Did you deliberately use "the lick" in the clip you did for the Juggernauts?
I can neither confirm nor deny
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The info on the new Bare Knuckle Juggernaut pickup says you helped design them, can you give us any info about how they sound?
I think people will be pleasantly surprised at the voicing and versatility of these pickups - they're not a one-trick "djent" pony by any means and if anything are fatter and smoother than the models Misha has used in the past. They're my favourite contemporary pickup set to date; during the prototyping and testing process Misha and I were in agreement the whole time - despite our playing styles and tones being very different, the pickup delivered exactly what we each wanted. I look forward to hearing people's thoughts once get a chance to try them for themselves :)
I'm trying my hand at the mix competition Karybdis are running with the drums etc you recorded, and it sounds like you kept the drum mix really natural, but I can't get anywhere near the amount of punch you got without using lots of samples. Got any tips?
Hmm, I didn't do anything crazy, there's a little bit of sample on the kick and some snare room sample but other than that it's natural. Try using the standard slow attack/fast release approach with the compression, and also don't be afraid to let some of the less "important" mic tracks fill out the sound of the snare in particular.
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Dans Huang
TheInsurgent
Cj Crawley
Related users
What kind of availability do you and Misha have for Top Secret Audio? My band is interested in being produced by you and have had difficulty contacting you via email
Unfortunately it's unlikely Misha and I will have time to work together on a full production until after the writing and recording process of our own next album, but I do take on a few mixing projects when I have time. These are usually organised a little way in advance, if you're interested keep an eye on the Top Secret Audio page as I will generally make an announcement through there.
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Tom Sheppard
Robert Percy
When receiving files for mixing, are you more excited to hear good tones, or good performances?
Tough question! I suppose good performances, unless the tones were below a certain threshold where I know they'll be terrible to work with. Most of the time the two go hand in hand though - usually when a band/producer takes time to capture great source tones, they're the kind of people that will also apply a similar level of professionalism to the tracking side of things.
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Emanuel Jones
Tom Sheppard
Seems like you've met a lot of respected producers. Have you been able to pick up some mixing tips or insight from them?
The single most notable thing I've found is that almost everything they do mix-wise is not unusual in any way. They just have great ears, either capture or are provided with amazing source tones. Most tend to be very unbiased when it comes to gear and will use whatever sounds good, be it a free plugin or 5-figure piece of hardware.
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Roop Rai
Tobiasz bennedal
Jonny
Nick Stanger
What's your opinion on how loud masters are these days?
I think there are plenty of extremely loud albums that sound great and translate well to all systems. This article is really eye-opening and well-worth reading since it dispels, or at least repurposes, a lot of the anti-loudness arguments you'll see being put forward - http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep11/articles/loudness.htm
Hi Nolly, how important is the difference between a normal EQ and a Linear-Phase-EQ when it comes to mixing and mastering? thanks in advance
Pretty important, this video helped me understand it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efKabAQQsPQ
what records are you digging at the moment?
Norma Jean - Wrongdoers; Drugstore Fanatics - What's Born In The Basement; MuteMath - Armistice; Karnivool - Asymmetry; Every Time I Die - Ex Lives
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Juan Andrés Rodríguez
Samara
Hey mate, I'm the guy who stopped you to get a picture with you outside in Melbourne Central this morning, thanks for being cool and friendly even though I know it's probably annoying. Btw, you've lost a lot of weight, almost didn't recognise you
Cheers, it's no bother :)
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Blake Bagnell
What are some good resources to learn mixing, mastering, and overall producing? I feel like I have almost no clue what I'm doing.
This is an incredible resource - http://www.systematicproductions.com/mixing-guide.htm
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Gavin Keith Kennedy
When you're on tour how do you manage staying level headed when you are constantly with the same group of people on the road?
Well, the fact we are all great friends helps but of course the stress of the road can take its toll. I think knowing yourself and knowing what makes you feel comfortable on a daily basis is important. Personally I'm not much of a party-er and tend to get solitary after a few days of being sociable so having some alone time walking around or chilling in my bunk reading or listening to music each day keeps me on the level. Everyone is different though!
sure you're bored of getting mixing questions, so - what's your favourite tea? i'm definitely partial for a cup of earl grey.
English Breakfast or Australian Afternoon tea if it's with milk, Earl Grey with a splash of honey and a slice of lemon for variation. I like good oriental teas too, particularly jasmine.
