Aaron Pauley’s Of Mice & Men Guitar Mix: Simple & Crushing Tones

Getting those absolutely crushing guitar tones you hear on Of Mice & Men's "Mosaic" might seem like a complex beast, but Aaron Pauley breaks down his surprisingly straightforward approach to mixing heavily distorted guitars. Forget endless plugin chains; Aaron leans on a couple of studio staples and some smart, minimal processing to achieve that signature power. Let's dive into how he gets it done, focusing on techniques you can apply to your own metal mixes.

If you're ready to see Aaron mix the entire "Mosaic" track from scratch, you can grab the multitracks and watch his full session over at Nail The Mix with Of Mice & Men.

The Foundation: Rhythm Guitars with EQ and 1176

For the core rhythm guitars, Aaron’s primary toolkit is a familiar one: a touch of EQ and the classic 1176 compressor. It’s a testament to how effective well-chosen tools can be, even in modern metal production.

Enter the 1176: Subtle Squeeze for Transients

You’ve probably got an 1176-style compressor in your plugin arsenal – whether it's a UAD emulation, Native Instruments' VC 76, or another variant. Aaron reaches for this iconic FET compressor not for heavy squashing, but for its subtle character and control.

His typical starting point for settings is "mid-attack, mid-release." The goal isn't to dramatically alter the sound, but to gently shave off about half a dB to a full dB from the transients. This helps to even out the performance slightly and keep the level consistent without losing the punch. He specifically appreciates the "subtle color and distortion" that 1176s can impart, adding a little something extra to the audio. This kind of dynamic control is crucial for impactful metal guitars; learn more about these techniques on our metal compression secrets hub page.

EQing the Low End: To Cut or Not to Cut?

When it comes to low-end on distorted guitars, opinions vary wildly. Some engineers will aggressively high-pass everything below 100-150Hz. Aaron, however, takes a more nuanced approach.

He mentions that his headphones are quite sub-focused, allowing him to hear low-end build-up that might be problematic. For the rhythm guitars in "Mosaic," he might apply a gentle low shelf, perhaps pulling down around 3dB starting at approximately 120Hz. He acknowledges that some producers cut these frequencies entirely, but he prefers to keep some of that information.

Why? Because even if you can't distinctly hear those super-low frequencies on your system, they still exist in the audio signal. As Aaron points out, he’s often feeding tracks into multiple stages of compression. That "inaudible" low-end can still influence how those compressors react, potentially throwing them "out of whack." Since these particular guitars were DIs re-amped using STL Tones Tone Hub, they're already moderately cleaned up in the low-end department, but some final shaping is still necessary. Fine-tuning your low-end is a cornerstone of a powerful mix; explore more strategies on our EQ strategies for modern metal hub page.

Sculpting the Highs for Presence

For the higher frequencies, Aaron employs a similar thoughtful approach. He'll use an EQ, often a shelf, and sweep it back and forth. The idea is to see if he can carve out a bit of space in the guitars to allow other elements (like vocals or cymbals) to have more presence, without making the guitars sound dull. In the "Mosaic" example, the guitars didn't have an excessive amount of problematic high-frequency content, so the changes were subtle.

Crucially, whatever EQ and compression settings he dials in for one side of the panned rhythm guitars, he'll generally apply to the other side as a starting point. This ensures a solid, consistent foundation.

Commitment is Key: Working with Printed Guitar Tracks

An interesting aspect of Aaron’s workflow is his preference for working with printed guitar tracks once he's happy with the amped tone. This means that the DIs have already been re-amped (in this case, through STL Tones Tone Hub) and the resulting audio is what he's mixing.

He explicitly states he does this to avoid the "rabbit hole" of constantly tweaking amp sims during the mixing stage. If he’s already satisfied with the core guitar sound achieved during tracking or re-amping, committing to that sound by printing it allows him to focus on how the guitars sit in the mix, rather than getting bogged down trying out incrementally different amp settings. This discipline helps keep the mix progressing.

Making the Stereo Lead Guitar Shine (Without Overdoing It)

For lead elements, like the stereo lead guitar in "Mosaic," Aaron’s philosophy remains one of targeted, minimal processing.

EQ and Leveling: The Primary Tools

Before even thinking about compression on a lead like this, Aaron focuses on making it audible and tonally balanced using EQ and simple level adjustments. He’ll typically look to:

• Clean up the lows: Removing any "mud" or unnecessary low-end frequencies that might clash with the rhythm section.
• Boost for clarity: Often, a gentle boost around the 2kHz to 2.5kHz range can help a lead guitar cut through without becoming harsh.

The main goal is to get the lead audible and sitting well in the track using just these tools. If the source tone is good, often not much more is needed.

The "Mute Test": Gauging True Impact

Here’s a super useful trick Aaron employs, especially for more ethereal or reverb-drenched lead parts: the "mute test."

It’s easy to get caught up in thinking a lead needs to be louder to be heard. Your brain can trick you. To get a true sense of what a lead part is contributing, Aaron will mute the track, listen to how the mix sounds without it, and then unmute it. This A/B comparison provides a much clearer frame of reference. When you bring the lead back in, you immediately hear its actual impact on the overall dynamics and sound. This helps prevent you from pushing leads too far forward in the mix when they're already doing their job effectively.

Beyond the Basics: Learn from the Pros

Aaron Pauley’s techniques for Of Mice & Men’s guitars showcase that powerful, crushing tones often come from smart, fundamental moves rather than overly complex processing. Understanding how to wield an 1176 subtly, making informed EQ decisions about low-end, and committing to sounds are all part of a pro workflow.

Want to see exactly how Aaron Pauley applied these techniques and many more to the full "Mosaic" mix? At Nail The Mix, you can do just that. Get access to the Of Mice & Men "Mosaic" multitracks and Aaron's complete mixing session. You'll watch him build the mix from the ground up, explaining every decision, plugin choice, and creative move. If you're serious about taking your metal mixes beyond presets and truly unlocking your sound, seeing pros like Aaron work their magic on real-world sessions is invaluable.