Bullet For My Valentine Lead Guitar Mixing: Carl Bown’s Kemper & FX Chain

Nail The Mix Staff

When you’re mixing a massive band like Bullet For My Valentine, those lead guitars need to absolutely soar. They’re not just melodies; they’re often powerful statements, counter-melodies that demand their own space and kick the door down. We got an inside look at how super-producer Carl Bown approaches mixing these crucial elements, specifically from a BFMV track, and it’s packed with insights you can apply to your own metal productions. Forget generic presets; this is about crafting a lead tone that’s both aggressive and articulate, using smart EQ, dynamic processing, and creative effects.

If you're ready to see Carl Bown mix an entire Bullet For My Valentine track from start to finish, including these lead guitar techniques, head over to Nail The Mix for the full session.

Dialing in the Core Tone: Kemper & Initial Setup

Before you even touch an EQ or compressor, the source tone and the cleanliness of the recording are paramount. Carl emphasizes getting it right at the source to avoid headaches down the line.

The Kemper Foundation

For this Bullet For My Valentine track, the lead guitar tones were all crafted using Kemper profiles. The specific profile in question was based on a Marshall JCM800-style amp ("an 800" as Carl puts it), pushed with a "tube screamy distortion thing" on the front – a classic combo for tight, aggressive metal tones.

It's also interesting to note the gear choices: while the rhythms were tracked on a B.C. Rich Warlock (a "double warlock attack" with the bass also on a Warlock!), the leads utilized a "Mascot" Black Les Paul, providing a different sonic character to help them stand out.

Pre-emptive Strike: Clean Tracking is Key

Carl is a huge advocate for capturing the cleanest possible performance during tracking, especially for high-gain lead parts. This means:

  • Taping Unused Strings: Any strings not being played during a lead or counter-melody part should be taped down.
  • Gaffer Tape on the Headstock: A little gaffer tape over the headstock can help eliminate sympathetic string ringing.

Why bother? Because high-gain amps will amplify everything. Ringing strings that aren't part of the intended performance can create a nightmare of unwanted frequencies and dissonant noise that’s incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to EQ out later. As Carl says, if these issues aren't dealt with before the signal even hits the amp, you're fighting a losing battle in the mix.

Surgical Sound Sculpting: EQ Strategies for Lead Guitars

With a solid, clean Kemper tone recorded, the next step is shaping it with EQ to sit perfectly in the mix and highlight its best qualities. This isn't just about broad strokes; it often requires a more surgical approach. For more in-depth EQ strategies for modern metal, check out our EQ hub page.

Tackling Problem Frequencies

Even with careful tracking, some problematic frequencies can emerge. Carl identified a "weird ghost" around 700Hz in the raw lead tone that wasn't apparent during tracking but became noticeable later. This specific frequency was notched out.
Beyond that, general cleanup involved:

  • Removing other unwanted resonant frequencies or "tat."
  • Filtering out low-end rumble or "ruly kind of nonsense" that doesn't contribute to the lead's clarity.

The goal is to ensure the lead guitar can poke out from the rhythm guitars without adding mud or harshness. However, Carl cautions against over-subtracting; you can't cut everything out, or you'll be left with no energy.

The Power of Dynamic EQ: Waves F6 in Action

For issues like boxiness (in this case, around 500Hz), Carl turned to dynamic EQ, specifically the Waves F6 Dynamic EQ. He praises the F6 for its clean, surgical nature, noting that it doesn't impart unwanted character to the sound.

The advantage of a dynamic EQ here is that it only attenuates the problematic frequency when it becomes excessive, rather than a static cut that removes those frequencies entirely. This allows you to, for example, tame boxiness on certain notes while preserving the upper-mid character and overall body of the sound on others. Carl demonstrated using both a stationary notch for a persistent issue and a dynamic band on the F6 to do the "least damage" possible while achieving the desired control.

Adding Punch and Control: Compression & Limiting

Once the tonal balance is refined with EQ, compression and limiting help manage dynamics and ensure the lead guitar stays present and impactful. Explore more on how the pros use compression in metal on our compression hub page.

Choosing Your Compressor

While Carl mentions he doesn't always compress lead guitars or stick to the same tools, for this BFMV lead, he opted for the Waves CLA-3A. He finds it has a "thing" that works well with lead guitars.
Other compressors he frequently reaches for include:

  • PSP VintageWarmer: A versatile plugin known for its saturation and compression characteristics.
  • 76-style compressors (like the Waves CLA-76): For a different flavor of aggression and control.

The aim here was primarily for peak reduction, just to catch the loudest moments and even out the performance slightly.

Locking It In with a Limiter

Following the compressor, a limiter was used to further hold the lead guitar in place and ensure it maintains a consistent level in the mix. A little bit of gain adjustment on the limiter helped achieve the desired presence.

Creating Space and Excitement: Effects and Panning

With the core tone shaped and controlled, effects and panning are used to give the lead guitars their own space, width, and character.

Building Width with Micro Shift

To widen the lead guitars, Carl set up an auxiliary send to a stereo harmonizer-style effect, mimicking an Eventide H3000. He used a simple micro-pitch shift plugin, set to 100% wet, on a bus named "Guitar 3000." This subtle detuning and stereo spread can make leads feel much larger.

Adding Depth with Delays

Two main delay types were employed:

  1. Printed Ping-Pong Delays: These were already recorded into the session, described as an H-Delay (likely Waves H-Delay) type of sound with some wobble and chorus, creating a rhythmic bouncing effect.
  2. "Crispy Tape" Delay: Carl created a new send effect using Soundtoys EchoBoy on a bus named "Guitar Crispy."
    • He started with EchoBoy's "Crispy Tape" preset.
    • Adjustments included dialing in a good amount of feedback ("DIY blowers tons of it," then pulled back), tweaking the mix level, and ensuring the delay was timed to quarter notes in sync with the song's BPM.

Strategic Panning for Impact

Panning plays a crucial role in how the lead guitars interact with the rest ofthe arrangement. Carl uses a nuanced approach:

  • Leads that are part of the riff: Panned quite wide (around 80L/R or even wider) to make them "bang" and feel expansive.
  • Verse Leads: Tucked in a bit more narrowly.
  • Chorus Leads: Panned to about 65L/R.

This dynamic panning strategy gives different sections of the song varying senses of width and focus. Carl also briefly touched on LCR (Left-Center-Right) panning, a technique some mixers use, but it's not his typical approach. Interestingly, he also mentioned he doesn't check his mixes in mono very often anymore, finding it less relevant for modern playback systems.

Bringing It All Together

Mixing powerful lead guitars like those in Bullet For My Valentine is a multi-step process that starts with a great source tone and clean tracking, followed by surgical EQ, thoughtful compression, and creative use of effects and panning. Carl Bown's approach demonstrates how tools like the Kemper, Waves F6, CLA-3A, and Soundtoys EchoBoy can be combined to make lead lines truly shine.

These are techniques you can start experimenting with in your own mixes today. But imagine seeing Carl Bown apply these concepts, tweak every knob, and make every decision in real-time on an actual Bullet For My Valentine track. That's exactly what you get with Nail The Mix. Each month, you get access to real multitracks from huge metal artists and watch the original producers mix the songs from scratch, explaining their entire workflow.

If you want to see Carl Bown bring these BFMV lead guitars to life and integrate them into the full mix, you can access the full Bullet For My Valentine mixing session on Nail The Mix. It's an unparalleled opportunity to learn directly from the pros who craft the sounds of your favorite bands. Ready to take your metal mixes beyond presets? Check out how to Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets.