Sweetwater

Sweetwater is a renowned name in the music gear world. They offer everything you need for audio production. Sweetwater is a one-stop shop for musicians and producers. They provide top-tier equipment along with excellent customer service. They also offer a wide range of instruments, studio gear, and computer equipment. Sweetwater ensures you get the best gear for your studio setup.

Recommended Gear

Sweetwater boasts an extensive selection of music instruments, microphones, and studio monitors. They also provide computer equipment and accessories. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, Sweetwater’s gear selection meets your needs. Additionally, they offer expert advice from professionals. This ensures you make the right choice for your production setup.

Audiomovers

Audiomovers is changing the game for remote collaboration. Their cutting-edge software is perfect for musicians and producers. If you work remotely or collaborate from a distance, Audiomovers has the tools you need. Their software offers seamless, high-quality audio streaming for real-time collaboration. This ensures the creative process stays smooth despite physical distance.

Recommended Plugins

ListenTo: This plugin allows you to stream high-quality audio directly from your DAW in real-time. It’s perfect for remote collaborations with artists, producers, or engineers. “ListenTo” maintains sound clarity across different locations.

Omnibus: This plugin works alongside “ListenTo” to provide superior audio quality. It also offers efficient collaboration tools, which are great for professional producers. Keep your mixes accurate while collaborating remotely.

Antelope Audio

Antelope Audio is known for its premium audio interfaces and converters. Their products are widely recognized for high-end clocking technology. This ensures precise, crystal-clear sound. Antelope’s interfaces are ideal for professionals working on complex projects. They are especially useful for immersive formats like Dolby Atmos. Thanks to real-time processing and low-latency designs, Antelope’s interfaces are perfect for serious producers.

Recommended Gear

Orion 32+ Gen4: This powerful audio interface offers 32 inputs and outputs and is perfect for large sessions. It delivers zero-latency performance, providing crystal-clear audio.

Orion Studio Synergy Core: This interface ensures zero latency during complex audio sessions. It’s ideal for immersive sound formats like Dolby Atmos. Orion Studio Synergy Core guarantees high-end sound quality.

Discrete 8 Synergy Core: Compact yet powerful, this interface offers pristine audio. It features ultra-low latency, making it a great choice for smaller-scale productions.

FabFilter

FabFilter is one of the most trusted names in audio plugins. Their products are renowned for being user-friendly yet powerful. FabFilter plugins are designed to make shaping and fine-tuning your audio efficient and enjoyable. With intuitive interfaces and outstanding sound quality, FabFilter plugins are indispensable in any studio setup.

Recommended Plugins

Pro-Q4: A versatile and precise EQ plugin, This plugin allows you to fine-tune your audio. It’s perfect for sculpting your metal mixes and balancing each frequency.

Pro-L2: This plugin is a powerful, transparent limiter. It’s perfect for mastering tracks, delivering professional-level loudness without distortion.

Pro-C: This plugin is a flexible compressor with multiple modes. It’s ideal for controlling dynamics and bringing clarity to your tracks.

Pro-G: This is a dynamic gate plugin. It works well for reducing unwanted noise, especially in high-gain metal mixes.

Pro-R: This is a reverb plugin that adds warmth and depth. It gives your tracks dimension and character with ease.

Eventide

Eventide is a well-respected brand in the audio industry. Their high-quality effects plugins are known for adding complex textures and rich dimensions to mixes. Whether you’re working on ambient sounds or tight metal productions, Eventide’s plugins help bring your creative ideas to life.

Recommended Plugins

Blackhole: This is an immersive reverb plugin. It adds huge, atmospheric depth to your mixes. It’s perfect for creating expansive, ambient spaces in your tracks.

Micropitch: This is a pitch-shifting plugin. It adds subtle yet impactful effects to your music. It’s perfect for adding movement or texture to your metal tracks without overwhelming the mix.

PSP Audioware

PSP Audioware provides plugins that combine vintage warmth with modern transparency. Their tools are known for their intuitive interfaces and professional sound quality. PSP Audioware’s plugins are perfect for adding character to your mix without sacrificing precision.

Recommended Plugins

AuraComp: A smooth, transparent compressor. It enhances dynamics without coloring the sound. It’s ideal for keeping your metal mixes punchy and controlled.

Flare: A versatile plugin that adds warmth and subtle saturation. It helps achieve a vintage sound while maintaining clarity in your mix.

Schwabe Digital

Schwabe Digital may be a smaller brand, but it is known for producing high-quality, innovative plugins. Their focus is on providing powerful tools that help you achieve a loud, punchy sound. If you’re a metal producer looking for extra power, Schwabe Digital’s plugins are a game-changer.

Recommended Plugins

Gold Clip: Gold Clip is a clipper plugin that emulates analog-to-digital conversion. It delivers louder, more powerful mixes while maintaining high audio quality. It’s perfect for achieving that intense, punchy sound needed in metal mastering.

Sonarworks

Sonarworks is a leader in acoustic calibration and monitoring software. Their products are essential for achieving accurate sound in your studio. Sonarworks ensures that your studio monitors deliver a flat frequency response. This gives you the most precise mix, especially when working in immersive formats like Dolby Atmos.

Recommended Plugins

SoundID: This tool calibrates your studio monitors, ensuring a flat frequency response. This tool is essential for accurate monitoring and mixing. It ensures that your music translates well across all playback systems.

Audeze

Audeze headphones are designed for critical listening. They offer incredible clarity and precision. These headphones are perfect for professionals who need to hear every detail in their mix. Audeze headphones provide accurate, immersive sound, making them ideal for mixing and mastering your metal tracks.

Recommended Gear

MM-500: The MM-500 is a high-precision headphone designed for critical listening. It provides exceptional clarity, making it perfect for mixing metal tracks where every detail matters.

Maxwell Series: The Maxwell series headphones include head-tracking technology. This is ideal for mobile mixing. It ensures that your mixes stay accurate, even when working in different environments.

EastWest Sounds

EastWest is a premier name in virtual instruments. They offer a wide range of libraries used by professional producers and composers. Their cinematic libraries are perfect for creating lush, orchestral arrangements. They can also add depth to your metal tracks. EastWest’s instruments provide endless possibilities for sound design and scoring.

Recommended Plugins

Hollywood Strings: Hollywood Strings is a top-tier string library. It helps you create cinematic, orchestral arrangements. It’s perfect for adding rich, lush string sections to your metal compositions.

Ministry of Rock: This virtual instrument library is designed for rock and metal producers. It provides high-quality, ready-to-use sounds that fit seamlessly into your tracks.

Hollywood Choirs: Hollywood Choirs has the Word Builder tool. It lets you create realistic choral performances. This makes it ideal for scoring and enhancing the cinematic aspects of your metal tracks.

Next Steps

In conclusion, having the right studio gear and plugins is essential for any metal music producer. These tools help you achieve a professional, powerful sound. From high-quality hardware to innovative plugins, we’ve covered everything you need to elevate your production. With the right equipment in your setup, you can unlock new levels of creativity. This ensures your tracks stand out in the world of metal music.
To get your hands on some of the gear and software mentioned in this article, visit our Amazon Storefront. You’ll find everything you need to elevate your metal music production setup.

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• How To Build A Home Studio: 6 Tips For Professional Sound Quality!
• 7 Mixing Mistakes You MUST Avoid to Improve Your Music Production
• Beginner’s Home Recording Studio Setup for Musicians on a Budget
• Everything You Need to Record Metal Music at Home: Simple Studio Setup

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Mixing is an art form and a crucial step in the music production process. It’s where raw tracks come to life, blending together to form a polished, professional sound. However, even experienced producers can fall into common mixing pitfalls. In this blog post, we’ll explore 7 crucial mixing mistakes. You MUST avoid these mistakes to take your mixes to the next level. Whether you’re a beginner, these tips will guide you in fine-tuning your approach. As a seasoned pro, the tips will help you achieve clearer mixes.

Check out Metal Mastermind’s YouTube video below:

Avoid These 7 Mixing Frustrations – Pro Tips from Audio Engineer Nic Z

Mistake #1: Not Mixing in Solo

Why It’s a Mistake:
When you’re mixing multiple tracks at once, it’s easy to overlook small details. If you don’t solo individual tracks, you might miss subtle nuances in each element of your mix. For example, a vocal might be too quiet or an instrument might compete for space.

Solution:
Solo each track and focus on adjusting its levels, EQ, and effects. This helps you get each element sounding the best it can before combining it with the rest of the mix.

Tip:
Once you’ve adjusted a track in solo, always check how it fits in the full mix. This ensures that each element complements the others rather than standing out awkwardly.

Mistake #2: Not Taking Breaks

Why It’s a Mistake:
Mixing for long stretches without breaks leads to ear fatigue, making it harder to make accurate decisions. Your brain starts to adapt to the sound, and you might miss critical issues in your mix.

Solution:
Take a break every hour. Step away from your project to refresh your ears and mind.

Tip:
After a break, listen to your mix on different speakers or headphones. This resets your perspective and gives you a clearer sense of how your mix translates across different systems.

Mistake #3: Getting Hyper-Focused on Small Details

Why It’s a Mistake:
It’s important to perfect the fine details of your mix. However, focusing too much on small elements can cause you to lose sight of the bigger picture. Focusing too much on one part can throw off the balance of the entire mix.

Solution:
Start by focusing on the overall structure and balance of the mix. Once you’re satisfied with how everything sits together, dive into the details.

Tip:
Regularly step back and listen to the full mix to ensure all elements are working harmoniously. It’s easy to get lost in the details, but remembering the bigger picture keeps everything cohesive.

Mistake #4: Mixing with Your Eyes

Why It’s a Mistake:
Visual aids like faders and EQ graphs are helpful. However, relying too much on them can mislead your judgment. Often, what looks good on a screen doesn’t sound good in the mix.

Solution:
Trust your ears above all else. Use visuals as a tool, but always make decisions based on how the mix sounds, not how it looks.

Tip:
Close your eyes while making adjustments. This helps you focus on the sound rather than the visual feedback from your DAW.

