How to Mix Music: A Modern Metal Producer’s Essential Guide

So, you're a metal musician in this wild, internet-fueled era. You've probably noticed things are different. As Eyal Levi often says, it's an incredible time to be making metal because the old gatekeepers are gone. You can record and release music from your bedroom, reach a global audience, and even build a career without a major label. But this freedom comes with a new responsibility: self-sufficiency. Part of that means getting a handle on production, and a massive piece of that puzzle is learning how to mix music. Even if it's just for killer demos or pre-production, understanding the mixing process is a core skill for any modern metal artist.

Forget those days of saving up a fortune for a studio only to get a subpar result because the engineer didn't get metal. Now, the power is in your hands. With affordable gear and access to incredible educational resources (hey, that's us!), you can craft mixes that rival the pros. This guide will walk you through the essential steps and mindset to get your metal tracks sounding huge.

The Modern Metal Musician: Why Mixing Your Own Music Matters

The game has changed. The internet allows even the most niche metal subgenres to find their audience. You don't need permission to create and release anymore; you just need a computer and the drive. This DIY ethos means wearing many hats, and "mixer" is increasingly one of them.

Being able to mix your own music, or at least understand the fundamentals, allows you to:

• Realize Your Vision: No more trying to explain your sonic ideas to someone who doesn't share your passion for extreme music. You can take your tracks from raw ideas to finished products exactly as you hear them in your head.
• Create Pro-Sounding Demos: Impress potential collaborators, labels (if that's your route), or just your fans with demos that punch hard.
• Save Money & Time: Studio time is expensive. Doing it yourself, or being deeply involved, can save you a ton.
• Stay Current: As Eyal points out, technology in music production is constantly evolving. Understanding mixing helps you leverage these tools to stay competitive.

Learning how to mix isn't just a technical skill; it's an artistic one that empowers you to fully express your musical identity.

Laying the Foundation: Before You Even Touch a Fader

A killer mix starts way before you load up your first EQ. "Fix it in the mix" is a dangerous mentality, especially in metal where precision and power are paramount.

Getting Your Tracks Right at the Source

Garbage in, garbage out. It’s a cliché because it’s true.

• Guitars: DI signals are your best friend. Capture a clean, strong DI signal using a quality interface (like a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 or an Audient iD14) and a solid DI box (e.g., Radial J48). This gives you maximum flexibility for re-amping later with plugins like Neural DSP Archetype series or STL Tones AmpHub, or even a real amp through a Kemper Profiler.
• Bass: Same as guitars – a clean DI is essential. If you’re micing a bass amp, blend it with the DI.
• Drums:
  • Acoustic Drums: Well-tuned drums are non-negotiable. Use fresh heads. Mic placement is crucial – even simple setups with a few Shure SM57s, a Beta 52A on kick, and decent overheads can yield great results if done carefully.
  • Triggers/Pads: If you know you'll be sample-replacing kicks or snare, consider using triggers (like those from ddrum) or even an electronic kick pad for ultimate consistency. As Eyal mentioned in his own work, this can allow drummers to focus on their hand performance without worrying about kick drum bleed or fatigue, especially if you're going to use samples from libraries like GetGood Drums or Joey Sturgis Tones via Slate Trigger 2 anyway.
• Vocals: A decent condenser mic (like an Audio-Technica AT2020 for budget, or a Shure SM7B for a dynamic option that handles screams well) in a treated space will go a long way. Pop filter is a must!

Session Setup & Organization in Your DAW

A clean workspace equals a clear mind. Before you start tweaking, get organized in your DAW (Pro Tools, Reaper, Logic Pro X, Cubase – whatever your weapon of choice is (and if you’re not sure, we can help you pick the best DAW for metal)):

• Naming & Color-Coding: Name all your tracks logically (e.g., "Kick In," "Kick Out," "Snr Top," "GTR L1," "Lead Vox"). Color-code groups of instruments (e.g., all drums blue, all guitars red).
• Routing & Busses: Create busses (aux tracks/group tracks) for main instrument groups: Drum Bus, Bass Bus, Guitar Bus, Vocal Bus. This allows you to process groups of instruments together.
• Gain Staging: Ensure your tracks have healthy levels, typically averaging around -18dBFS, leaving plenty of headroom for processing.
• Rough Static Mix: Get a basic balance of all your tracks using only faders and pan pots. This gives you a starting point and helps identify any major issues early on.

The Core Mixing Workflow: A Metal-Centric Approach

Alright, let's dive into the instruments. Remember, these are starting points – your ears are the ultimate judge.

Drums: The Backbone of Your Metal Mix

Metal drums need to be powerful, punchy, and precise.

