How to Clean Up Metal Guitars With My Secret EQ Move

[@Mani_Cash]

Hey Scott, nearly two years ago I ordered your Mixing Course. This was the bet investment I've ever made. Thanks for the effort and your knowledge you sharing with us!!!

[@AlexeySolovievMusic]

Wonderful video Scott! Really helpful! Thank you so much !

[@diabeetus7132]

That was a class, simple and very insightful video. No waffle and just making complete sense. Looking forward to more of this stuff, Scott. Cheers man.

[@benjaminbovay10]

That one saved my tone ! Huge thanks for your quality content :)

[@enzojacobsen4349]

This is super useful! Thanks for posting it!

[@jeremycronic]

This helped my mix greatly. Awesome video. Thanks.

[@AleArzMusic]

Super awesome trick! Thank you very much for sharing

[@JasonMelidonie]

Thanks Scott, that helped a lot!

[@jackjohnson1128]

With how mids heavy-obsessed modern metal musicians are these days, this is a godsend.

[@maraudermusic2714]

Great video and love the cut to the chase approach! Also appreciate talk on bandwidth of the cut. Thanks!

[@jclefbouncyrock]

Dude, awesome tip - thanks!!

[@jeffarab4947]

Very good video this helps for tight metal plating as well I have a zoom g3n and use the 7band eq I drop both mids but lower the low mids and raised the second mids and it is a better clear tone it does help alot and this is a great vid

[@BrianBower]

This is a great video!

[@vayamentband6467]

Thank you so much for your insight!

[@nekrohatred9547]

I seen this video a month ago maybe, and it beefed up my guitars and the tightness of the sound. Thanks, bro!

[@DarkLightSwordFight]

🔥🔥🔥this is a great little trick. My guitars have gotten heavier and heavier and lower and lower this really cleans up alot of muddiness for lack of a better term right in the middle of the frequency spectrum

[@SkullCrusherStudios]

I've been doing this dip in the low mids too, like somewhere between 250-500Hz, depending on the sound. It really clears up the sound and makes the Guitars sit comfortably in the mix. Nice to see you also doing this! Another spot to look out for is the 600-800Hz region, those frequencies can also get overwhelming resulting in a honky guitar sound and keep an eye on the ~2KHz-6KHz harshness. Great video, Scott!

[@ssslayer]

In short all the frequencies that are characterized by amp overdrive 😁

[@planzed.2]

@@ssslayeryea but that when IR simulated can kill a mix.

[@stevewills735]

Short simple effective. LOVE IT !!!! CHEERS

[@LykaonMetalMusic]

Great Video!

[@nicsonpete]

Niceee man this is i have to know right now. Pls récord more tricks to clean and do a powerful bass sound. And powerful snare sound

[@swampmanbfe]

Always solid gold, sir! Hope life is good \m/

[@tgstk2]

Wow yes very very helpful!! As I’m using amp sums 10 out of 10!

[@theloniuspunk383]

Do bass mixing quick tricks like this one! I have your GTM course btw it's awesome

[@EmperorWelkin]

There's nothing better than the sound of an organic guitar tone, being amplified through the speaker of a 1980's telephone. If it's not unintelligible white noise, then I don't want it.

[@Brewtalgaming]

🤣

[@therisendead7]

What a difference, thanks for sharing.

[@user-cm9pt8bo3l]

Thanks!!

[@ThamsWorld]

Yuppers nice video thanks for the tips

[@niteshades_promise]

good stuff. i only ever recorded guitar cabs mic'ed. i did simular shape. 🍻

[@misanthropolist1808]

Cool demo!💪🏻 What’s the amp and cab impulse in this video?😊

[@mikejones3805]

dude you are awesome.

[@shredlabstudios]

Such a simple but killer tweak...really opens things up for some snarling distorted bass mids. Works great on real tube tone when running ir's as well! That tone is fuckin filthy btw!

