Mix Prep The Contortionist Way: Jamie King’s EQ Shortcuts

Ever feel like you’re wrestling with your mix before you even get to the fun stuff, like making those metal vocals sit perfectly? Jamie King, the man behind killer mixes for bands like The Contortionist, knows that mix prep is half the battle. And let’s be honest, when you’re dealing with the intricate layers and sheer power of a band like The Contortionist, every bit of efficiency counts.

In a revealing session, Jamie broke down a super-efficient approach to EQ during mix prep, a technique he uses to get instruments, like drums, into the ballpark fast. Why drums, if we’re talking vocals? Because a killer vocal needs a killer foundation, and that starts with getting every other element sounding tight and defined. This isn’t just about saving time; it’s about creating the space for those vocals to truly command the track.

Want to see exactly how Jamie King approached the full mix for The Contortionist? You can dive deep into his complete workflow and decision-making process in this session on Nail The Mix.

Why Bother with Meticulous Mix Prep? (Especially for Vocals!)

You want those vocals to slice through a dense The Contortionist-style arrangement, right? That doesn’t just happen by slapping plugins on the vocal track. The groundwork you lay during mix prep is absolutely crucial.

• Clean Canvas: Proper prep on instruments like drums and guitars carves out essential space. When your kick isn’t fighting your bass, and your guitars aren’t a wall of mud, your vocals have a clear path to shine. Less fighting for frequencies means your vocals can breathe and command attention.
• Time Saver: Getting things 80% there in prep means less hair-pulling later. As Jamie points out, you can waste so much time if your starting points are way off. Efficient prep streamlines the entire mixing process.
• Consistency: A methodical prep stage leads to more consistent mixes. When you have a system, you get reliable results, track after track.

Jamie King’s Secret Weapon: Reference EQ Curves

Jamie’s not about reinventing the wheel on every mix. He’s developed a system using pre-defined EQ curves as powerful starting points. This isn’t about mixing by numbers or ignoring your creative instincts. It’s about using tools to get you to a great-sounding place, faster. Ultimately, as Jamie emphasizes, you always trust your ears, but these references are your invaluable roadmap.

Your Eyes and Ears: The Frequency Analyzer

A good frequency analyzer is your best friend here. Jamie mentions using tools like the one built into FabFilter Pro-Q, a favorite for many producers due to its versatility and transparency.
An analyzer is perfect for visually cross-referencing your track’s EQ shape against a known good target, or just quickly spotting where that annoying muddiness or harshness is coming from. It helps confirm what your ears are telling you and speeds up decision-making.

Kick Drum Kickstart: A Real-World Example

Jamie shared one of his “tried and true” EQ curves for kick drums – a shape he’s found works consistently across many mixes. This isn’t some magic preset, but a curve developed through experience.
How’d he develop it? By meticulously cross-referencing with professionally processed drum samples and isolated hits from records that just work. It’s about learning what successful sounds look like, sonically.

In his example, he used his reference curve with an analyzer to assess a kick drum. He noticed his current kick had more high-end than he typically prefers for his starting point and, more critically, identified a need to cut some mids. He zeroed in on the 700-740Hz range – a common area to address boxiness or unwanted midrange punch in kicks – and pulled it down. The goal isn’t to make it identical to the reference, but to get it “in the ballpark” quickly, establishing a solid foundation.

Rinse and Repeat: Snares, Toms, and Everything Else

This isn’t just a kick drum trick. Jamie has similar reference EQ starting points for snares, toms, and other instruments. The principle remains the same: use a trusted reference to guide your initial EQ moves.
Got a snare that sounds like it’s recorded inside a tin can? Or one that’s all attack and no body? Instead of endlessly tweaking and potentially making things worse, you can pull up your reference, see where your source sound drastically differs, and make targeted adjustments.

Jamie showed how quickly he could take a problematic snare – one he described as having “loads of mids” – and whip it into shape using this visual and auditory referencing. It takes the guesswork out of initial shaping.

