Let’s get right to some good news: mixing metal or hard rock guitars is much simpler than it seems.
Indeed, while metal itself is a genre that can be quite complex to mix, as the sound needs to be powerful, precise, with instruments occupying their space well in the frequency spectrum but especially evolving at high BPMs — guitars themselves generally undergo very little processing.
Of course, this still implies having made the best possible take, or at least a take that closely resembles the desired sound.
Through this article, I therefore propose a overview of the classic steps for mixing metal / hard rock guitar or simply put, “distorted guitar”.
Here are the topics we will cover:
- Mixing starts at the take
- Equalization of metal guitars
- Compression of metal guitars
- Would you like some more distortion?
Mixing starts at the take
In metal, the sound and texture of the guitars are particularly important.
In any case, they are at least important for guitarists, who often seek the perfect tone, depending on this or that amp, this or that effects pedal, or this or that humbucker.
Thus, during recording, adopting an approach of “oh, I’ll fix the sound during mixing” is always a very bad idea.
Indeed, in metal (or hard rock) even more than in other genres, achieving the most perfect guitar sound possible from the take is essential.
And beyond the settings of the amps or pedals themselves, which I can’t really help you with as they will be specific to your equipment and the sound you want to achieve, there are a number of points to keep in mind.
Microphone positioning in front of the speaker
When recording an electric guitar, the position of the microphone in front of the amp is extremely important:
- the closer the mic is to the center of the speaker, the brighter the sound will be;
- the further it is towards the edge of the speaker, the darker the sound will be;
- the further it is from the speaker, the more you will capture the ambiance of the room;
- etc.
It is therefore essential to take the time to properly position your microphone and to conduct recording tests to ensure you are getting the sound you need.
An interesting approach, by the way, is to use two microphones to capture different aspects of the sound, and in fine mix them during the mixing process.
Reduce the gain
When we think “Metal”, we often think of overdriven amps, with the gain knob turned to 11.
When playing at home, you can afford that.
When playing on stage, it might not be that serious.
But for recording your distorted guitar tracks, a good practice is to reduce the gain.
Why is that?
Well, when you have the gain cranked up, your sound gains apparent power but loses definition. Your palm mutes are less clean, your riffs are less precise…
By lowering the gain, you can recover details and gain precision.
But rest assured: you won’t lose power because in any case, you will double (or more) your takes.
Double your takes
Indeed, it is the multiplication of takes that will allow you to achieve “the big sound” rather than the amount of distortion applied.
It is not advisable in metal to make only one guitar take: it is better to make two takes and position them completely to the left and completely to the right in terms of panning.
This is referred to as “double-tracking”.
You can also go further and do “quad-tracking”, meaning making four takes that you will distribute evenly in terms of panning.
Don’t forget to record “to the click”, with the metronome of your DAW, to ensure that the takes are as tight as possible.
The Tube Screamer to the rescue
Finally, the little technique almost systematically used in metal: don’t forget, as much as possible (and as long as the result satisfies you in your sound quest) to add a Tube Screamer (personally, I often use a Maxon OD-808) before your guitar preamp.
Indeed, the boost generated by this pedal allows for a more aggressive entry into the preamp, which generally results in a sound that is more precise and especially sharper.
In extreme metal, in particular, this is really very effective, and it will greatly facilitate your mixing!
Equalization of metal guitars
As long as your recordings are of good quality, a simple equalizer can sometimes be the only treatment you apply to your distorted guitar tracks.
Here are some suggestions on what you can do with your EQ.
A high-pass filter
Applying a high-pass filter on your metal/hard rock guitars is almost essential.
Indeed, your amp always generates a certain amount of undefined low frequencies, a kind of unpleasant rumble that will mainly clash with the sound of the kick drum and bass.
It is therefore necessary to filter this problematic energy using a high-pass filter.
A good starting point is around 80 Hz / 90 Hz, as what is below is rarely very interesting — but sometimes you may find yourself cutting up to 200 Hz (I particularly think of guitar solos that can be largely shaved off in the lows)!
However, take into account the frequency associated with your lowest string, especially if you are using low tunings or are on 7 or 8-string guitars.
A low-pass filter
A little in the same idea of “cleaning”, a low-pass filter to cut the highs can often be useful — especially if your microphone has picked up that kind of high-pitched electrical hiss that is often heard on amps around 10-15 kHz.
