’ll bet you lunch that you were fighting phase, and could have saved yourself a whole lot of time (and come out of it with a much better mix) if you’d fixed the real problem instead of throwing plugins at it.

How to mix a snare drum: finding and fixing phase problems

Sooooo many snare drum mixes get effed up by snare phase problems most people aren’t even aware of – don’t mix another snare until you watch this! Beau Burchell of Saosin shows a few common ones + how to fix them in your mixes using Pro Tools and Fab Filter Pro Q.

In this clip from his Nail The Mix session, our friend Beau Burchell of Saosin shows exactly how these phase issues might be destroying your mixes without your knowledge – don’t mix another snare until you’ve watched this! (Also – you can get access to this session + Beau’s mixing class right here)

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, Meshuggah, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!

Mixing metal drums: Parallel compression and bus processing

Say goodbye to weak, thin drums!

First things first: mixing drums is HARD! That’s because it’s really like mixing half a dozen or more instruments at once, each of which has wildly different characteristics. Each piece of the kit is its own beast, and yet they all have to gel with each other AND cut through the mix without overwhelming the rest of the song– easier said than done, right?

Mixing Metal Drums: Parallel compression

There’s no magic bullet to getting big, punchy drums that cut through a mix- but parallel compression is the closest thing. But the devil is in the details– here’s how to do it the right way! // Want more?

And while there is no such thing as a silver bullet that will magically fix all your drum mixes, there is something that comes kinda close: parallel compression and bus processing. If you’ve already been using it in your mixes then you know how it adds the sustain, thickness and punch that take your drums from good to great. And if you haven’t, well, you should be 🙂

In this video, the latest installment in the Mixing Metal Drums series, our friend Robin Leijon walks you through his approach to parallel compression and other bus processing techniques. Take notes because this stuff will work miracles on your mixes!

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!

Mixing metal drums: ROOMS & OVERHEADS

Meet your new best friend: rooms & overheads

I’ll be honest: when I first started out (and for an embarrassingly long time afterward) I didn’t get why people cared about drum rooms. I thought it was one of those things that only blues-rock dads cared about, because metal drums are all about punch and power, so who cares about those crappy-sounding, washy room mics, right?? WRONG!

As you’ll see in this video from our friend Robin Leijon, rooms and overheads are actually one of the most important tools in giving your drums the size, saturation and sustain that makes them cut through a dense metal mix– and yet few people are really working with them the right way.

Mixing metal drums: ROOMS & OVERHEADS

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He walks through simple but super effective approaches for EQ, compression and effects for a full range of room and overhead mics: mono room, near room, far room, overheads and more. Many people (including me when I was starting out) don’t understand the important but critical differences between all these so pay careful attention to make sure you get a grasp on the nuances of each one (trust me, it matters).

So there you go – never let your rooms and overheads go unloved again!

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.

Andrew Wade mixes A Day To Remember lead vocals

Here’s something many of you won’t want to hear: vocals are EVERYTHING.

Like many of you, I started out as a guitarist and just wanted to record my own songs at home. So I get it– tweaking guitar tones until the sun comes up is fun. I could spend all day trying out new IRs and notching out a few dB to find that perfect balance of clarity and grit.

But the fact of that matter is that 99% of people really don’t notice or care about guitar tone, or anything else other than the vocals.

This is largely due to biology- our brains are programmed to fixate on other humans’ voices. Think about it: have you ever once heard someone who wasn’t a guitarist or producer comment on any tone in a mix? (OK, aside from the St Anger snare) Probably not- but what they DO comment on are the lyrics, the melody and the singer’s voice.

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t care about other parts of the mix, because you most certainly should. Everything matters, and people will subconsciously notice all the elements in your mix. My point is simply that people CONSCIOUSLY pay attention to vocals and therefore you’ve got to focus an inordinate amount of your attention on them.

Andrew Wade mixing A DAY TO REMEMBER lead vocals

True fact: Vocals matter more than ANYTHING ELSE! Watch how Andrew Wade approaches vocal arrangement and mixing using the raw multi-tracks for “Right Back At It Again” by A Day To Remember.

If you need to level up your vocal game, I’d highly suggest you pay attention to Andrew Wade (The Ghost Inside, The Word Alive, Neck Deep), who’s one of the best in the business when it comes to vocal production, from arrangement to tracking to mixing. Check out this clip from his Nail The Mix Session where he mixes the lead vocals on “Right Back At It Again” by A Day To Remember and take careful notes.

A few things to consider:

The raws are reallllllly good in terms of source tones, editing and performance. You won’t always have control over this part, but when you do, always push yourself and the vocalist to get it right at the source (check out this excellent article for some tips).
There are a LOT of subtle layers in the arrangement that you probably won’t consciously hear if you’re just listening in the car or whatever, but they add a ton of depth and dynamics to the song (like the “ah ahh” harmonies). Challenge yourself to polish your arrangements to this level and I think you’ll be very happy with the results.
There’s really nothing crazy going on here in terms of processing. Most of the magic here comes from the arrangement and performances. Get those right and you’re most of the way there.

Are you focusing your time and energy on what 99% of listeners care about the most?? Are you pushing your vocal production as far as you can? If not, there’s no better time to start than right now 🙂