Mixing Intervals’ Epic Guitar Leads & Solos with Sam Guaiana

Let’s be honest, trying to mix a track from a band like Intervals is a masterclass in controlled chaos. With multiple intricate leads, harmonies, and a full-blown solo, how do you make each part shine without turning the mix into a muddy mess? It’s a common struggle: getting lead guitars to sound full and distinct, especially when they’re all competing for the same sonic space.

In his Nail The Mix session for the track “lock & key,” producer Sam Guaiana pulls back the curtain on his refreshingly effective approach. It’s all about giving each lead line its own unique identity while making sure they all feel cohesive. Let’s dive into the key techniques Sam used to make these leads and solos cut through.

Building the “Album Lead”: The Foundation Tone

Everything starts with a solid core tone. For Intervals, Sam established a go-to “Album Lead” patch that served as the foundation for most of the lead work on the record.

This tone was built around a high-gain amp model, think the classic 5150 or 6505 vibe, perfect for that sharp, articulate sound. The most important decision here was to create a sound that was intentionally different from the rhythm guitars. A lead’s job is to grab the listener’s attention, and it can’t do that if it sounds just like the chugging riffs underneath it.

Interestingly, this lead tone has its own dedicated delay and reverb effects built-in. Sam opted not to send the lead to the main guitar reverb bus shared by other instruments. Why? To avoid the “too much of a good thing” problem. A shared reverb can quickly build up and create a washy, unfocused sound. By keeping the lead’s ambience self-contained, he ensured it remained direct, focused, and sat right in the center of the mix where it belongs.

The Art of Subtractive EQ for Lead Guitars

Before any boosting or fancy effects, Sam’s first move is to clean up the tone with subtractive EQ. The goal isn’t just to fix problems, but to proactively shape the lead so it sits perfectly in the mix from the start.

Taming the Low End for Clarity

If you soloed this lead guitar, you might be surprised by how thin it sounds. That’s by design. Sam applies an aggressive high-pass filter, cutting out a significant amount of low-end information. His philosophy is simple: in a dense mix, the kick drum and bass guitar are responsible for the low end. Lead guitars, like vocals, don’t need that low-frequency weight. Removing it prevents mud and frees up space, allowing the lead to sit on top of the mix instead of fighting with it. This is a fundamental concept in modern EQ strategies for metal.

Carving Space for the Bass

Intervals’ bass tone is very mid-forward, giving it the presence to cut through. To prevent the lead guitar and bass from clashing in this critical range, Sam carves out a small pocket in the lead’s midrange. This subtle move creates a dedicated space for each instrument, so they can both be heard clearly without stepping on each other’s toes.

Strategic Compression and Width

With the tone cleaned up, the next step is to control its dynamics and add some dimension.

Pinning It In Place with SSL-Style Compression

Sam uses an SSL-style channel strip plugin for compression. The goal isn’t to squash the life out of the performance, but to gently “pin it into place,” evening out the dynamics so that every note is audible.

After the subtractive EQ, he uses the same plugin to add a high-end shelf boost around 8k. Because he already cut the nasty, shrill frequencies, this boost only enhances the pleasing “air” and articulation of the tone, making it sparkle without harshness. Getting this balance right is one of the most important metal compression secrets.

Using Wideners and Automation for Impact

To give the lead a modern, larger-than-life feel, Sam uses a widener plugin. It creates that eighties-style stereo spread but in a way that sounds fresh, not cheesy.

The real trick is automation. The widener isn’t on all the time. During the tight, fast pre-chorus, it’s turned off to keep the mix focused and driving. But when the massive chorus kicks in, the widener comes on, pulling the sound out to the sides and creating a more immersive, surrounding vibe that elevates the entire section.

How to Make the Solo the Star of the Show

When the guitar solo hits, it needs to feel like a special moment. To achieve this, Sam uses the same “Album Lead” tone as the baseline but treats it with a few key differences to make it stand out.

Adjusting the EQ for the Solo Section

During the solo, the rhythm guitars drop out, leaving a huge hole in the low-mids. To compensate, Sam relaxes the high-pass filter on the soloing guitar. This allows a little more of the low-end “body” to come through, helping the solo fill up the space and command more authority in the mix.

Adding ’80s Console Grit with Saturation

The biggest differentiator for the solo is the addition of a distortion plugin—specifically, a Soundtoys Radiator. This isn’t just a simple saturation boost. Radiator emulates the sound of an old Altec preamp being pushed hard, adding what Sam calls a “purposeful hiss” and a pleasing, raw distortion. It’s a trick straight out of the ’80s rock playbook, where engineers would push the console preamps on solos to get that extra aggression and energy. This effect makes pinch harmonics scream and gives fast runs a raw, unfiltered vibe that you just can’t get from an amp alone.

The Most Important Tool: Volume Automation

Perhaps the most critical technique for maintaining balance is simple volume automation. Throughout the track, whenever the stereo rhythm guitars disappear, Sam manually automates the center lead guitar’s volume up by about 1dB.

Why not just use a compressor? Because for intricate, dynamic parts like this, manual automation gives you precise control. You can ensure the lead maintains its perceived loudness and impact perfectly, without the artifacts a compressor might introduce. It’s a bit of extra work, but it’s what makes the production feel seamless and powerful.

Bringing It All Together

These techniques are powerful because they’re based on conscious, musical decisions. It’s not about finding one magic preset, but about using EQ, saturation, and automation to serve the song and give each part its own place to shine.

These are the kinds of detailed, real-world decisions that separate a good mix from a professional one. If you want to see exactly how producers like Sam Guaiana make these moves in real-time, check out Nail The Mix. You get the full multitracks from massive songs, allowing you to watch the original producer mix the track from scratch and explain every decision along the way. You can see how Sam dials in these guitar tones and makes them sit perfectly with the pounding drums and a killer bassline in his full session for Intervals’ “lock & key”.

To get a jumpstart on your own productions, you can also grab our free e-book, Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets, and start applying pro-level concepts to your mixes today.