Spiritbox Guitar Production: Layering, Sims & Bus Magic

Spiritbox. The name alone conjures up images of crushing riffs, ethereal melodies, and a guitar tone that’s both massive and articulate. Ever wondered how they achieve that signature sound? We got an inside look as producer Daniel Braunstein broke down the guitar production for one of their killer tracks, and let me tell you, it’s a masterclass in modern metal guitar. It’s not just about one magic plugin; it’s about smart choices from the DI all the way to the final bus. Let’s dive into how these incredible guitar tones were crafted. And if you want to see exactly how these techniques come together in a full mix, Nail The Mix is where the pros show you their entire process.

The Foundation: Player, Guitar, and DI Signal

Before even thinking about amp sims or complex routing, getting the source right is paramount. For Spiritbox's guitars, this started with the player and the instrument.

Mike's Playing: The Non-Negotiable Starting Point

Braunstein kicks off by emphasizing something fundamental: Mike Stringer plays his guitar properly. This is the bedrock. Great playing makes the mixing process smoother and the end result far more impactful. No amount of studio magic can fully compensate for a performance that isn't tight and intentional.

Guitar Choice: Aristides and Pickup Power

The weapon of choice for these tones was an Aristides guitar. While the exact pickups weren't recalled on the spot, they were suspected to be Bareknuckles, known for their clarity and aggression. This guitar delivered a "really good bite" right off the bat, providing a solid foundation for the amp sim.

The "Gen Boy" Boost: Pre-Amp Sim Sweetening

Before hitting the amp sim, a little extra sauce was added with a boost – likely from a pedal emulation within Neural DSP's Archetype: Plini plugin. This wasn't about massive distortion, but about adding that "gen boy frequency," a subtle character and tightness that just brought the DI to life, making it less "spongy" and more focused. This boost was dialed in precisely and applied identically to both sides for consistency.

Amp Sims vs. Real Amps: Capturing the Performance

The age-old debate: real amps or sims? For this Spiritbox track, the decision was clear, and the reasoning is key for any producer.

Why Archetype: Plini Dominated

They experimented with real amps, load boxes, and IRs, but ultimately, the Archetype: Plini plugin won out. Why? Because Mike Stringer actually played through this plugin during tracking.

The Crucial Player-Amp Relationship

Braunstein highlights a critical, often overlooked aspect: the symbiotic relationship between a guitarist and their amp (or amp sim). The way an amp responds, the feedback it gives, directly influences the performance. Changing the amp after the fact can subtly alter the feel of the take. Sticking with the sound the guitarist was hearing and reacting to during tracking often yields the most organic and powerful results. This is a strong argument against reflexively re-amping everything if the initial tone captured the performance intent.

Simplicity is Key: Plugin Settings

The settings on the Archetype: Plini were surprisingly straightforward. Default cab, no crazy EQ tweaks within the plugin itself, just a little overdrive from the front-end boost. This underscores the importance of getting the source tone right (player + guitar + DI boost) before hitting the "amp."

Sculpting the Core Tone: Bus Processing Essentials

With a solid amped tone established, the guitar bus became the next stage for refinement and enhancement.

Bus EQ: Low-Mid Love and Cleanup

Once the core tone was established, the guitar bus received some EQ attention. A common area of neglect, the low-mids, got a gentle boost to add warmth and body. This wasn't about surgical cuts but more about "painting the curve" to enhance what was already there.

Taming the Chug: Multi-band Compression on Palm Mutes

For those tight, percussive palm mutes, a classic trick was employed: multi-band compression (likely a Waves C6). Specifically, it was used to dynamically duck excessive low-end frequencies just when the palm mutes hit. This keeps the low-end tight and controlled, preventing muddiness without sacrificing the weight of the chugs. You'd see it kick in right on those heavy downbeats.

The "More Presence" Mandate: Strategic EQ Boosts

After listening back, Mike felt the guitars needed more presence, and Braunstein agreed. A subsequent EQ (a PuigTec EQP-1A emulation) was added to the bus, delivering a noticeable lift with boosts around 1.7kHz and 8kHz. This brought out the articulation and cut without making the guitars harsh, proving that sometimes you need to step away and re-evaluate with fresh ears.

Final Polish: Renaissance Axe for Evenness

To gently contain the overall dynamics and add a final layer of smoothness, the Waves Renaissance Axe compressor was placed on the bus. The goal here wasn't aggressive peak-taming or adding attack, but rather achieving an evenness in the rhythm guitars, making them feel more like a consistent, solid wall of sound. It’s a go-to for metal guitar compression for many, especially for evening out dynamic rhythm parts.

Layering for Immensity: Crafting the Chorus Guitars

Spiritbox's choruses often feature a wall of guitar sound. This isn't just one track turned up loud; it's a careful construction of multiple, complementary layers.

