How To MASTER Metal Songs Like A Pro

This is how I master my metal home recordings using simple plugins at home.
Flatline 2: bit.ly/3mdH3xN
Gulfoss: www.soundtheory.com/home
Virtual Tape Machine: sweetwater.sjv.io/LXEPxO
FabFilter Pro Q-3: sweetwater.sjv.io/DKaVbq
Brainworx townhouse Buss Compressor: www.plugin-alliance.com/en/pr...
FabFilter Saturn 2: sweetwater.sjv.io/jraWna
🎉 WEBSTORE (Merch/Tabs/Stems/DIs/Tones): keyanhoushmand.sellfy.store/
🔊 SPOTIFY: spoti.fi/3g1ALht
🔊 BANDCAMP: bit.ly/3g1AdYX
▶️ Everything Else: bit.ly/3yBFDk2
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🎉 PATREON (Tabs/Stems/DIs/Tones): / keyanhoushmandlive
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📲 INSTAGRAM: / keyanhoushmandlive
▶️ TWITCH: / keyanhoushmandlive
📲 TIKTOK: / keyanhoushmandlive
📲 FACEBOOK: / keyanhoushmandlive
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🎁AFFILIATE LINKS/ALL THE GEAR I USE🎁
US (Sweetwater): imp.i114863.net/ORXjBG | AUS (Sky Music): alnk.to/cSEBbPi || EU: www.thomann.de/gb/thlpg_4n9u9...
🎸GUITARS
Jackson Juggernaut ET7 - US: imp.i114863.net/4e9XKZ || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/512164?offid=...
Jackson Juggernaut ET6 - US: imp.i114863.net/DVBNvd || AU: bit.ly/3w6aymI || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/512162?offid=...
Jackson Juggernaut USA HT6 USA - US: imp.i114863.net/ZnY1X
Jackson Juggernaut USA HT7 - US: imp.i114863.net/X02AX
Dingwall NG3 5 String - EU: thmn.to/thoprod/485232?offid=...
Dunlop Jazz Flow Picks - US: imp.i114863.net/LPJQX3 || AUS: bit.ly/3Xkljho || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/438325?offid=...
Bare Knuckle Juggernauts: thmn.to/thoprod/458774?offid=...
Bare Knuckle Ragnaroks: thmn.to/thoprod/458779?offid=...
Bare Knuckle Piledriver: thmn.to/thoprod/458819?offid=...
Taylor 214ce DLX - US: imp.i114863.net/LPgNMY || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/483531?offid=...
👾 PLUGINS/VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS/SOFTWARE
Submission Audio: bit.ly/3mdH3xN
FL Studio: sweetwater.sjv.io/g15bA0
🔈 AMPS/MODELERS
Neural DSP Quad Cortex - US: imp.i114863.net/kjVqrd || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/486992?offid=...
EVH 5150 Iconic Amp - US: imp.i114863.net/NKyayP || AUS: bit.ly/3iH7zOu || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/524241?offid=...
EVH 5150 Iconic Cab - US: imp.i114863.net/LPdkd3 || AUS: bit.ly/3IXosiC || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/524250?offid=...
📻 GEAR
ADAM Speaker Monitors - US: imp.i114863.net/WDb1YJ || AUS: amzn.to/3w8XQDD || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/431376?offid=...
Sennheiser HD650 Headphones - US/AUS: amzn.to/3GKmEGX || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/471755?offid=...
Monitor Stands: amzn.to/3XDiyHM
Radial JDI Passive Direct Box - US: imp.i114863.net/vGxZe || AUS: bit.ly/3ZDPGkn || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/195912?offid=...
Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 3rd Gen Interface - US: imp.i114863.net/52132 || AUS: bit.ly/3Wher2V || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/467952?offid=...
Ernie Ball Guitar Cable - US: imp.i114863.net/gb921v || AUS: bit.ly/3iLSZFx || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/463230?offid=...
GruvGear Fret Wraps - US: imp.i114863.net/Eak3E9 || AUS: bit.ly/3QIAZZ8 || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/399094?offid=...
Mogami Cables - US: imp.i114863.net/QOB5y9 || AUS: bit.ly/3QHxRNb
BOSS WL-60 Wireless Pedal - US: imp.i114863.net/RyzkG2 || AUS: bit.ly/3iPwdwl || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/468059?offid=...
Polytune 3 Pedal - US: imp.i114863.net/LARqM || AUS: bit.ly/3iJ51iV || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/413690?offid=...
Guitar Stands - US: imp.i114863.net/WDb1YJ || AU: bit.ly/3wbitiO || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/417081?offid=...
Alesis 49 Key MIDI Keyboard - US: imp.i114863.net/N12DV || AUS: bit.ly/3knBMmf | EU: thmn.to/thoprod/528607?offid=...
📸 LIVE RIG AND GEAR
ART S8 8 Way Mic Splitter - US: imp.i114863.net/n1aG1A || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/210099?offid=...
Behringer X32 Rack Mixer - US: imp.i114863.net/doxQoj || AU: amzn.to/3ZGcvnv || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/310536?offid=...
Sennheiser IEM System - US: imp.i114863.net/9WNRg5 || EU: thmn.to/thoprod/436492?offid=...
ENKI Guitar Case - EU: thmn.to/thoprod/552753?offid=...
Chapters
0:00 - The Process
0:35 - Plugin 1
3:42 - Plugin 2
5:34 - Plugin 3
6:33 - Plugin 4
8:41 - Plugin 5
10:15 - Plugin 6
11:27 - Plugin 7
13:00 - Final A/B Test

