Alestorm’s Epic Pirate Metal Guitars: Lasse Lammert’s EQ & Dynamics Tactics

Alright, let’s dive into the treasure chest of guitar tones from the pirate metal legends, Alestorm! When you’re dealing with a band that throws epic orchestral arrangements, accordions, and shredding guitars into the same sonic sea, things can get crowded. We got a look at how Lasse Lammert, the man behind the board for their NTM session, navigates these treacherous waters, particularly when it comes to making those heavy guitars sit right without losing their aggressive bite.

If you’re ready to see these techniques in action on a full Alestorm track, you can grab the multitracks and watch Lasse mix “Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship” from scratch right here.

The Mid-Range Maelstrom: Guitars vs. Orchestra

One of the biggest challenges in a dense metal mix, especially one with Alestorm’s symphonic flair, is the mid-range. Guitars live there, vocals live there, and in this case, a whole lot of orchestral violence and melody also stake their claim in the upper mids. Lasse points out how easy it is to “neuter” guitars by over-EQing, leaving them toothless. The goal? Create space for those crucial orchestral melodies without castrating the guitars.

Surgical Strikes for Clarity

To tackle this, Lasse brings in the orchestral elements—not at full volume, but just enough to hear the frequency clashes. He emphasizes that you need to be careful here; boosting highs to find problem areas can wreck your ears if you listen for too long.

Once the clashing frequencies are identified, it’s time for some precise EQ work. We’re not talking about massive 10dB cuts here. Lasse demonstrates making a very subtle cut, around 1.2dB, to gently carve out space. The key is to free up room for other elements without drastically changing the inherent tone of the guitars. It’s about transparency, not transformation at this stage.

Tightening the Chugs: Dynamic Control for Low-End Punch

Next up, let’s talk about those all-important chugs. To get them tight and punchy, especially with stereo-tracked rhythm guitars, Lasse employs some clever compression strategies.

Multi-Mono Matters

A crucial tip: if you’re processing stereo guitar tracks with dynamics (compression, saturation, etc.), and you don’t want the left guitar’s chug to affect the right (and vice-versa), use multi-mono plugins instead of standard stereo ones. This ensures each side is processed independently, maintaining clarity and punch.

Plugin Power: FabFilter Pro-MB for Precision

For taming and tightening the low-mids of palm-muted chugs, Lasse reaches for FabFilter Pro-MB. He sets up a single band to focus specifically on that “juggy” area. By compressing just this band on the chugs, he achieves a tighter, more controlled low-end without affecting the overall guitar tone too much. This is a common trick, and tools like the Waves C4 are also popular for this application. The goal is to get those chugs to hit hard and then get out of the way.

Adding Character: The “Color” EQ

After the surgical EQ and dynamic tightening, it’s time to bring back or enhance some of the desirable characteristics of the guitar tone. This is where a “color” EQ comes into play. Lasse uses it to accentuate elements he likes, such as the “bite.” He specifically mentions that the 1.5kHz-ish region can be gold for rhythm guitars, providing attack and presence. While many mixers are quick to cut mids, don’t overlook the power of this area for definition.

All-In-One Solution: Korneff Audio Amplified Instrument Processor

For those looking to streamline their workflow, Lasse gives a shout-out to the Korneff Audio Amplified Instrument Processor (AIP). He praises it as a “genius” plugin that can handle many of the tasks he just demonstrated with multiple plugins, all in one interface.

Here’s how the AIP can be your guitar-shaping Swiss Army knife:

Dynamic Low-End Control

Similar to what he did with Pro-MB, the AIP has a section for dynamic processing of the low band. Lasse dials this in around the same frequency region to tighten up the chugs. A word of caution: don’t go too far! You want the meat and power, not a thin, hollowed-out sound.

Banishing Annoying Mids with the “Insufferable Mid Range Filter”

This feature is a lifesaver. The AIP allows you to sweep and find those truly grating, “insufferable” mid-range frequencies that can make a guitar sound harsh or cheap. Lasse demonstrates finding an annoying spot (around 2.2kHz in his example) and its octave. Once identified, you gently reduce it – enough to remove the annoyance, but not so much that you radically alter the core sound.

Filtering and Final Touches

The AIP also includes high and low-pass filters, plus more traditional EQ bands, allowing you to further sculpt the tone, bring back some high-frequency content if needed, and clean up any unwanted rumble or fizz.

Blending and Balancing Your Rhythm Guitars

Lasse often works with multiple rhythm guitar tracks. In this Alestorm session, he’s using similar-sounding tones that complement each other. His approach is to first find a good blend between these tracks. He prefers to do this initial leveling using the faders. Once he’s happy with the balance, he groups these tracks. From that point on, this group becomes his main “rhythm guitar sound,” which he then processes and levels as a single unit.

Ready to Hoist the Mainsail on Your Mixes?

Tackling dense metal mixes like Alestorm’s requires a strategic approach to EQ and dynamics. By making careful surgical cuts, controlling the low-end chugs with multi-band compression, adding character with color EQ, and utilizing powerful tools like the Korneff Audio AIP, you can achieve clarity and punch without sacrificing aggression.

These techniques are just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine seeing Lasse Lammert apply these concepts, plus a whole lot more, to an entire Alestorm song. With Nail The Mix, you get to do exactly that. Every month, you receive the raw multitracks from a killer metal track and watch as the original producer mixes it from scratch, explaining every plugin, every decision, and every fader move. It’s the ultimate way to unlock your sound and take your metal mixes beyond presets.

Want to see exactly how Lasse wrangled those Alestorm guitars and the rest of the pirate crew into a cohesive, powerful mix? Check out the Alestorm Nail The Mix session now!