Mistake #5: Not Mixing to a Reference Track

Why It’s a Mistake:
Without a reference track, it’s easy to lose track of what a well-balanced mix sounds like. Your track might lack depth, clarity, or even energy without a point of comparison.

Solution:
Choose a professionally mixed track in a similar genre and use it as a reference. Compare levels, EQ, and dynamics to see how your mix stacks up.

Tip:
Don’t copy the reference exactly. Instead, use it as a guide to inform your decisions, adjusting the elements to fit your unique sound.

Mistake #6: Using Too Many Plugins

Why It’s a Mistake:
The temptation to add tons of plugins can be strong. However, overloading your mix with unnecessary effects can cause muddiness. It can also lead to phase issues and unnecessary complexity.

Solution:
Stick to the essentials. Choose plugins that enhance your mix and contribute to a clear, focused sound.

Tip:
Sometimes less is more. Avoid the plugin overload and focus on getting the most out of the tools you already have. Often, simpler solutions are more effective.

Mistake #7: Ignoring Your Listening Environment

Why It’s a Mistake:
A poor acoustic environment can drastically affect your perception of sound. Mixing in a room with bad acoustics can lead to an inaccurate mix. Using low-quality headphones also contributes to this issue.

Solution:
Ensure you’re mixing in a treated room or use high-quality headphones designed for accurate sound reproduction. An optimal listening environment will help you make more precise decisions.

Tip:
Invest in acoustic treatment for your room, or use calibrated headphones. Even small changes can significantly improve your mixing accuracy.

Final Thoughts: Avoid These Mixing Mistakes for Better Results

To recap, here are the 7 mixing mixing to avoid:

1. Not mixing in solo
2. Not taking breaks
3. Getting hyper-focused on small details
4. Mixing with your eyes
5. Not mixing to a reference track
6. Using too many plugins
7. Ignoring your listening environment

By avoiding these mistakes, you’ll be well on your way to achieving cleaner, more professional mixes. Remember, mixing is a skill that improves with practice. Focus on the big picture while refining the details. This approach will set you up for success.

Check out Metal Mastermind’s YouTube video below:

Avoid These 7 Mixing Frustrations – Pro Tips from Audio Engineer Nic Z

Want to take your mixing skills to the next level?

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• How To Build A Home Studio: 6 Tips For Professional Sound Quality!
• Home Studio Acoustics and Room Treatment Guide for Beginners
• How To Make A Home Recording Studio
• How to Get Metal Tone that Sounds Good in the Mix (with a REAL AMP)
• Everything You Need to Record Metal Music at Home: Simple Studio Setup

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In this guide, we’ll walk you through six essential tips. These tips will show you how to build a home recording studio with professional sound quality. These tips will help you create the perfect environment for recording and mixing your metal music.

Check out Metal Mastermind’s YouTube video below:

How To Build A Home Studio: 6 Tips For Professional Sound Quality!

1. Assess Your Space for Building a Home Studio

The first step in building a home recording studio is choosing the right space. The size and shape of the room will significantly impact your sound quality. Ideally, pick a quiet place, like a basement or a room with few windows, to avoid distractions. While a larger room allows for better equipment placement, a smaller room can also work if planned properly.

Room Shape: Why It Matters

It’s not just about size—room shape is also crucial. For example, parallel walls can create standing waves and reflections, which distort sound clarity. Standing waves occur when sound bounces between parallel walls. This causes certain frequencies to build up, while others cancel out. As a result, you’ll experience an uneven sound in your room, making it difficult to mix accurately. Fortunately, this can be addressed with treatments like foam panels and bass traps, which we’ll discuss later.

Rectangular vs. Square Rooms: Which Is Better?

When choosing the shape of your room, rectangular rooms are usually a better option than square rooms. Square rooms, while they seem convenient, can lead to more acoustic problems. In a square room, sound waves often form standing waves and create nodes. Nodes are specific points where certain frequencies either cancel each other out or become amplified. This causes problematic bass buildup or makes certain frequencies too loud. Nodes can make it much harder to achieve an accurate mix.

Benefits of Rectangular Rooms for Home Studios

On the other hand, rectangular rooms offer more balanced acoustics. The different dimensions help sound waves disperse more evenly, reducing the likelihood of creating nodes. This allows you to treat your space more effectively and achieve a more balanced sound. By carefully planning your studio layout, you can use a rectangular room to optimize sound quality—regardless of the space’s size.

2. Plan Your Budget for Your Home Recording Studio

Building a professional home studio starts with planning your budget. You don’t need to buy everything at once, but focus on the essential gear first. Here’s what to prioritize:

• Audio Interface: This connects your instruments and microphones to your computer. Choose one with high-quality preamps for clear sound.
• Microphones: Invest in dynamic or condenser mics for vocals and instruments that capture a wide range of sound.
• Studio Monitors & Headphones: Accurate monitoring is crucial. Studio monitors help you hear your mix clearly, and good headphones are essential for tracking.
• Sound Treatment Materials: Foam or Fiberglass panels, bass traps, and fiberglass insulation are vital for controlling your room’s acoustics.
• DAW (Digital Audio Workstation): Select software that suits your needs. Popular choices for metal musicians include Pro Tools, Logic Pro, and Reaper.

You don’t have to buy everything at once. Start with the basics, and upgrade your gear over time.

3. Studio Layout & Design for Professional Sound

The layout and design of your home recording studio are vital for achieving accurate sound and comfort. Here are the key areas to focus on:

Speaker Placement for Home Studios

Correct speaker placement is vital for accurate monitoring. Position your studio monitors in an equilateral triangle, at least 3-5 feet apart, and at ear level. The sweet spot is the center of the triangle, providing the best sound for mixing.

Room Shape and Acoustic Considerations

The shape of your room affects how sound behaves. Rooms with parallel walls can cause standing waves and frequency buildup. To avoid this, place bass traps in the corners and diffuses on the walls to manage reflections. This will help create a balanced listening environment, especially for metal music with heavy bass and fast rhythms.

4. Separate Your Recording Room from Your Control Room

When building your home studio, consider separating your recording room from your control room. This helps reduce sound bleed and ensures cleaner tracks.

If space is limited, you can use a single room for both functions. In this case, managing sound leakage is crucial. Use physical barriers and soundproofing materials to control the flow of sound between the two areas.

5. Electrical & HVAC Setup for Home Studios

An often-overlooked part of building a home studio is managing your electrical and HVAC systems. Proper management is key to ensuring optimal sound quality.

Electrical Setup:

Make sure your room has enough outlets for all your gear. It’s also crucial to invest in a power conditioner. This protects your equipment from power surges and electrical noise, which can negatively affect your recordings.

HVAC Considerations:

HVAC systems, such as air conditioning and heating, can introduce unwanted noise during recording. This noise can interfere with your sound quality. If possible, set your HVAC to “quiet mode” or turn it off while tracking. Position your microphones away from vents to minimize noise interference.

Managing your electrical and HVAC systems properly is essential for maintaining a quiet, professional recording environment in your home studio.

6. Acoustic Treatment for a Professional Sound

To achieve professional sound quality in your home studio, the right acoustic treatment is essential. Acoustic treatment controls how sound moves in your room and prevents unwanted noise. Let’s look at the key components of acoustic treatment:

Foam vs. Fiberglass for Acoustic Absorption

• Foam Panels: These are great for absorbing mid and high frequencies, but they are less effective at controlling low-end energy. However, they are still essential for reducing high-frequency reflections and creating a clearer, more controlled sound.
• Fiberglass Panels: On the other hand, fiberglass panels excel at absorbing low frequencies, along with mid and high frequencies. In fact, they offer a more balanced approach to sound absorption, helping to manage bass buildup and improve overall acoustics. Therefore, incorporating both foam and fiberglass panels can create a well-rounded acoustic treatment plan for your home studio.

Bass Traps for Low-Frequency Control

Managing low-frequency sound can be a challenge in any room, especially when recording metal music. Powerful bass frequencies often accumulate in the corners. This leads to muddiness and a boomy, uncontrolled sound. Bass traps are designed to absorb this excess low-end energy. The result is tighter, clearer recordings.

By strategically combining foam, fiberglass, and bass traps, you can create an acoustically balanced environment. This setup is perfect for recording the powerful, high-quality sound that defines metal music.

Start Building Your Metal Home Studio Today!

Building a home studio for metal music is achievable with the right approach. By planning carefully, you can create a space that produces high-quality sound. This will elevate your recordings to a professional level. Soon enough, you’ll have a studio that takes your creative projects to the next level!

Check out Metal Mastermind’s YouTube video below:

How To Build A Home Studio: 6 Tips For Professional Sound Quality!

If you want to dive deeper into building a home studio, Join The Inner Circle of Metal Mastermind! The Inner Circle is the ULTIMATE resource for Metal artists! You’ll gain access to ALL of our courses including Metal Studio Designer. In this course, Ken teaches you how to design and blueprint your home studio for professional sound quality!

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• Home Studio Acoustics and Room Treatment Guide for Beginners
• How To Make A Home Recording Studio
• Everything You Need to Record Metal Music at Home: Simple Studio Setup
• How to Get Metal Tone that Sounds Good in the Mix (with a REAL AMP)
• Metal Studio Designer

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As an audio professional and educator, I teach mastering to my students on a daily basis based upon my experience working in mastering studios and by my own practice. It’s a topic that is often regarded as a “dark art” amongst many, and I wish to dispel that notion.

Mastering doesn’t have to be ambiguous or a “secret.” It is a crucial part of our music reaching the masses. As a co-founder of Metal Mastermind®, it is our goal to share this information and to empower independent metal artists. Learning how to produce the best music is integral for being able to stand out amongst a crowded sea of other artists and to give us a better chance of bringing home that bacon! ?

Mastering is the process of finalizing a mix and getting it ready for distribution. The term mastering has changed over the course of decades within the world of audio engineering. Many have defined it as process in which the existing mix is “enhanced” or made to become “louder.”

While these are all true, mastering is really the optimization of a mix in order to hear it in its most translatable form. This is primarily guided by two important factors: objectivity and translation.