By cutting this very unpleasant noise with your EQ, you will find that your guitar sound is more precise and musical.
Note, however, that it is sometimes necessary to boost the highs just below at the same time to bring clarity to your guitar.
This is a bit of the idea found in the following screenshot: we cut the upper part of the highs around 12 kHz but lift at 9 kHz to gain clarity.
Shape your sound with an EQ
Generally, in metal or hard rock, the simple high-pass and low-pass filters that we have positioned just before are enough to make the sound of the guitars more interesting and usable.
However, it is sometimes necessary to go a little further by shaping the sound with an EQ and bell or high-shelf filters.
On this point, it is impossible to give precise frequency advice as it will always depend on the source signal you have recorded:
- perhaps you would like to dig a little into the mids to have a sound a bit more “scooped” as our English-speaking friends say? or to bring out the vocal track?
- perhaps you will choose to slightly attenuate the frequencies around 4 kHz because they are a bit too aggressive to your ear?
- perhaps on the contrary you will decide to lift the low mids to give a warmer side to the sound?
- …
The possibilities are endless — but to guide you I recommend using reference tracks: if there is a particular song whose style you are trying to approach, load it into your DAW and equalize your guitar track accordingly.
Compression of metal guitar
In metal, compression is quite rarely used on guitar tracks.
An idea of the reason?
Well, simply because due to distortion, they are often already extremely compressed, and adding a compressor wouldn’t bring much.
Typically, if your recording looks like this, there shouldn’t be much need for compression… :
That said, in some cases, there are still things you can do with a compressor, and we will see which ones.
Manage palm mutes with multiband compression
Palm mutes are common on rock/metal oriented distorted guitar tracks.
The problem is, they tend to stand out excessively in the recording, manifesting as large spikes of energy in the low and low mid frequencies that need to be corrected.
To address this, the usual technique is to use a multiband compressor to control the responsible frequencies.
However, I want to share with you the famous C4 technique by Andy Sneap (Cradle Of Filth, Cathedral, Megadeth…) that is used on many albums and, it must be said, tends to be effective most of the time.
This technique is based on the C4 compressor by Waves (-10% off the price with this link), which should be set up as follows:
As you can see, these settings are really basic:
- only one band is activated, between 65 and 281 Hz;
- the attack (16.03) and release (25.00) are fast.
Then just adjust the threshold according to your signal level.
And that’s it! 🙂
Note: Objectively, having the C4 plugin is not essential. You can replicate this type of settings on any good multiband compressor.
But why these settings?
Well, the concept is quite simple: palm mutes on distorted hard rock/metal guitars tend to stand out strongly in the lows — as mentioned.
Therefore, to control these energy peaks, Andy Sneap’s C4 technique consists of selectively compressing the corresponding frequencies only when they appear, bringing them back in line with the rest of the track.
The approach is simple and effective, and generally suffices to control all those palm mutes.
Compress for color
We saw earlier that our metal guitars are already compressed due to distortion, so it is generally not necessary to recompress them.
However, in some cases, you can use a compressor to add color, to add texture, to add a certain tone.
Because indeed, your analog compressors or simulations impart sonic properties that can be interesting — even without compressing the signal.
So it is possible that when you add your LA-2A or 1176 simulation to your tracks, it “enhances” the sound you hear simply by its presence.
If that’s the case, feel free to take advantage of this effect on your mixes… 😉
Would you like some saturation?
What, more saturation on metal guitars?
Well yes.
In many cases, a bit in the same idea as the previous paragraph where I suggested using a compressor for its color rather than for its compression, adding saturation during mixing will enhance your guitar tracks.
Be careful, we are not talking about distortion at all!
But rather a light saturation that will stimulate the harmonics of the signal and make it more lively.
More musical.
The guitar will fit better in the mix and will be more interesting.
Typically, for this kind of treatment, you can use tape saturation simulations or analog console simulations.
Here are some plugin ideas:
- Flywheel by Fuse Audio Labs
- Tape by Softube
- Brainworx bx_console N by Plugin Alliance
- J37 Tape by Waves
- Decapitator by Soundtoys
- Tapedesk by Overloud
In conclusion
As you can see, mixing metal guitars is much simpler than it seems.
No need for many effects.
At least, as long as you have a good recording (or a well-tuned amp simulation) and double-tracked guitars.
Otherwise, the exercise is much more complicated.
► Keep reading with my guide on mixing clean & guttural vocals for metal.