[@ripperthecrooks6428]

nice video man I really didnt know about those valuable EQ moves, you also talked about amp sim harsness when it comes to EQing the high end, where would you cut as a general rule of thumb heavy distorted guitars for 80s hair metal or trash metal music. Thanks

[@heythere6983]

Nice. I personally don’t like amp sim sounds because they always sound to bright and tight and kinda flat to me . Some people swear by them . But I was listening to “master” guitar tracks of famous songs , like holiday from greenday or their other singles and what’s my age again etc blink songs and others . What I found was those guitar tracks typically sound fairly scooped and airy, with a lot of saturation . In the real world to me it wouldn’t sound like I would want it . It’s funny you find people wanting tons of low mids and dense sounding speakers like form eminence but I wonder if they consider how those actually fit in a mix. All that density is cool alike but what about a mix? Personally I’d sacrifice some bass guitar frequencies to allow the complexity and vocal ness of my guitars low end take up some more space. Atleast is like to try that. Bass guitar simply isn’t as vocal as 6 string guitar . Also since people layer guitar tracks, how much low mid does one even really need in one speaker . It’s be interesting if you took some popular “master” tracks that are available on here and then analyze what’s frequencies the guitars where actually in . The one think with the greenday song holiday, from what I remember , he has an acoustic playing the chorus too. When I heard these tracks they honestly felt almost at the same level as phone recordings of my own tracks . They don’t sound full and huge/dense. They sound airy . Could be part of the upload quality but still, you can tell they aren’t going for dense thick guitar tones . I often find those guitar tracks do sit well in the mix, but alone leave a lot to be desired as a guitarist . Instinctively I’d want more in your face guitars . System of a Down’s toxicity album has that and I supposed that’s why it sounds heavier. The guitars are more natural sounding to what I’m used to in real life .

[@misiujackon4]

Thank you very much.

[@CreepingMob]

Thanks. A+

[@joolz666]

G'day from Australia. I found this video super helpful. The only time I have been able to get a clean(ish) guitar sound is when I've not put any distortion on it 😉 and all my musical attempts sound muddy. I'll try these basic tips tomorrow and see what happens. Of course, given my ;playing, some might say I'd be best to set my HPF to 9k or so and my LPF to 8k, but... 😆

[@dltdltd823]

Thanks for the tip! Would love to know what you’re doing with your multi band comp as well.

[@ChernobylAudio666]

Check out the "Andy Sneap C4 Trick" video, I uploaded it just before this one

[@Vanes-NL]

I recently did a similar cut. It cleaned up the guitars, and...... it made them sound much wider

[@honigdachs.]

Yes, I do this as well. I think it's absolutely mandatory.

[@ericsears9318]

Your videos are helpful. I noticed you are using Cubase, versus the Sonar tutorial I first discovered you on. I rely on Sonar and am not impressed with the functionality or interface for their stock EQ (I own Sonar Professional and did not join the Bandlab bandwagon). Is there an EQ plugin you recommend so I am can better employ your good guidance?

[@coreygilbert871]

what tuning in that guitar in thats playing that riff?

[@alrecks619]

i use similar principles every now and then, i learned it from the you-know-who producer who's very popular in the Djent thing lol.

[@fabiod.z.chitarra]

Great and useful explication, i also usually set my pod hd 500 with low-cut in 100/120 hz and cut over 9/10khz, but i must try to cut a bit on 400 hz as in your video, the same equalization can help me to get a more clean sound also in live, i suppose, but for you is better to cut the frequencies in the modeler or in the mixer eq??? Thank you! Fabio from Italy

[@ChernobylAudio666]

You can do it either way, however sounds better to you! :)

[@Landekar]

Did as promised - saved my life.

[@VincentVegardSvart]

The mid side eq can help or improve the metal guitar sound? Adding some high mids in side mode and cut away around 1000 Hz to the guitar in mide mode can help the bass and the guitars live together

[@TranHuy-vz8et]

Did you use custom IR on this track or just the original IR from Fortin Nameless Suite?

[@andymckie8669]

first , how do i get it sounding that heavy in the first place ?

[@Metaljonus]

That's one rad beard!

[@CoreyHunter]

Thanks Scotty from Triple Studios, lol.

[@realcarlspartacus]

The settings for the multiband compressor are in another video? I cant see , it is too little in the screen

[@ChernobylAudio666]

Here you go :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/rIKUpYiDptt7fqM

[@BalashToth]

Awesome video! A question about the 7k low-pass filter thing, do you mean that for ampsims+IRs or any time you use IRs? I normally use a tube preamp with an IR and I cut the highs around 8.3k, but I still felt it too sizzly at times and because of other videos out there I didn't dare to go lower :) Thanks.

