Using a De-Esser for More Than Just Sibilance in Metal

When you hear the word “de-esser,” your brain probably jumps straight to vocals. You think of taming those sharp, piercing “S” and “T” sounds that can make a great vocal performance sound harsh and amateur. And yeah, that’s its primary job when it comes to taming sibilance.

But in a dense, aggressive metal mix, harshness isn’t just a vocal problem. It’s everywhere. That nasty high-end fizz on a quad-tracked guitar tone, the painful wash of a drummer going ham on the cymbals, even the sizzle of a snare wire. A de-esser isn't just a vocal tool; it's a dynamic problem-solver that can clean up your entire metal mix without killing its aggressive edge.

Let’s dive into how to use this secret weapon on way more than just sibilance.

First, The Obvious: Nailing Metal Vocals

Okay, let’s get the classic use out of the way, because it’s a damn important part of how to mix metal vocals. Even with screaming and growling, you’ll get nasty high-frequency information that needs to be controlled. Aggressive compression and saturation on a vocal will only exaggerate those harsh frequencies.

Why Screams Still Need De-Essing

A killer scream has body and aggression, but it can also have a ton of high-end energy around 6-10kHz that sounds more like white noise or static than a powerful performance. A de-esser’s job here is to clamp down on only those moments of harshness, leaving the rest of the vocal tone untouched.

Plugin Choices & Go-To Settings

You don’t need anything fancy, though the dedicated tools are awesome. Your stock DAW plugin (like Logic’s DeEsser 2) can work wonders. If you want more control, plugins like the FabFilter Pro-DS or the classic Waves DeEsser are industry standards for a reason.

• Find the Offending Frequency: Set the de-esser to its “listen” or “audition” mode. This lets you hear only the frequencies the plugin is targeting. Sweep the frequency control between 5kHz and 12kHz until you isolate that nasty, sibilant sizzle.
• Set the Threshold: Dial the threshold down until the de-esser’s gain reduction meter only kicks in on the harshest “S” sounds or high-frequency bursts.
• Dial in the Reduction: Start with a gentle reduction, maybe -3dB to -5dB. The goal is to smooth out the harshness, not make the vocalist sound like they have a lisp.
• Split-Band vs. Wide-Band: Always go for a split-band or high-frequency-only mode if you have the option. This ensures the de-esser only affects the high frequencies, leaving the body and fundamental tone of the vocal intact.

The Game Changer: De-Essing Cymbals

This is where things get really powerful for metal producers. How many times have you struggled with overheads that are either too dark or painfully washy? Fast blast beats and constant eighth notes on the ride and crashes can create a wall of high-frequency hash that eats up headroom and masks the attack of your guitars.

Dynamic Control vs. Static EQ

You could just grab an EQ and carve out the harsh frequencies. But doing that with a static EQ cut dulls the cymbals all the time—even during the initial, exciting transient of the stick hitting the metal. You lose the attack and presence, which is why mastering transients is so crucial.

A de-esser is a dynamic solution. It only clamps down on the cymbals when their sustained wash crosses a certain volume threshold. This means you get the initial bright, clear attack of each hit, but the messy, sustained “ssshhhhh” that follows gets tucked back into the mix. It’s one of the best ways to get clear, punchy cymbals that don’t destroy your ears. For more on this, check out our guide on mixing epic metal drums.

How to Set It Up

1. Placement: Slap a de-esser on your overheads track, a dedicated cymbals bus, or even your main drum bus.
2. Find the Fizz: Use the listen function to find that painful frequency. On cymbals, this is often a bit higher than vocals, somewhere in the 9kHz to 14kHz range. You’re listening for that cheap, "digital" sounding sizzle.
3. Aggressive Settings: Don't be shy here. A gain reduction of -6dB or even more can work wonders. You want to hear the cymbal wash get pushed down and back, creating more space and clarity in the mix. Use a fast attack to catch the problem right away.

Using a de-esser this way is almost like having a specialized form of dynamic EQ or a multiband compressor. If you want to go deeper down that rabbit hole, our guide to audio compressors is a great place to start.

The Unsung Hero: De-Essing Distorted Guitars

High-gain guitar tone is a balancing act. You want aggression and bite, but you don't want that nasty, fizzy top-end that sounds like an angry beehive. This "ice pick" fizz often lives in the 4kHz-8kHz range and can make your guitars sound cheap and grating, especially on palm-muted chugs.

Taming the Fizz Dynamically

Just like with cymbals, a static EQ cut can work, but it might also remove some of the bite and pick attack you actually want to keep. A de-esser is the perfect tool to surgically remove the fizz only when it pokes out.

Practical Application on a Guitar Bus

1. Target the Guitar Bus: Apply the de-esser to your main rhythm guitar bus, after your amp sim and any initial guitar EQ.
2. Isolate the Harshness: Use the listen mode and sweep around the 4kHz to 8kHz area. You’re looking for that scratchy, static-like sound that isn’t part of the musical pick attack.
3. Gentle Reduction: You only need a little bit of reduction here. Try -2dB to -4dB. The goal is to smooth out the tone and make it feel more powerful and less annoying, without neutering the aggression.

Plugins like Soothe2 are famous for doing this automatically, but a good old de-esser like the FabFilter Pro-DS gives you manual control to get it done quick and easy.

Putting It All Together

A de-esser is one of the most underrated tools for a modern metal mixer. It's a precision instrument for managing harshness anywhere it appears:

• Vocals: Tame the classic sibilance and high-end sizzle from screams.
• Cymbals: Control washy sustain while preserving the initial attack.
• Guitars: Remove nasty speaker fizz without sacrificing aggressive bite.
• Snare: Control excessive snare wire buzz.

Mastering these techniques will instantly add polish and clarity to your mixes. But seeing how a world-class producer uses these tools in the context of a full session—on real multitracks from bands like Gojira or Lamb of God—is a different level of education.

At Nail The Mix, you get to watch the pros do exactly that. Every month, you’ll see how they tackle these common mixing problems with surgical precision, explaining every plugin choice and setting along the way. If you’re ready to see how these techniques fit into a professional workflow and unlock your sound beyond presets, this is the place to be.