Mixing Jonny Craig: Erik Ron’s Slaves Vocal Production Deep Dive

When you're tasked with mixing a voice as iconic and emotive as Jonny Craig's, especially on a track as poignant as Slaves' "I'd Rather See Your Star Explode," you know you've got to bring your A-game. Producer Erik Ron stepped up to the plate, and in a Nail The Mix session, he pulled back the curtain on exactly how he sculpted that powerful vocal performance. This wasn't just about slapping on some plugins; it was about understanding the artist, the song's message, and leveraging a well-honed signal chain to bring it all to life.

Jonny Craig, known for his incredible range and soulful delivery, apparently laid down his vocals for this track in a mere 15 minutes. For Erik, this was their first collaboration, adding a layer of anticipation. The song itself carries a heavy message about perseverance and support, and Erik aimed to ensure that emotion shone through, all while showcasing Jonny's unique vocal character.

Erik Ron's Vocal Mixing Philosophy: Clarity and Character First

Before diving into specific plugins, Erik shared a couple of core tenets of his vocal mixing approach. Firstly, he's not a fan of automatically doubling every vocal line. While choruses, harmonies, and octaves get the doubling treatment, he prefers to keep the primary verse vocals singular. Why? To preserve the raw character, the subtle sadness, and the unique inflections that can get lost or sound forced in a doubled take. He believes some vocal nuances are simply irreplaceable.

Secondly, Erik gravitates towards a bright, crisp, almost pop-style vocal sound. This isn't about making it sound like a Top 40 hit, but rather about ensuring the vocal cuts through the mix with clarity and presence.

The Lead Vocal Chain: Step-by-Step Breakdown

Alright, let's get into the nitty-gritty of how Erik processed Jonny Craig's lead vocal. He started by muting all effects to give a sense of the raw material, then built it up layer by layer.

Pre-Compression EQ: Sculpting the Foundation

First up in the chain is EQ, and Erik is a firm believer in EQing before compression for vocals. His goal here is to clean up the vocal and start shaping its tonal balance.

• Low-Cut: He filters out unnecessary low-end rumble.
• Mid-Cut: A key move for Erik is to dip frequencies around 1kHz. He explicitly states he's not a fan of an overly "warm" vocal and finds this cut helps achieve the clarity he's after.
• High-Mid Boost: To bring out that crispness, he boosts around the 4kHz to 5kHz range.
• Air Band: A touch of "air" on the top end adds to the brightness and presence.

The objective of these EQ moves is to make the emotion in Jonny's voice, what Erik describes as the "crying," more audible and to ensure every word of the lyric is crystal clear. After all, if you can't understand the lyrics, what's the point?

Taming Dynamics: Aggressive Yet Musical Compression

Erik isn't shy about using compression on vocals; in fact, he likes to "squash" them. It's important to note that the vocals were already compressed during tracking, using a chain of a Manley Reference Cardioid microphone, a Shadow Hills Gamma preamp, and an 1176 compressor before hitting Pro Tools.

In the mix, he applies further compression, hitting the vocal pretty hard. The key to making this work without sounding over-processed is using a fast attack and fast release. This allows the compressor to catch peaks and control dynamics effectively, but release quickly enough that the vocal doesn't sound choked or lose its life. The result is a vocal that sits consistently in the mix without audible pumping artifacts.

Silencing Sibilance: The Unsung Hero – Stock De-Esser

When you brighten up a vocal, sibilance (those harsh 's' and 't' sounds) can become a problem, leading to ear fatigue. Erik's go-to for tackling this? The stock Pro Tools De-Esser. He praises it as his favorite, even calling the free plugin "so good."

His typical starting point is the stock setting around 7kHz. The range (how much de-essing is applied) is singer-dependent. For Jonny, who has a slight natural lisp that almost de-esses himself, Erik found he didn't need a ton of reduction. He views the de-esser as an additional, subtle layer of compression that smooths out the top end beautifully.

Crafting Space and Dimension: Reverbs & Delays

With the core tone shaped and dynamics controlled, it's time to add some space and depth.

Plate Reverb for Vocal Presence: UAD 140 Plate

For reverb, Erik reaches for the UAD 140 Plate. He's a fan of UAD plugins in general and finds a plate reverb works exceptionally well for vocals. His routing method is to send the vocal to the reverb at unity gain and then control the amount of reverb purely from the effect return fader. This gives him precise control over how much "wetness" is blended in.

Subtle Thickness with Slap Delay: Soundtoys EchoBoy

Next up is a clever trick using Soundtoys EchoBoy for a slap-style delay that functions more like a vocal thickener or doubler.

• Timing: He sets the EchoBoy to 16th note triplets. In terms of milliseconds, this is around 56ms, which is on the cusp of comb filtering but, when dialed in right, adds thickness without noticeable phasing.
• Application: The key is to tuck this effect in subtly. It’s not meant to be an obvious repeat but rather a natural-sounding way to make the lead vocal feel fuller and wider without resorting to traditional chorus or doubler plugins that can sometimes sound artificial.

Adding Depth with Creative Delays

Erik employs a couple more delay tactics for adding dimension:

• Filtered Delay (Echo Pro concept): He references an old Line 6 Echo Pro unit for this concept, likely recreating it with a plugin like EchoBoy. The mix is set to 100% wet. Crucially, he filters out a lot of the high frequencies from the delay repeats. This makes the delay felt rather than distinctly heard as separate echoes. He also adds some reverb to the delay send itself to help it "soak up" and sit better in the mix, preventing it from sounding too direct or distracting.
• Quarter Note Delay: From a similar send, he also incorporates a standard quarter-note delay. This is a more conventional approach to adding a sense of space and depth, helping the vocal breathe within the track.

Erik mentions that he'll ride the levels of these delays throughout the song, pushing them up in certain sections for more emphasis and pulling them back in others to maintain clarity.

Handling Doubles and Harmonies

For sections with doubled vocals, Erik pans the double slightly off-center, typically to the right, somewhere between 10 and 15 on the pan dial. He also mentions that he sometimes de-esses these doubles, likely if they introduce any cumulative sibilance with the lead.

The "Why": EQ Before Compression and Lyric Intelligibility

Throughout the explanation, Erik reiterates a crucial point: EQing before compression on vocals helps tame harshness and problematic frequencies before they hit the compressor. This prevents the compressor from overreacting to those frequencies and potentially exaggerating them.

And ultimately, all these techniques serve one primary goal: making the lyric perfectly understandable. As Erik puts it, "If you don't understand the lyric, what are you even doing?" Every move is designed to make the vocal crisp, clear, and emotionally resonant.

Bringing It All Together (And Learning More!)

Erik Ron's approach to mixing Jonny Craig's vocals for Slaves is a masterclass in balancing technical precision with artistic intent. From the foundational EQ and compression to the nuanced use of reverbs and delays, every step is deliberate, aiming for a vocal that's powerful, clear, and emotionally impactful.

Techniques like these are invaluable, but imagine seeing Erik Ron actually dial in these settings, explaining his thought process in real-time, on the actual multitracks. That's exactly what Nail The Mix offers. You can dive deep into this Slaves session and many others, learning directly from the pros who mixed your favorite albums. If you're serious about taking your rock and metal mixes to the next level, it’s an incredible resource. Check out the full Slaves "I'd Rather See Your Star Explode" mixing session with Erik Ron and explore courses like "Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets" to elevate your production game.