Do you like Mikko's production? Now you can learn how he does it!

Brock

Experienced
Hey all,

I did a series breaking down Mikko Logén's production of "First Time" off his band, Clark Kent Job's debut EP, Generation Y (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/generation-y-ep/id1022753026). You can access it here: https://www.groove3.com/production-training-video-tutorials/Deconstructing-a-Heavy-Rock-Mix.

Here's the description from the Groove3 site:
Deconstructing a Heavy Rock Mix
Have you wondered how to make Hard Rock and Metal mixes sound heavy, while still retaining clarity? In this video tutorial series Brock Jon takes a professionally mixed and produced song and deconstructs it, showing you every element in the song and how they each contribute to the overall sound and energy of the mix.

Product Highlights
  • - 8 Tutorials / 1 hr 17 min total runtime
  • - For all beginner to intermediate producers, mixers and engineers
  • - Tutorials written by studio expert Brock Jon
  • - Simple to use video control interface for Mac & PC
  • - Watch Online, Download, Stream to iOS, Apple TV, and Android

You can also watch the first video, which is an overview of what the series covers, for free at https://www.groove3.com/player?itemid=9220.

Enjoy! :)
 
Oh awesome! :) Thank you guys for the interest.

I was trying to go for a minimalistic approach here and you'll see many "interesting" choices I've made like f.ex. deciding not to use many of the drum mics that were used for the recording.

Vocal production on my own vocals feels weird for me but apparently the Groove3 guys really liked what I did so I'm happy.

Some of the guitars on our EP are Axe-Fx and some are a Mesa Mark IV. Check this thread to get the free IR's we used and download the EP while at it: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/free-ml-sound-lab-irs-clark-kent-job-generation-y.103345/

I didn't do much to the guitars. Good mic positions are enough. :)
 
Wow and thank you! I can't wait to check this out. I was really hoping for something like this because the Clark Kent Job album sounds awesome. I listen to it all the time on Spotify. The guitar tones are amazing. It's the genre of music that had a huge impact on me and one of the reasons I bought the Axe-Fx II because I've always liked a lot of FX and with all the controllers and modifiers, I have so many ways to sculpture and manipulate my sounds.
 
Just when you think you've run out of GAS ( http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/ive-run-out-of-gas.107071 )

Thank you for giving me GAS ;) I couldn't resist buying this because Groove3 is having a 50% off Black Friday sale! It just finished downloading, so I know what I'll be doing the rest of today :D

I also, downloaded the IR's and MP3's of the Clark Kent Job album. I didn't realize the download had existed and was listing to the album on Spotify.

Thanks for Giving and Sharing!
 
Mikko,

I watched your Groove3 tutorial 3 times yesterday and it was really helpful but I have a few questions.

  1. Did you use any automation besides the delay FX?
  2. How did you create your harmonies and background vocals? Did you sing them or use a pitch shifter or pitch correction? Do you use specific intervals or just record multiple ideas until they sound good?
  3. The song used for the tutorial didn't have any Toms, do you have any tips to make Toms sound good and fit in a mix?
  4. What kind of computer and specs are you using and what software?

Thanks!
 
Mikko,

I watched your Groove3 tutorial 3 times yesterday and it was really helpful but I have a few questions.

  1. Did you use any automation besides the delay FX?
  2. How did you create your harmonies and background vocals? Did you sing them or use a pitch shifter or pitch correction? Do you use specific intervals or just record multiple ideas until they sound good?
  3. The song used for the tutorial didn't have any Toms, do you have any tips to make Toms sound good and fit in a mix?
  4. What kind of computer and specs are you using and what software?

Thanks!
Thank you for your questions!

1. Most tracks and especially vocals go through automation and volume balancing while getting tracked so I don't have to do much automation while mixing. I process most of the "effects" like tape stops, lofi effects, reverse cymbals etc.

2. It depends. I usually sing them for real but then pitch correct them to be "unreal" and they are clearly almost autotuned sounding when heard separately. You can't really hear it since they're only supporting the main vocals. Main vocals are raw and I can get away with having them a little pitchy here and there but if I have multiple harmonies it can easily start sounding bad so that's the reason why they're pitch corrected. Which notes I use depends on how I arrange the harmonies really. Sometimes I'm just singing the root note and not changing pitch. That's a cool effect. In this case I created a complete separate melody that sounds almost like a 90s superhero theme song. :) What ever sounds best I guess.

3) I find that less is more. I used to cut the toms literally but the you can see that I've gated the toms in this project. Instead of using compression I use a limiter to limit the hits and I'm mainly just trying to get more tom sustain this way. EQ wise I find the low end and boost it a little a bit sharp and then low cut it so I don't get bad low end in a sub if case anyone has one. I also usually boost the high end depending on where it sounds good.. usually around 2-4khz.

4) I'm a Cubase guy. My computer was originally a gaming computer so it has the wrong kind of specs but it does the job. :)

Feel free to ask more. I hope I answered your questions.
 
Any chance this is part 1 of a 5 part series? ;)

I really wish you could do more songs from the EP, so we can see how different songs are mixed for the album. It would be cool if you could break down the compositions of the songs more too. Like in the song Euphoria, how the guitar and bass intro riff work together and then another guitar effect comes in to build it up. That's one of the best riffs I've heard in 2015!

I also really like the composition and production on Strangers. The verse clean guitars and bass contrast each other perfectly. This song uses Toms, which the song First Time doesn't. There's lots of transitions and dynamics between parts which would be really cool if you could show how was mixed. I'm still struggling to figure out how to not mask the snare in a dense mix. Were the drums automated at all? The snare can be heard consistently throughout all the different parts in the song. Also, were the high pitched whammy guitar parts in the preChorus's and the harmonics at the end of the mid section recorded on separate Tracks or automated because they sound really balanced?
 
Any chance this is part 1 of a 5 part series? ;)

I really wish you could do more songs from the EP, so we can see how different songs are mixed for the album. It would be cool if you could break down the compositions of the songs more too. Like in the song Euphoria, how the guitar and bass intro riff work together and then another guitar effect comes in to build it up. That's one of the best riffs I've heard in 2015!

I also really like the composition and production on Strangers. The verse clean guitars and bass contrast each other perfectly. This song uses Toms, which the song First Time doesn't. There's lots of transitions and dynamics between parts which would be really cool if you could show how was mixed. I'm still struggling to figure out how to not mask the snare in a dense mix. Were the drums automated at all? The snare can be heard consistently throughout all the different parts in the song. Also, were the high pitched whammy guitar parts in the preChorus's and the harmonics at the end of the mid section recorded on separate Tracks or automated because they sound really balanced?
First of all thank you for the positive feedback!! :) Never say never but the mix is honestly pretty much the same for all songs.

Euphoria was actually tracked with my Goldtop PRS and we also noticed it had the best guitar sound on the whole EP. It's all about that guitar since the processing is the same.

Strangers is the 7-string re-take song. We wanted it to be more brutal and lower so we changed tunings last minute. That song is 100% Axe-Fx guitar-wise. Also those leads/xtra tracks are mostly not even guitar. They're synths/strings/pianos etc. going through the Axe-Fx which makes them sound like a part of the guitars rather than something digital.

It was completely my idea to use this song for the tutorial... but it has no toms. :( Honestly toms have a lot to do with tuning them properly. I've been into a habit of cutting the tom tracks by hand rather than using a gate but this time I wanted to use gates. Other than that I added low cuts so they're not conflicting with the kick and instead of compression I use limiting. I'll have to check that out for you.

Thank you for your interest! I hope I was helpful. :)
 
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