Mixing Your First Metal Song
Bypass years of frustration getting nowhere.
$120
- How to create a logical workflow that allows you mix music fast
- Techniques for leveling and balancing instruments and how to practice this skill
- Effective ways to mix programmed drums, including EQ, compression, transient design, and drum bus processing
- A well-proven method of processing bass guitar so that you have a solid, controlled low end
- How to carve space for the low end so that you have a kick drum and bass guitar that work well together instead of against each other
- How to use effects like reverb and delay, including a little reverb secret that produces massive results
- How to even out vocals so that your compressor works better
Overview
Mixing Your First Metal Song is a premiere set of metal mixing tutorials for beginner and intermediate mixers.
Insider, you’ll learn and practice the most critical metal mixing techniques, such as developing a workflow that is consistent.
You also are going to learn how to organize your tracks, implement a naming convention, and proper ways to clean up your session.
Metal mixing techniques such as dialing in a compressor correctly and following proper EQ methodologies are discussed and demonstrated.
And most importantly, you are going to learn how to work through a mix so you actually can finish it!
Mixing Your First Metal Song is a solid, concise resource that will help you start getting results TODAY.
Why a Metal Mixing Workflow Matters
While there may not be actual “muscle memory”, if you repeat a trained movement over and over, you will no longer have to commit “active” energy into that movement–it will become instant.
The same is true for mixing.
If your session is always set up the same way, with the same organization, with the same colors and naming structure, you’ll automatically set yourself up to be able to mix faster.
Mixing Your First Metal Song discusses good rules of thumb to follow for track organization, colors, clean-up, and how to create a logical workflow that facilitates lightning fast mixing.
If Your Mix Isn’t Balanced, It’s Not a Good Mix
Mix balance is one of the most important aspects of mixing, but often overlooked by beginners and experts alike.
Mix balance is simply the concept of where all instruments in a mix are in their “space” and can be clearly heard. But if you don’t know what this sounds like, it certainly doesn’t help to simply tell you to “balance your mix” first.
That is why Mixing Your First Metal Song discusses this concept in detail, to include:
Techniques for leveling volumes
Demonstrating how to balance levels between instruments
What instrument separation is and how to achieve it
Low End (Kick/bass)
Included is a dedicated mix balance exercise that will help you practice this crucial skill.
Gain Confidence In Your Mixing Skills Today
You’re not going to go at this alone. After you join, you can join our community and the private discord channels so that you can learn directly from Scott and other Spectre Digital members.
We all start somewhere, but now with Mixing Your First Metal Song, you know WHERE to start, and with this resource, you’ll gain the knowledge you most need in order to grow quickly.
From there, you can practice these skills instead of potentially wasting years of time and money constantly doom-scrolling through YouTube videos or buying metal mixing plugins you don’t even need.
Meet Your Instructor - Scott Elliott
You may recognize Scott Elliott (Chernobyl Studios) from his YouTube channel where he does mixing tutorials and reviews amp simulators, among other things, all geared towards extreme metal.
What many might not be aware of is that Scott’s music mixing journey began all the way back in 2003. After spinning his wheels for over a decade he finally decided to set his ego aside and began reaching out to professionals who were more skilled than he was.
Fast forward to 2023, Scott now mixes and masters extreme music professionally full time.
His journey was much longer and tougher than it needed to be, and he doesn’t want others to undergo the same frustrations.
Scott’s mission is to sift through the noise, filter out the irrelevant, and produce content that helps others steer clear of the years of struggle and frustration he endured.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Mixing Your First Metal Song and Mixing Extreme Metal?
Mixing Extreme Metal is an in-depth training series that builds upon the foundation of Mixing Your First Metal Song. The song mixed in Mixing Extreme Metal is much more complex, requiring more work and time that could be a bit overwhelming for somebody just getting started with mixing. Mixing Your First Metal Song is a great way to start growing your skills whereas Mixing Extreme Metal is a great way to hone your skills even further.
Which DAW is used in this training series?
I’m working with Cockos Reaper 6 with this series, but you can follow along in any DAW as the explanations I provide are universal to mixing and are not DAW specific.
Do I need to use the same plugins that you have?
Absolutely not. There is a PDF included with the plugins I used and my explanation of why I use them, but it’s not critical that you use the exact same plugins as when I’m mixing, I explain what I’m doing and why, which can be applied to whichever plugin you decide to use.
Can I post my own mix of ‘The Rotting Sun’ on my YouTube or in my portfolio?
Absolutely! There is a small note I ask you to post along with the mix, but there are no restrictions on posting your own mix results anywhere you like, be it your YouTube channel or in your portfolio. Go for it!
Do you offer a bundle price for Mixing Your First Metal Song and Mixing Extreme Metal?
Yes. Click here!
Do I need to use the same plugins that you have?
Absolutely not. There is a PDF included with the plugins I used and my explanation of why I use them, but it’s not critical that you use the exact same plugins as when I’m mixing, I explain what I’m doing and why, which can be applied to whichever plugin you decide to use.
What if I get stuck and need help?
Inside is an invitation link to my exclusive Discord where you can join and ask for help from myself. Additionally, there are hundreds of members inside who are happy to help as well. This is an exclusive Discord not available to the public.
How is the course delivered?
Once you have bought the course, you can stream at any time, right from our website on our custom platform which lets you keep track of your progress and interact with your instructor.
The only thing I didn't care entirely for in this course is how it treated the selection of tools to get the job done. Since it is a course geared towards beginners, it would make sense to use as many accessible tools as possible. At the start of the course, this seems to have been taken into consideration as we're taught to mix guitar plugins and a virtual, programmed rhythm section - a point I bet many people start from. Also, Scott uses a tool that lets us hear what he cuts out as well as what he keeps in, which can be very helpful to understand what's happening with the sound. In the episode on mastering, the course seems to take a bit of an odd shift. It's not the fact that the plugins in the mastering chain alone cost 1500 dollars that is the main problem, but rather that the discussion on mastering seems to focus too much on these specific tools. I would have have liked some general information on mastering metal: how mastering plugins differ from mixing plugins, hierarchies of importance in what we need to do in mastering and possibly some demonstrations of tools that are more accessible.
In conclusion, I think this course is excellent for the person who has been dipping their toes into recording and mixing for a while but hasn't really formed a system that makes sense to get them from beginning to end. It could also be great for someone who has been mixing a while, but needs some pointers on mixing metal with digital tools specifically.