Will Putney’s Knocked Loose Guitars: Layering & EQ Tactics

Ever crank a Knocked Loose track and get your face melted by those absolutely insane guitar tones? Will Putney, the man behind the console for many of their brutal tracks, has a method to the madness. It's not just about throwing a high-gain amp at a mic; it’s a meticulous process of layering, strategic EQ, and committing to sounds early. We got a peek into his session for a Knocked Loose track, and let me tell you, there are some serious gems in there for any producer looking to achieve that modern, aggressive metal guitar sound.

If you're ready to dive deeper into how pros like Will Putney craft these earth-shattering mixes, you'll definitely want to check out what Nail The Mix has to offer. But first, let's break down some of the killer techniques Will uses.

The Foundation: Layering for Maximum Impact

One of the first things you notice in Will’s Knocked Loose session is the sheer number of guitar tracks. But it's not just quantity; it's how they're structured and why.

Main Rhythms: The Core Stereo Pair

The backbone of the guitar sound is a primary pair of stereo rhythm guitars. These are your main left and right workhorses, likely tracked with a beastly amp – sounds like an "Uber shawl" was getting a serious workout here. These tracks establish the core riffage and power.

Quad Tracking: Adding Weight and Width

To beef things up, Will employs a classic quad-tracking approach. This involves a third and fourth rhythm guitar track, designed to work with the main stereo pair. These aren't just carbon copies; they’re often balanced slightly lower in the mix to complement the main rhythms without overpowering them, adding thickness and width to the overall guitar wall.

Fuzz Layers: Strategic Character

Things get interesting with dedicated fuzz pedal tracks. Will mentioned having these on "high" and "low" tracks, allowing him to blend in different fuzz characteristics. Sometimes these fuzz layers are subtly tucked in to add a bit of grit and character, beefing up the low-end or adding a unique texture. Other times, especially in sections with fewer overall guitar layers (say, four tracks instead of six), these fuzz tracks can step up and become as prominent as the main rhythms, effectively becoming the primary tone for that section.

"Rhythm Two" – The Fixer Layer

Ever track guitars thinking you'll use a specific tone (like fuzz) and then change your mind later? Will has a solution for that. He had a "Rhythm Two" track, which was essentially him going back and re-amping or re-tracking parts with a standard rhythm guitar tone where he initially thought a fuzz tone would sit. This is a great example of flexible problem-solving during the tracking and mixing process.

"All Guitars" – Center-Panned Accents

Rounding out the rhythm section are "All Guitars" tracks. These are typically single-performance tracks, not panned hard left or right, used for intros, breaks, or specific accents that need to sit more centrally in the mix.

Committing to Sounds: The Workflow Advantage

A significant part of Will Putney's workflow, and something that really speeds things up come mix time, is his philosophy of committing to sounds during tracking.

Tracking with Intent: EQ, Compression, Effects

This isn't just about getting a clean DI. Will aims to capture the sound as close to final as possible while tracking. This means dialing in the EQ, the amount of compression, any effects, how loud it sits relative to other elements, and even the panning. By designing the sound and committing to it upfront, the mix already has a strong foundation.

Lead Guitars: Balanced from the Start

This commitment extends to lead guitars. In the session, Will's lead tracks were largely left as they were from tracking. They were already processed with delays, reverbs, and balanced relative to each other, all going to a dedicated lead bus. This means that, come mixdown, adjusting the overall lead level is often just a case of nudging the lead bus fader up or down.

The Power of a Well-Balanced Playback

The result of this "commit as you go" approach is a fantastic playback experience right after tracking. Everything is already generally balanced, allowing for more focused mix decisions rather than spending hours on basic level setting.

Dialing in the Tone: EQ and Dynamics

Even with committed sounds, some tweaking is always necessary to make everything sit perfectly in a dense metal mix.

Initial Bus EQ: Identifying Problem Frequencies

Will starts by listening to his main rhythm guitars and quads together, looking for any broad-stroke EQ strategies that might be needed.

Tackling the "Ring" – Surgical Cuts

On his main rhythm guitars, he noticed a bit of a "ring" and some "unflattering present stuff in the high mids." He quickly identified a problematic spike around 2.5kHz. Instead of applying this cut to the entire guitar bus, he astutely noted that his quad tracks didn't have this issue. So, this surgical cut was applied directly to the main rhythm guitar tracks, keeping the quads untouched by this specific move. This is a prime example of targeted problem-solving.