From “Guessing” to “Knowing”: Building Your Sonic Intuition

When you first start, EQ can feel like fumbling in the dark. But as Jamie explains, with practice and the right approach, it becomes second nature – like typing on a keyboard without looking. You begin to feel where the problems are.
You start to internalize what certain frequencies sound like and what common issues (like too much “200Hz mud” he pointed out in the session, a frequent culprit in muddying up a mix) need.
While some folks are naturally gifted, most of us need years to truly tune our ears to a professional level. Tools like reference EQs and analyzers, when used intelligently, help shorten that learning curve dramatically.

Tying it to The Contortionist & Your Metal Vocals

So, how does meticulous drum EQ prep help your metal vocals, especially for a band as intricate and sonically dense as The Contortionist?
Think of it like this: if your drums are muddy, boomy, or overly harsh, they’re eating up valuable sonic real estate and energy that your vocals desperately need. By using Jamie’s prep techniques to get your drums (and guitars, and bass) sitting right from the outset, you’re essentially creating a cleaner, more defined sonic landscape for your vocals to dominate.

When the foundation is solid, your vocal mixing becomes less about “fixing” problems and more about “enhancing” the performance. You’ll find your vocal EQs, compressors, and effects work much more effectively because they’re not fighting a poorly balanced instrumental bed.

Smart EQ for Vocals: The Same Principles Apply

While Jamie’s video demonstration focused on drums as an example of his prep philosophy, the core idea of quick, effective EQ adjustments is universal and directly applicable to vocals.
For metal vocals, this means quickly identifying and:

• Scooping out low-mid mud (often lurking around 200-500Hz) that can make them sound buried or unclear.
• Finding the right frequencies to add presence and aggression (often in the 2-5kHz range for cut and intelligibility) without getting shrill or painful.
• Taming any excessive sibilance (“ess” sounds) or harshness, often with a narrow cut in the 5-10kHz range or via a de-esser.

Knowing your starting points and having a reference (even if it’s just a mental one honed over time from analyzing great vocal sounds) is key to making these moves confidently and efficiently.

Beyond EQ: A Holistic Approach to Mix Prep

While Jamie’s EQ shortcuts are a massive time-saver, comprehensive mix prep often involves a few more steps to ensure a smooth mixing process from start to finish. This can include:

• Gain Staging: Ensuring all your tracks are hitting your plugins and console (or DAW summing bus) at healthy, optimal levels. This prevents unwanted distortion and ensures your processors behave predictably.
• Editing: This is huge. Tightening up timing discrepancies, comping the best parts of multiple vocal takes into one killer performance, and removing unwanted noise or breaths.
• Clip Gain/Automation: Evening out wildly dynamic performances before they hit your compressors. This allows your compressors to work more smoothly and musically, rather than just clamping down on the loudest peaks.
• Initial Dynamic Control: Sometimes, a touch of light compression can tame unruly peaks on things like snare drums or aggressive vocals early on. This isn’t about “mixing” yet, but rather about basic control to make them easier to manage as you build the mix.

Nail Your Mix Prep, Nail Your Vocals

Getting your mix prep dialed in, especially your foundational EQs, isn’t just a technical exercise; it’s about setting the stage for a powerful, clear, and impactful mix where your metal vocals can truly shine. Jamie King’s approach with The Contortionist tracks underscores this beautifully: methodical, efficient prep leads to superior results.
By using reference EQs, analyzers, and a systematic approach, you can move from guesswork to precise, efficient adjustments, saving valuable time and achieving better, more professional-sounding mixes.

Ready to see how the pros like Jamie King tackle these challenges from start to finish on real-world metal tracks? Nail The Mix gives you the original multitracks and a front-row seat as world-class producers mix iconic songs from scratch, explaining every decision. Dive into The Contortionist session with Jamie King right here and see these prep techniques in the context of a full, crushing metal mix.

And if you’re looking to go deeper than just presets and truly understand how to craft modern metal mixes that stand up to your favorite records, check out our comprehensive guide: Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets.