Don't confuse loudness with a better sound! When you do A/B Testing like in this Video make sure to set the Output Gain so that you only hear the difference in Sound and not be tricked into thinking it is better just because it is louder. Nice Video though, keep it up :)
It brings everything to life because it made the master louder. To actually hear the difference and tell what's going on you need to bring it back to a comparable volume
mastering metal while keeping the snare and kick from getting lost in the mix is hard as hell. Last master I did was on "Tower" for the band Saints of Never After. Not bad for what's essentially a bedroom master, but the time spent doing so was too damn long haha
it takes a hell of a lot of time to get a mix to sound exactly the way you want it to. I always crank up the kick drum fader more than the rest of the mix and then EQ it. Then I let the master track do its thing and it works. But it took me a while to get it done right. The best thing is to boost the low end at 60hz on the master track to help the kick stand out more
Remember guys, volume isn't everything, i've been using Flatline for a couple months and it's great for punchness but you need a clean mix and always remember to not ruin your dynamics!
My biggest pet peeve is when the mixer/mastererer cuts out the bass end. I want to feel the kick, hear the bassist, the heavyness of an absolutely brutal riff should be felt in the chesticles.
Hey nik! I think you should do more plug in reviews purely for the fact that you will not only give a good review but you'll do it from the perspective of someone, like alot of us, who doesn't know everything about mixing and mastering and will give a good level of understanding. Love the videos keep up the good work! 🖤
If you unlink the threshold and output you can hear what Flatline is doing to the mix without just being impressed by the volume increase. Hard clipping doesn’t actually add punch, it is just achieving loudness in a way that preserves the sharpness of transients better than limiting does (which indirectly makes clipping sound punchier than limiting). You can get even better results by using a clipper (like Flatline or KClip) to reduce peaks and preserve transients, and then a limiter to achieve more loudness without the distortion of clipping.
Its too bad hes not checking with headphones. All that RED explains why the cymbals are just noise and shiny sponge. All the mids and low end sound good, but its hard without level matching to clearly hear. Thanks for the demo nik!
@@josefmengele4963 Damn, you beat me to it. XD I was just about to say that the only thing that happened was the volume increased and there was a bit of maybe -3 to -5 dB of clipping taken off the top and then he did some makeup gain and that was why all the syncopated parts were acting the way they were. Still though, coming from a professional audio engineer, it sounded very good. The mix was already amazing. You can decently master an amazing mix. It is very hard to do the opposite. XD
Hey nik old vid i know, any tips on how to degrade audio to make it match with other bad recorded tracks? Like, say you cant play the drums on a song cos its too fast or out of your drummer league, I can use midi BUT the MIDI drums are recorded really well, everything else is not so great. Any tips on how to bring a bit of 'live' dirty vibe to tracks. or bring the dirty tracks up a bit an MIDI down abit to match?
Any recommendations on the best free DAW for a guitarist to dip his toe in ? Pro Tools First, Ableton lite, Cakewalk etc plenty of options but knowing which one is best for a beginner would be great. Cheers.
Been using cubase lately (self teaching) I would lose my mind if you made a tutorial for cubase and how you have used it to mix your songs.. Specifically drum tracks haha im struggling !
@nik interessting review...will try this one out---but those reviews makes more sense withsame volume at this point i always use zynaptiq intensity...amazing plugin... well am corious bout ur neural dsp archestype review...the last one beats them all ^^
I don't understand those plugins. I would like to have some but don't know how it works... Can you like play along with the plugin or its just when you are mixing the tune?
You should check out their video on how it was used on some metal records -> ruclips.net/video/SYL1O3OUSt0/видео.html&feature=emb_title&ab_channel=SystematicProductions really helpful video
When it comes to recording, are you a mic up the amp guy or an amp sim guy? Cuz if you're into amp sims, I'd love to see the setup you use there, I've used Emissary and a few others but can't quite get a decent metalish tone. Clean playing is no problem, but seems when you go into the world of distortion things get kinda weird
For my tone i use the FL studio limiter as a gate, the ignite amps drive pedal as a boost pedal, run that into MLSoundlab's Amped Stevie T (turn the built in cab and effects off and set input to max) i run that into ignite amps NadIR (57 smooth preset), into xfer records OTT (around 30-40% for the level, drop the highs a little bit) then FL studio EQ, with a steep high pass to cut out subs and mid basses to make space for the actual bass. I double track with one guitar hard panned left and one hard panned right. i hope this helps
@@thorpemusic2019 Yeah I've come across a few of those, NadIR I kinda prefer pulse which is Lancaster Audios equivalent but then you gotta get the actual IRs separate (isn't too hard to find them), Emissary I've come across some decent mixes with but I just can't balance it 😂😂 I'll give it a go with that advice though, cheers man!