Mastering a mix requires great attention to detail and, in heavy metal, is especially important in creating a final copy that invokes an emotional impact from the listener without ripping their heads off and garnering the song unlistenable.

• The end-result of mastering starts with a workable mix.
• It’s paramount to understand that mastering doesn’t necessarily fix the mix.
• It makes the mix more of what it already is.

This post will expand on the premise of mastering heavy metal music and what to do in order to achieve an industry standard result.

Understanding The Heavy Metal Sound

While every artist has their own voice, it is common-knowledge to discern that heavy metal relies on a couple of predictable characteristics:

• Big guitars
• Punchy drums
• Growling bass
• Aggressive vocals

These are expected to be heard in the genre with some amount of familiarity as to how they are combined, meaning no matter what you do in your music there is still an expected sonic “profile” to the industry’s heavy metal sound.

These sonic profiles are integral to the structure of heavy metal music and leaning into them allows the consumer to relate and compare your music to some of their favorite artists in their favorite genre. Dismissing the fact that your music is different and should not adhere to these standards is a mistake that will make you less relatable and ultimately hard to market.

This doesn’t mean that we should make music that’s indifferent, it just means that we need to play to the expectations of our audience. That is what it means to be “industry standard.”

The challenge with mastering heavy metal music (or any sub genre of metal) is a mixed bag: we want loud guitars, but we don’t want to lose the definition of the drums. We want to have forward vocals, but we don’t want the guitars to trample them.

We want to have big bass, but we don’t want to lose low-end focus. It’s a game of sonic averaging, and understanding translation and how our master sounds across multiple facets is a moving target.

There’s also the case of loudness:

• How loud is too loud?
• Do I need to adhere to streaming loudness standards?
• What is true peak?
• What’s the difference between a clipper and a limiter?
• We’ll answer these questions in-depth.

Our goal is to preserve the song’s integrity, energy, intensity, and dynamic range during the mastering process.

Pre-Mastering Prep

I can’t overstate this enough: mastering does not fix a broken mix. If a mastering engineer receives a mix that needs a lot of work it is in their best interest to educate the mix engineer and provide feedback in order to get the most out of a piece of music.

Typically, the mastering engineer will be thanked for their objectivity in keeping the mixing engineer in check. After all, it is their names that will be printed on the release. They want to be proud of their work, as should you!

A well-mixed metal track has a couple of distinct factors. Here are some key pointers:

• Keep your drums and vocals at similar levels. The snare and vocals should be in the front of the mix.
• Your guitars will get much louder in mastering, so don’t overhype them in the mix. Lower them in order to emphasize the transients of the drums to make them punchier.
• Saturation can make your music unlistenable. When things get loud, the upper harmonics will become harsher, rendering your mix irritating to listen to. Be subtle about it, especially on the mix buss.
• Less compression on the overall mix buss is better. Don’t lose the punchiness of those drums! You’ll be chasing your tail if you do too much on the mix buss.
• Give plenty of headroom. In a world with 24-bit (144 dB of dynamic range) and 32-bit audio (1,528 dB of dynamic range), you should leave as much headroom as you can give. Peaking at -10dBFS is a really good place to be and you really shouldn’t exceed -6 or -3 dBFS, depending on the dynamic range of the mix. I like to use the Sample Peak meter in the mixing window of Pro Tools to view this (right-click the meter and select the appropriate option).

• Pay attention to RMS. RMS is the electrical average of a mix, usually associated to roughly 70.7% of the peak average. RMS is essentially the average electrical power behind your mix and is absolutely important when gauging a mix’s true loudness (before factoring in perception, as it is with LUFS). RMS is a significant factor when determining how well speakers will handle reproducing a mix, as it is directly tied to the amount of electrical excitation you use from your amplifier. Your average levels should be between -8 dBRMS and -9 dBRMS for less dynamic metal mixes and -12 dBRMS to -9 dBRMS for more dynamic metal mixes. I like to use the RMS meter in the mixing window of Pro Tools to view this (right-click the meter and select the appropriate option).
• Perform volume automation on the mix buss! This is a pro tip to help create momentum in your music in order to deliver a bigger impact to the listener. Mastering engineers do this often, but if you’re mixing this is something you can guarantee and easily do in the mixing stage and not leave anything to chance. The less variables, the better.
• Watch your reverbs. Don’t send distorted rhythm guitars to the reverb to create “size”. It actually muddies up the mix and softens the guitars. Keep those guitars clean and tight. You should also be EQing before the reverb to control what frequencies actually get treated with reverb. This is better than EQing after the fact, since EQing before the reverb removes frequencies from ever getting excited in the first place — a cleaner approach.
• Split your bass into two signals: One filtered above 250 Hz, and the other filtered below 250 Hz. Treat the high end of the bass differently than the low end. Keep the low end cleaner to hear the fundamental notes. You can side-chain the kick drum to the low end part of the bass without destroying the volume of its growl in the mids and highs.
• Listen to your mix at low and high volumes. A great study to review is the Fletcher-Munson curves (pictured below), which shows our perspective of frequencies at different volumes. At lower levels, in order to hear low-end evenly, we have to significantly increase the volume of bass frequency content. In essence, we hear high frequencies more clearly at quieter levels while at louder levels we hear bass and high frequencies more evenly. Therefore, check the balance of your mix at lower levels to see whether or not your listening experience is prioritizing the right things (drums and vocals). At louder levels, you should be able to feel everything without irritating your ears and making sure the energy feels right. It is imperative to do this with speakers and not headphones.

Technical Aspects of Heavy Metal Mastering

Mastering is the art of finesse. There is a motto we mastering engineers live by: “do no harm.”

We try to remind ourselves of this every day because mastering is such a critical step in the production process, but many times a mastering engineer is far removed from the attachment an artist has for their work. That artist may have been working on their album for years, and if you give back something that was worse than their initial mix, you’ve completely lost all trust and respect.

This is typically why mastering engineers are usually engineers who have a great amount of experience, whether that was in mastering or any other part of the production process in order to be in a position that grants them authority over how the final product should sound.

Note: Every mastering engineer has their own workflow. The following mastering chain is just an example of one you may use or derive inspiration from, but remember that every song requires a different approach. This is not a one-size-fits-all situation.

Let’s explore a workflow together. In this example, let’s take a look at a mastering chain from top to bottom:

• Dynamic EQ: Surgical, for corrective frequency balancing. Can be adaptive in multiple ways. A great plugin for this is the Fabfilter ProQ 3, which has an infinite amount of ways to do this.
• Multi-band Compressor: Surgical, for corrective dynamic balancing. The Waves C6 is a great example.
• Mid-Side EQ: Re-balancing the mix. Great for reducing the loudness of guitars against vocals and drums. The Chandler Limited Curve Bender or SPL PassEQ is a great option here.

• Stereo Compressor: Gluing mid-side corrections. For blend and typically very clean and transparent. The SPL Iron or Millenia Twin Topology is a good choice.
• Stereo EQ: The first process in subjective sonic enhancement. Set to taste. A Manley Massive Passive is a popular choice for something like this. Tubes sound sweet.
• Stereo Compressor: For additional color and addressing the first stages of loudness. Shadow Hills’ Class A Mastering Compressor is a fantastic choice. It adds a lot of girth and toughness to metal music with its two-stage compressor system (optical and discrete) and has several options for color using a selector switch to route the signal through different metallic components, giving subtle characteristic enhancements.

• Saturator: Energy enhancer. Set to taste. The iZotope Exciter or Newfangled Audio’s Elevate are great choices here.
• Transient Designer: Re-shaping the transients of the mix. This is critical for the next phase. Oeksound’s Spiff or Eventide’s SplitEQ are exceptional choices.
• Clipper: Does the heavy lifting for chopping off peaks. Clippers are a little different than limiters. Rather than lowering the volume significantly at the threshold, clippers literally chop off the wave form. Clippers typically have a more aggressive sound, which is why we love using them for heavy metal! We use a clipper to impart less work on the maximizer towards the end. Gold Clip is one of the best clippers around. It emulates a dream mastering converter, the Lavry AD-24-200, in which mastering engineers would hit the converter hard from the analog realm into the digital realm for its magical clipping “mojo.”

• De-Esser: Tames the edginess from cutting off those peaks. Keep it focused on high-frequencies rather than the broadband signal. The Maselec MDS-2 is the industry standard, but Oeksound’s Soothe2 is phenomenal and super effective here, too.
• Reverb: Restores dynamic range and softens the transients. This should never exceed 15% on the wet/dry knob. This is a very subtle addition to the chain. Set to taste.
• Maximizer: The last squeeze to get the most out of the track in terms of loudness. Maximizers like the Waves L2 or iZotope’s Ozone Maximizer account for maximum resolution. The point is to ‘capture’ the best possible quality audio into a shorter word-length file (a smaller bit-depth) from a longer word-length file (higher resolution). The human ear uses low level (quiet) information from a high resolution file to construct a mental image of the stereo soundstage, so any compromise in this area manifests itself as a loss of spaciousness and transparency.

As you can see, a mastering chain has multiple stages. The key here is that one device/plugin does not do too much of the heavy lifting (e.g. the clipper helps out the maximizer). The purpose of this is to be able to back-track and fix any gain staging between signal processors and help the engineer in the process of A/Bing the master against the mix. ADPTR’s Metric AB is a superb tool for doing this in order to check yourself.

Dealing with High-Gain Guitars and Distorted Sounds

Distorted guitars have a way of making a mastering engineer’s life miserable. Mainly because they are so limited in dynamic range that any sort of compression drastically changes their perceived loudness. This is an opportunity for mid-side to help balance the mix.

With mid-side, we can work with volume and frequency (or compression, depending on the processor you use) in order to help rebalance the changes that we impart with our mastering chain. When you limit hard, you will bring up the sides more, making the middle parts of the mix sound quieter comparatively. Mid-side processing is better used on a bad mix, so if there’s a good mix presented then less is more.

Now, distortion from a guitar is welcome but distortion in your master is absolutely not. On the phase meter, avoid the “diamond of death”. It is the outer energy of the master. If you are getting that, then you are having a lot of distortion!

