Meshuggah’s Wall of Tone: Tue Madsen’s Surgical EQ Approach

Nail The Mix Staff

Let’s face it, Meshuggah’s guitar sound is legendary. It’s a colossal, intricate, and face-meltingly heavy wall of tone that has influenced countless metal bands. But how do you even begin to tame and shape such a beast in a mix? We got a peek into the process with none other than Tue Madsen, the man who mixed their groundbreaking album obZen, as he broke down his approach to those iconic guitars. If you’re looking to understand how to handle extreme metal guitars with precision, Tue shared some killer insights during his Nail The Mix session. Forget just scooping mids; this is about surgical precision and smart layering.

Layering for Density: The “Half Gainy” Guitars

One of the first things Tue Madsen touches on is the use of layered guitars, specifically what he calls “half gainy” guitars. These aren’t your main high-gain rhythm tracks cranked to eleven. Instead, these are additional layers with a significantly reduced gain structure.

How was this achieved?
Interestingly, this wasn’t about meticulously dialing back gain on multiple amp heads – a time-consuming task when you’ve got four amps fired up. Tue reveals they took a more pragmatic route: simply rolling back the volume knob on the guitars themselves. This practical approach is even evident in the DI signals, which are visibly lower in level.

Why do this?
These lower-gain layers add a unique texture and fullness to the overall guitar sound without contributing excessive saturation or mud. They help fill out the sonic space and can add clarity to complex riffs, providing a different harmonic character that complements the main high-gain tones. It’s a great way to build a truly massive sound that still retains definition.

Surgical Strikes: Precision EQ on the Guitar Bus

Tue Madsen emphasizes the importance of treating the collective guitar sound. All those amp tracks and layers are routed to a dedicated guitar group bus. This allows for cohesive processing, ensuring all guitar parts work together as one monstrous entity. A significant part of this bus processing is, of course, EQ.

Identifying and Taming Annoying Frequencies

When you’re dealing with the sheer intensity of Meshuggah’s guitars, certain frequencies can become overwhelming or just plain annoying, especially at loud playback volumes or after listening for extended periods. Tue’s method for tackling these is surgical.

He employs an EQ sweeping technique:

  1. Create a narrow band (high Q factor) on an EQ.
  2. Boost this band significantly.
  3. Sweep this boosted band across the frequency spectrum.
    This helps to pinpoint the exact frequencies that are causing issues. However, he offers a word of caution: completely gutting these frequencies is often too much. Small, precise dips are usually far more effective at taming the harshness without losing the core character of the tone.

The “EQ Vortex”: A Trap to Avoid

Here’s a pro tip: be wary of the “EQ vortex.” When you surgically remove one annoying frequency, sometimes other, previously masked frequencies can suddenly poke out and become noticeable. If you’re not careful, you can end up chasing your tail, cutting one frequency after another.

This often leads to an EQ curve that looks like a mountain range in reverse – overly notched, phasey, and ultimately, sounding horrible. The goal is to refine, not to obliterate.

The Golden Rule: Always A/B Your EQ Moves

Before you commit to any EQ adjustment, Tue stresses the absolute necessity of A/B testing. Simply bypass your EQ plugin to compare the processed sound with the original.

A crucial part of this is level-matching. If your EQ moves have made the signal louder (common if you’ve boosted bands), reduce the output of the EQ or the input of the next plugin so that the bypassed and active signals are at roughly the same perceived volume. This is vital because our brains are wired to perceive “louder” as “better,” which can easily fool you. You want to be sure your EQ changes are genuinely improving the tone, not just making it louder or different for the sake of it.

The Unshakeable Foundation: Performance is King

Perhaps the most critical takeaway from Tue Madsen’s insights is something that applies to all music production: the source material is paramount. He’s crystal clear that the “fix it in the mix” mentality is, in his words, “bullshit.”

The incredible power and clarity of Meshuggah’s mixed guitars don’t just come from clever studio tricks. It starts with the phenomenal musicianship of the band members – Thomas Haake’s drumming, the bass playing, and of course, the guitar performances. These elements, captured well (in a great room, as noted), make the mixing process about enhancement rather than rescue. No amount of engineering wizardry can truly salvage a subpar performance or a poorly recorded source.

Bringing It All Together (And Learning More!)

So, crafting that monumental Meshuggah guitar sound, as demonstrated by Tue Madsen, involves:

  • Smart Layering: Using “half gainy” guitars (via the guitar’s volume knob) to add texture and fullness.
  • Strategic Enhancement: Employing processors like the “Seawalk” (likely an exciter) to add essential sparkle and presence.
  • Collective Bus EQ: Treating the guitars as a cohesive unit on a group bus.
  • Surgical EQ: Pinpointing and gently attenuating problematic frequencies rather than aggressive, broad cuts.
  • Diligent A/B Testing: Always ensuring your EQ decisions are genuine improvements, not just volume boosts.
  • Prioritizing the Source: Recognizing that world-class performances are the true foundation.

These are powerful techniques you can start applying to your own heavy mixes. Imagine diving even deeper, watching pros like Tue Madsen build these tones from the raw multitracks, explaining every decision, every plugin choice, and every nuanced move.

That’s exactly what Nail The Mix offers. Each month, you get access to the original multitracks from massive songs (like this Meshuggah classic!) and watch the original producer mix it from scratch. You can see precisely how they tackle challenges, dial in specific gear, and make those critical sonic decisions. If you’re serious about taking your metal mixing skills to the next level and want to learn directly from the engineers behind iconic albums, check out the full Meshuggah mixing session with Tue Madsen.

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