Sometimes an overhead track can have too much drum and not enough cymbal. This makes it hard to get the cymbals loud enough without compromising your drum sound. Here’s a quick tip that will give you loud, clear cymbals without affecting the punch of your kick and snare.
Here’s an in-depth tutorial on how to get a tight, punchy kick drum with tons of attack and presence for metal and heavy rock. This video walks through how to EQ, compress and use saturation on a live kick track to give it a modern metal sound. Check out the Waves SSL Bundle
In-depth tutorial on how to EQ the snare in a rock mix. Learn what frequencies to boost and cut on snare top and bottom tracks. Get the SSL Channel plugin
The right snare reverbs can add punch, depth and size to the snare and help blend it perfectly in the mix. But on the flip side, the wrong type of snare verb can cloud your mix and make the snare distant and weak. This video demonstrates the two types of snare reverbs I use on […]
Continue readingSnare Reverb Tips for Metal/Rock Mixing
I was checking out some old sessions I did over the years… going back to 2010 or earlier. I came across a track that had all the ingredients for a great production, but the mix didn’t quite stack up to major-label records… So I decided to hit RECORD on my computer screen and try to […]
Continue readingHow to Bring Dull Mixes to Life
For all you Pro Tools users, here are two little plugin setting “hacks” that will save time and speed up your workflow. First, learn how to put your favorite plugins at the top of the list, and then how to automatically load your go-to settings when you pull up the plugin. *Do you like these […]
Continue readingPro Tools tip: Plugin favorites and plugin settings shortcut
Here’s a time saving Pro Tools tip showing you how to automatically load your go-to plugin settings using Plugin Defaults.
Here’s how to set up a group in Pro Tools that links your plugin settings across multiple tracks. This is perfect for when you’ve got two or more tracks that need the exact same processing, like guitar doubles or lead vocals split onto multiple tracks.
Here’s a super simple vocal widening technique that you can use in any mix – from hardcore and metal to pop, country and everything in between. In this video I demonstrate this technique using a stock Pro Tools plugin or a paid plugin that makes things even easier.
You don’t need a ton of expensive plugins to crank out big, heavy mixes. Check out these 4 stock plugins, included free with Pro Tools, that I use in almost every metal mix. You’ll see how to easily and accurately gate drums; sit your vocals perfectly in the mix with delay; achieve explosive reverb effects; […]
Continue reading4 Secret Weapons for Mixing Metal in Pro Tools (with FREE plugins)