Kick & Snare – The Dynamic Duo

These are the core of your groove.

• Gating: Clean up bleed, especially in kick and snare mics. Use a gate plugin like FabFilter Pro-G or your DAW’s stock gate. Start with a fast attack, then adjust the threshold, hold, and release to let the desired hit through cleanly without choking it.
• EQ:
  • Kick: You're often looking for low-end thump and beater click.
    • Boost 60-100Hz for weight (a Pultec EQP-1A emulation like the Waves PuigTec EQP1A or IK Multimedia T-RackS EQP-1A is great here).
    • Cut mud around 250-500Hz.
    • Boost 3-7kHz for click/attack.
    • Check out more deep-dive EQ strategies on our EQ hub page.
  • Snare: Needs body, crack, and sometimes sizzle.
    • Boost 150-250Hz for body.
    • Cut boxiness around 400-600Hz if needed.
    • Boost 2-5kHz for crack/attack.
    • Add a high-shelf boost around 8-12kHz for air/sizzle if your overheads aren't providing enough.
• Compression: Shape transients and control dynamics.
  • Kick: Often a fast attack compressor to let the initial transient through, then clamp down. An 1176-style plugin (like Arturia Comp FET-76 or Waves CLA-76) with attack around 4-5 and release around 6-7, aiming for 3-6dB gain reduction, can work wonders.
  • Snare: Similar approach, maybe slightly more aggressive to bring out sustain or room sound if desired.
  • For more on taming metal's wild dynamics, see our Metal Compression Secrets hub page.
• Samples: Don't be afraid to layer or replace. There are several killer techniques for this, and tools like Slate Trigger 2 or Drumagog make it easy to blend samples (e.g., from Nolly GetGood Drums or the Joey Sturgis Tones libraries) with your acoustic drums for unparalleled consistency and punch, especially in fast passages.

Toms: Impact and Decay

• Gating: Essential for cleaning up cymbal bleed.
• EQ: Scoop out some mids (300-600Hz) to remove "boxiness," boost low-mid "thwack" (100-200Hz) and high-mid attack (3-5kHz).
• Compression: Similar to snare, control dynamics and shape the envelope.

Cymbals & Overheads: Clarity and Space

• EQ: High-pass filter aggressively (e.g., up to 300-500Hz) to remove kick and tom rumble. Dip any harsh frequencies (often 2-4kHz). A gentle high-shelf boost above 10kHz can add air.
• Compression: Light compression to control dynamics. Sometimes, heavy parallel compression on a cymbal bus can bring out excitement without making them overly washy.

Drum Bus Processing

Send all your drum tracks (except maybe parallel compression returns) to a Drum Bus.

• EQ: Subtle shaping – maybe a low-end boost for weight or a high-end boost for air.
• Compression: "Glue" compression to make the kit feel cohesive. An SSL G-Master Buss Compressor emulation (like the one from Waves or Plugin Alliance) with a slow attack (10-30ms), fast release (0.1-0.3s), and low ratio (2:1 or 4:1) doing 1-3dB of gain reduction is a classic.
• Saturation: Tape saturation (like Slate Digital VTM or Soundtoys Decapitator on a subtle setting) can add warmth and harmonics.

Bass Guitar: Bridging Drums and Guitars

The bass needs to lock in with the kick and provide a solid foundation for the guitars.

• DI and Amp/Distortion Tones: A common technique is to split the DI signal. Keep one channel clean for solid low-end, and heavily distort/EQ another for midrange grind and aggression. Plugins like Neural DSP Parallax, Darkglass Ultra, or Joey Sturgis Tones Bassforge Hellraiser are killer for this. Blend to taste.
• EQ:
  • Ensure it sits with the kick – often one is focused slightly lower (e.g., kick at 60Hz, bass at 80-100Hz) or they have complementary EQ boosts/cuts.
  • Carve space for guitars (e.g., a slight dip where the guitars are prominent in the low-mids).
  • Boost upper mids (800Hz-2kHz) for pick attack and clank, helping it cut through on smaller speakers.
• Compression: Crucial for evening out the performance.
  • An LA-2A style opto compressor (like the Waves CLA-2A or IK Multimedia White 2A) can smooth things out.
  • For more aggressive control, an 1176 style can work.
  • Multi-band compression (e.g., FabFilter Pro-MB) is powerful for controlling low-end rumble independently from midrange clank. Compress the low band (e.g., below 150Hz) to keep it tight and consistent.

Guitars: The Wall of Sound (or Surgical Aggression)

Metal guitars are all about power, clarity, and aggression.

