How To Brighten Metal Guitars Without Fizz - Mixing HEAVY Guitars

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The first thing most people do to brighten up their heavy guitar tracks is boost top end in their EQ plugin...
Seems logical enough.
More top-end = more brightness.
The only issue is that boosting top-end often boosts all of the fizziness that's usually inherent within distorted guitar tracks.
One of the biggest struggles we all face when mixing heavy guitars is getting guitars to sit right within the context of a mix.
They're either too muddy and dull or just too shrill and fizzy.
One of my favorite techniques for brightening up heavy guitar tracks might seem counterintuitive if you've never tried it.
It's all about addition by subtraction.
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[@FrightboxRecording]

►► Download your FREE Guitar Cab Impulse Response by clicking HERE: frightboxrecordingacademy.com/free-impulse-response/

[@gfslamguitar]

I've been watching so many of your videos. I'm pretty new to mixing entire projects, and you've definitely helped me understand the space where the music is supposed to lie. My sound has come miles from where I started! Thank you!

[@alexeysoloviev2924]

Really love your videos Bobby! As always great tips and tricks! Thank you so much for your wonderful job!

[@cao77]

Man, I’m really digging your channel. Lots of useful tips and information. Thank’s for sharing.

[@IronStrongholdProductions]

Great tip man! Constantly a challenge for engineering metal guitars that are quad tracked

[@FrightboxRecording]

I know the feeling!

[@DjentlyVISUALS]

I can´t express how much I love to hear this ultra fast "OKESSO " each time! :-D this was the first channel I was diggin´when I started homerecording. Although nowadays the techniques might not always match with my mixing standards anymore I still love to watch and re-watch the videos because this dude is so incredibly likeable, just feels like I watch some guy I know forever!

[@fretBeastForever]

Great video. I was using the 1 st Technic by implementing Reaper EQ + Exiter + IR`s. The second one was a cleaver move. Thanks :)

[@calm_down185]

I'm just starting making my own music and really helped. Thank you

[@johnlannikk2701]

Thanks for the tip. It's the opposite of what I would have thought, I would boost the mids. So thanks, I'll give it a try. Subbed

[@todfug]

Good stuff man. Loving your vids.

[@arcanesanctuary]

Nice man I used to over think my guitars and add a tone of plug ins. I’ve payed attention to your videos and minimized so much brotha!

[@FrightboxRecording]

Glad to hear that!

[@MariaGoJa]

Thanks, this was reeeaaally helpful!! I am not doing metal guitar productions, but I assume this will also work for more clean guitars. I’ll give it a try!

[@commonimmunity6680]

Thank you man. I'll be trying this out tomorrow.

[@hbomb495]

Great video, I’ve always found subtractive eq to be more beneficial than boosting. And the multiband comp for heavy guitars is definitely a go to must for me.

[@FrightboxRecording]

I agree 100%. Thanks for watching!

[@MBBGun14]

Cool and really helpful video. Thanks! Its something I've been struggling long time.

[@FrightboxRecording]

Happy to have been a help!

[@thelasthardman71]

perfect and right to the point as always ..thanks man, great tips every week

[@FrightboxRecording]

thanks for hanging Burak!

[@plaguebearermetal]

Yo man, I just to say that I've been attempting to learn more recently in the sonic sphere and these videos have helped so much already. Your cheat sheet for met EQ has been ace and I just wanted to say thank you! I'm actually really enjoying all the tweaking and whatnot! Keep it up dude.

[@FrightboxRecording]

So happy to hear that, Michael. Thanks for hanging out and watching!

[@metalwill1118]

Where can I find this cheat sheet???

[@nekrohatred9547]

I needed this. Thank you so much!

[@w.richmond7747]

thx for simple yet elaborative explanation

[@vincentlegros8752]

E.v.e.r.y ........s.i.n.g.l.e of your videos are filled with INSANE tips !! Thanks for the time tips and clarity man!

[@4rocknrolla4]

Simple and efective as usual! Thx!

[@FrightboxRecording]

thanks for watching!

