Sylosis’s Josh Middleton: Crushing Guitar Tone with STL Tonality

Nail The Mix Staff

Ever chase that perfect, crushing metal guitar tone? You know the one – thick, aggressive, and sits just right in a dense mix. Josh Middleton, the riff-master behind Sylosis, recently dove deep into his process for achieving exactly that, primarily using the STL Tonality Howard Benson Plugin Suite. If you're looking to sculpt some serious guitar sounds, you're in the right place. We're breaking down his key techniques, from amp settings to bus processing, so you can try them in your own productions.

And hey, if you want to see Josh build an entire mix from scratch, including these guitar techniques, check out his full session on Nail The Mix.

The Foundation: Why Guitars Come First

Before even touching an amp sim, Josh lays down a crucial workflow principle: start with the guitars. Why? It’s all about context. He finds that if he gets the guitars roughly in place, he has a much better idea of how the drums need to punch through. Starting with drums can lead to situations where they sound great in solo, but then the kick attack is too "ticky" or too dark once the guitars are introduced, forcing a re-EQ. By getting a feel for what the drums are competing against early on, he saves himself headaches down the line.

Dialing in the Core Tone with STL Tonality (5150 Model)

For his main rhythm tone, Josh fires up the 5150 amp model within STL Tonality. Here’s how he approaches it:

The "Scooped Mids" Reality Check

You might hear "metal tone" and instantly think "scooped mids." While Josh's high and low end will definitely peak higher than the midrange on an EQ graph, he's not going for a classic Pantera-esque severe scoop. A critical piece of the puzzle is the signal chain he emulates: a Mesa Boogie cabinet with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers, mic'd with an SM57. This combination inherently has a ton of midrange. So, even if he dials back the mids on the amp head itself, the overall tone retains plenty of midrange character. He often keeps an EQ analyzer open, not to mix with his eyes, but to quickly confirm what he's hearing, especially when working in unfamiliar environments like headphones.

Stompbox Strategy: The OD808 Approach

In front of the 5150 model, Josh uses the Tubescreamer-style stompbox (a mimic of a Maxon OD808) within STL Tonality.

  • Level: He doesn't typically boost the level much, especially with a high-gain amp like the 5150. A Rectifier, needing more push, might get a bit more.
  • Drive: The drive is kept low. This pedal isn't about adding heaps of distortion; it's about tightening up the amp's front end. Josh feels it has an inherent low and high-pass filter effect, focusing things nicely.
  • Tone Knob: This is where it gets interesting. He often keeps the tone knob fairly low, or even completely off. He mentions Andy Sneap's influence here, recalling that the first Sylosis record, "Conclusion of an Age," had killer guitar tones with the pedal's tone knob all the way down. It creates a thick sound without becoming untight or mushy, unlike a guitar's tone knob. Turning the tone knob past midway on this pedal starts adding high-end, which he generally doesn't need from this stage.

Amp Settings: Precision with the 5150

Josh has some specific ways he dials in the 5150 model:

  • Mids: He’ll bring the mids down on the amp.
  • Highs vs. Presence: He’s cautious with the "High" control, rarely going above 4.5. This is because the high control tends to also bring up the 1-2kHz area, which can sound "honky" or unpleasant. Instead, he gets his top-end shine from the Presence control. He'll often crank the presence, noting that on real 5150/6505 amps (and accurately modeled in the plugin), the presence knob often does very little until you get to the upper end of its range.
  • Monitoring Tip: When dialing in tones, Josh often pans the guitar to one side (e.g., hard left) rather than listening in mono. He finds it easier to judge how the tone will sit in a stereo field, as guitars are rarely panned center in a final mix.

Cab & Mic Nuances: Taming the Fizz

Within the STL Tonality cab section, Josh primarily uses the SM57 model.

  • Avoiding Fizz: A key goal is to avoid excessive "fizz," particularly around the 6kHz area, which can make guitars sound harsh or mushy. He’ll adjust mic placement (even in the plugin) to minimize this.
  • Blending Mics: He then blends in a small amount of an MD421 model. He describes the MD421 as a more "scooped" mic and notes it can have a spike around 4.3kHz. He doesn't EQ this out on the individual mic; he just blends a little of it with the SM57, which remains the dominant sound.
  • Plugin Mic Placement: While the plugin shows visual mic positions, Josh advises to always "use your ears" as the visual might not perfectly represent a real-world equivalent.

Layering for Thickness: Adding the Rectifier

For quad-tracked parts, Josh often introduces a different amp flavor to fill out the sound and add complexity. In this demo, he opts for the Rectifier model in STL Tonality.

