Volumes’ Guitar Tone: Daniel Braunstein’s ITB Tips for Clarity & Punch

Getting a killer in-the-box guitar tone is a modern studio essential, whether you’re tracking demos for your local band or polishing a major label release. In a revealing clip, Daniel Braunstein (producer and guitarist for Volumes) breaks down his approach to sculpting an awesome ITB guitar sound for one of their tracks. More than just plugin chains, he zeroes in on what to listen for – the critical part of making your digital tones roar. Let’s dive into his workflow.

The Starting Point: Recognizing a Muddy Reality

Dan kicks things off with a familiar scenario: he’s so used to the guitars on this particular Volumes song (having written and played them himself) that he jokes he’s “immune” to their sound. The initial setup involves an Archetype amp sim running into Zilla Cabs. Even without deep analysis, it’s clear the raw tones are “pretty muddy” and “a little flubby.” He attributes some of this to using old strings and a guitar he wouldn’t typically choose – a common situation where you have to make the best of what you’ve got. This honesty is refreshing; not every DI starts perfect!

The Critical First Move: Cab Selection for Instant Improvement

Before tweaking any amp settings or EQs, Dan’s first port of call is the cabinet. He stresses that this is where he wanted to “do some poking around.”

Why the Cab Comes First

The cabinet and speaker (or their digital IR equivalent) have a monumental impact on the final guitar sound. Changing the cab can drastically alter the frequency response, resonance, and overall character of your tone much more than minor amp knob tweaks.

Daniel’s Cab Auditioning Workflow

Dan bypasses the built-in cab in his Archetype amp sim and the Zilla Cabs he initially had. Instead, he loads up the STL Hub plugin, ensuring only its cabinet section is active. He’s a fan of his own “Boran digital cabs” for low-tuned material, which he routes through STL Hub.

What to Listen For When Choosing Cabs

This is where the gold lies. Dan isn’t just randomly clicking through IRs. He’s listening for specific qualities:

• Clarity: Can you hear the notes distinctly?
• Unique Character: Does it have an interesting sonic fingerprint?
• Pleasing Resonances: Are there frequencies that sing in a good way?
• Not Too Smooth: A little bit of edge can be good for aggression.
• Not Too Bassy: Avoiding low-end mud is crucial, especially for heavy, low-tuned guitars.

The Audition Process in Action

To make an informed choice, Dan auditions cab options by playing just one side of the stereo guitars against the rest of the song. This allows him to hear the cab’s character in context. He makes quick decisions, noting, “I’m not going to spend more than 15 seconds choosing a guitar cab because you’ll lose all your perspective real quick.” After flipping through a few, he quickly settles on one (“Number four” in this instance), noticing an immediate improvement – “that already sounds instantly better.”

Adding Aggression: Pre-Amp Sculpting for Attack

With a better cabinet IR selected, the guitars sound improved but still feel a bit “muddy” for Dan’s taste, especially since they’re mainly holding down low, heavy notes in this section. His solution? Juice up the signal before it hits the amp sim.

Simulating Pedals and Pickups with Pre-EQ

Dan employs an EQ plugin placed before the Archetype amp sim. He explains, “I’m trying to simulate a boost pedal or a different type of pickup by hitting before the amp and EQ section.” This isn’t about broad tonal shaping; it’s about exciting the virtual amp in a specific way. By boosting certain upper-mid frequencies, he brings out more pick attack and definition. He loves the control this offers, stating, “I do love pedals, but this way I get to make my own pedal, which I like better.” This pre-amp EQ helps bring out more attack without sacrificing too much low-end.

For more insights into shaping frequencies, check out our definitive guide to EQ Strategies for Mixing Modern Metal.

Keeping Dynamics in Check

A crucial follow-up step when adding pre-amp gain or aggressive EQ is to check your guitar bus. Dan glances at his bus compression, noting he was “compressing a little too much” and pulls it back. Boosting the input can easily lead to over-compression if you’re not careful, so it’s wise to monitor your gain staging and dynamics processing downstream. Want to dive deeper into taming those peaks? Our Metal Compression Secrets hub has you covered.

Refining the Core: Post-Amp EQ and Final Polish

Once the cab and pre-amp settings are working together, Dan moves to post-amp EQ to further refine the tone.

Trusting Your Ears, Not Your Analyzer

In a move many producers can learn from, Dan mentions, “Sometimes when I’m EQing guitar, I don’t want to look at it. I want to just listen.” He uses a standard EQ plugin but focuses entirely on turning the knobs and using his ears, rather than staring at a frequency graph. This allows him to make decisions based purely on what sounds good, identifying and pulling out some problematic “mud” he hears.

A Touch of “Air” for Smoothness

For a final bit of polish, Dan uses what he playfully calls a “stupid plugin” to add some high-end “air.” While he doesn’t name it, this type of processor (think plugins like Slate Digital Fresh Air or similar exciters) can add a pleasing top-end sheen when used judiciously. He cautions that he only likes “what it does in a small amount,” demonstrating how overdoing it can introduce unwanted harshness or artifacts. After adding the air, he revisits his EQ to tame any new “extra stuff” that the air plugin might have brought out, ensuring the guitars sit nicely in the frequency spectrum.

The Goal: Chunky, Clear Guitars Ready for the Mix

Through these steps—strategic cab selection, pre-amp boosting for attack, and careful post-EQ with a touch of air—Dan transforms the initially muddy DIs into chunky, audible guitars. He also makes a vital point: this tone isn’t necessarily final. “When we put the vocals in,” he says, “we’re going to change it some more because we got to leave some room for them.” This highlights the interactive nature of mixing; individual tones must serve the entire song.

Want to see exactly how Daniel Braunstein takes these guitars and fits them into the full Volumes mix, carving out space for vocals, bass, and drums? This entire process, from raw tracks to a polished master, is what you get to experience with Nail The Mix. You can grab the multi-tracks for this exact Volumes song and watch Daniel mix it from scratch by checking out his session on Nail The Mix: Volumes.

These ITB guitar techniques are powerful tools you can apply to your own productions. By focusing on what to listen for, making decisive cab choices, and using EQ strategically both before and after your amp sim, you can craft some seriously heavy tones.

If you’re ready to go beyond presets and truly understand how pros like Daniel Braunstein build their signature sounds, explore how you can Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets with NTM. And dive deep into the Volumes Nail The Mix session and see these principles in action across an entire song!