[@tommymac2103]

Cut only eq has been a standard for years. Think in reverse, just like this video: “don’t add what’s missing, take away what’s not necessary”. You have to train your ears to think this way, especially with higher frequencies where our hearing is the most sensative. Well done video.

[@chrisbasham6958]

That bass tone is what I want. Guitar sounds great as well.

[@NJustice4All5]

Thanks for another sick vid!

[@kshitijk14]

this was great, the bass tone is 🤩

[@babalonsfinest6054]

Strange I never saw any of your videos before when doing searches on Music and Metal Music Production. You have some very useful info here. How do I know that? Because some of the exact same things you teach in your videos I had to learn myself through endless trial, error and experimentation. I learned about the HPF and LPF used on guitars by studying multi professional songs with a spectrum analyzer. I noticed most cut 8k with the LPF Not only could I visually see this with the spectrum analyzer, but I could even put a LPF onto the track and notice no change at all in guitar sound. I started to use the HPF just because those lower frequencies muddy up the mix and are not necessary at all for most any instrument. I find guitars can be cut at even 100hz. The Waves SSL Channel Strip even has settings for Rack Toms that cut almost 130hz and below out. this really helps get rid of the low ringing from toms due to their resonation, and even when the kick is hit and all the toms resonate. Listen to Iron Maiden 7th Son of a 7th Son (their 7th record lol), for example, and you can hear they are HPF the toms, etc as well, because NIcko's kit is so vast, could you imagine what rumble would exist if they didn't? The Waves C6 tactic for multiband compressing out palm mute I hear originated from Andy Sneap, but it seems like its gaining popularity amongst metal audio mixers. If you use a compressor over the entire guitars and not just that lower mid frequency then it can give unwanted pumping. I do agree, too, that you really don't want to EQ guitars if possible. If your guitar --> amp settings --> cab --> speakers --> mic and position aren't good, then you can NEVER fix it. Usually it takes me 4-7 tests with mic position and amp settings to get what I want. I find if you want super thick, just killer metal guitar tone, you have to use 2 or more mics I learned a good trick from Glenn Fricker, where he uses an Audix D6 or kick mix on the center of the speaker, where it's bright, then the 57 or similar more towards the outside. Also if you have a high dollar preamp with tube option, you can use that to color your tone. I used this 2 mic trick on a 6505+ going into a Mesa with V30s, and got thick heavy tone that is impossible to get without 2 mics You just gotta make sure they are in the right posoiton so no phase issues. Hopefully I will learn how to incorporate my Sennheiser MD421 on guitar tone, literally that mic has its own characteristic so different than anything I have heard before.

[@jamin111]

The guitar tone is awesome

[@alexanderalvarado5879]

This was awesome!!

[@tgstk2]

i see your mail in my inbox. .i instantly click the link! i love your video's!

[@FrightboxRecording]

So happy to hear than man!

[@ahopeinhell616]

you're the man! suberb video 🤘 love also that catchy riff 😁😱❤🙌🤘🍺

[@FrightboxRecording]

Thanks for watching!

[@adambaran5022]

Thank you, this helped me a lot

[@RiverwoodOfficial]

Thanx man , best channel ever im struggling with getting the levels just about right and referencing as well is there any possibility for any tips lesson for that? thanx alot stay safe

[@FrightboxRecording]

There's one in the works. Thanks for watching!

[@alexfontaine00]

GREAT!! That's exactly what I was looking for... the 2 guitars of my band sound too boxy!! I will try this technic!! Thank You

[@FrightboxRecording]

Anytime Alexandre!

[@alexfontaine00]

@@FrightboxRecording You saved my life!! the result is impressive!! thank you

[@FrightboxRecording]

@@alexfontaine00 Glad to hear that dude !

[@instrumentalist28]

I love it, so minimal processing

[@FrightboxRecording]

I'm all about that life! The less is more.

[@adraticofficial]

I connect my guitar to focusrite to computer Any little gain and I get unwanted noise Help! Why?!?

[@DAVIDJCARON]

What do you mean by a ""sub mix". What does it consist of and how do you create one..?

