Amaranthe Vocal Production: Jacob Hansen’s Layered FX Approach

Amaranthe. The name alone conjures images of massive, intricate vocal arrangements. With multiple vocalists, including clean male, female, and growls, their songs are a masterclass in vocal layering. But with dozens of tracks, how do you achieve that signature bright, huge, and powerful sound without turning everything into a chaotic mess? We got a peek into how mixing legend Jacob Hansen tackled Amaranthe’s “365,” and his approach to vocal effects is pure gold for any rock or metal producer.

If you’ve ever wrestled with making complex vocal stacks sit right while still sounding epic, Jacob’s techniques for reverb, delay, and width offer some serious insights. It’s all about strategic processing to add polish and power, not just piling on effects. Check out the full session here. Let’s dive in!

Taming the Sends: Strategic EQ Before Your Effects

One of the first things Jacob highlights is how he treats the signals before they even hit his main vocal effects. Instead of just sending a raw vocal track to a reverb or delay, he EQs the send itself. This is a crucial step for keeping your effects clean and effective.

Reverb Send: Keeping it Clear

For his vocal reverb, Jacob starts by cutting out some low end on the signal being sent to the reverb. This is a classic move, and for good reason. Low frequencies in a reverb can quickly turn into mud, clouding up the main vocal and the entire mix. By filtering them out on the send, the reverb adds space and depth without adding unnecessary boominess.

Delay Sends: Clarity and Smoothness

He applies a similar philosophy to his delay sends, but with a bit more tailoring:

• Low Cut: Just like with reverb, cutting lows on the delay send helps keep the delays clean and prevents them from interfering with the fundamental tones of the vocals or other instruments.
• High Cut/Dip: Jacob also implements a cut in the high end on the signals going to his delays. This helps the delay repeats sit nicely behind the main vocal, rather than being too harsh or sibilant. It gives the delays a smoother, more integrated sound.

These pre-effect EQ moves are fundamental for professional-sounding vocal effects. If you want to dive deeper into EQ strategies, check out our guide on EQ strategies for mixing modern metal.

Dynamic Delays: The Ducking Trick for Clarity

Ever feel like your delays are stepping all over your lead vocal? Jacob employs a brilliant technique to combat this: ducking his delays.

This involves using a compressor on the delay return tracks, side-chained to the lead vocal.

• How it Works: When the main vocal is active (i.e., she’s singing), the compressor pushes the delay level down.
• The Magic: As soon as the vocal phrase ends, the compressor releases, and the delay tail swells up, becoming audible in the spaces.

This means you get those nice, lush delay trails filling the gaps without cluttering the intelligibility of the main vocal lines. It’s a super effective way to make your effects noticeable and impactful while maintaining a clean mix. This technique is a prime example of using metal compression secrets beyond just making it loud.

Layering Delays for Depth and Character

Jacob doesn’t rely on a single delay. He crafts a rich vocal soundscape by layering multiple delays, each with its own character and purpose, and importantly, most of them are ducked.

1. Modulated Tempo-Synced Delay

His first delay is a modulated delay, synced to the song’s tempo. The modulation adds a subtle movement and shimmer to the repeats. This delay is, of course, ducked by the lead vocal.

2. Stereo-Spread Tape-Style Delay

Next up is a shorter, tape-style delay. Interestingly, he uses a mono plugin (emulating a classic unit like a Roland Space Echo) for this, but then uses a “corro C thing” – likely a chorus or stereo spreader plugin – to give it a wider, stereo feel. This adds a different texture and spatial characteristic, and yes, it’s also ducked.

3. Slow, Ambient Echo Boy Delay

For a more spacious and atmospheric effect, Jacob uses a slower delay, courtesy of Soundtoys Echo Boy. He dials in an “ambient style” setting, which includes a bit of reverb on the delay tails themselves. This creates a beautiful, blooming effect that enhances the sense of depth, and like the others, it benefits from ducking.

The “Always Ready” Throw Delay Bus

Efficiency is key in professional mixing. Jacob reveals he always sets up a “throw delay” bus as part of his template. This is typically a longer, more noticeable delay that’s ready to be automated for specific words or phrases that need extra emphasis or a special effect.
Even if it’s not used extensively in a particular song (he wasn’t sure if he used it on “365”), having it pre-configured means he doesn’t have to stop his creative flow to set up a new bus if inspiration strikes. This proactive setup is a hallmark of experienced mixers.

Adding Final Polish: The “Spreader” Effect

To give the vocals an extra layer of polish and width, Jacob uses a “spreader” bus. The signal sent to this bus is first EQ’d with low cuts and high cuts, similar to his delay sends, to keep it clean.
The effect itself is described as a “pit shifting thing, some chorusy thing.” This type of processor, often a subtle pitch shifter or a stereo chorus, can add a nice, subtle width and an almost imperceptible “chorusy feeling” that helps the vocals feel bigger and more polished in the mix.

Hear the Effects Breathe

The cumulative result of these techniques, especially the widespread use of ducking, is that the vocal effects truly breathe with the performance. You get all the space, depth, and character from the reverbs and delays, but they intelligently move out of the way when the lead vocal is present, then bloom beautifully in the gaps. This creates a dynamic, professional, and immersive vocal sound that’s powerful without being overwhelming.

These are the kinds of nuanced techniques that separate good mixes from great ones. Learning how pros like Jacob Hansen approach complex vocal arrangements can provide you with a ton of actionable ideas for your own productions.

Want to see Jacob Hansen build this Amaranthe mix from scratch and get your hands on the multi-tracks for “365” (plus Discarnate’s “Iron Strengthens Iron”)?

At Nail The Mix, we bring you into the studio with the world’s best producers every month. If you’re serious about elevating your rock and metal mixes, it’s the place to be. For even more insights into crafting powerful modern metal, explore how you can unlock your sound beyond presets. Don’t miss out on the chance to learn directly from the source and mix these incredible tracks yourself – join the Amaranthe & Discarnate session with Jacob Hansen today!