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marcus sean walmsley
Romali Whispers
What do you do if you're tracking a drummer that hits softly/inconsistently in the studio?
Transient designer plugins (or hardware if you have access to it) can be really useful in those situations though it will never sound as good as a drummer that hitting consistently hard rimshots and stamping on the pedals. Augmenting with samples is often necessary with soft/inconsistent drummers to get a suitable amount of power since the lighter hits will also reduce the amount of processing headroom you have before the mic bleed becomes problematic.
How do you go about getting a good low end in mastering without boosting EQ? I feel there's a better method than boosting with a low shelf.
There's nothing wrong with a low shelf boost!
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Matt Harnett
James Van Cleaf
You seem to be really good at tracking drums, what do you think of triggering plugins (like the "Steven Slate Trigger") versus real triggers you put on your drumkit during recording?
They don't do the same thing - the acoustic triggers you attach to the drums during track simply output a very sharp and unpleasant "clack" when the drum is hit, which you record alongside the mic tracks but muted. They're not intended to be used for their sound, instead they give you a transient marker for every hit, with next to no bleed in the signal. This is ideal to feed that to a triggering plugin or device, since the very short hit and lack of bleed means you can set the threshold and re-trigger speed very aggressively to catch every hit without mis-triggers.
When I track drums I put triggers on every shell, but I use them mainly for accurate key inputs for gate sidechaining instead of using them for sample triggering.
When I track drums I put triggers on every shell, but I use them mainly for accurate key inputs for gate sidechaining instead of using them for sample triggering.
What Bass amps do you use, when you use them?
I love a good Ampeg. The PII album was Ampeg and I recently recorded with a Micro VR through an 8x10, which I thought sounded amazing.
What snares did you use on the Snuggles and Sell Your Sky clips you posted recently? Also what drum heads do you prefer?
The Snuggles clip is a Pearl Vinnie Paul 14x8", the SYS one is a Ludwig Chrome-Over-Brass Supraphonic 14x6.5" (essentially a Black Beauty in a chrome finish).
I like the Evans EMAD or Remo Powerstroke 3 for kick, Remo Controlled Sound X on snare, Coated Emperors or clear Pinstripes over Ambassadors on toms.
I like the Evans EMAD or Remo Powerstroke 3 for kick, Remo Controlled Sound X on snare, Coated Emperors or clear Pinstripes over Ambassadors on toms.
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Elijah Carman
Whatcha got in your rack now Nolly? I'm looking to expand mine, at the minute I've got a Presonus firestudio, Axe fx standard and sansamp PSA, but am looking to expand into processors to replace plugins, where should I start?
Furman PR Pro, Axe FX-II Vintech 273 pre, Chandler Germanium pre, Distressor w/Brit Mod, Alesis D4
What are some cool plugins you've got recently?
Mäag Audio EQ4, McDSP Channel G and Analog Channel
What do you think of Heil Microphones?
I really like the PR30, especially on toms. I have a PR22 as well but it seems it never ends up being used.
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A.J. Gorgas
You've posted a lot of recordings with real drums recently on your soundcloud page. Are you using a lot of drum samples on top of the live drums to achieve the punchy results you're getting?
Not really, it depends on the drummer, amount of bleed in the close mics, and the style. A couple of recent projects have had no samples at all, others have up to about 50% sample on kick, and usually 20-30% for snare. Toms are always natural.
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Robert Percy
What amps/cabs do you use in the Axe fx II for lead and rhythm tone?
Usually the 5150 Block Letter or Diezel VH4 CH.3, with custom IRs based on tone-matches of my Zilla 4x12 with V30s and Lynchbacks.
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Anjuthen Asokarajan
cesarlin Quiles
Hi Nolly do you actively use Parallel compression on drums? Do you compress individual instruments parallely or everything together as a bus? Also, do you use Parallel comp on anything apart from drums?
Yes, I generally use very aggressive parallel compression. I take sends from my kick, snare and tom tracks and route them to a bus with the compressor. I generally don't use parallel compression on other instruments though sometimes I will parallel limit a vocal to prevent the quiet parts getting lost in a dense mix.
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Tom Sheppard
What are your favorite cities in the US for touring? What about for visiting/traveling?
I like touring and visiting Austin, Portland, Chicago, Nashville and San Francisco a lot
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