• Quad Tracking & Panning: Typically, two distinct rhythm guitar performances are panned hard left and hard right. Sometimes, another pair ("quads") is layered underneath, panned slightly less wide or tucked lower in volume, for extra thickness. Tight performances are absolutely key here.
• EQ: This is where you sculpt the aggression and clarity of your guitars.
  • High-Pass Filter (HPF): Crucial! Filter out unnecessary low-end rumble, often up to 80-150Hz or even higher depending on the tuning and desired tone. This cleans up mud and makes space for the bass and kick.
  • Low-Pass Filter (LPF): Tame fizziness. Start around 8-12kHz and roll it down until the guitars lose harshness but retain aggression.
  • Mid-Scoop vs. Mid-Forward: The classic "scooped" metal tone involves cutting frequencies between 300Hz-1kHz. Modern metal often features more mid-forward tones for clarity and punch. Experiment to see what fits your song. A good starting point for a scoop might be a wide cut around 400-800Hz with an API 550A style EQ.
  • Cutting Fizz/Harshness: As discussed in the context of Bring Me The Horizon's tones, surgical EQ cuts with a narrow Q (using something like FabFilter Pro-Q 3) in the 4kHz-10kHz range can remove annoying "fizz" without losing bite. This is a common move. Our EQ hub page has more on these kinds of surgical moves.
• Guitar Bus Processing: Send your main rhythm guitars to a bus.
  • Subtle EQ: Overall tonal shaping.
  • Light Compression: To glue them together and control dynamics.
  • Saturation/Character: A touch of saturation (e.g., Soundtoys Decapitator on a very light setting, or even a subtle LoFi plugin as Fredrik Nordström mentioned) can add harmonic richness and character.
• Re-amping & Profiling: If your DI tones aren't hitting the mark, don't hesitate to re-amp through different amp sims (like those from Neural DSP, STL Tones, or IK Multimedia Amplitube). If you have access to a Kemper Profiling Amp or an Axe-Fx, these are invaluable for recalling exact tones or capturing profiles of your favorite amp setups, just as Eyal Levi has leveraged in his productions to ensure consistency and sonic flexibility.

Vocals: Cutting Through the Mayhem

Screamed, growled, or clean, metal vocals need to command attention and cut through the chaos.

• Comping & Editing: Get the best takes comped together and edit out breaths or noises if necessary. Melodyne or Revoice Pro can be invaluable for tuning and timing adjustments, even on harsh vocals, if used tastefully.
• EQ:
  • HPF: Remove rumble and plosives, often up to 100-150Hz.
  • Body/Warmth: Address any muddiness (200-400Hz) or add warmth if needed.
  • Presence/Clarity: Boosts in the 2-5kHz range can help vocals cut through. Be careful of harshness.
  • Air: A high-shelf boost above 10kHz can add brightness.
• De-Essing: Tame harsh sibilance ("s," "t" sounds) using a de-esser like Waves Sibilance or FabFilter Pro-DS, usually placed before aggressive compression or distortion.
• Compression: Often done in stages.
  • Stage 1 (Control): An 1176-style compressor (like the UAD 1176LN or Softube FET Compressor) with fast attack/release can catch peaks and even out dynamics.
  • Stage 2 (Character/Sustain): An LA-2A style (like the Teletronix LA-2A from UAD or Native Instruments VC 2A) can add smoothness and sustain.
  • For detailed strategies, head to our Metal Compression Secrets hub page.
• Saturation/Distortion: Parallel distortion is your friend here! Send the vocal to an aux track, hit it with a distortion/saturation plugin (FabFilter Saturn 2, Soundtoys Decapitator, Kush Audio Omega N), EQ it to focus on the desired frequencies (often midrange aggression), and blend it back in subtly under the main vocal. This adds aggression without making the primary vocal sound thin or overly processed.
• Effects (Reverb & Delay):
  • Reverb: Often shorter, darker plate or room reverbs work well in dense metal mixes. Valhalla VintageVerb or Relab LX480 Essentials are great choices. EQ the reverb return by cutting lows and highs to prevent muddiness and washy-ness.
  • Delay: Slap delays or subtle stereo delays can add width and depth. Soundtoys EchoBoy or FabFilter Timeless 3 offer incredible flexibility. Sync delays to tempo.

Refining Your Mix: Automation, Effects, and Bus Processing

Once the core elements are sitting well, it's time for the polish that brings a mix to life.

The Power of Automation

Automation is where your mix truly becomes dynamic and engaging.