To get rid of distortion, you can use masking techniques and tools, but first check if it’s you (review your gain stages in-between signal processors). If you’re using analog, your ADC/DAC stages are super important.

Gains are always cleanest in the digital realm. You should have clean gain right before a limiter so that there’s a clean make-up gain and not an already tampered signal as you put it into the limiter. In this case, distorted guitars are primed and ready for additional distortion, so take great care when processing them. If you’re questioning whether or not you are adding unnecessary distortion, check your meters and listen quietly to help discern those higher harmonic clips where distortion is more audible.

Adding “clean distortion” to a master usually equates to the concept of saturation. Just remember that oversaturating a mix leads to an unlistenable product.

Addressing Drum Dynamics

Drums are one of the trickiest to get right in mastering, because it’s one of the tell-tale signs that we are over-compressing the stereo mix. This is where a good practice of A/Bing your master to the mix is crucial.

Part of being a great mastering engineer is to be able to A/B well. Make sure to set-up your A/B path before starting anything! A great mastering engineer compares their changes.

Two ways to A/B are:

• To have the source and mastered playback delayed by a small fraction in time to compare transient points (example: snares. The original source could be first and when that first snare hits, quickly switch to the mastered to compare the two snares.)
• Play the two at the same time and alternate between them to hear the difference in sonic qualities.

While you do this, listen for the impact from the snare. Typically, if the snare is sounding weaker it’s usually because your attack and release times on your compressor(s) need adjusting. Go through your signal chain and bypass stuff to see what’s doing that.

With kick drums, fast and intricate double bass patterns have a unique issue in heavy metal. Some kick drums can play so fast that they actually create a frequency tone rather than momentary impact.

Think about it: if a kick drum is playing sixteenth notes at 200 bpm, that’s a little less than 14 kick drum hits per second. In frequency, thats a fundamental frequency generated at 14 Hz, which make tones at higher octaves (28 Hz, 56 Hz, and 112 Hz, etc… all key frequencies for kick drums) sound like single tones rather than individual hits!

This can be dangerous for a mastering engineer, since we would essentially be exciting standing waves and imparting muddiness rather than providing clarity and punch. Filtering and multi-band compression become inseparable tools here. You can tighten up the low-end by putting a high-pass filter to take away the rumble, but beware: the tricky part is when to stop carving out bass.

This is a case for multiple speakers and headphones. Headphones are great for hearing detail and bass information, but you don’t feel the bass like you do with full-on speaker excursion. Hearing the master on different sized speakers, with and without subwoofers, on headphones… they’re all important in discerning maximum fidelity and translatability.

Use the transient designer to your advantage here. Drums are heavily transient-dependent. It is there to either soften or accentuate this information into the clipper (or limiter, should you not have a clipper) so that you have total control over the impact and punchiness of the mix.

Vocal Processing in Heavy Metal Mastering

Vocals in heavy metal are some of the most interesting parts of the genre. Ranging from luminous opera to guttural roars, they are dynamic, extreme and most of all the element that tells a story. Therefore, this is an extremely delicate part of the process that we need to give our upmost attention towards.

In the midrange is where you’ll find the most vital vocal information. It’s the difference between making a voice sound nasally, honky, thin, clear or present. I look at this like pockets in a mix. Masking is very common place here, so lowering some frequency content near and around this range can be a technique that helps give a little more clarity here.

However, this is mastering… not mixing! You should never have to jump +/- 3dB in EQ. If you do, then it’s either to help/compensate for mix errors. A decibel is a lot! That’s one decibel to everything, not just the vocals!

Mid-side can also be helpful here, but use it sparingly. For background vocals and reverbs, the sides could use a dose of high end boosting to make them more exciting, but the mid-section should be a little more relaxed, otherwise you run the risk of emphasizing sibilance too much. That being said, this is a great way to keep those trampling distorted guitars separated from any vocal EQ.

In the mastering chain is the opportunity to use reverb. This can help give more spatiality to the master, but treat it with subtlety. You don’t want to lose the impact on those drums!

Finalizing the Master

A huge aspect to mastering is the marriage between tracks. This awareness is key, because it’s going to guide you as to what limitations you may have when it comes to the processing of every track.

Remember that they all need to sound like they’re congruent. Don’t go to crazy with EQ moves on one track that make it sound out of context with the rest of the album.

Be musical about the timing between tracks. Those fade-ins/outs are incredibly important! When it comes to digital, you can always hear the drop-out, which is hard to feather or smooth out. Analog is much smoother in that way, especially with loud music! “S” curves may be the closest thing you can get to the analog fade. Many mastering engineers prize themselves on artistic fades.

A good exercise to try when you’re starting a master is once you establish the setup, and the mix is a good one, your very first thing would be to try and see how loud it can get without changing timbre. This is a good gauge to see how much work you need to actually do. Here are some other tips:

• Listen outside and see if it balances. If you hear the bass nicely, then you probably have it right.
• When playing loud, your ear physically compresses and the hair follicles become less sensitive to the high frequencies so mastering the highs at low volumes with metal music will just have you chasing your tail because when it gets loud you’ll just lower the highs again.
• Listening loudness is very important. You want to feel the music like the consumer would. Metal? They’re probably cranking it. Country? Not so much. Let that be your guide for certain EQ moves (see last bullet point).
• Analog can shave off the highs and lows every time you pass through it, and in most cases affect transient response.
• Tubes can add a bit of saturation to your program, sometimes undesirably. It can sound like high frequency ticks!
• Some gear is better at certain frequencies than others. Or… that’s just a subjective thing!
• Analog gear deals with an infinite amount of frequency ranges in both low and high. This is the reason for some noise filtering parameters on high end gear (like high cuts at 70 kHz!) this is more apparent in situations with tape and vinyl.

So how loud should you master to? This is a common question that has many different opinions. In my experience, it’s better to master as loud as you need to in order to get the best tone. There’s something to be said about how loudness shapes and affects the tonality of the music.

How hard it hits a clipper, a maximizer, or stereo compressor all has something to do with it. In short, if you’re mastering to a number, you’re doing it wrong. Master with your ears.

You’re never going to satisfy every streaming platform anyway. If they want to turn your master down, let them do that. It is the nature of the world we live in. If you’re worried about normalization, check your master with normalization tools! iZotope RX is a really valuable tool that can do that and so much more.

A tool like RX can have a significant impact on your deliverable. Converting master files into their deliverable counterparts for distribution is a step you should never overlook or take for granted. This is your final chance to perform QC (quality control)!

iZotope’s RX was designed as an audio restoration and mastering suite in order to make sure files were delivered at their best. It’s the perfect place to check intersample peaking between sample rate and codec conversions and make the final consumer-friendly formats such as MP3 or FLAC. To prevent this, we master streaming formats to -1 dBTP (True Peak).

When you convert a file, rounding errors are resynthesized and sometimes peaks that weren’t clipping in the original file end up clipping in a re-rendered file (e.g. WAV to MP3). Back in the day, when we tried burning CDs to MP3s, I used to always wonder why the MP3 had distortion in it. Well… that’s why!

Taking into account everything we’ve spoken about, here are a couple of quotes I particularly like to remember whenever I master a track. They were passed on to me when I was learning my craft:

• “Always… and you’ll never…” – Andy VanDette
• “You are the judge. Nobody tells you what to do.” – Vlado Meller
• “Not everything sounds good… write that down.” – Randy Merrill

Be honest with yourself and your client. You’re both after excellence, so have some humility during the process. It’s a hard pill to swallow when you’ve passed your master through amazing plugins and analog gear and it actually sounds worse than the mix! Remember this, too:

“It’s the ear, not the gear.”

Metal music is an exciting genre, and as a fan of it you already have some instinctual tendencies. Listen to your gut. Mastering is a fun and rewarding process that ties a pretty bow on top of a mix. Take the time to make things right, because once it’s out there that’s it!

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different mastering techniques while remaining true to the essence of heavy metal music. Remember that creating your own sound also means competing against the industry standard.

Be unique in your composition, yet recognizable in your mix’s tone. These expectations were made because they work, and not everything needs to reinvent the wheel. Look at it this way: you’re standing on the shoulders of giants!

Here on Metal Mastermind® we help metal musicians and producers find their own way through the independent metal music space. Click below to enroll in Metal Producer Overlord, a course taught be a seasoned veteran, Nic Z, on mixing and mastering this incredible genre we know and love. He provides many examples, tips and tricks, and in-depth workflow demonstrations to show you exactly how to do it.

Are you ready to elevate your skills as a mixing and mastering engineer?

The post Mastering Heavy Metal Songs: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on Metal Mastermind®.

But the problem is there’s so much information out there that it’s overwhelming. You’re also not sure what gear you need and it all seems so expensive.

Fear not! Because this easy-to-follow beginner’s home recording studio guide is going to show you exactly what you need to set up a basic and inexpensive home studio.

We’ll also show you how to set everything up so that you can start recording your song ideas. Eve better, you’ll learn the next steps on how to expand your studio when you’re ready (this will be towards the end after we cover your basics).

Here’s a quick list of the minimal gear needed for a beginner’s home recording studio and what we’re going to cover:

• Computer – it doesn’t have to be top-of-the-line…I’ll explain more below
• Audio interface – we’ll show you how to connect this and explain how it works
• Studio headphones – simple, but there’s some advice you’ll learn below that will save you in the long-run
• Recording software (DAW) – this is where you capture your recording and we’re going to dive deeper into this while keeping it in layman’s terms
• Gear for expanding your studio – we’ll also share the next practical steps to expanding your simple, basic home recording studio when you’re ready

***Below is a short video going over these components. We’ll go into more details in this post, so keep reading!

Best Computer for Basic Home Recording Studio

The first piece of recording gear you’ll need is something that you more than likely have. A computer.

And chances are, the computer you have is probably good enough to run recording software. However, you will need to make sure this is the case by reading the minimal requirements of your recording software, and we’ll get to that later.

A good rule of thumb is to get a computer that has:

• At least 4 GB of RAM
• At least an i5 or comparable processor

If you can afford to go higher, like 8 or even 16 GB of RAM and an i7 (or comparable type) processor that’s only going to make the process smoother. And that will also save you money in the long run as technology progresses.