Can you do a tutorial on how you mix high gain guitars? I'm just starting with this and it would help a ton, most the videos on RUclips are super old haha 🤟
It’s a clipper. It achieves similar results as a limiter but does it in a different way without using the same methods which may or may not not be desirable depending on the mix you’re going for. Pros are: it’s super easy to use and it’s easy to learn how to use it. Once you develop your ear it’s easy to use it in the most efficient manner possible and there aren’t a million knobs to confuse you. And it just sounds great. It also unloads performance onto the GPU which may be awesome for folks who need some spare CPU power. Other plug ins might be cheaper but if you want to get from point A to point B as quickly and easily as possible then this is a great plug in.
Hey bro! I was wondering if you could react to Imperial Circus Dead Decadence - Yomi Yori Kikoyu, Koukoku no Tou to Honoo no Shoujo. I think it would be an interesting song to give a little listen :p
*I'm by no means a pro at mixing/mastering, but I know how to make the breakdowns go BRRR*
Nice.
Man that track you made is sick as fuck good job 👏
So it mean you're a pro, bro
Nik, at the end of the day, BRRR is all that really matters.
Heh break down go BRRR
"....Cause I totally know what I'm doin', but I DON'T."
I felt that right in the Drop C.
We need a mixing tutorial
Check out smg it a decent channel about metal recording
From a Slavic Nik!
Hardcore Music Studio has fantastic mixing videos suitable for the genre
I really wanna see a video of Nik writing, recording, mixing, and mastering a song from the beginning. I’d like to see his viewpoint
That’d be sick as hell. I hope he does soon 🙏🏻🙏🏻
I second/third this, years later!
I third/fourth this, years and months later@@vastvexproductions
I almost flatlined when you cranked up that hard clipping haha
Don't confuse loudness with a better sound! When you do A/B Testing like in this Video make sure to set the Output Gain so that you only hear the difference in Sound and not be tricked into thinking it is better just because it is louder. Nice Video though, keep it up :)
As a very beginner home recording guy, videos like this are great
It brings everything to life because it made the master louder. To actually hear the difference and tell what's going on you need to bring it back to a comparable volume
I thought the vol increase was part of the mastering process
Never knew the concept of buying ice cream while listening to metal was a concept I needed in life.
"Just add more OTT"
~Virtual Riot
And my friend aj
As someone who would love to make music : I'm so happy to see a video about sound mastering!
mastering metal while keeping the snare and kick from getting lost in the mix is hard as hell. Last master I did was on "Tower" for the band Saints of Never After. Not bad for what's essentially a bedroom master, but the time spent doing so was too damn long haha
I don't know
The main struggle for me is to make guitars sound not so obvious
it takes a hell of a lot of time to get a mix to sound exactly the way you want it to. I always crank up the kick drum fader more than the rest of the mix and then EQ it. Then I let the master track do its thing and it works. But it took me a while to get it done right. The best thing is to boost the low end at 60hz on the master track to help the kick stand out more
You're a boss man, I'm re recording an album rn, I always hit up Nick's channel for mixing inspiration ♡
Remember guys, volume isn't everything, i've been using Flatline for a couple months and it's great for punchness but you need a clean mix and always remember to not ruin your dynamics!
Good shit, i know nothing about the technicalities of things like that, but i like it when the flatline makes the song do a heavy
You should match the volume before you A/B the audio. The louder one is always going to sound "better" otherwise.
man that flatline plug in is a frickn magic maker
i would love for you to go in depth about mastering, how its done, what you should be doing and what you are definitely not supposed to do!
My biggest pet peeve is when the mixer/mastererer cuts out the bass end. I want to feel the kick, hear the bassist, the heavyness of an absolutely brutal riff should be felt in the chesticles.
It's shocking how bass is pretty much mixed out so often in metal. I hate it, pls gib bas pls.
