Here is a selection of audio files to accompany this month's Mixing Metal (/sos/dec09/articles/metalII.htm)
To illustrate the principles of mixing modern metal, I have taken screen shots and audio examples from two productions of mine, for the bands For Untold Reasons and Godsized. These bands showcase two very different faces of modern metal. For Untold Reasons come more from the death-metal side of the genre, while Godsized, although down-tuned with a really heavy overall sound, have more of a melodic focus.
- 1_For_Untold_Reasons_Of_The_Skies
1foruntoldreasonsoftheskies.mp3
- 2_Godsized_Walking_Away
2godsizedwalkingaway.mp3
The final mixed and mastered tracks: For Untold Reasons' 'Of the Skies' and Godsized's 'Walking Away'.
- 3_The_Right_Kind_Of_Lows
3therightkindoflows.mp3
This example, taken from the Godsized track, demonstrates the 'wrong kind of low end' for kick drums. Bars one and two, although having the weight and attack of the double miked kick-drum combined, also has an excess of muddy 40-65 Hz frequencies, and boxy low-mids around 225-350 Hz, both of which could cause domestic hi-fi speakers to distort, and become a 'mix wrecker' when overall mastering compression hits. Additionally, the 225-350 Hz range will tend to mask the bass guitar.
Bars three and four present an aggressive EQ applied to these spot mics to accentuate the more essential low-end frequencies and more effective high-end click. A sample of has been added for additional weight, but only to around 30 percent of the volume of the spot mics. Both of these sections are then repeated.
- 4_Bass_Times_Three
4basstimesthree.mp3
This example from For Untold Reasons demonstrates the depth, clarity and note definition that can be gained when combining a DI, bass cab and emulator (in this case a Sansamp PSA1).
- 5_Bass_Distortion_Channel_Flat
5bassdistortionchannelflat.mp3
A separate channel of bass distortion recorded with a Peavey Bandit 112 combo. As you will hear, there are some muddy lows and abrasive highs present.
- 6_Bass_Distortion_Channel_Band_Limited
6bassdistortionchannelbandlimited.mp3
The same distorted bass, but with high- and low-pass filters used to remove these unwanted frequencies: the low end and note clarity will be provided by the other three bass sources.
- 7_Bass_Times_Four
7basstimesfour.mp3
The three bass sources combines as in example 4, but with the distorted source heard in example 6 added. You can see screen shots of the settings used in the article.
- 8_Gtrs_EQd
8gtrseqd.mp3
The stereo rhythm guitar bus from the For Untold Reasons song, EQed as heard on the final mix.
- 9_Gtrs_No_Corrective_EQ
9gtrsnocorrectiveeq.mp3
With the corrective EQ removed from the equation, you will hear that there is an immediate loss of note clarity and overall definition.
- 10_Gtrs_No_EQ_At_All
10gtrsnoeqatall.mp3
This is the same guitar mix with neither corrective nor creative EQ used, demonstrating a further loss of heaviness and intelligibility to the tone.
- 11_GS_Mirrored_EQ_Vox_Gtr
11gsmirroredeqvoxgtr.mp3
This audio example from Godsized demonstrates the mirrored EQ principle. Here, to gain the necessary vocal clarity when being set against huge, down-tuned rhythm guitar tones, mirrored EQ has been used, so the pleasing vocal characteristics around 3.79kHz have been accentuated, while the same region has been attenuated on the rhythm guitar group.
- 12_Vocal_Drive_And_Without
12vocaldriveandwithout.mp3
This example contains the same vocal phrase twice: first with Digidesign's Lo-Fi plug-in used to slightly drive the vocal, which helps provide a slightly more aggressive edge and will assist in getting it to sit within the context of the mix, and secondly without.