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Are you guys mastering your own metal tracks? Let me know! Check out Flatline 2 here: bit.ly/3mdH3xN

[@ofthefallen8012]

“You’d don’t need much at all” *first thing on the list is $140* 😢😢

[@adamsunderland0823]

The A B comparison was pretty funny. They both sound good. It's really all in the mix and performance.

[@dtrmnts]

Yea the hundreds poured into mastering plugins really isn't worth the small change

[@ayeapprove]

My free chain that works for me: TDR Nova, gbSoundlab Tape Bus, Blue Lab Audio StereoWidth (bass focus knob is your friend), OTT Xfer with 50% Mix as a Mastering EQ/Downward compression tool, Loudmax and Youlean Loudness Meter.

[@dinosaric4862]

It's all free? Thanks, might use it

[@ayeapprove]

@@dinosaric4862 yes and it's very easy to use all of them. OTT is freaking powerful

[@camdenwyeth316]

50% OTT? What?

[@ayeapprove]

@@camdenwyeth316 50% mix

[@Hikaeme-od3zq]

​@camdenwyeth316 Hey man, yeah you can actually do it, just deal the downward compression knob accordingly to the mix level.

[@MahmoudNader]

Let's be real ... The mix sounds killer even before mastering and that's the point

[@buyingdrop0127]

Awesome needed this. Helps a lot.

[@metaltrackmind6851]

Thank you man. The part about the -1db on limiter ceiling is about the best advice I needed right now, also great info

[@powwowinmypants6949]

Awesome dude!

[@vitzzhimo6950]

This was so good. Now a "How To MIX Metal Songs Like A Pro" video lol

[@vladyslavzaihcyk5812]

You are a legend! Thank you for sharing such info for free

[@rickneibauer1]

That Slate Tape machine is magic/pro sound/3D amaze balls. Went from the 2nd to the 3rd dimension.

[@aangovan]

wow wow really good real explanation thanks, man!

[@altiusmusic]

Wow , this helped me so much! Thank you!!😍

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Thanks for watching!

[@abethebaebest2950]

Awesome video!

[@cameronneal4]

Yoooooo I've been awaiting the arrival of this video for years

[@yeserguitar]

Definitely a good breakdown here. I want Gulfoss so bad :D Saturn move and features of Flatline 2 my favs in the vid. I better check your reference videos as well to get the ideas in detail. Thank Keyan!

[@thebenwmusic]

hello ali

[@yeserguitar]

@@thebenwmusic heyy ben, you caught me

[@KS-zj9ou]

I am mixing and mastering our death metal & grindcore songs. I use Studio one, stock plug-ins and EZ-Mix 2 with various addons of it. I usually add pre-fixed set-ups and tweak them based on my liking. EQ, Compressor, Saturation, Binaural Pan, Reverb & Delay, Limiter are my main tools.

[@shaunreiner7671]

Wow, appreciate this video… i’m absolutely clueless when it comes to mastering tracks. This hurts a lot! Thanks!

[@isaacmckenzie7184]

Awesome video! How you going using FL studio for recording instrumentals? I started on FL and just used it to record my first EP and it really struggled handling all the audio on my admittedly fast PC. Also caught you opening for Plini in Melb a couple of months ago, enjoying the content!

[@boristubeti6776]

Mixing basics🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@mileshurst9823]

why is the limiter in a totally different channel and not just in the lowest spot? love your stuff!

[@VMODofficial]

Hey Keyan! Your link to Flatline 2 isn't applying any introductory price discounts, or I'm just confused. Is it because SubMission Audio are running a sale of their own at the same time right now?