This video is great, it might be outdated, but your channel is always phenomenal. Thanks
Hey nik! I think you should do more plug in reviews purely for the fact that you will not only give a good review but you'll do it from the perspective of someone, like alot of us, who doesn't know everything about mixing and mastering and will give a good level of understanding. Love the videos keep up the good work! 🖤
Also, gojira's neural dsp came out yesterday
I have absolutely no idea what any of this is but it’s Nik, so I’m here.
If you unlink the threshold and output you can hear what Flatline is doing to the mix without just being impressed by the volume increase. Hard clipping doesn’t actually add punch, it is just achieving loudness in a way that preserves the sharpness of transients better than limiting does (which indirectly makes clipping sound punchier than limiting).
You can get even better results by using a clipper (like Flatline or KClip) to reduce peaks and preserve transients, and then a limiter to achieve more loudness without the distortion of clipping.
"Cause I totally know what I'm doing but I dont"
How I feel in general
So like, the new album, date?
turn the threshold right up get those death magnetic levels going
That thumbnail is gold
I'm new at mixing, and totally loved this video. Knowing your channel for a while, I'm expecting some mixing memes videos!
If you want to check out more Tallah, Overconfidence or We, The Sad are bangers
You don't need props when you have content. Props!
This is so freaking helpful thanks for sharing that I'm 100% buying this.
MORE MIXING/MASTERING VIDEOS!
This reminds me of a video I watched a few years ago about The Loudness War.
Definitely a must add.
Please do more. I want to learn as much as I can.
cover periphery's flatline and use this plugin
More videos like this, and yeah we need a mixing tutorial please
Its too bad hes not checking with headphones. All that RED explains why the cymbals are just noise and shiny sponge. All the mids and low end sound good, but its hard without level matching to clearly hear. Thanks for the demo nik!
MORE PLUGIN REVIEWSSS
Wow! A beast! Thank you for sharing :)
"tuning : loud" hmmm... Yes
I think it was impossible to hear the differences objectively when the volume increased with the mastering plugin.
Did you use headphones or just phone speakers ?
@@benbishop7512 Headphones. Even small differences in volume makes it impossible to hear what's changing objectively.
@@jensvide777 there is also a "louder = better" illusion
@@josefmengele4963 Yes.
@@josefmengele4963 Damn, you beat me to it. XD I was just about to say that the only thing that happened was the volume increased and there was a bit of maybe -3 to -5 dB of clipping taken off the top and then he did some makeup gain and that was why all the syncopated parts were acting the way they were. Still though, coming from a professional audio engineer, it sounded very good. The mix was already amazing. You can decently master an amazing mix. It is very hard to do the opposite. XD
I have found that every plugin I look into buying, nik has a video on it. Thank you b0ss
Man you should do more metal lessons/techniques
I truly need to know eeeeeverything about mixing
Really didn’t notice anything with the “Shape” knob 🧐
Nik solving COVID with his music
Youlean Loudness meter is a very great free plugin similar to this one
We need a mixing video 🤘🏼
More mix/mastering stuff 🤘
More videos like this please!!!!
and next Mixing Tutorial
Could you maybe cover something from the Agonist? Oh cool video btw. Totaly fine with other stuff aside from the funny faces and stuff
The band Dal Av: song: Berserker
Question: why does nik always look very tired
Probably because he is, considering the insane amount of time he must be spending in front of the screen. Dude ist an output beast.
He's nocturnal.
Epic video bro
I don't know English but looks GOOD
Love it.
Description - Tuning : loud
I died
Please make us a video explaining metal production Cap'N Tortillaface? 🥺
NIK I CAN TEACH YOU THE GOAT RIFF
i was completely wrong with what a clipper is... i assumed it was going to clip everything. no idea how it works now
Thanks, it helped a lot!
So its basically just a compressor?
More of these videos?
Hello my fellow Nocs
bro u gotta slap this shit on the demo u did for kraken!
Good and simple is good
I prefer the Volt or R99
can we let the songs clip?
MIXING TUTORIAL PLEASE NIK
Hey nik old vid i know, any tips on how to degrade audio to make it match with other bad recorded tracks? Like, say you cant play the drums on a song cos its too fast or out of your drummer league, I can use midi BUT the MIDI drums are recorded really well, everything else is not so great. Any tips on how to bring a bit of 'live' dirty vibe to tracks. or bring the dirty tracks up a bit an MIDI down abit to match?
Any recommendations on the best free DAW for a guitarist to dip his toe in ? Pro Tools First, Ableton lite, Cakewalk etc plenty of options but knowing which one is best for a beginner would be great. Cheers.
