Mixing Archspire Tech-Death Guitars w/ Dave Otero

Let’s be real, getting a tech-death guitar tone that’s both crushingly heavy and surgically precise is no small feat. The guitars on an Archspire record are a masterclass in this balance—they’re aggressive, clear, and cut through one of the most intense rhythm sections in modern metal. So, how does producer and mixer Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation, Allegaeon) pull it off?

It’s not about finding one magic amp. Instead, it’s about a clever blend of two distinct amp sims, followed by a surgical-yet-efficient chain of modern processing. In his full Nail The Mix session, Dave breaks down his entire mix, and we’re diving into his killer rhythm guitar approach. Forget mystery and magic; this is about smart, repeatable techniques you can apply to your own mixes.

The Foundation: Blending a 6505 and an Archon

The core of Dave’s Archspire guitar tone comes from blending two very different amp sims: a classic Peavey 6505 and a PRS Archon profile. He runs them on separate tracks, EQs them individually, and then blends them to taste. This gives him the best of both worlds—the body of one amp and the character of another.

The Main Tone: The Peavey 6505

The workhorse and foundation of the sound is a profile of a Peavey 6505. This is the amp that provides the main body, weight, and aggressive character. It’s the classic, can’t-go-wrong high-gain sound that defines modern metal. By itself, it’s a solid tone, but the real magic happens when the second amp comes in.

The Secret Ingredient: The PRS Archon Profile

Dave’s secret weapon is a profile of a PRS Archon amp. Here’s a great lesson in what matters most: the sound. Dave loved this specific Archon profile so much that he went out and bought the real amplifier. But when it came time to track the album, he found that the original profile just had a special character the real amp couldn’t quite replicate. So, he stuck with the profile. It’s a perfect reminder that you should always use what sounds best, regardless of whether it’s a physical amp or a digital profile.

The Archon profile isn’t meant to stand alone. Instead, it’s expertly blended in to “fill in all the holes” left by the 6505. It adds thick, punchy mids and makes the individual notes pop forward, which is absolutely crucial for the intricate riffing of a band like Archspire.

Dialing in the Blend

The blending process is straightforward and effective. Dave leaves the main 6505 track at unity gain and then slowly raises the fader on the Archon track. He brings it in just enough to add that mid-range thickness and attack without overpowering the core 6505 sound. The two tones just lock together perfectly.

Stage One EQ: Corrective Carving Before the Bus

Before the two amp tracks are blended and processed on a group bus, each one gets its own corrective EQ treatment. This is about cleaning up problems at the source so the bus processing has a clean, solid tone to work with.

The Critical Move: Using Linear Phase EQ

Here’s a pro-level detail that makes a huge difference. Because Dave is EQing two very similar, distorted sources, he sets his EQs (FabFilter Pro-Q) to Linear Phase mode.

Why? When you EQ a track, it can shift the phase of the frequencies you’re adjusting. Normally, with “natural phase” or “minimum phase” EQ, this is fine. But when you have two nearly identical tracks—like two layered amp sims—those small phase shifts on each track can cause weird filtering and hollow out the combined sound.

Linear Phase mode avoids this by keeping the phase relationship between the two tracks perfectly intact. It comes with some drawbacks like pre-ringing and higher CPU latency, so you wouldn’t use it on everything. But for a critical task like this, it’s the perfect tool for the job. Check out more pro tips on our EQ strategies hub page.

EQing the Individual Amps

• Peavey 6505: The EQ here is pretty standard. Dave carves out some of the muddy low-mid region and tames the harshness in the 2-4kHz range. High-gain amps can also have some upper-end “fizz,” and a gentle cut here cleans that up without sacrificing aggression.
• PRS Archon: The Archon profile is a bit “notchy,” so it requires a more heavy-handed approach. Dave applies more aggressive mid-cuts to open up the sound and make it fit better with the 6505.

Smart Bus Processing: Taming Harshness Without Going Insane

With the individual tracks cleaned up, they’re sent to a master rhythm guitar bus for the final shaping. This is where Dave moves from corrective work to broad tonal sculpting and dynamic control.

Ditching the “Psychopathic” EQ Hunting

We’ve all been there: endlessly sweeping an EQ with a super narrow Q, trying to hunt down every single ringing, resonant frequency. Dave calls this the “psychopathic resonant frequency hunt” and argues that it can be harmful to your mixing mindset, making you overly sensitive to problems that aren’t really there.

Instead of falling down that rabbit hole, he leans on modern “smart” tools that do the job more effectively and transparently. This is a key part of his mixing workflow—using the right tools to get better results faster.

The “Cleanup Duo”: Soothe2 and BX_refinement

Dave’s go-to combo for taming harshness is a one-two punch of oeksound Soothe2 and Brainworx BX_refinement.

• Soothe2: This dynamic resonance suppressor automatically finds and turns down harsh frequencies only when they pop out. Dave uses it aggressively here, knowing that while it tames the harshness, it can also slightly dull the tone. That’s okay, because he’ll bring the life back in the next step.
• BX_refinement: This plugin works in a similar way, smoothing out the top end and removing harshness.

Used together in a subtle way, these two plugins clean up the guitar tone without you having to manually notch dozens of frequencies. If you don’t have these, Dave also gives a shout-out to the Corvid Audio AIP (Amplified Instrument Processor) as another great tool for this job.

Tonal Shaping with Post-Cleanup EQ

After the “cleanup duo” has done its job, the guitar tone is smooth but a little dull. Now it’s time to bring back the power.

Dave applies another Pro-Q to the bus. This is where he does his main tonal shaping, including his high-pass and low-pass filters. The most significant move is a massive dip—almost 10dB—around 200Hz. By cutting this low-mid mud, the upper-mids and presence range feel much more prominent and aggressive, balancing out the taming from Soothe and giving the guitars their final, polished character. Once the EQ is set, the tone is ready for any final dynamic adjustments, like those detailed in our metal compression secrets guide.

Bringing It All Together (And How You Can Learn More)

Dave Otero’s method for crafting the Archspire guitar tone is a perfect blend of classic techniques and modern workflow efficiency. To recap:

1. Blend Two Amps: Use a 6505 for the body and blend in a PRS Archon profile to add mid-range punch and note definition.
2. Use Linear Phase EQ: Clean up each amp track individually with corrective EQ in linear phase mode to preserve phase coherency.
3. Process the Bus Smartly: Use dynamic resonance suppressors like Soothe2 on the bus to transparently tame harshness without manual EQ hunting.
4. Shape the Final Tone: After taming, use a final bus EQ to add the high and low-pass filters and make broad tonal strokes, like carving out low-mids to enhance aggression.

These are actionable steps you can try in your DAW right now. But imagine watching Dave dial in these settings in real-time, explaining every decision as he takes the raw Archspire multitracks to a finished mix.

With Nail The Mix, you can do exactly that. Every month, you get to be a fly on the wall as a world-class producer mixes a massive song from scratch. You get the raw multitracks to practice on and access to an incredible community of fellow producers. If you’re ready to see exactly how pros like Dave Otero craft these incredible tones, check out his full Archspire mixing session.