[@MOMetalProductions]

Really good and clear video man! Did you also try automating the saturation in the Saturn up for super filthy breakdown sections? Ive tried that recently and really makes those sections stand out amazingly. Keep up the great work! 🔥

[@mileshurst9823]

interesting. Do you use saturn on vocals

[@MOMetalProductions]

@mileshurst9823 yes, for sure. But also on the instrumental bus. There I can automate the drive up to make it more crunchy and distorted sounding for filthy sections

[@alanbrucke]

Ermin is also one of my main mastering heroes, and I totally stole his chain from the Northlane video for a while. I've since replaced several things with better alternatives I've found. The main thing is that I've replaced Flatline 2 with the Newfangled Audio Elevate. Try Elevate people! It lends a depth and a sensation of movement to your music. Don't get me wrong I LOVE Flatline 2. But Elevate is what is up.

[@YeahButStilll]

Anyone know if Flatline 2 hybrid mode is somehow different than putting a clipper in front of a limiter (or vice versa)? Or is it just a convenience thing?

[@user-kh8dz4yp6e]

Prophessinal

[@sergeiprimal]

Can you do a tutorial for mastering your drums? Good to hear what you will do with them.

[@norbzys430]

R u using any buss compression on ur instrument buss before mastering?

[@Ermz]

OMG you have to teach me your ways bro ❤

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Do I know you? 😉

[@Ermz]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive no. I don't associate with non-checkmarked plebs 🤓

[@dannyriffs]

Limiter at -1 for YT and socials was interesting to hear, I’ve always set it to -0.1 do you raise it when you’re mastering for Spotify? And do you do separate exports at -1 for your music videos vs the Spotify master?

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Anything that goes to any streaming platform, I do -1 on the limiter!

[@AlucardXIX]

This is especially important on mobile based social media like instagram and tiktok. They have pretty extreme normalization that will destroy your audio quality. With Spotify they do recommend -1, but there's tons and tons of engineers that still do -0.1 and such.

[@boristubeti6776]

How did you record the screen along with the audio with all that processing? OBS/Streamlabs or some external recorder? Thank you for sharing all of this gold with us❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Try using ReaStream with VB-Virtual cable is the output in OBS

[@NickRandall_Music]

Cool, I may have to try this mastering chain. Uses less plugins than my current setup

[@MatteoKysely]

Jesus how many plugins are you using? xd

[@NickRandall_Music]

@@MatteoKysely can’t remember, but it’s from a tutorial Ermin did ages ago

[@mileshurst9823]

top down is the best.

[@josuastangl7140]

8:53 as you make instrumental music, what do you not send through the instrument bus?

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Things like sound effects, post production, sub drops etc don’t go into my Instrument bus

[@josuastangl7140]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive makes sense

[@dbwastooshort]

ITS TIMEEE TO MASTERRRR MUSIIIICCC

[@brantbedore1399]

Any clarity on how to set the threshold to mix into? I am trying to set up my mix and it seems like if I set the ceiling at -1 and keep a similar attack and release that the limiter grabs more than just the transients and my master bus in the DAW is clipping pretty hard. Awesome video as always!

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Hey dude! It really just depends on the gainstaging of your mix and how loud you are mixing. If you’re clipping heavily, there is no harm in turning the threshold on flatline down. Watching the loudness meter as well as how much your transients are clipping is key

[@brantbedore1399]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive thanks man! Toying around with the gain staging definitely helped a little bit for sure. I'm trying to build a test mix to have a decent template to write on but it's been hard to get certain things like limiters and levels just right. I would be interested to see a video on what you load up into your DAW before you start to record anything in the future. I appreciate the reply, you're doing God's work out here helping us learn how to improve our recordings 🙏

[@FrankTheSmithTV]

Those Ozone Imager negative settings are doing the opposite of widening

[@DRJTUBECHANNEL]

Do you really need flatline if you already have ozone? What’s the difference?

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Flatline is a clipper, limiter, and a hybrid of the two all in one. Ozone just has a limiter.

[@abunai.j]

Very cool video. It looks like you're mastering in your original session with all the tracks. I've seen some folks render out the mixed track and use a fresh template to master as well, and I've messed around with both, but I'm curious - thoughts? Comment section as well - question for anyone who's mixing/mastering in their own home studio as well as Keyan.

[@alanbrucke]

I prefer mastering in a separate session, especially when I'm mastering more than one song. Not being able to tweak the mix sessions any further puts me in the right mindset.

[@AlexSaheli]

Gullfoss does the same thing as Soothe2?

