pop-punk 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!

Unboxing STATE CHAMPS “Secrets” raw multi-tracks

A master class in pop-punk!

Eyal Levi takes you on a guided tour of the raw multi-tracks for “Secrets” by State Champs from their 2015 album “Around The World And Back,” originally produced by Kyle Black and featured on Nail The Mix back in October of 2016!

State Champs “Secrets” raw multi-tracks [UNBOXING]

Eyal Levi takes you on a guided tour of the raw multi-tracks for “Secrets” by State Champs from their 2015 album “Around The World And Back,” originally produced by Kyle Black.

A few of the highlights:

Lots and lots of layers of subtle elements like 808s, organs, and tambourines and harmony vocals
Some VERY nice drums that sound really punchy right out of the box (and some samples to add that extra layer of polish), with great rooms
Many layers of leads guitars to work with and blend
A really tight, locked-in rhythm section that gives the song that tight, punchy feel that holds it all together and keeps it moving

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

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 🙂

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!

Polishing STATE CHAMPS drums to perfection w/ Kyle Black

Want your mixes to sound like the pros? Here’s the formula:

We’ve been doing this producer thing for a minute, so it takes a lot to impress us. But when we had Kyle Black (New Found Glory, Hit The Lights, Pierce The Veil) on Nail The Mix, he didn’t just impress us with the drum sounds he got on “Secrets” by State Champs, he blew us away. These are some seriously amazing drums!

There’s no black magic happening here, just a lot of meticulous attention to detail– we especially liked how he painstakingly dialed in the sustain on the snare top by tweaking the noise gate (skip to around 7:15 for this part). It’s little stuff like that that makes the difference between good and great. If you want to get your mixes sounding as good as your reference material, this is the kind of thing you need to be doing. And equally importantly, you need to be listening for things at this level of detail. How can you possibly know what mixing moves to make if you can’t even hear what you’re going for?

Mixing pop-punk/rock drums w/ Kyle Black + State Champs

Watch Kyle Black mix the drums from State Champs’ pop-punk / rock song “Secrets” in Pro Tools. He compresses them with UAD’s Distressor plugin (an emulation of Empirical Labs’ hardware unit), then uses Waves SSL E-Channel to a more compression, EQ and gate out the ring in the snare sustain.

The larger lesson here is this: if you like the way the drums sound in a given mix, take the time to break down exactly WHY they sound amazing. Be as specific as possible. For example in this mix you might note that the snare has very aggressive attack with quick decay (no ringing) and that the kick fits in perfectly with the bass guitars, adding punch and attack without ever getting in the way. These are just two things, you could add many more but you get the idea.

List as many things as you can about what you’re hearing, then work tirelessly to achieve them in your own mix– never, ever give up and settle for “good enough” just because you can’t figure it out right off the bat!

If you’ve ever wondered what the “secrets” of the pros are, it has nothing to do with gear. It really just comes down to two things: attention to detail and high standards.

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, Chelsea Grin, Gojira, Neck Deep, Machine Head and Chunk No Captain Chunk. Join now for instant access!

Fine-tuning STATE CHAMPS drums w/ Kyle Black

Great mixes are the product of thousands of small decisions that all add up, and drums are maybe the ultimate example of this.

To see this in action, check out this clip from Kyle Black’s Nail The Mix session where he fine tunes the drums in STATE CHAMPS’ “Secrets.” These drums sound AMAZING, and it’s because he polished every detail to perfection- for example the painstaking attention to details like gating the snare top head to get precise control over the sustain.

Mixing pop-punk/rock drums w/ Kyle Black + State Champs

Watch Kyle Black mix the drums from State Champs’ pop-punk / rock song “Secrets” in Pro Tools. He compresses them with UAD’s Distressor plugin (an emulation of Empirical Labs’ hardware unit), then uses Waves SSL E-Channel to a more compression, EQ and gate out the ring in the snare sustain.

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, Chelsea Grin, Machine Head and Neck Deep. Join now for instant access!