Core Rhythms: Power Chords and Add9 Sparkle

The main rhythm guitars in the chorus weren't just straight power chords. Mike incorporated add9 chords, which introduce a major second interval, adding a touch of harmonic complexity and shimmer to the foundation.

Sus2 Chords: The Secret to Vibration and Depth

Underneath the main rhythms, a distinct layer of sustained suspended second (sus2) chords was added, played across all strings. These chords, with their inherent tension and closely voiced intervals, create a natural "vibration" or chorusing effect. When layered with more basic chords, they contribute significantly to the depth and resonant character of the guitar sound, making everything feel bigger and more alive.

The "Synth Layer": Ultra-Gain Single Notes

To further enhance the low-end and glue everything together, another layer was introduced: single, low notes played with an absolutely massive amount of gain. So much gain, in fact, that each note had to be punched in separately to avoid noise and unwanted string artifacts – the DI for this was likely cranked to 10. This layer functions almost like a sub-bass or a synth pad, providing a powerful, sustained foundation that's more about texture and weight than intricate guitar playing. The pick attack was even removed from these, as their role was pure low-end support.

The "Salt" Analogy: Why Soloed Tracks Can Be Deceiving

Braunstein uses a great analogy: mixing is like cooking. You wouldn't taste a spoonful of salt and decide it's gross and therefore shouldn't go in the dish. The same applies to individual tracks in a mix. Some layers, like the high-gain single notes with all the pick attack removed, might sound odd or even "bad" on their own. But in the context of the full guitar arrangement, they serve a specific purpose, complementing other elements to create a cohesive and powerful whole. Don't obsess over soloed sounds; focus on how they work together.

Advanced Techniques: Evertune, Octaves, and Contextual Mixing

Beyond the core tones and layers, a few more advanced moves helped solidify Spiritbox's guitar sound.

The Great Guitar Debate: Aristides vs. Balaguer with Evertune

Interestingly, two main guitars were used across the record: the non-Evertune Aristides (favored for its raw DI tone) and a Balaguer equipped with an Evertune bridge (favored for its tuning stability). Since the Aristides had the preferred sound but was harder to keep in tune, a clever workaround was devised. When the Balaguer was used, an AudioSuite EQ was printed onto its DI signal to mimic the tonal characteristics of the Aristides. This meant they could get the best of both worlds: consistent tuning and the desired core tone. The answer to "which guitar?" was often "both!"

Unleashing the Beast: Clipped Octave Layers

For extra weight and aggression, particularly in breakdowns, a common but highly effective technique was used: duplicating the main guitar tracks, pitching them down an octave, and then creatively distorting them. The key here was clipping. After pitching down, the signal might sound cool but lack growl and sustain. By heavily clipping this octave layer (either with preamp gain or clip gain in the DAW), a gnarly, buzzing sustain was introduced between notes, extending the decay and adding an "evil" character that perfectly complemented the main guitars' pointier attack. This layer wasn't about replicating the main part; it was about adding a new texture that filled in the gaps.

Mixing in Motion: Volume Automation and Context

A crucial aspect of dynamic mixing is understanding that a static mix rarely works. As a song progresses, the listener's ear becomes accustomed to certain levels. When a riff returns later in the track, especially after a section with more layers or intensity, it often needs a volume boost to feel as impactful as it did initially. Braunstein mentions boosting riffs by as much as 1.5dB – a significant move for guitars – to maintain perceived energy and ensure different sections relate properly to each other within the timeline of the song. Your ears get used to the "new normal" of a dense chorus, so a returning verse riff might need more juice to compete.

Bringing It All Together

Getting that signature Spiritbox guitar assault involves a blend of meticulous DI shaping, smart amp sim choices that honor the player's performance, strategic bus processing, and creative layering. From the initial "Gen Boy" boost on the Archetype: Plini to the multi-band control on palm mutes, the presence-enhancing EQs, and the sheer weight of those layered chorus guitars, every step is deliberate. Techniques like the clipped octave-down layer and context-aware volume automation further elevate the production, ensuring the guitars hit hard from start to finish.

These are powerful techniques you can experiment with in your own metal productions. But imagine seeing Daniel Braunstein dial in these exact Spiritbox guitar tones, explaining every plugin choice, every EQ move, and how they sit in the full mix with Courtney's incredible vocals and the thunderous rhythm section.

With Nail The Mix, you get exactly that. Each month, you get the raw multitracks from massive songs and watch the original producers, like Daniel for this Spiritbox session, mix them from scratch. You'll see how they tackle challenges, make creative decisions, and build those polished, professional sounds you hear on finished records. It's more than just presets; it's about understanding the why behind every move. If you're serious about taking your metal mixes to the next level and truly want to unlock your sound beyond presets, seeing how the pros craft tones like these Spiritbox guitars is invaluable.