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

It looks the same but Soothe is mainly just a resonance control, Gulfoss reacts a little differently and sounds different as well

[@AlexSaheli]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive got it, thank you

[@siim1129]

I barely can hear any diffrence between A B tests. and sometime before plugin sounds better to me... I am afraid that my mixing endevours are going to be disasterous.

[@xtrafe5953]

@KeyanHoushmandLive Are you joining Jared Dines' shred collab contest?

[@josephharvey1762]

Huh, is there a way to do this without tons of expensive plugins?

[@mileshurst9823]

theres free versions of all plugins. i found good lists on google for free stuff

[@bolillo5013]

It’s a lot easier with nice plugins but is absolutely doable with stock and less expensive plugins as well.

[@Ermz]

The plugins are what allow you to do it without $100k of audio hardware.

[@ThatBeTheQuestion]

Maybe I'm dumb, but I can't hear almost any difference for any of these plugins. If any difference at all.

[@joex-mn4we]

Bro, what song is that?

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

0:26

[@joex-mn4we]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive drop it

[@lryuen_2261]

54 seconds ago LETSSSSS GOOOOOO

[@clocks8137]

u have an eq followed by an eq to undo what you did in the previous eq followed by an eq to undo the undo followed by an eq to undo the undo of the undo. ok lol

[@DRJTUBECHANNEL]

Heard no difference listening through my laptop speakers lol

[@joes.3083]

put some headphones on lol

[@DRJTUBECHANNEL]

@@joes.3083 lol it amazes me what a scam a lot of the plugin industry is. How can these subtle differences not be replicated with tiny bit of eq?

[@JasonManik]

Cmon bro, At least try to be honest You first plugin is $140 Like Cmon

[@guilhermelanfredi]

Dude, you speak too fast 😅 For us non-native english speakers, it gets tricky to watch and at the same time process what you're saying. Not a big deal after watching it twice or more.. 😂 Anyways, thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge over such a complex subject to all of us newbies trying to get better mixes. Keep it up.

[@adolfpickler4295]

Just slow down the video a bit

[@queefmasterr]

this video is actually really sad to watch how mastering is a dying art and everything’s replaced by plugins that do most of the stuff for you. what happened to MS mastering, multi stage compressor, etc. i get that plugins are supposed to be more accessible but that in turn doesn’t improve your actual skills

[@lysdexiar31]

this is a really strange comment. some of these plugins maybe make mastering a little easier, but they certainly don't do stuff for you on their own (aside from gulfoss i guess haha). it's also important to note that all of these plugins, as great are they are, are absolutely fantastic at making your master sound god awful if you don't know how to use them. like way worse than you can make stuff sound 'the old fashioned way'.

[@queefmasterr]

@@lysdexiar31 when you use the plugins, do you know how they actually work internally when all you have to do is just press buttons on a software? or just how the world of digital processing work at all. you might know what they do, but without understanding the how, you’re just limiting yourself and unfortunately most of the new “producers” dont care enough

[@lysdexiar31]

@@queefmasterr if you want to effectively use a plugin, then yeah, it's important to understand how it works internally. that doesn't mean you need to understand how it's coded, that isn't the point, but you need to understand what it does to your signal chain, just like you do a piece of analog gear. that's why i make the comment that it's really easy to make a really awful master with plugins like these if you don't understand how to drive them, and i'm just as guilty of that as anyone else is. to say that mastering is a dying art is a ridiculous comment though. the guys that are good at it are just as good as the guys from the previous generation. they are doing the same thing, to the same effect, with the same understanding of how and why it works. the only difference is that technology has changed the tools that they use, just like it has in every other industry since the beginning of time.

[@queefmasterr]

@@lysdexiar31 yea thats the problem with the tools. take them away and what can the newer generation of producers do? i said mastering is a dying art bc no one fully gives a shit anymore. not the engineers, not the artists, and definitely not the consumers

[@YeahButStilll]

@@queefmasterr idk how old you are but considering your name is queefmaster, I’m going to assume you’re not that old. There’s always new technology coming out and there’s always people saying how “easy the kids have it these days” and “we had to do it the hard way”. Well guess what? There’s tons of people older than you that were around before digital audio recording existed and had to spend 5 billion dollars on analog equipment and record onto tape where the only way to edit audio was to literally cut and splice the tape back together. And before tape, people recorded onto WAX. And it keeps going back all the way to the 1850’s. Every single tool you use was not available at some point and someone probably said each one was cheating when it first came out let’s not act like you’re in any position to judge.

[@tusabitz477]

Shave your beard. You are cute without it

[@Reaper_681]

I edge to his beard