Riff to Radio

You're Not Compressing Your Metal Vocals Enough (Here's Why 20dB Is the Sweet Spot)

The #1 mistake with metal vocals is NOT compressing them enough. Here's the exact 2-step vocal compression chain I use on every session... CLA-76 crush followed by CLA-2A for life and punch.  Want to watch these videos early? Join the channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5d5LAcG0ga-rBlWPEGIqeA/join 🔥 Hire me to mix your next track: https://liquidstudiosli.com/offer-video-2 📥 Free Vocal Recording Guide: https://liquidstudiosli.com/vocal-guide/ 👉 Subscribe for more metal production tips: https://youtube.com/@danielthabet?sub_confirmation=1 Timestamps: 00:00 Why Vocals Vanish 02:23 Why Gentle Compression Fails 03:23 The Two Step Plan 03:33 Step One CLA 76 Crush 04:32 Foundation And Consistency 04:48 Free Guide 07:24 Step Two CLA 2A Punch 08:02 Wrap Up And Next Steps #metalvocalcompression #howtomixmetalvocals #vocalcompression #metalproduction #mixingmetal #homeproduction #recordingmetal #vocalchain #1176compressor #LA2Acompressor

From Physical Therapist to Full-Time Metal Mix Engineer | My 10-Year Story

I never went to school for audio. I didn't intern at a famous studio. I was actually a physical therapist first. From the moment I seriously committed to learning audio production until I was finally able to quit my day job and mix metal bands full-time… it took almost 10 years. This is the full story... the Tascam 4-track at 13, the "terrible mixes" era, the mobile studio years, the reset move to Vermont, connecting with 3x Grammy winning mastering engineer Alan Douches, and finally walking away from the day job in 2020. If you're chasing this career, I hope this gives you a realistic picture of what it actually takes. 00:00 Not Overnight Success 00:38 Early Studio Spark 00:57 First Guitar and Four Track 01:28 Choosing the Safe Career 01:49 Learning Production from Scratch 02:45 First Paid Demo Reality Check 03:18 Mobile Studio Hustle 04:04 Basement Studio Grind 04:36 Move to Vermont Reset 04:53 Online Outreach Breakthrough 05:14 Quitting the Day Job 05:23 Three Lessons Learned 06:01 Thanks and Final Sendoff Want to watch these videos early? Join the channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5d5LAcG0ga-rBlWPEGIqeA/join 🔥 Hire me to mix your next track: https://liquidstudiosli.com/offer-video-2 📥 Free Resources For Metal Bands: https://liquidstudiosli.com/resources 👉 Subscribe for more metal production tips: https://youtube.com/@danielthabet?sub_confirmation=1

The Reason Your Drum Mixes Sound Bad Has Nothing To Do With Mixing

The reason your home-recorded metal drums never sound right has nothing to do with your mixing. The problem happens before you ever open your DAW. In this episode, I'm taking you behind the scenes of a real metal drum recording session for the band Cytokine... tracked in a less-than-ideal basement, and walking you through every mic choice, every placement decision, and every bleed-management technique we used to get a pro-sounding raw drum recording. Then we open up Reaper and listen to every raw track, completely unprocessed, so you can hear exactly what good raw drums should sound like before you ever touch a plugin. 🎁 FREE DRUM RECORDING GUIDE: https://liquidstudiosli.com/drum-recording-guide TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Why Mixes Fail 01:24 Three Key Factors 02:00 Kick Mic Setup 02:57 Snare Bleed Control 03:41 Toms And Null Points 04:16 Overheads And Spot Mics 04:57 Room Mics Mojo 05:57 Raw Tracks Playback 09:56 Wrap Up And Next Steps Want to watch these videos early? Join the channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5d5LAcG0ga-rBlWPEGIqeA/join 🔥 Hire me to mix your next track: https://liquidstudiosli.com/offer-video-2 📥 Free Resources For Metal Bands: https://liquidstudiosli.com/resources 👉 Subscribe for more metal production tips: https://youtube.com/@danielthabet?sub_confirmation=1

3 Bass Mistakes That Ruin Every Metal Mix

After mixing hundreds of metal tracks for self-recording bands, the bass is often sent wrong. In this video I break down the 3 most common bass mistakes I find in client sessions, and exactly how to fix them before you ever open a mix session. Timestamps: 00:00 Three Bass Killers 00:17 Mistake 1 - The Tone Knob 01:04 DI Comparison Demo 02:48 Amp Sim Proof 03:54 Why EQ Can’t Fix It 05:59 Mistake 2 - Arrangement 06:58 Wrong Notes Reality 07:40 Mistake 3 - Performance 08:03 Compression Demo 09:50 Timing and Practice 10:34 Recap and Next Steps 📥 Free Guitar and Bass Recording Guide: https://liquidstudiosli.com/guitar-bass-guide 🔥 Hire me to mix your next track: https://liquidstudiosli.com/offer-video-2 📥 Free Resources For Metal Bands: https://liquidstudiosli.com/resources 👉 Subscribe for more metal production tips: https://youtube.com/@danielthabet?sub_confirmation=1

SSL Bus Compression for Metal (Attack & Release Settings That Actually Work)

Your metal mix sounds solid in solo, but something dies when you play it back together. The culprit is almost always your mix bus compressor's attack and release settings. In this video I break down four specific attack/release combinations using the Warm Audio Bus Compressor (SSL G-Bus circuit), and show you exactly how each one impacts the punch, aggression, and glue of your metal mix. Whether you're running hardware or a plugin like the Waves SSL G-Master, these principles apply directly. 🎚️ SETTINGS COVERED: 00:00 Why Your Mix Feels Thin 00:50 What Bus Compression Does 01:26 Setup and Test Plan 01:51 Fast Attack Fast Release 02:36 Fast Attack Auto Release 03:20 Slow Attack Secret Weapon 04:04 Choosing Release by Arrangement 04:51 Slow Attack Auto Release Sweet Spot 05:28 Free Mix Prep Guide 05:53 AB Test and Final Settings 06:44 Key Takeaways and Wrap Up 📥 Free Mix Prep Guide: https://liquidstudiosli.com/mix-prep-guide 🔥 Hire me to mix your next track: https://liquidstudiosli.com/offer-video-2 📥 Free Resources For Metal Bands: https://liquidstudiosli.com/resources 👉 Subscribe for more metal production tips: https://youtube.com/@danielthabet?sub_confirmation=1 #metalproduction #mixbuscompression #musicproduction #homerecording #metalrecording