[@seanedwards94]

Anytime you eq electric guitar.

[@RandyBakkelund]

I just applied this trick, and it made a big difference!!!

[@EasyHeat]

Honest question, I'm a huge fan of the "bitey" tones of Greg Ginn of Black Flag and similarly Josh Homme ala the early QOTSA albums. I know there are HUGE mid boosts in both sounds, and also that my question isn't exactly "Metal" specific. I'm just curious as to what your opinion would be within those parameters using sims? Thanks in advance! Keep being awesome! Cheers!

[@citizennozmeda7232]

I hear like a swirling pswewewew sound on the top end of the solo'd guitar.

[@dasenase]

sounds amazing. is this done post or pre-fx? I usually record dirty without a DI.

[@ChernobylAudio666]

This is done after everything was applied. If you recorded with a baked tone, it'd be post-recording. In the DAW with a dry DI, it's done after the amplification has been put in place.

[@dmitrii4799]

If you analyse the guitar hack IR, you will see that 200-600 range is quite cut off in it

[@yowild9629]

3db 4k ish narrow sharp cut dependin on cab listen to be that digital wistler box sound unnatural frequencies as well their orders in harmonics 1.8 k . 0.76 . 0.250 ect.

[@bradwengranowski4995]

Hi Scott. Just wondering if this same EQ move applies in a setup when using a 100 watt tube amp into a reactive load box with digital IR's? Thanks. Brad

[@ChernobylAudio666]

Yup, will be similar, but you may not have to go too crazy. You might get away with doing the C4 trick first (I have a video about that).

[@dougb3854]

I think ownhammer actually says something similar in the how to use section

[@joeblow1229]

This has nothing to do with “the technology”… I use nothing but real amps and cabs mic’d up, and I can assure you that that veiled midrange is present in the analog world just the same.

[@evanmargol3408]

Yep, I'm calling BS on that too. It has nothing to do with IR's vs. anything else. It's just what happens with the harmonic series. That first harmonic after the fundamental almost always needs to be dipped a bit in post.

[@emotionalrelation997]

I watched at 1.5 speed and forgot for a bit... This riff sounded much more punk at that speed. 🤣🤣😂It was awesome

[@gussauve6926]

Good morning so my question is does this go for all amp sims thanks for making videos on this very helpfull

[@ChernobylAudio666]

Yessir, when I mix amp simulators, I always do this move. For real amps, the "Andy Sneap C4" trick typically is more than enough.

[@gussauve6926]

@@ChernobylAudio666 sweet I’ll give it a try cause I have a ton loads of songs recorded just not mixed yet thanks 😊

[@alexlongard6277]

Hi Scott, how you create distorted guitar from Solemn tones Odin? Thank from answer!

[@ChernobylAudio666]

Same way I'd do it with real guitars since you need to pass the Odin through an amp simulator and cabinet impulses, so that process is essentially the same =)

[@alexlongard6277]

@@ChernobylAudio666 thank you, i will try.

[@drummingjeremy11]

Should the 7 khz lpf and the 400 hz mid scoop still be used with Bogren Digital products that have the IRDX tech? Im not proficient with EQ yet.

[@ChernobylAudio666]

I would still do the 7kHz cut. For the 400 scoop, I'd probably do it with dynamic EQ and adjust it to where it sounds right.

[@drummingjeremy11]

@@ChernobylAudio666 Thank you, I appreciate it. Im just a novice at mixing but looking to improve.

[@xenonvinc]

Hello Scott! Thank you for your videos. Right now I am dealing with the following problem, maybe you could do a video about this or answer it in a FAQ: Im upgrading from my 10y.o. laptop to a brand new one. Im using reaper, ez mix and ez drummer etc. I still have projects which aren't finished yet, but which I would like to continue on my new machine. What would be your tipp to export the projects (zip?) and import the files from one machine to another, without generating errors? There must be a simple hack for this.. anyways, love your videos and take care

[@ChernobylAudio666]