Dialing the Rectifier for Contrast

  • Stompbox Tweaks: Since Rectifiers generally have a bit less gain and can be "mushier" than a 5150, he’ll push the OD808 stompbox a bit harder with more drive and a slightly higher tone setting.
  • Rectifier Amp Settings: A key difference from the 5150 is the Presence control. On the Rectifier model, he finds the presence can be too harsh and fizzy (again, that troublesome 6kHz area), so he usually keeps it quite low. He also notes an audible "cab whistle" around 700Hz that he’ll address later. He switches the Rectifier to its "Modern" mode.
  • Different Cab: He pairs the Rectifier with a different oversized cabinet model (another Mesa style) loaded with V30s from a different year than his primary cab, adding another layer of subtle tonal variation.
  • Mic Placement: For the Rectifier's cab, he sticks with SM57 models. When micing a specific speaker (e.g., top-left), he aims the virtual mic towards the inward side of the cone, never the very outside edge of the speaker.

Blending the Layers

Once dialed in, these secondary quad-tracked guitars are typically blended in about 5dB quieter than the main 5150 tracks. This adds thickness and width without cluttering the main tone.

Bus Processing: Gluing It All Together

With the individual tones sculpted, Josh moves to processing the main guitar group (bus).

Taming the Lows: Multiband Compression with Waves C4

To control the low-end "chug" from palm mutes without killing the overall punch, Josh uses a Waves C4 multiband compressor.

  • Target Area: He sets one band to focus specifically on the problematic palm mute frequencies, roughly between 65Hz and 294Hz.
  • Action: The goal is to see the C4 only ducking significantly during heavy palm mutes. If it's compressing too much of the sustained signal, it might be killing too much of the tone. This is a classic move for tightening up modern metal guitars, and you can learn more about these kinds of techniques on our metal compression hub page.

Shaping with EQ: SSL-Style and Pro-Q 3

Next comes EQ on the guitar bus. Josh prefers to get the source tones as close as possible, then use broader, more subtle EQ moves on the bus. For more in-depth strategies on EQ, our EQ strategies hub is a great resource.

  • SSL-Style EQ:
    • Highs: Adds some top-end sheen. He's not afraid to boost very high frequencies for "excitement," even if they're not super audible, especially if the cab doesn't have excessive fizziness that would require a low-pass filter.
    • Bite: Boosts around 3kHz – this is where the aggression and pick attack live, but it's also an area prone to harshness, so care is needed.
    • Low Mids: Adds some weight and "note" definition around 300-400Hz.
    • Low Shelf: Implements a low shelf boost because amp sims can sometimes lack a bit of the sub-low foundation.
  • FabFilter Pro-Q 3 (Dynamic EQ):
    • Problem Frequencies: He uses dynamic EQ in Pro-Q 3 to tackle specific resonant frequencies that pop out. The main culprits he identifies are a "whistle" at 2.3kHz and a "low whistle" or "hairdryer" sound around 700Hz. These are dynamically notched out, meaning the EQ only cuts when these frequencies exceed a certain threshold.
    • High-Pass Filter: After boosting the low-end, he applies a high-pass filter to clean up any unnecessary sub rumble. His philosophy is to avoid cutting too much low-end, which can leave guitars sounding thin and muddy. Instead, he carves out specific muddy areas while trying to retain some of the pleasing foundational sub frequencies.

Key Takeaways for Your Own Crushing Tones

Josh Middleton's approach to guitar tone with STL Tonality is methodical and ear-driven:

  1. Context is King: Start with guitars to inform your drum mix.
  2. Understand Your Chain: A "scooped" amp setting doesn't mean a scooped tone if your cab/mic combo is mid-rich.
  3. Stompbox for Tightness: Use an OD pedal for focus and tightening, not just more gain.
  4. Strategic Amp EQ: Know which controls give you the desired frequencies (e.g., Presence over Highs on a 5150 for him).
  5. Layer Wisely: Use different amp/cab flavors for quad tracks to add depth.
  6. Bus Processing for Cohesion: Use multiband compression for dynamic control and EQ for overall shaping and problem-solving.

Remember, these are fantastic starting points. The final tone will always depend on the specific song, the other instruments, and the overall mix context.

Want to See It in Action?

Watching a pro like Josh Middleton build these tones and then fit them into a full Sylosis mix is an incredible learning experience. On Nail The Mix, you get exactly that. Every month, world-class producers mix real songs from massive bands, explaining every decision live.

You can dive into Josh’s complete Sylosis mixing session right here: Nail The Mix – Sylosis. And if you're looking to go beyond presets and truly understand how to craft pro-level metal mixes, check out our comprehensive course Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets. It's time to stop guessing and start nailing your mixes!