[@goatsurgeon]

So you got 500hz a bit to make it sound louder - I do this, too lol but I also boost top by a few dB at 1k and 4K

[@loufiak]

Great vid thanks a lots ! You borrowed the C4 trick from Andy Sneap, didn't you ?

[@Ledones]

Thanks, I'm struggling with my heavy guitar tone on the mix. This might be the fixing

[@FrightboxRecording]

Let me know how it goes!

[@FadingPixel]

Damn that mixing takes alot of time. 7 months and still not ready.

[@ace88bf]

As a rookie doing home stuff, im pleased that i managed to figure a lot of this kind of stuff on my own by playing around with things a lot, and seeing it affirmed in your videos is really helpful, i've become fairly adept with guitar mixing. One thing i really do need help with in metal mixing is how to handle the low B string on my bass guitar. I have enough trouble as it is mixing the guitars when they're doing chuggy stuff on the low B, but when the bass guitar is added, no matter what i do it just ends up being way too much and really fucks the overall mix and especially hurts the kick drum. I can mostly make it work with the guitar, but man...it's really difficult to get that bass guitar sounding the way it should. Sounds perfect on the other strings, but that low B is incredibly troublesome. What would you recommend to help with not turning the bass into a boomy mess that stresses out the entire mix? I really don't want to go the route of splitting bass parts into different tracks and getting really surgical with EQing and plugin masturbation for problems.

[@FrightboxRecording]

Hey man! Thanks for watching. The trick is to use some mid range saturation to help the bass cut through without it actually being loud in the mix. You'd only need to split the bass into two tracks for this. This is almost standard in modern rock/metal mixing. Check out this vid: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIe2qaN6bt2Do7M

[@ace88bf]

@@FrightboxRecording lol yeah i saw that video a bit after i commented this and it helped a lot...as did fresh strings haha. Boosted the bass around 140hz and completely dropped below 70 and the difference is staggering. The real test now is when i listen to it in my car. I did end up having to do the low B part in a different take and eq it separately, but it sounds way better now. Your videos are an amazing resource for clueless guys like me lol, really youre doin the lords work here. Thanks a million and keep them coming!

[@RobKingRC]

I always have to rewatch your videos because i get sucked into the classic Horror flicks in the background!! 🧟‍♂️

[@FrightboxRecording]

lol! Love it. Believe it or not the movie in this one is a film called "Slashed". A movie I shot as a freshman in high school in 1998.

[@RobKingRC]

@@FrightboxRecording That's awesome..

[@Fromagreatheight]

scooping the mids has been looked down on throughout the 2010s but people forgot that's how you make a guitar tone sound brighter naturally. Doesn't mean eliminate the mids, just shape your guitar tone. You can have scooped mids with still a very prominent mid range tone, it's all about control and balance.

[@coreyroberts47]

THE BASS THO

[@xoggy03x]

My man using TSE X50 haha! Anyway (and maybe you already did this - I'm kinda new to the channel) it would be awesome to see your complete mixing workflow maybe in a series of videos, or something like that. I'm pretty sure a lot of us would find that very interesting!

[@FrightboxRecording]

Got something cool in the works coming at the end of June !

[@emoboi311]

This is the exact same thing I do whenever my guitars sound too boxy or muddy. Usually I’ll remove a couple of dB around 400-800

[@FrightboxRecording]

Great stuff!

[@IndraIrot]

you should got more subscriber,, all your tips are very helpful... thankyou

[@FrightboxRecording]

Thanks for watching, Indra!

[@isaackleiner87]

If you look at the frequency response of guitar doubletracks from the 90s, you will see that there are a lot of high frequencies and mids too. What did they do before? They just boosted the high frequencies and it wasn't acidic because they were doing it on analog equipment and the signal wasn't a discrete piece of shIt that came out of a vst "amp" sim.

[@davidlamothe2942]

Some 90s tones could have been better tho

[@mattmedeiros9531]

Wow, that solo toggle on the bypass really makes that difference shine. Do you have a recommendation for multi-band compression in a live rig?