But what if you used these tools on the multi track instead of the already finished master track?
What program are you using?
Been using cubase lately (self teaching) I would lose my mind if you made a tutorial for cubase and how you have used it to mix your songs..
Specifically drum tracks haha im struggling !
@nik interessting review...will try this one out---but those reviews makes more sense withsame volume
at this point i always use zynaptiq intensity...amazing plugin...
well am corious bout ur neural dsp archestype review...the last one beats them all ^^
Yea, but i can only afford SOUNDGOODIZER, bruh lol
You can get OTT, it's free
Learn how to use maximus, bro. Way better than Soundgoodizer (soungoodizer is just 4 plugins of maximus)
Hey Nik, how about a collab with Chris Turner? Just wondering, btw. But I hope you"ll consider making it happen at some point. 🤘😬
So it's a $100 plug-in with the functions of a limiter?
I don't understand those plugins. I would like to have some but don't know how it works... Can you like play along with the plugin or its just when you are mixing the tune?
You should check out their video on how it was used on some metal records -> ruclips.net/video/SYL1O3OUSt0/видео.html&feature=emb_title&ab_channel=SystematicProductions really helpful video
@@lolshred thanks!!
Tuning: L O U D
HOMIE MASTERING SO LOUD LMAOOOOOO. Sounds good tho
Niiiiiik please do a mixing tutorial
3:29 was We Came As Romans for about 3 straight albums.
When it comes to recording, are you a mic up the amp guy or an amp sim guy?
Cuz if you're into amp sims, I'd love to see the setup you use there, I've used Emissary and a few others but can't quite get a decent metalish tone. Clean playing is no problem, but seems when you go into the world of distortion things get kinda weird
For my tone i use the FL studio limiter as a gate, the ignite amps drive pedal as a boost pedal, run that into MLSoundlab's Amped Stevie T (turn the built in cab and effects off and set input to max) i run that into ignite amps NadIR (57 smooth preset), into xfer records OTT (around 30-40% for the level, drop the highs a little bit) then FL studio EQ, with a steep high pass to cut out subs and mid basses to make space for the actual bass. I double track with one guitar hard panned left and one hard panned right. i hope this helps
all these plugins are free btw
@@thorpemusic2019 Yeah I've come across a few of those, NadIR I kinda prefer pulse which is Lancaster Audios equivalent but then you gotta get the actual IRs separate (isn't too hard to find them), Emissary I've come across some decent mixes with but I just can't balance it 😂😂
I'll give it a go with that advice though, cheers man!
@@liamoconnor7423 Good luck!
Nick PROturnal
Can you do a tutorial on how you mix high gain guitars? I'm just starting with this and it would help a ton, most the videos on RUclips are super old haha 🤟
Nik, if you want to have SERIOUS fun do a reaction of the new song by Paledusk called Wind Back. I can't tell you anything else.
imagine paying 100 dollars for a fancy soft clipper
Hey Nik can you do a video about the best pad sounds to put in the background of heavy music?
Is this like a limiter?
Whoa...useful information?
😉
It's so weird you've never reacted to Destructo by Hunt the Dinosaur
So... it’s a compressor?
You are Hvitserk?
as a black metalhead, i see this as an absolute loss.
Does metal needs to be mixed?
yes
Have you ever heard of the metal alloy lol
@@ChrisTheHero65 Black metal would like to have a word
Black metal : you guys mix your tracks?
@@konkey-dong pretty sure black metal bands mix their tracks too
ok so it's just a compressor/limiter? What would be relevant differences or advantages over other (maybe cheaper) ones?
It’s a clipper. It achieves similar results as a limiter but does it in a different way without using the same methods which may or may not not be desirable depending on the mix you’re going for.
Pros are: it’s super easy to use and it’s easy to learn how to use it. Once you develop your ear it’s easy to use it in the most efficient manner possible and there aren’t a million knobs to confuse you. And it just sounds great.
It also unloads performance onto the GPU which may be awesome for folks who need some spare CPU power.
Other plug ins might be cheaper but if you want to get from point A to point B as quickly and easily as possible then this is a great plug in.
Hey bro! I was wondering if you could react to Imperial Circus Dead Decadence - Yomi Yori Kikoyu, Koukoku no Tou to Honoo no Shoujo.
I think it would be an interesting song to give a little listen :p
Like, so Nik can see this! 🙌