Again, if your current computer was purchased new within the past few years, you more than likely already have the minimal requirements to run recording software. If it’s something like over a decade old then it may be time to upgrade.

Mac VS PC – Which one is best for home recording studios?

This really comes down to personal preference. The first answer is if you already have a computer that meets your recording software’s requirements, just use that for now.

If you’re in a position where you need to buy a computer, Mac may be a better option as recording software tends to run smoother on a Mac. But if you’re used to a Window machine, that’s a fine option as well.

Best Beginner’s Audio Interface for Recording

The next piece of gear is the device that allows your guitar (or instrument/vocal) signal to feed into your computer. And that’s an audio interface.

The good news is that even the cheapest and most basic audio interfaces will allow you to capture a quality recording. And if you’re just starting out and only recording your guitar, a simple one or two input interface will do the trick.

Here are steps to connecting your audio interface:

Connect the USB cable from your audio interface to your computer.

Plug your instrument cable into the audio interface.

Connect your output source into your audio interface (we’ll talk more about that next)

There are some more steps to start recording your guitar and we’ll get into that when we talk about recording software. But this is the basic setup for your audio interface. It’s simply a conduit to connect your instrument to your computer.

What audio interface does Jason use?

In this post, I’m using the Presonus AudioBox USB interface. I’ve owned this interface for over a decade and still use it from time to time. This is the perfect type of interface for beginners. It’s easy to use and super inexpensive.

Since then, I’ve upgraded to a larger interface with more inputs and slightly better preamps (Presonus Quantum 2). This is something you may want to consider if you decide to take it to the next level such as recording and releasing a song or album.

Output and Monitoring Source for Basic Home Studio

If you were to study most home studios that you see on the internet or in YouTube videos, you’ll notice most of them have speakers to the right and left of the computer (usually on the desk or on separate stands).

Studio monitors are great to have but not necessary when you’re just starting out. A decent pair of studio headphones will suffice for now.

Remember, the goal here is to help you build a simple beginner’s home recording studio so that you can start capturing your riffs and ideas. And we want to keep this simple for you. As we mentioned, we’ll show you ways to expand later in this post.

But before you buy headphones, here are some things to consider:

• Make sure you get studio headphones, not regular headphones for listening to music.
• You don’t have to break the bank, but don’t go super cheap. Anything under $100 is probably not going to give you a desirable sound.

You may now be wondering where to connect your headphones for recording. Audio interfaces typically come with at least two types of output connections. One for headphones and inputs for monitors (usually two input for left/right monitors; we’ll talk more about that later). So you would simply plug your headphones into your interface, which is shown in the prior section on interfaces.

Choosing Your DAW (Recording Software) for a Beginner’s Home Studio

We’ve gone over the hardware for our first home studio and now it’s time to dive into the recording software. This is called your DAW (digital audio workstation).

Let’s recap the signal flow of your hardware to see how this all works:

Guitar/instrumental ➞ audio interface ➞ computer ➞ DAW

The DAW is where your sounds will be recorded and it’s also what will produce the sounds that you’ll hear. Prior to the software versions, we use today, the original digital audio workstations were hardware units, which date back to the late 70s, per the Recording Connection website’s article ‘What Are Digital Audio Workstations?‘

It’s virtually impossible to say what the ‘best DAW for a beginner’ is as that’s extremely subjective. In addition, there is no beginner’s DAW. Any DAW you choose will require some time and dedication for your to learn.

The good news is that the basics functions of most DAWs are relative to one another. And that’s all you need when you’re just starting out.

How expensive is recording software? You can spend several hundreds of dollars or you can go with something like Reaper, which is known to have a free trial version. Or (read the pro tip below)…

Pro Tip: Many audio interfaces will come with recording software that you can use. More than often this will be the ‘lite’ version of that DAW, but that’s good enough to start with.

For example, the PreSonus AudioBox USB interface came with PreSonus Studio Artist (a lite version to Studio One Pro). Here is a list of interface brands with the respective DAWs they come with:

Again, most DAWs have a similar workflow when it comes to the basic functions. So don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed. Just be prepared to spend a few hours watching videos for the specific DAW you choose. This will save you some frustration, especially if it’s your first time diving into software recording.

DAW Effects

One of the coolest things bout any DAW that you choose I that they all come loaded with virtual effects like a compressor, delay, reverb, etc.

These will come in handy for recording your guitar, vocal, or any instrument.

For example, let’s say you mic your guitar amp (running your XLR cable into your audio interface). You could add a compressor and some chorus to that track after you record it.

Or let’s say you want to record a vocal track. You could add a little reverb and delay if you want.

You could even build a virtual effects chain for your bass guitar, such as using a compressor, channel strip, and EQ. The possibilities are endless and they’re literally at your fingertips.

Recording Your Guitar – Tones, Amps, and Effects

As a guitarist, the thing you’ll want to dive into right away is using virtual amp sims. In many cases, this will require you to upgrade your recording software (DAW) unless you go with something like Reaper software.

Amps sims have become a guitar player’s haven for sounds and effects. In fact, many guitarists have given up their real amplifiers for these virtual amps just for sheer convenience. Not to mention, there are several premium amp sims that sound and feel very close to the real thing.

Here are some of the popular amp sims:

• Positive Grid
• Amplitube
• Guitar Rig
• Neural DSP
• STL Ignite Emissary
• Overloud THU

Most of these amp sims have a free and/or trial version so that you can try them out before purchasing. And these are only a few of several virtual amps!

Expanding Your Home Recording Studio

Everything we’ve covered up to this point is all you need to get started for your first home recording studio. But it won’t be long before you’ll want to start expanding.

So we’re going to give you the next three natural steps to building onto your hoe studio and making it more professional:

1. Pro or full version of your DAW
2. Studio monitors
3. Room treatment

If you only have the ‘lite’ version of your DAW, the first studio expansion you’ll want to make is upgrading to the pro version. In short, this will allow you to use third-party plugins like amp sims. And although your DAW will come with an array of usable plugins and effects, you may find that there are some third-party effects that may better suit your needs.

Next, you’ll want to invest in some quality studio monitors. Headphones are great for recording your ideas and getting to know how your DAW functions. But once you get into recording multiple tracks and mixing, you can’t beat having a solid par of studio monitors.

Proper room treatment is another upgrade that you’ll want to make at some point. This is going to allow you to nail down better mixes. We have another article that goes into more detail here: Home Studio Acoustics and Room Treatment

We hope this article helps you get started in the world of recording. You’re going to have an awesome time and the best thing is you’ll never miss another riff or song idea. It’s so easy to just pul up your DAW, plug in your guitar, and lay down that track.

Lastly, and to reiterate make sure you spend adequate time learning how to use both the hardware and software. The better you know your gear, the smoother your workflow will be.

Horns up,

Jason Stallworth & Ken Candelas, creators of Metal Mastermind

The post Beginner’s Home Recording Studio Setup for Musicians on a Budget appeared first on Metal Mastermind®.

Recording with amps sims and plugins is simply more convenient. And technology has come so far that the quality of tones, even metal tones, you get are top-notch. So it makes sense.

However, there are some challenges that many guitar players face when recording with amp sims. And that can be frustrating, which can keep you from creating music.

In this post, you’re going to learn 5 ways that will help you overcome those challenges in the studio. Here’s what you’ll get:

1. The basic requirements (if you fail at this, you’re doomed from the start!)
2. Level-setting for a quality sound and signal
3. Rules for gain and EQ settings for a great metal tone
4. The ultimate challenge when recording with amp sims (seriously, try this…you’ll thank me later!)
5. Organizing and saving your amp sim tones

**You can watch our YouTube version of this post below (however, keep reading as there are some unique elements covered in the post!):

1 – Minimal Requirements for Using Amp Sims

Before you even get started with plugins and amp sims, you need to make sure your machine (aka computer…machine just sounds much cooler!) can handle the job. You need to make sure you at least have the minimum requirements to run your amp sims.

And it doesn’t matter if you’re using a Mac or Windows machine. We’re not going to get into the Mac vs PC war!

The bottom is that your amp sims do not care what you’re using. Just ask them…lol! Seriously, the only thing that matters is that you are meeting those requirements are met.

The good news is that if your DAW is running smoothly there’s a good chance that you have a proper machine. However, just know that when you add running amp sims or any plugins to the process, your machine has to work harder.

Here are the basic requirements for most common amp sims…

**This information is from the Neural DSP website: https://support.neuraldsp.com/help/system-requirements

All that said, it’s recommended to get the best possible machine you can afford at that time. If you already have a machine, it’s crucial that you keep everything updated, like your operating system or adding extra RAM if needed. Amp sims and recording software in general are constantly being upgraded to keep up with the demands of technology.

2 – Proper Level-Setting

When we talk about level-setting, we’re mainly talking about your interface. And that level will be based on the amp sim that you’re using.

The most common issue guitarists have with plugins and amp sims is that their levels are peaking when they’re recording. The problem with this is that your signal is going to be distorted, and I don’t mean the good kind of distortion.

And that’s the other issue. Oftentimes we metalheads are playing through high-gain amp sims. So you may not hear that distortion as it’s covered up by your amp’s gain. So here’s what you can do:

• Drag your amp sim over to one track
• Start playing and monitor the level of your interface (most interfaces will have an LED light or meter)
• If that red light is coming on or if your meter is reading in the read, your interface level needs to come down
• Likewise, if it’s too low, you’ll need to bring it up
• Adjust until you have an appropriate level and clean signal

Here’s another test you can do to make sure your levels are set appropriately:

• Record a guitar track using your amp sim
• Then turn the amp sim off so that all you hear in the playback is the dry guitar signal
• If that sound is distorted, your levels were too high

Also, keep in mind that using different amp sims may require you to adjust your interface level. For example, you may have your interface level set at 22 with one amp sim but another may require you to turn it up higher (or down lower).