Quad Tone Philosophy: Amp Sims for Flexibility

Interestingly, the quad guitar tone wasn't another mic'd amp. Will mentioned using an "amp simm" for these layers.

Amp Sim Choice and Its Benefits

He committed to this amp sim sound during tracking, which allowed him to design a quad tone that specifically supported the main rhythm guitars. The big win here is flexibility – the ability to tweak the tone later in the mix or even change it part by part if needed (though on this particular song, it remained static). For producers working in the box, this is a powerful approach.

Complementing the Main Rhythms

The amp sim for the quads was dialed in to be a "brighter thing" with a "different kind of mid focus" compared to the main amp tones. This helped fill in some of the "scrapiness" of the main rhythms, creating a fuller, more complex overall sound.

Adding Punch to Quads: Subtle Compression

To make the palm-muted sections on the quad tracks really "dig in" and to bring out more of that chuggy attack, Will reached for some subtle compression. He wanted to hear more of the "tooth" of the guitars.

• Settings: A 3:1 ratio was a good starting point, focusing on an attack setting that emphasized the initial transient of the palm mutes. Nothing too crazy, just enough to make them feel a little thicker and more defined.

Bus Processing: The Analog Touch & Overall Sweetening

With individual elements shaped, Will turned his attention to the main guitar bus and even the two-bus for some overall sweetening, often using analog gear.

The Aurora Audio GT4 EQ: Musical Shaping

For the main guitar bus, Will employed the Aurora Audio GT4 EQ, a unit he describes as "super musical" and "very Neve like." This EQ offers a lot of frequency points, making it fun to play with.

Filters: Low Pass and High Pass

He started with a tiny bit of low pass and high pass filtering directly on the GT4. He praised these analog filters for their musicality, noting the low-end roll-off is in a great spot for guitars. This is often a better starting point than in-the-box filters if you have access to quality analog EQs.

High Shelf Boost: Competing with Cymbals

A common move for Will lately seems to be a "hyped high end thing." He used the high shelf on the GT4 to brighten up the guitars, helping them compete a bit more with the cymbals, which he had likely already hyped.

Subtle Mid Scoop

To carve out a little more character and address some potential "honky mids," he dialed in a very subtle scoop.

• Settings: Around 630Hz with a High Q (narrow bandwidth), just pulling out a touch of that midrange.

Addressing Low-End: The Two-Bus Approach

Feeling the overall mix was a "little light on the low end" and that the guitars, bass, and kick felt balanced relative to each other but could use more collective weight, Will looked at his two-bus processing.

Chandler on the Two-Bus

He mentioned having his Chandler unit (likely a Zener Limiter or Curve Bender, known for adding weight and vibe) on the two-bus, which wasn't initially engaged.

Subtle Lift for Glue

Engaging it and adding a tiny lift at 90Hz on the two-bus helped glue everything together and made the bottom end feel "a little fatter." This provided a better overall starting point for the mix.

Bringing It All Together (And Learning More!)

Achieving Will Putney's insane Knocked Loose guitar tones is a combination of:

• Strategic Layering: Using main rhythms, quads, and character fuzz tracks effectively.
• Committing Early: Dialing in sounds during tracking to build a strong foundation.
• Targeted EQ: Solving specific frequency problems on individual tracks (like the 2.5kHz cut on main rhythms).
• Complementary Tones: Using amp sims for quads to fill out the sound.
• Subtle Dynamics: Using compression to enhance attack and thickness.
• Musical Bus Processing: Employing high-quality analog EQs like the Aurora Audio GT4 for broad shaping and analog filters.
• Two-Bus Sweetening: Adding overall weight and glue with gear like a Chandler unit on the master.

These are some seriously powerful techniques you can start experimenting with in your own productions. Imagine not just reading about these moves, but actually watching a pro like Will Putney make these decisions in real-time, explaining why he’s turning each knob.

That’s exactly what you get with Nail The Mix. Each month, you get the raw multitracks from huge metal songs (like this Knocked Loose banger!) and watch the original producer mix it from scratch, sharing every detail of their process. If you're serious about taking your heavy mixes to the next level and want to unlock your sound beyond presets, seeing these techniques applied in a full mix context is invaluable. Don't just read about it; see how it's done with Nail The Mix's Knocked Loose session.