Hey there! Assuming you have your sessions all in folders, you can just take each main session folder and put it into a .ZIP and transfer it over to the new machine, unzip it, and boom, good to go. What I suggest is to try it with one session as a test, so just zip up one of your session folders and transfer it to the new machine, open it and test it out. That way you ensure it works without doing the whole load of work just to find out in the end it wasn't the way to go. But I think this will work for you-it'll just be a tad time consuming, but you'll only have to do it once, until you upgrade again! :D

[@xenonvinc]

@@ChernobylAudio666 thanks Scott! I will try your advice in a few weeks. It's good to know that there seems to be an easy solution. Have a great weekend

[@RAM_industrial_death_metal]

Ave Scott! A quick question: I'm always having issues when mixing guitars since lower tones played seem at a certain loudness and as soon as I play some higher single string tones, they kind of cut through the rest of the mix. It's like the volume goes up... Tried limiter and compressor but I must be doing something wrong... Any advice?

[@ChernobylAudio666]

Volume automation \m/

[@RAM_industrial_death_metal]

@@ChernobylAudio666 Damn, thank you for such a fast response man! Keep doing what you do 'cause you do it great!

[@Zach_tartz]

So what if I don't use amp simulators? Cause I use my actual amp and plug it through my phones. Could it be something with my amp setting or could I still use an EQ?

[@ChernobylAudio666]

Use dynamic EQ and adjust it to where you take out just enough of the boxiness. I'd do it during chug-chugs or very loud parts.

[@ferencercseyravasz7301]

I am usually skeptical whenever I hear precise Hz and dB numbers in a tutorial, simply because that exact recipe may work with one specific guitar, pickup, interface, amp sim, impulse etc. and it may be wrong on a totally different setup. Therefore I like it a lot more when I get generally valid principles. But I understand your basic argument and I will assume for the sake of the argument that this is indeed working. At least I will try it myself before I make up my mind. But my question is this: since you perform a series of cuts, that also means a decrease in the overall volume of the guitars. Does it still sound that much better if then you increase the gain to make up for the cuts?

[@ChernobylAudio666]

Well, think about it: if you clean the low mid gunk from the guitar and then turn it up, does that magically re-introduce the low mid gunk back into the guitar tone? Also, you could turn the drums/bass down in relation to the guitars instead of turning the guitars up... many different ways to go about this =) I did also mention many times in the video that range/dB amount varies by tone, tuning, and what's happening in the song-so I did lay out a 'generally valid principle' that you can experiment with :)

[@VafaMottahedin]

Little details about how IRs are a snapshot in time are the sorts of things I subscribed for. Your advice is gold!

[@leearmitage]

the lower mid cut is so important in cleaning up guitar tone, great video

[@necroticpoison]

I've always felt that the 350Hz-750Hz range in rhythm guitars sounds like noise, it kind of feels like unnecessary high end but instead it's mud/papery. It is important to have a bit of something in the 150Hz-900Hz range though, like you do here, otherwise they sound a bit cold. Wall-of-sound tones also generally have some kind of lower-mid something, but it's always mixed with a complimenting core mids (1-2k).

[@swedishbutcher]

Is this cut before or after the amp sim?

[@ChernobylAudio666]

I typically do it after the amp sim!

[@prat2609]

Is this applicable for 6 string guitars as well? Maybe Drop C?

[@ChernobylAudio666]

Totally is! :)

[@valentinnikitov7012]

This simple trick changed the game. Thank you and i thanks to Glenn, love you both

[@Kalsten]

I have a question: something I've learnt to avoid is to scoop my guitars. However, I was pointed out about doing what you Scott did in the video. To actually cut in the mids, therefore scooping the sound. But it really makes the mixes clearly. How's that? I feel like it is contradictory to have a mid-rich tone (as the guitar is a mid-range instrument), but at the same time, cutting the mids brings clarity to the mixes. Any thoughts on that? PS: I love your channel and I've learnt a TON with your programming drums course! :)

[@ChernobylAudio666]

You have to remember that when you are mixing multiple elements of a song together, you get frequency masking and overlap. You can have a mid-rich tone all day long if you want, but where will your bass and snare go? Also, it's important to not go *too* extreme with the cut, just enough to where the guitar loses the "haze" and becomes more clear in the mix. The low and low-mid region of the mix is directly responsible for how clear, tight, and 'big' things are going to sound-so it stands to reason that if there is a lot of stuff going on there with tons of energy, that it gets muddy and causes problems.