3 – Amp Sim Gain and EQ Settings for Awesome (and Cleaner) Tones

One of the biggest flaws to playing guitar with amp sims is that us metal guitar players have a natural tendency to crank up the gain. This is okay if you’re just jamming. But if you’re recording, you need to treat playing through an amp sim as you would with a real amp.

The problem with having too much gain is this will create a muddy mix once all of the other instruments are included in the mix. And that’s not what you want.

Now you may be saying: “I can just record the initial guitar with high gain and then turn the gain down after the fact, right?”

You can. However, you must remember that your amp sim settings will play a role in your performance and how you play. And here’s why…

• If your gain is cranked up you may not recognize some of the mistakes you make.
• If your gain is set at a lower level, you’re more apt to play cleaner and your notes will be better articulated.

This doesn’t mean you have to turn your amp sim gain to something ridiculous like 3. Rather, you want to find that balance where you have enough saturation but without going overboard.

Another component to consider when recording with amp sims is your amp’s EQ settings, specifically your bass. Many metal guitarists like to hear that low end. That’s fine when you’re ust jamming. But when you’re recording, you want to save the low end for the instruments that are supposed to carry those frequencies, like the bass guitar and kick drum.

Here are some basic amp sim settings you can start with:

• Gain: 6-7
• Bass: 4-5
• Mids: 4-6 this is based on personal preference
• Treble: 6-7
• Presence: 4-7 this will greatly depend on the amp sim you’re using

Again, these settings are just a starting point for you if you’re having trouble dialing in a usable tone with amp sims. For more tips on getting awesome metal tones with amp sims, check out our post: Guide to Getting a Good Tone with Amp Sims

4 – Your Ultimate Challenge with Amp Sims (Play Your Tracks from Start-to-Finish)

I’ll explain what this means. Here’s the deal…

When you’re sitting in your royal studio chair, it’s easy to take advantage of the modern process of recording and punch in and out when you make mistakes. That’s fine and all but there’s just one problem with that concept.

You’re not learning your song like you should. If all you do is sit in your studio and record music, that may be okay. But if you plan to play your music live, using this method could actually hurt you. Because you can’t punch in and out on stage.

So here’s your challenge:

• Record your tracks all the way through from start to finish
• If you mess up along the way, delete it and try again
• Keep recording that track from start to finish until you nail it

Now, I realize that there will be some parts of the song that aren’t played throughout the entire song. But I’m talking about elements like your rhythm guitars. For most songs, those parts are played throughout the song as that’s your foundation for the song.

So I encourage you to play those parts all the way through. It will only make you better. We also give you some more tips on nailing an awesome performance in our post: The Golden Rules of Recording

5 – Save and Organize Your Amp Sim Tones

Have you ever dialed in the perfect tone using an amp sim only to lose that tone later? Hey, it can happen to the best of us!

This may sound like basic Amp Sim 101 stuff, but it’s certainly worth mentioning. In fact, once you read this you’ll more than likely open up your DAW and start saving and organizing your tones.

Here’s what to do:

• Once you have a tone that you like or at least something that’s close, save it!
• Be sure to name that tone with something relevant like the name of the amp or the genre the tone is being used for (ex: metal rhythm 1, metal rhythm 2, 5153 metal r1, Mesa lead 1, etc.)
• Now you can start organizing the tones you save with this type of naming convention so that they’re easy to find.
• If you want to take things to the next level, save this information in a spreadsheet to further describe each tone and what you’re using the for.

One of the keys to being a successful guitarist and musician is organization. And this will save you a ton of time and frustration when you go to record a song or album.

I hope these tips help you and make the process of recording with amp sims easier for you! Also, if you don’t have it yet make sure you download our free home studio guide.

Metal Mastermind

The post 5 Tips for Recording Metal Guitars Using Amp Sims (for Tone and Performance) appeared first on Metal Mastermind®.

But there’s one question that you have. Can you add effects to your guitar tracks once they’re recorded? And if so, how?

The process of adding effects to your recorded guitars is simple:

• Record your guitar amp (with no effects, and I’ll explain why later)
• Go to the plugin section of your DAW
• Choose the effet you want
• Drag that effect into your guitar track

Now, there’s one specific effect that you absolutely need when recording guitars with a real amp and I’ll cover that below. But you can continue adding as many effects has you want using this method.

***You can watch the video version below but I also encourage you to read the rest of the post for more tips!

Wait…Can’t I Just Record My Guitar Using My Pedalboard Effects?

Before we get into adding effects to your track, you may be thinking ‘Why not just use my pedals that I use when I’m playing live?’

You can certainly do that. However, there’s a huge problem that you’re bound to run into once you get into the studio and start mixing…

• You record your guitar amp using, let’s say some reverb and chorus
• You sit down at your console and start listening to the recorded track in your studio
• You soon realize that something just doesn’t sound right; there’s too much chorus and the reverb setting was not ideal

At this point, you only have two choices:

1. Go back and re-record your guitar track (this could be a huge issue and extra expense if you went to another studio to record your initial tracks)
2. Live with it

You see, once you record your amp, you’re pretty much stuck with whatever sound that the mic captured. If the delay is off, it’s too bad. If you used too much reverb or any effect, you’re stuck with it unless you’re willing to re-record your guitar.

This is one reason along with convenience why so many guitarists use amp sims and plugins. You can make changes at any time and even change the entire amp and cabinet you’re using.

And that’s not to discourage you from recording with your tube amp. Rather it’s to encourage to record as dry as possible and add your effects later, which we’re about to get into below.

How to Set Up Your Amp and Effects for Recording

First, let’s go over the ideal setup for your amp and effects. There are actually some effects, or at least one, that you’ll want to use.

Here’s a basic setup for recording your guitar amp:

• Amp
• Cabinet
• Mic
• Noise gate
• Overdrive pedal (this is if you’re playing through an amp that needs an OD)

In short, that’s really all you need to record metal guitars. And although those are technically effects pedals, they’re the necessities that come with recording your amp and capturing an awesome tone.

AKA you don’t want your mic to pick up the noise that’s coming from your high gain amplifier, so you use a noise gate. And many high gain amps require some sort of overdrive to ‘clean it up’ so to speak. You want to capture that tone (it’s difficult to clean it up after the fact, even in the studio).

Now, here are the types of effects you’ll want to think twice about when recording your guitars:

• Delay
• Reverb
• Chorus
• Pitch shifter
• Flanger

Of course, there are more effects but I think you get the point. These are the types of effects that will alter the way your guitar sounds. Again, once you record your amp using these types of effects, you’re stuck with that exact sound.

There may be situations where you want to record effects using your amp. For example, if you know that you get a particular sound from your pedalboard that you simply have not been able to replicate with plugins, I say go for it!

Not to mention, some effects pedals sound better than studio plugins. But those should be for those rare circumstances that call for that specific effect. If you’re recording something like regular metal rhythms guitars and want a touch of reverb on that track, it’s probably best to record it dry and add the reverb in your DAW, after the fact. The same can be applied to lead guitars and delay.

Guide to Adding Effects to Your Recorded Guitars

At this point, you’ve recorded your amp based on the recommendations we’ve talked about. No effects, just your amp, noise gate, and maybe an overdrive.

Now it’s time to get into your DAW and start adding the desired effects. I’ll repeat the simplified process that I mentioned at the beginning of this post:

• Record your guitar amp (did that!)
• Go to the plugin section of your DAW
• Choose the effet you want
• Drag that effect into your guitar track

It’s really that simple. But let’s dive a little deeper into the process.

The first plugin that you’ll want to add to your recorded guitar track is a compressor. When you record with a real amp, you’re going to get a lot of variances and sometimes unwanted frequencies. A compressor plugin will help smooth this out. You can learn more about working with compressor plugins in this post: Post Processing for Rhythm Metal Guitars

***PRO TIP: Add the compressor FIRST. This way when you drag other effects into that track, they should automatically be placed behind the compressor by default, and that’s what you want (you want to compress the original signal, not the guitar signal with the added plugins).

Now you can start playing around with different effects on your recorded guitar track. And you’ll just use the same process as most DAWs have the drag-and-drop feature. The other awesome thing is most DAWs come loaded with these virtual effects. So if you’re on a budget and don’t want to buy expensive plugins, just use what you already have in your DAW. Oftentimes that will work just as good if not better.

Here are some ideas for adding effects to your recorded guitars:

• Metal rhythm guitars – a touch of reverb (kind of like Priest’s ‘A Touch of Evil!’)
• Hair metal or 80s rock guitars – try adding some chorus
• Lead guitars – definitely try adding delay
• Clean guitars – chorus, delay, reverb
• For guitar parts where you want something different – try a flanger, harmonizer, or tremolo plugin

There are endless possibilities for you when you add effects to recorded guitar tracks.

No Limitations with Adding Post-Effects to Guitars

The coolest thing about adding effects to your recorded guitar track is there are absolutely no limitations as to what you can do. It’s almost insane because you can change, add, or tweak anything you want at the touch of your hand, right there in your DAW.

Want a different delay timing? Just turn that virtual knob. Want to lessen the reverb effect so that your track isn’t so muddy? Dial it down. Want make a particular part of the song stand out more, like a transition between the bridge and guitar solo? Add a cool effect like a flanger.

But remember, if you record your amp with these types of effects, you’re stuck with the result.

Review Time

Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to record you guitar. But there are some ‘best practices’ for a hassle-free experience and that give you more options.

So here’s a quick recap:

• Consider recording your amp as dry as possible (no effects like delay, reverb chorus, etc).
• Once you record your amp, add a compressor plugin to that track
• After that, start adding the different effects that you want to test out

I hope this post helps you in your recording journey!

Metal Mastermind

The post How to Add Effects to Guitars After Recording Tracks with a Real Amp appeared first on Metal Mastermind®.

The problem is they sound too good. The tones are so perfect and it’s easy for your guitar tracks to sound too polished and over-processed. It’s missing that raw sound that you get from a real amp.

In fact, many guitarists still prefer to record with real amps for that reason. It’s difficult to get that organic guitar tone from plugins.

Another problem with using amp sims is in the full mix. Sure, they sound great when you’re jamming in your studio by yourself. But in the mix, they can end up sounding too thin. And that’s not good for metal music!