[@FrightboxRecording]

Leroy! I'd say it's not necessary in a live rig.

[@mattmedeiros9531]

@@FrightboxRecording Thanks Leroy!

[@leearmitage]

Thx man great video and great tip

[@FrightboxRecording]

Thanks for watching Lee!

[@leearmitage]

@@FrightboxRecording love your channel man picked up some great tips especially for a newbie like me

[@integralbird]

Hey Bobby, I noticed you have some automation on the Master track that's then feeding into the Print track. What exactly is going on there? A little volume bump for the downbeat hits? Thanks for the great content as usual!

[@FrightboxRecording]

Yes, exactly!

[@heavymetalmixer91]

Nice tips. Btw, can I get a similar result with a dynamic-EQ instead of a multiband-compressor?

[@FrightboxRecording]

Definitely. The idea is to make sure the low-end doesn't get out of control on the palm mutes.

[@matttaylor1449]

This has got Andy Sneap written all over it, and that's not a bad thing.

[@joseboiser3721]

I pay a lot of fkn money to know how to eq.but i think i save money for this..thanks.a lot..

[@2wickid]

How do i get my guitar recording to stop going kssssssssssssssssssssssh the whole time?

[@thesavman23]

Noise gate

[@SilentScreamsStudios]

10K to 12k is great for real amps and cab but not for plugins

[@saadshah7857]

That was smart :p

[@danielrobertson9854]

Drums are a bit loud? IMO of course

[@samravi9978]

Dude whats a submix?

[@FrightboxRecording]

A submix is sort of like a master fader before your actual master fader. You can create multiple subimixes and send specific groups of instruments to specific submixes in order to keep your session more organized.

[@Ivan-ud8op]

I saw that 🧐

[@tgstk2]

somehow i think i'm going deaf...cause i just do actually as in the video's but sometimes it's like...ok i dont hear a difference...what's wrong with my ears.

[@SilentScreamsStudios]

Sounds good man but 12K for LP is not good. 6800 to 8500 max is good. 12k is too shrill

[@washaconte3956]

The fizz is still there. I recomend trying different IR, or use 2 mic to phase the fizz and cancel it. Maybe a gentle noise reduction could grasp the fizz, if it is too dark then do a boost on the highs. Seems contradictory i know, yet it does work, because you are boosting a signal that have less fizz. Kinda similar to a compresor after a noise gate

[@josephharvey1762]

Having seen Acle Kahney EQ guitars, this made me laugh

[@Crowbar11115]

Guitars LOVE 3200hz

[@PASHKULI]

That's all good but your guitar tracks have been pre-mixed already: gotten rid of the low rumble, etc. So that on the video is just a final touch.

[@FrightboxRecording]

The EQ I showed is the only EQ on these guitars. The tracks themselves are raw.

[@PASHKULI]

@@FrightboxRecording I do not know then, but even without those touches, they sound pre-mixed somehow.

[@FrightboxRecording]

@@PASHKULI They were recorded right at the source :)

[@PASHKULI]

@@FrightboxRecordingWe do not know how and what has been involved. Maybe the DI can give us a clue. Many variables can be at play for that matter as well.

[@mehegama]

Isn't the bass a bit too loud?

[@ShadovvV]

"I don't use EQ." Uses EQ.

[@adrenalewie8135]

Okay thise guitars are sick.. But that BASS TONE IS NASTY

[@FrightboxRecording]

Thanks! It's amazing what using fresh strings can do.

[@1siriuswolf]

Goddamn your voice is grating..dude room treatment

[@overbe]

This video could be way shorter. 5 minutes talking about what other people would do..

[@FrightboxRecording]

Exactly...mistakes that I see over and over and over and over again. I wan't to clearly point out and demonstrate what many up and coming engineers tend to do and how to change it.

[@growlxxxtendo4152]

is there generally crowding around the 60-90 range? with u only rolling off to 90 on guitar and generally 60 or so on bass and toms will sit somewhere around there as well how to prevent this crowding and give everything its own space to shine?