[@Kalsten]

@@ChernobylAudio666 Thanks a lot! :)

[@commisargamerson1666]

I think you can definetly still have tone that is rich in the mids, you just cut out certain parts of mids, since mids take up such a wide range on the spectrum. You let guitar have one kind of mids, let bass have the other and voila, brutal tone.

[@andersierra8757]

Does this work also for higher tunnings like D standard or E standard???

[@ChernobylAudio666]

Absolutely! Just a matter of how much you need to do :)

[@andersierra8757]

@@ChernobylAudio666 thanks mate!! Still a 400 hz cut on these tunnings??

[@cbrindle91]

Nahhh. 400hz is just a guideline man. Use your ears. That 350-850 ish hz range is the region that muds up mixes across ALL instruments. Its also the region that gives your instruments weight on smaller speakers and headphones.

[@scottwyllie]

Does this apply to a kemper as well? Great video man, very informative and much appreciated.

[@ChernobylAudio666]

I would imagine so as it's also working with IRs :)

[@jerryfick8547]

Hey Scott. Killer vid man. Do you ever get into any mid side processing on your guitars? Do you feel it's necessary? Thanks man and hope all is well over there in the Ukraine. Crazy times we're living now. Stay safe.

[@ChernobylAudio666]

I do a bit of mid-side EQ on my master chain, otherwise I don't mess with it really :)

[@jerryfick8547]

@@ChernobylAudio666 man I'm an idiot. Lol. The master channel is what I meant to say.... Lol. Thanks for all the content. Your vids have literally helped me like you wouldn't believe. Stay safe over there.

[@morbidcorpse5954]

Honest question: Doesn't doing all this take away the rawness from the music. People spend more time on twisting and turning knobs than capturing a true recording. I think an amp and cab is all that is needed. But I like black metal so that could be were the difference is.

[@FlakAttak66]

I was wondering the same. I also like the guitar tone to be more raw and to me it sounds better with a lot more top end (cut at around 12-13k).

[@ChernobylAudio666]

I'd argue that the most successful black metal bands are the ones that can present their music in a way that can be easily digested, but at this point we're running the risk of getting into a 'tr00 kvlt' argument. All I'm trying to do is help people (who are seeking it) improve the sound of their productions. :)

[@morbidcorpse5954]

@@ChernobylAudio666 Cool. Thanks for the response. Have a great weekend!

[@gargolanecro]

With a 9 string guitar will be the same numbers?

[@theloniuspunk383]

more or less yeah but use your ears

[@gargolanecro]

@@theloniuspunk383 I'm new to this, i'm mixing my own music, and I haven't seen any videos that work with 8 or 9 string guitars

[@theloniuspunk383]

@@gargolanecro you might have to make them :P look up mixing in general and apply what you learn, good luck!

[@ChernobylAudio666]

I would check out the video I just made about the Andy Sneap C4 trick and use it in combination with this one. I'd take out as much of the extra low end from the guitar as possible and use the bass guitar for the lower frequencies-the numbers exactly I can't tell you because I don't know what is happening in the mix, but yes, very low tuned guitars like that are going to being a kick in the pants to work with

[@gargolanecro]

@@ChernobylAudio666 i know! Even playing chugs with 2 strings (9 and 8) it's diffiicult to make clear notes, to hear different or "separated" notes.

[@Syklonus]

I've used low-mid cuts before, but this more subtle approach seems to be more effective than carving out 4-5dB at 200-300Hz. The -2dB at 400Hz is just enough to clear everything up, but still leave enough crunch to be effective. Thanks for the tip.

[@Exigne_Corner]

Here's a good question, what about mixing MIDI guitars for Metal? like Shreddage or similar programs

[@ChernobylAudio666]

It'll be the same concept as you'll pass the MIDI guitars through a cabinet impulse response loader \m/

[@metalosaur]

I came here to say that I got triggered by the preview.

[@gibsondiavoletto]

What a secret…

[@ChernobylAudio666]

What a comment...

[@robblenfantdumalin3582]

Nope

[@ChernobylAudio666]

Yup

[@GratDuForloradeArgumentet]

But where do you show the multiband compression then? :D