But there’s a solution…

In this post, you’re going to learn 7 recording methods you can use with amp sims to make your metal guitars sound more organic and lively in the full mix!

1 – Record 2 Rhythm Tracks (Not Just One)

You definitely want to record more than one rhythm guitar track. This is going to give you those chunky sounds and vibes and that metal music is known for.

Now, this doesn’t mean copy the original guitar track into a new track. No! All that would do is increase the volume and that’s not what you want.

This means recording a separate guitar track. And here’s why:

• That 2nd guitar track will be slightly off in some places (you’re never going to play it exactly like the first track)
• This creates nuances and subtle differences between the two guitars
• And this will make your mix sound more organic and lively

You don’t want your 2nd guitar track to be completely off from the original track. But those subtle variations are going to make your mix sound awesome.

On the flip side, don’t get carried away in layering too many guitar tracks. Especially if you’re doing a lot of riffing. This can lead to a muddy mix.

Try two tracks and use the next method below with it…

2 – Hard-Pan Each Rhythm Guitar Track

This next method ties correlates with what we just talked about. And this is something you’ll do before you record that 2nd guitar track.

• Record your 1st guitar track
• Pan that track hard-left
• Open a new track for your 2nd guitar
• Pan that track hard-right
• Record that 2nd guitar

Why should you pan your rhythm guitars?

When you have multiple rhythm guitars up the middle it can create a muddy mix.

Remember those little variances between the two guitar tracks we talked about earlier?

More importantly, this is one of the key things that will make your guitar tracks not sound over-processed, which is the risk you take using amp sims.

3 – Use a Slightly Different Tone for Your 2nd Rhythm Guitar Track

You’ve got both guitar tracks recorded with amp sims. And they’re both hard-panned. You can already hear the difference and it’s sounding great but there’s just one little hiccup in your mix…

The metal rhythm tracks still sound a little thin.

Of course, you can turn to your EQ but that’s probably not where the issue is. The issue is that you’re used the same exact tone for each guitar track.

There’s an easy solution for this:

• Go into the amp sim for your 2nd guitar track
• Try switching that amp sim to a different cabinet
• Also try a slightly different mic placement for that cabinet

This little trick will do wonders for your mix! And it’s the one thing, on top of the first two methods above, that will bring life to your mix. It will take more of that processed sound out of your guitar tracks.

Video for Tips 1-3

Below is short video that combines these first three methods:

4 – Back the Gain Off in Your Amp Sim

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when using amp sims is using too much gain. Sure, that’s fine for playing guitar in your studio or bedroom. But it can be detrimental when recording guitars for a full mix.

Most amp sims actually overdo it on the gain, specifically with high gain amp sims. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but you have to know how to manage this. And you have to know how and when to apply the appropriate gain settings.

The problem with cranking up your amp sim’s gain is that you risk having a muddy mix and your guitars sounding too processed. And with amp sims, we all have a tendency to crank the gain up.

Here’s a good place to start when recording with high gain amp sims:

• Start with the gain between 5.5 and 6.5
• Record both rhythm tracks at this level, using the methods we’ve discussed up to this point
• Dump down your mix to an mp3 and listen to it in common sources like your car, headphones, and computer

If you feel like you need more gain, you can always increase it. But starting out with less gain may save you a lot of time and frustration later.

5 – Try Not to Use Other Plugins on Your Guitar Tracks When Using Amp Sims

Some guitarists like to add other plugins with their amp sim plugin such as a compressor, EQ, or limiter. While this may be okay in some cases, it’s probably not necessary.

Although amp sims are very close to mimicking the sound and feel real amp, the signal is still much different than what you get when you mic an amp.

Here’s the difference:

• When you’re using amp sims, the sound and signal is smooth
• When miking an amp, you’re capturing the inconsistencies from that source

When using amps sims, you have a direct signal as you’re plugging your guitar directly into the interface. And that sound you’re capturing is being pulled from the technology from the amp sim.

When you’re miking a real amp, you’re capturing the sound from an external source, and one that has inconsistencies. And oftentimes a compressor (and sometimes an EQ) plugin is used on those tracks.

Another potential issue when stacking multiple plugins is you’re adding more processing to a signal that’s already processed. This could lead to that over-produced and over-polished sound (unless that’s what you’re going for).

Chances are the amp sim you’re using will be enough for your guitar tracks. Not to mention many amp sims come with a suite of effects you can use (ex: if you wanted to add a compressor within your amp sim, that’s an option).

6 – Use Minimal (or No) Effects on Your Metal Rhythm Guitar Tracks

Another component of amp sims that can make your mix sound either muddy or too processed is using effects. Keep in mind we’re specifically talking about metal rhythm guitar tracks.

The main goal for metal rhythm guitars is for them to sound tight and punchy. Adding effects tends to take away from that, especially when using amp sims.

You have to remember that most amp sims have a greater impact on pronouncing the sounds and effects that recording a real amp. If you want proof, try this:

• Record your guitar with some delay using an amp sim.
• Now mimic those same delay settings the best you can on a delay pedal connected to your real amp (through the effects loop) and record it.

You’re going to hear a substantial difference. The delay from the amp sim will more than likely be more dominant than the one you recorded with your real amp.

Of course, you would rarelt use delay for your metal rhythms. But that little test will allow you to hear the differences.

For metal rhythms, you may be more inclined to use reverb. I lean towards advising your to skip that and any other post-amp effects. If you do decide to use reverb use it sparingly.

**This does not include using effects like a noise gate and screamer in front of the amp. Most amp sims at least a noise gate and many sound better using an overdrive sim.

7 – Make Sure Your Interface Levels Are Set Appropriately

This point may sound obvious but you’d be surprised how often this is overlooked. Uh-um…myself, included.

The problem usually isn’t the interface volume being too low, although can can indeed be an issue. It’s usually that the interface level is peaking when you’re playing through amp sims.

Most interfaces will have a red light that comes on when your signal is peaking. More advanced interfaces will have a readout so that you can always see where your levels are and how close they are to peaking.

The moral of the story is to make sure you’re levels are not peaking. One of the conveniences of using amp sims is that you always have that dry signal to use other amps and effects. But if that dry signal is peaking, you’re going to have unwanted distortion (not the metal kind!).

Amp Sims VS. Real Amp for Metal

At this point you may be thinking:

“Is it worth it to record my song or album with amp sims? Or should I just go old school and mic a real amp?”

This boils down to personal preference. And this is a decision that had to be right for you, and for your music.

Amp sims can definitely make life in the studio a lot easier. But easier isn’t always better.

Here’s the thing. The average everyday metal music lover isn’t going to notice what you used to record your guitars with. And they probably won’t care.

Most of your fans are listening to your music because they love your music. And aside from that, they’re paying more attention to the song and the way it makes them feel.

You may not want to hear this (or believe it) but your guitar tone has very little to do with that. Obviously, you need a quality guitar tone. Don’t settle for a crappy one!

On that note, it all goes back to your preference. Are you getting the tone you want out of your amp sim (regarding the full mix)? Or do you prefer the recorded tone you get from your real amp?

There’s no right or wrong answer. Instead, focus more on your songwriting and composition. Those are the things that will make or break your music.

Horns up,

Metal Mastermind

The post How to Make Your Metal Rhythm Guitars Sound Better with Amp Sims (7 Tips) appeared first on Metal Mastermind®.

You don’t have the appropriate room to mic a huge bass cabinet so you decide to go with plugins. And maybe the budget is an issue, too. So buying expensive plugins is not an option.

That’s okay because you already have the plugins you need for recording bass guitar in your DAW. And I’m going to show you how to use them to get a solid and usable bass guitar tone for your project.

**You can watch the video version below. But I also encourage you to read the entire post as you’ll learn more details in how to setup your DAW plugin chain for your bass tracks.

First Step to Getting a Good Bass Tone with Plugins in Your DAW

Before you start messing around with plugins, I suggest that you record a raw bass track, first. This will allow you to make adjustments to the plugins as you hear the bass track being played.

Don’t add anything, just plug your bass guitar into your interface, open a new track, and hit record.

• Record up to 1 minute of a solid steady bass line.
• Make sure you’re playing with the same attack and style that you would be in a song.
• Remember to set the interface input volume to where you’re getting a strong signal but not peaking.

That last point is for guitar players. You may notice that the interface input volume needs to be higher for bass than it is for guitar (ex: my interface input setting for guitar is 22; for bass, I have to bump it up to 36).

That may or may not be the case for you but it’s important to note so that you’re aware.

Compressor DAW Plugin and Settings for Bass

The first plugin you’ll want to drag onto your bass track is a compressor. The reason for this is that you want to compress the initial signal coming into your studio before altering any of the frequencies or adding effects.

You want to make sure that your bass lines are evened out so that there are no noticeable peaks or dips in the sound before adding other elements.

The good news is that every DAW comes with a stock compressor plugin. In addition, most DAWs will also have a default preset for different instruments, including bass.

Chances are, the default compressor settings will be fine for your bass track. Of course, you can always tweak them.

EQ DAW Plugin and Settings for Bass

Next, you’ll want to add an EQ and place it below your compressor so that it’s next in the plugin chain. Every DAW is going to come with some type of EQ plugin as well.

Like the compressor, the stock EQ will most likely have default settings for instruments. In fact, you may find that the EQ has more default options than your compressor.

The EQ plugin is where you’re going to dig deeper into dialing in a bass tone that fits your song. So be prepared to spend some time here.

On that note, there are no wrong or right settings. But there are some best practices.

And I do suggest starting with a default bass setting if your DAW’s EQ has that option. That’s a good starting point and will save you some time. If not, just take a look at the screenshot above and start there.

Here’s your bass guitar plugin chain so far:

• Compressor
• EQ

You’ll also want to revisit these settings once you have the full mix available. EQ for bass can be the difference between a really awesome mix and a crappy one.

You don’t want the bottom end overpowering everything else because it will make your mix sound muddy. And you don’t want the bass to sound thin because then your music will sound like someone’s kicking cans down the street. Adjust your EQ settings until you find the right balance.