• Volume Automation: This is huge. Automate vocal phrases up or down to ensure intelligibility, bring out guitar fills or drum fills, tuck away elements that get too loud, or create dynamic builds.
• Pan Automation: Create movement and interest, especially with effects or transitional sounds.
• Effects Sends: Automate reverb or delay sends to make certain words or phrases bloom, then get out of the way.
• EQ Automation: Change EQ settings for different sections of a song (e.g., filter down guitars in a verse, open them up in a chorus).

Using Reverb and Delay Effectively

Space is important, even in dense metal.

• Create Depth: Use a combination of short and longer reverbs to create a sense of three-dimensional space. Short, almost unnoticeable room reverbs on drums can add cohesion. A darker plate on the snare is classic.
• Less is More: Too much reverb will quickly turn your mix into mud.
• Pre-Delay: Use pre-delay on reverbs (especially for vocals) to let the initial transient cut through before the reverb tail kicks in.
• EQ Your Returns: Always EQ your reverb and delay returns. High-pass them to remove low-end mud, and often low-pass them to prevent them from sounding too bright or clashing with cymbals.

Master Bus Magic (or Restraint)

Subtle processing on your master bus can provide final "glue" and polish.

• EQ: Very gentle tonal shaping. A slight tilt EQ, a small bump in the lows for weight (e.g., +0.5dB at 80Hz with a wide Q using something like a Maag EQ4 emulation) or a touch of air in the highs (+0.5dB shelf at 12kHz).
• Compression: Light "glue" compression. An SSL-style bus compressor (like Cytomic The Glue or the Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor) with a slow attack (30ms), auto-release or fast release (0.1s), low ratio (2:1), doing just 1-2dB of gain reduction on the loudest parts.
• Limiting: For loudness during the mixing process, use a transparent limiter like FabFilter Pro-L 2 or iZotope Ozone Maximizer, but don't slam it. Leave plenty of headroom if you're sending it off for mastering. (And if you’re fuzzy on the difference between mixing vs. mastering, we’ve got you covered.)
• Caution: Don't try to fix major mix problems on the master bus. If something's wrong, go back to the individual tracks.

Embrace the Tech, Elevate Your Metal

The landscape of metal production has been revolutionized by technology. As Eyal Levi emphasizes, embracing these changes isn't just an option; it's a necessity if you want to stay competitive. Think about it:

• Tuning & Timing: Bass guitars that are perfectly in tune (thanks to tools like Melodyne or even just meticulous manual tuning against a reference), drums edited for superhuman tightness (using Beat Detective in Pro Tools or flexible audio quantizing in Logic/Cubase).
• Amp Modeling & Profiling: The rise of the Kemper Profiling Amp, Axe-Fx, and sophisticated plugins from Neural DSP, STL Tones, and others means consistent, recallable, world-class guitar and bass tones are accessible to everyone. This changed the game for recording and live sound.
• Advanced Plugins: From dynamic EQs that react to the audio, to multi-band everything, to AI-assisted tools, the sonic possibilities are endless.

Even musicians who claim to prefer an "all-natural" sound are often referencing records that used these modern techniques heavily—they just didn't realize it. The fact is, modern metal sounds modern because producers are leveraging these tools to create mixes that are bigger, tighter, and more impactful than ever before. If you're not keeping up, your music might sound dated next to the competition.

Level Up Your Mixing Game with Nail The Mix

Whew! That's a lot to take in, and honestly, we've just scratched the surface. Learning how to mix music, especially metal, is a continuous journey of experimentation and refinement. Reading about techniques is one thing, but seeing them applied by world-class producers on real-world sessions is a game-changer.

If you're serious about taking your metal mixes from "pretty good" to "absolutely crushing," then Nail The Mix is where you need to be. Imagine getting the raw multitracks from bands like Meshuggah, Gojira, Periphery, or Architects, and then watching the actual producer or mixer who worked on that record mix it from scratch, live, explaining every decision, every plugin choice, every fader move.

Ready to see how the pros tackle everything from brutal drum tones to razor-sharp guitars and vocals that cut through any wall of sound? Nail The Mix offers you a front-row seat. We'll help you go Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets.

You get the sessions, you get the live classes, you get access to a massive archive of past mixes and tutorials, plus a community of like-minded producers. It's the fast track to learning what really works in modern metal production.

It's Your Mix, Own It!

Learning how to mix music is one of the most empowering skills a modern metal musician can develop. It takes time, dedication, and a willingness to experiment (and fail a few times!). But the payoff – being able to translate the sonic chaos in your head into a polished, powerful, and professional-sounding mix – is immense.

So, fire up your DAW, grab some of these techniques, and start twisting knobs. Listen critically, trust your ears, and don't be afraid to break the rules once you understand them. The tools and knowledge are out there. Go make some noise!