Deconstructing Jason Richardson’s “Fragments”: Raw Tracks & Mix Insights

Ever wondered what goes into crafting a complex, face-melting progressive metal track like Jason Richardson's "Fragments"? We're diving deep into the raw multitracks from the January 2017 Nail The Mix session, originally produced and mixed by the legendary Taylor Larson. This track is an absolute beast, featuring an all-star lineup including Luke Holland on drums and guest spots from Periphery's Mark Holcomb and Spencer Sotelo. Let's unbox these tracks and see what gold we can mine for our own productions.

One of the first things you'll notice when opening a session like this is the sheer number of tracks. But, looking at the initial state from the video, apart from some trim plugins for level adjustments and phase reversals, it's largely faders up. The master fader is pulled down by 6.2 dB to give headroom, a common practice. This already tells us a lot about the quality of the raw recordings – they're pretty much ready to go!

Phenomenal Drums: The Luke Holland Factor

If you’re familiar with Luke Holland, you know he's a drumming phenom. If not, a quick YouTube search for "Luke Holland drummer" will get you up to speed. The drum sounds in "Fragments" are a testament to his skill and Taylor Larson's recording prowess.

Capturing Clarity and Detail

These drums are recorded the way you want to record modern metal: totally controlled, with every nuance audible. This makes them incredibly easy to mix. There's a notable lack of sample replacement here. Taylor Larson is known for getting massive, modern drum sounds with minimal or even zero samples. This session is a fantastic exercise in learning to make performed drums sound tight, big, and contemporary.

Let's break down the mics:

• Kick: You've got a Kick In and a Kick Out mic. Blending these gives you control over the attack (In) and the resonant boom (Out). Luke's playing is so consistent, these tracks are a dream.
• Snare: A solid snare top mic captures the crack and body.
• Overheads: These capture the overall kit sound and cymbal definition.
• Cymbals: Dedicated close mics for Splash, Hats, Rides, and China cymbals provide maximum control in the mix. This is crucial for clarity when things get busy.
• Toms: The Rack Tom and Floor Tom tracks are clean. Taylor even left notes: "Rack Tom use Reve[rb] for sustained floor. Tom use reverb for sustained." This is a key insight. The tom hits are short and clean, with very low bleed from the rest of the kit. This makes it easy to isolate them, cut them up if needed, and then use reverb (or samples, if you must) to create the desired tail and sustain. This approach preserves the real performance without cluttering other tracks. Planning ahead like this during recording is a game-changer. For more on shaping individual drum elements, check out our EQ strategies for mixing modern metal.
• Rooms: Beyond standard room mics, there's a "Hallway Mic." These can be awesome for adding unique space and sometimes, as noted, some really cool low-end character to the overall drum sound.

The detail in Luke's performance is insane – it's "Ghost Notes City"! Being able to bring out these subtleties without relying on samples is a true mixing skill.

The Foundation: Tight and Articulate Bass

There's just one bass track here, labeled "Bass Low," and it's a DI. Given Jason Richardson's insane proficiency, it's highly likely he tracked this himself. Imagine trying to teach someone that bassline and get them to nail it with the same precision!

The DI itself is incredibly tight and good-sounding. This is everything you need to build a powerful bass tone. You can re-amp it, use an amp sim, or process the DI directly to fit the mix. A clean, articulate DI like this means you can easily shape it to sit perfectly with the kick drum and provide a solid low-end foundation without fighting mud.

Multi-Layered Guitars: Phase, Gain, and Lo-Fi

Jason Richardson's guitar tones are iconic, and "Fragments" is no exception. This session gives us a peek into how they're constructed.

The Core Rhythm Tones

You'll find multiple rhythm guitar tracks: "Low Gain," "Mid Gain," and "High Gain." The real magic, as Taylor Larson explains in the full Nail The Mix session, lies in how these are combined. He shifted them all minutely in time to achieve perfect phase alignment when summed to a left and right bus. This was done using hardware, but the principle can be replicated in your DAW using track delays or manual nudging. Getting this phase relationship right is critical for a thick, powerful, and wide guitar sound. Once phase-aligned, it's about finding the right level balance between these different gain layers.

Jason's Signature Lo-Fi Guitars

No Jason Richardson album would be complete without his signature lo-fi guitar sounds. The session provides the DI tracks for these, so you get to experiment and craft your own lo-fi effects. This could involve bitcrushers, aggressive filtering, amp sims with unusual settings, or creative use of distortion plugins.

Clean and Lead Guitars

Of course, there are clean guitar parts, providing dynamic contrast, and a blistering guest solo from Periphery's Mark Holcomb. The solo tracks, like the rhythms, are well-recorded DIs, ready for your favorite amp sim and effects chain to make them sing.

The Orchestral & Electronic Soundscape

Beyond the traditional band instruments, "Fragments" is loaded with programmed elements. Jason Richardson isn't just a guitar virtuoso; he's also a phenomenal programmer.

A Symphony of Synths and Samples

You'll find a diverse array of sounds:

• Prophet Synth: Classic analog synth textures.
• "Very End of Days": Ominous, atmospheric sounds.
• "Storyteller": Likely melodic or textural elements.
• "Piano in Blue": Adds melodic and harmonic depth.
• "Futz Drums": Heavily effected drum sounds, adding a unique rhythmic layer, especially towards the end.
• Orchestration: Strings, brass, and other orchestral elements adding epic scale.
• Glockenspiel: Bright, percussive melodic lines.