Channel Strip DAW Plugin

You can get away with just using the compressor and EQ plugins in your DAW. But adding a channel strip plugin can give your bass track more dominance and help it sit better in the mix.

Most channel strip plugins are essentially a compressor and EQ with some additional bells and whistles, such as deeper frequency options and gain.

As you may have guessed, your DAW’s channel strip will probably have default settings for your bass. So start there.

One thing you may want to do is turn off the compress part of your channel strip and just use the other settings to further tweak your bass guitar tone. There should be no need for extra compression.

Here’s your bass plugin chain with the added channel strip:

• Compressor
• EQ
• Channel strip

You could get by just using a channel strip. But I encourage you to try using it with the initial compressor and EQ plugin. It gives you more options for shaping your tone.

Free Bass Plugins

Now, you may be thinking:

“These plugins in my DAW are great, but they’re just not cutting it for metal!”

In that case, you can go with one of the many free plugins for bass.

The image above is the BOD (bass overdrive) from TSE Audio. TSE is also known for its metal amp sims. The BOD has a really awesome drive setting to give you those extreme metal bass tones.

Here’s the link to the TSE BOD plugin: https://www.tseaudio.com/software/tseBOD

You can use the BOD as a standalone plugin, though I would recommend at least throwing a compressor in front of it in your plugin chain. Or you can combine it with the plugins we’ve talked about (you may want to remove the channel strip in this case – I share this in the video posted towards the beginning of this post).

In the above case, your plugin chain for bass would look like this:

• Compressor
• EQ
• TSE BOD

The TSE BOD is not the only third-party plugin option. Just do a search for ‘free bass plugins’ or ‘free bass amp sims’ and you’ll find plenty of choices.

Also, many DAWs also come with their own version of amp sims, though they’re not always the greatest (I’ve found that creating my own bass plugin chain as we’ve discussed here sounds better than the free bass amp sims in most DAWs).

Lastly, you could download one of the free overdrive pedal plugins that guitarists use. Sometimes that can work well when used with your DAW plugins.

The point is to start with what you learned in this post and build your own tone from there. And don’t overthink it. Sometimes less is more and simplicity usually wins (and causes fewer headaches in the studio and final mix).

The Truth About Bass Tones in Metal

If you’re a bass player then having a phenomenal bass guitar tone is a must! Unfortunately, if you’re anyone else, the bass tone can sometimes get overlooked. Especially in metal music.

More time is put into tweaking guitar tones, mixing the drums, and, of course, the majority of the effort goes into the vocal tracks.

Want proof? Just listen to the majority of metal albums. Can you hear what the bass guitar is actually doing?
I’m not saying ALL metal albums but a good percentage of albums could’ve used a little more attention on the bass tracks.

This doesn’t mean that the bass guitar should be dominating over everything else. But you should be able to at least hear the notes being played, and there should be a clear distinction between the bass and guitar sounds (oftentimes the bass is just kind of muffled in there somewhere).

Metal Bands with Great Bass Tones

Here are some examples of metal albums that a great mix where you can hear the bass guitar and solid bass tones:

I hope this article helps you dial in better metal bass tones. And remember, even if you’re on a budget you can use the plugins that you already have in your DAW. You can really make some magic happen in your studio when you learn how to use basic plugins appropriately.

Even better, there are several free plugins out there for bass players. You can use those as standalone plugins or for more options, combine them with the plugins in your DAW.

Metal Mastermind

The post How to Get a Good Metal Bass Tone with Plugins in Your DAW appeared first on Metal Mastermind®.

But when you playback the full mix, something’s still not quite right. Maybe your guitar tracks have too much low end or high end, or maybe you hear too many uneven spots in those tracks.

That’s because there’s one more step that’s needed to make your rhythm guitar tracks sit better in the mix.

This step is called post processing. And this is where you need to make some adjustments to those tracks in your DAW.

The good news is this does not have to be an overwhelming process. And in this post, I’m going to show you exactly what you need and how to use what you already have to make your rhythm guitars sound awesome in the mix.

The caveat (and the cool part) here is this guide is for recording your guitars with a real amp!

In a world of perfect and robotic sounding music, we’re going old school here and recording guitars a real amp with a real cabinet miked up with a real microphone.

And I can feel those chill bumps of excitement you have…because there’s just nothing like the tone of a real amp!

Why You Need Post Processing

Now, you may be thinking:

‘My amp settings and tone were perfect during recording, so why do I need post-processing?’

This is why you need post-processing on your rhythm guitar tracks:

When you’re recording guitars, specifically with a real amp, you’re going to produce frequencies that may clash with frequencies from some of the other instruments in the mix.

For example, some of those low palm mutes and riffs may be producing low-end frequencies that are competing with similar frequencies that the bass guitar and kick drum are producing.

Or your rhythm tracks may have some high-end frequencies that need to be reduced. And that could be clashing with cymbals (no pun intended there!).

Of course, you probably didn’t hear these issues when you were recording your initial rhythm guitars. That’s normal. This is simply part of the process of recording, making those final tweaks to your mix (not just to the guitar tracks, but to other instruments and vocals as well).

And don’t fret (ah, another pun!) – if you got everything right prior to this, like your amp settings and mic placement you will have to do minimal post-processing to these tracks.

If you’d like to learn some cool tips on getting a good metal tone fo recording with a real amp, be sure to check out this post: Recording with a Real Amp

The Only 2 Post Processing Plugins You Need

I told you this was going to be simple, right? I’m going to share the only two plugins that you really need for the post-processing of your guitar tracks.

Even better, you don’t have to buy anything new. You already have these plugins in your DAW.

1. Compressor plugin
2. EQ plugin

You’ll also place these plugins in that order. The compressor is first followed by the EQ plugin. The reason for this you want to compress that raw track first before making any adjustments to the EQ.

MONEY SAVING TIP: There are premium plugins that you can purchase from manufacturers like Waves, Slate Digital, UAD, iZotope, Native Instruments Komplete, and several others.

But we recommend starting out with the plugins that come with your DAW. Learn how to properly use these plugins first. Because more expensive plugins are not going to do much for you if you’re not familiar with how to use them.

And more than likely, you’re going to find that the plugins in your DAW will do the trick for your rhythm guitars.

Metal Mastermind just saved you some money!

Compare Rhythm Guitars With and Without Post-Processing

Here’s the Metal Mastermind video for metal rhythm guitar post-processing. You’ll hear several samples of guitars with and without these plugins, as well as how both sound in the full mix.

How a Compressor Plugin Works and Settings

In layman’s terms, a compressor works by bringing up the lower levels and calming down the higher levels of your track. In essence, it makes your track smoother.

With guitars, specifically metal rhythms, you’re going to typically have a lot of ups and downs. This comes from the palm muting, alternate picking, and overall aggressiveness of playing metal and the nuances captured during the recording process.

You’re necessarily altering your tone here. You’re just making the tracks even. And that’s what will make your entire mix sound better.

Here are some basic compressor settings to start with for metal rhythm guitar tracks:

• Threshold: -8 dB
• Ratio: 2:1
• Attack: 1.0 ms
• Release: 50.0 ms

PRO TIP: When you drag your DAW’s compressor plugin into your track, look to see if there’s a preset setting for rock or metal guitar (or guitar, in general).

Much of the time, this preset will work just fine for your guitar tracks.

EQ Plugin for Your Rhythm Guitar Tracks

Once you place your compressor in the track, you may only need to make some adjustments with an EQ plugin. And there are usually only two things you’ll need to do:

1. Roll off the low-end
2. Possibly roll off some of the high-end

The low end is usually where the issues can be heard. And even more so if you’re guitars are downtuned or if you’re using a seven or eight string. Those lower notes will naturally produce lower frequencies.

In short, you want to leave plenty of room for the instruments that are supposed to cover those low frequencies, like the bass guitar and kick drum. If you’re guitar tone is competing with those, your mix will sound muddy.

Some rhythm guitars can have that high, almost fizzy sound. Especially if you recorded your amp with the mic placed closer to the cone of the speaker.

In that case, you may need to roll off the high-end frequencies. This will prevent your guitar tracks from, as mentioned earlier, clashing with the frequencies that come from the cymbals, and in some cases, the vocals.

PRO TIP: In some cases, you may not even need an EQ plugin. So make sure you listen closely to your mix after adding the compressor plugin to your rhythm tracks.

Then you can drop in an EQ plugin and make whatever adjustments you feel need to be made. But then go back and compare the tracks with and without the EQ plugin.

From there, you can make an educated decision of whether your guitar tracks need that additional EQ.

Make Studio Life Easier with a Bus

I personally record two rhythm guitar tracks and hard pan each one. This brings more life and an organic vibe to your guitars.

You may even record more tracks than that. And that’s fine.

But you may be wondering if it’s necessary to add those post-processing plugins to all of your guitar tracks. And what if you decide to change a setting on, let’s say, your EQ plugin for a track? Now you have to go into every other tack and make that adjustment, right?

Fortunately, there’s an easier way…

You can use what’s called a bus for your rhythm guitar plugins. And no I’m not talking about the cheese wagon that you rode to school on.

A bus allows you to create a track just for those plugins. From there, you can assign any track in your studio to use that bus. If you need to make an adjustment to the plugin settings, you simply make it in that bus and it’s applied to all of the tracks that are routed to that bus. Simple and easy.

That’s just a huge time-saver if you didn’t already know about it.

Every DAW is a little different but I’m sure there’s a YouTube video for your specific DAW to show you how to use a bus.

Metal Rhythm Guitars in the Mix

Now you have everything you need to get an awesome rhythm guitar sound in the mix. This is going to allow you guitars to standout while also leaving room for the other instruments to be heard.

It will also add more clarity to your guitar notes. The last thing you want is to pull off those amazing riffs during the recording process only for them to sound muddy in the mix. All you need is some slight post-processing.

I hope this tutorial helps you! Now go record your guitar tracks and start mixing!

Horns Up,

Jason Stallworth
Metal Mastermind

The post Post Processing for Rhythm Guitars (Metal) appeared first on Metal Mastermind®.