Logan Mader’s Gojira Vocal Mixing: Bussing, Compression & Effects

The Foundation: Slamming Instrumental First

Before even touching the vocals, Logan Mader emphasizes getting the instrumental mix sounding "nice and slamming." This means getting the drums, bass, and guitars powerful and balanced. Why this approach? It creates a solid, energetic foundation. When the instrumental already hits hard, it’s much easier to find the perfect pocket for the vocals to sit in and cut through effectively.

Vocal Bus Power: Unifying Gojira's Intensity

Instead of loading up individual vocal tracks with tons of plugins, Logan leans heavily on bus processing for Gojira’s vocals. He routes most of the vocal tracks – the main lead, punctuated doubles, and even quadrupled stacks – to a single auxiliary bus. He even includes those textural, low clean vocal layers in this main bus, ensuring they're all treated cohesively.

This approach has a couple of big benefits:

• Cohesion: Processing multiple vocal layers as one unit helps them gel together, creating a massive, unified vocal sound.
• CPU Efficiency: It’s way friendlier on your processor than putting the same chain of plugins on numerous individual tracks.

Compression Chains: Logan Mader's "More is More" Approach

If there's one takeaway for Gojira’s vocal sound, it's compression – and plenty of it. Logan isn't shy about using multiple stages of compression on his vocal bus. This technique allows for heavy dynamic control without making one single compressor work too hard and sound overly squashed or artifact-laden. Want to learn more about how the pros use dynamic control? Check out our guide to Metal Compression Secrets: Beyond Just Making It Loud.

Here’s a breakdown of his serial compression chain:

Kicking it Off: The First Squeeze

The first compressor in the chain on the vocal bus is set to provide initial dynamic taming. Logan aims for about -3dB of gain reduction here. This helps to catch the loudest peaks and provide a more consistent signal for the compressors that follow.

Adding Character with the CLA-3A

Next in line is often a character compressor like the Waves CLA-3A. This LA-3A emulation is known for its smooth, musical compression. Logan mentions making it "work harder," suggesting he’s pushing it for more significant gain reduction to further level out the vocals and impart some of its classic tonal color.

"Spank Mode" for Aggression

To add that final layer of aggressive punch, Logan often incorporates another compressor, sometimes one with a "spank mode." This likely refers to an 1176-style FET compressor (like the Waves CLA-76, which has an "all buttons in" mode often described this way). This stage is less about subtle control and more about adding energy and an assertive character to the vocals, helping them stand out in a heavy mix.

Taming Harshness: The Essential De-Esser

After all that compression, which can sometimes accentuate sibilance or harsh frequencies, a de-esser at the end of the vocal bus chain is crucial. This ensures that the aggressive processing doesn’t result in a piercing or unpleasant top end.

EQing the SM7B: Less is More

The vocals for this Gojira track were recorded using a Shure SM7B. This dynamic microphone is a studio staple for aggressive vocals, partly because it tends to capture a smooth sound that often requires less corrective [EQ] than condenser mics might. You can explore more strategies with our EQ Strategies for Mixing Modern Metal guide.

Logan's EQ approach here is fittingly straightforward:

The Subtle Power of Tilt EQ

A key tool in his vocal EQ arsenal is a "tilt" EQ. This type of equalizer allows you to brighten or darken the overall tone with a single knob. As Logan puts it, simply "turning it on makes it kind of bright." It’s an efficient way to add clarity and presence without getting bogged down in surgical frequency adjustments, especially on a source like an SM7B that’s already in good shape.

Creating Depth and Vibe: Delays and Effects

Raw vocal power is essential, but well-chosen effects are what give them dimension and help them sit perfectly in the track.

Wide and Filtered: H-Delay in Action

For stereo delay, Logan often turns to the Waves H-Delay. A critical part of his technique is filtering the delay returns. He rolls off both the low end and the high end significantly, making the delay repeats sound "thin." This helps the delays add width and space without cluttering up the mix or interfering with the direct vocal. He also taps in the tempo (around 130 BPM for the track in the video) to ensure the delays are perfectly synced.

Emphasizing Moments with Long Delays

Beyond the subtle stereo widening delay, Logan uses longer, more pronounced delay throws. These aren't on all the time; instead, they're automated to hit specific words or phrases for emphasis, adding a sense of drama and space. He even creates a separate bus specifically for these long delay sends, allowing for dedicated processing if needed.

Reverb – A Situational Tool

Interestingly, Logan mentioned having a big reverb set up for the vocals but was still considering whether or not to use it extensively in the section he was working on. This is a great reminder that effect choices are often made in the context of the mix and can be fluid; what works for one section might not for another.

Why Bus Processing Works for Gojira's Stacked Vocals

Logan Mader’s preference for processing Gojira’s vocals primarily on an auxiliary bus, rather than piling plugins onto each individual channel, comes down to a couple of key reasons:

• CPU Efficiency: Let's be real, complex plugin chains on many tracks can bring even powerful systems to their knees. Bus processing is significantly lighter on your CPU.
• Cohesion for Doubles and Stacks: Since vocal doubles and quadruples are essentially the same performance layered for thickness, processing them together on a bus helps them sound like a single, unified, and massive vocal presence.

He also demonstrates flexibility within this approach. Later in the track, as new vocal elements are introduced, he creates a second vocal bus with a similar processing chain, showing that you can adapt this workflow to suit different parts of a song or different vocal textures.

Ready to Mix Like Logan Mader? Dive Deeper with Nail The Mix

Seeing these techniques outlined is helpful, but imagine watching Logan Mader apply them in real-time, hearing every subtle adjustment, and even getting your hands on the actual multitracks from a colossal band like Gojira.

That’s exactly what Nail The Mix offers.

With Nail The Mix’s Gojira session featuring Logan Mader, you can watch him mix this very track from start to finish, explaining his entire thought process and every decision along the way.

Even better, you get the multitracks to download and practice these vocal techniques (and everything else from the session!) yourself. It's an unparalleled opportunity to learn directly from the producers behind some of metal's biggest albums. If you're looking to build a rock-solid foundation and Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets, our resources can guide you.

For serious producers looking to elevate their game, the Gojira multitracks and Logan Mader's full mixing session are an invaluable educational experience.