But what about going old school and recording your guitars with a real tube amp?

No matter how great these amp sims get there’s still always something missing that you can only get with a real guitar amp. There’s also an art to recording guitars with an amp.

Not to mention it’s so much more fun to record with a real amp than with amp sims!

So if you don’t want your song or album to sound like everything else out there, keep reading this post! I’m going to share all of the details you need on how to record your guitar with an amp and get an awesome tone that will fit perfectly in the mix.

For the most part, you can record your amp in your home studio. I’m going to share everything you need to do this, even the details of the equipment that I use (and the amp I use is perfect for recording in home studios).

Everything (Gear) You Need to Record Your Guitar

First, let’s cover the gear you need to have or bring to your studio. This is going to be everything from hardware to software, and from your music equipment to the cables you need.

Here what you need to record metal guitars (or any type of music, for that matter, except for country…okay, okay, I’m totally kidding – this works for country, too!):

Studio Hardware and Software Needed:

At the time of this post, I’m using PreSonus Studio One Pro for my DAW with the PreSonus Quantum 2 audio interface. I use the Thunderbolt cable to connect the interface to my iMac. Prior to that, I was using the PreSonus AudioBox USB interface.

For more details on recording hardware and software, I also have a complete home recording studio setup guide here: Jason’s Home Recording Studio Guide

Music Equipment Needed for Recording

I realize most of this is common sense. But you know that we musicians love our gear and always like to know what others are using!

There are some components that you may feel are missing from the list. One of them being an overdrive pedal, which is a common addition to metal amps. However, the EVH 5150 III amp does not need one.

There are other pedals and effects you can use as well, but I’ll talk more about those and why you may not want to use them when we get to the ‘recording your guitar’ section below.

If you’d like to see all of the gear I use for both studio recording and playing live, check out my gear page here: Jason’s Gear Page.

Type of Guitars and Pickups Needed for Recording Metal

Here’s where things can get a bit controversial and confusing. Because you’ve probably heard that you need a specific type or brand of guitar with active pickups to record metal music.

That’s just not true.

Though there are guitars that are made for metal music you have to realize that much of your tone comes from your hands. It comes from the way you play, your approach, and the emphasis you put behind those notes that are played.

There are three things I strongly encourage you to do:

1. Go to your local music store and play as many types and brands of guitars you possibly can, but do blind tests. Try your best not to be subconsciously biased by the brand or type of guitar. Simply assess how it feels, plays, and sounds to you. You may be surprised.
   If you’re in Tampa, FL, the best place to go is Replay Guitar Exchange, and tell them Jason Stallworth sent you!
2. Don’t always go for the most expensive guitar This goes back to what I just mentioned about not being biased. There are guitars that play and sound just as good, if not, better (to me) than other guitars that are double their price.
   For example, my LTD M-1000 Deluxe (around $1,000 new) plays just as good as my ESP E-II Horizon FR-7 (about $1,900 new). I could have saved myself almost a grand (I actually bought the LTD used for $600).
3. Lastly, if you’re a musician on a budget, just use whatever guitar you currently have. Maybe you just change out the pickups. Or maybe the ones you have are fine. Don’t let financial limitations keep you from playing, writing, and recording music.

Here’s a video I filmed at Replay Guitar Exchange where we found five metal guitars under $500:

Active VS Passive Pickups for Metal

Things like guitar brands and types of pickups can indeed make a difference. But probably not as much as you think.

Much of that can be mental. I say this from experience…

There was a time when I only had a guitar with stock passive pickups (I’ll tell you more about that guitar below). I had it in my head that I needed hotter pickups to record metal music.

So I kept telling myself something was missing from my Ibanez.

A few years later after accumulating more guitars, and ones with active pickups, I realized that the Ibanez with passive pickups gave me a distinct tone that I really liked. I still have that guitar today and use it in my studio often.

I actually recorded my 2nd album ‘Heavy Metal Workout’ with a guitar that has passive pickups.

Stock passive pickups are usually not a guitarist’s first choice for getting metal tones. But I used my Ibanez Prestige RG1570 with the V7, S1, and V8 stock pickups to record my album Heavy Metal Workout.

You can read more details on how recorded that album here: Behind the Scenes: Heavy Metal Workout

Amp Settings for Recording Metal for the Mix

This section is arguably where it counts the most. You can have all of the right gear and even the most expensive guitar, but if you don’t get this part right, your mix is going to suck.

The number one rule to remember when recording metal guitar is the tone you use for recordings is (or should be) different from your bedroom or practice tone.

I’m going to share my exact amp settings below. But first…

Your gain and EQ settings are going to determine whether or not you have a tone that’s going to sit well in the mix or if it’s going to make your mix sound muddy. Obviously, you don’t want the ladder.

The thing you have to remember, and this is tough for us guitarists, you have to account for the other instruments (and frequencies) involved.

It’s not just about your guitar. Hey, I told you this was going to be tough!

There are two mistakes many guitar players make when recording metal:

1. Too much gain
2. Too much low end

Why You Need to Use Less Gain

Yeah, I know, it’s metal and we want to crank the gain up to 11. But too much gain is a recipe for a muddy mix.

The more gain you have, the less clarity you’re going to have once you include that track in the full mix. And you probably won’t hear the muddiness when it’s just you playing and tracking. But once you (or your producer) sit down behind the console, you’ll more than likely notice that your guitar doesn’t sound as clear when combined with all of the other instruments.

This is especially crucial if you’re doing a lot of riffing. You want those notes to be pronounced and have clarity.

Solution for Gain: Try reducing the gain as low as you can go while still having that saturation and distortion you want. Between 6-7 is my personal sweet spot for gain.

Drop that Bass

Guitar players tend to want to boost the bass on their amp’s EQ as well. That’s fine for playing in your bedroom. But it’s not going to work well in the full mix if you’re recording a song or album.

You may need to cut your bass in order to leave room for the bass guitar and kick drum to produce those low-end frequencies.

If your guitar is producing them, then they’re going to clash and your mix is going to sound like crap. It’s going to be overkill (and I’m not talking about the band!) on the bottom end.

Solution: You don’t have to drastically reduce your bass but try cutting to about 4.5.

My Gain and EQ Settings with the EVH 5150 III (EL34) Amp

These settings are based on using my EVH 5150 III (EL34) 50-watt head.

It’s also important to note that these are my preferred settings. It doesn’t mean they’re the perfect settings for you. But I do believe this will at least give you a good starting point.

Volume: This really depends on where I’m recording and what amp I’m using. In the case of using my EVH in my small home studio (a 10×11 room), I get plenty of what I need with the volume being at around 2, which is surprisingly pretty loud.

If you’re in a larger studio, you’ll probably want to increase your volume. If so, you may even dial back the gain as you increase your volume so that you get more clarity.

Mic Placement for Recording Metal Guitars

The next step to getting a good metal tone for the mix is your mic placement. There’s really no right or wrong way to do this, but there are some strategies I’m going to share with you that will help you capture the type of tone you’re looking for.

In fact, I’m going to narrow this down to five mic placements for you to try. I’ll also list the type of tone this will give you.

These placements below are assuming you have the mic about a half-inch away from the grill except for the last mic placement, which is based on further proximity.

Of course, there are countless placement options, but these are good to start with and you can ‘fine-tune’ your placement from there.

Here’s a video where you can here these different mic placements (the video starts where the music starts):

Best Mic for Recording Metal Guitars

As you can see in the video above and images, I’m using the good ole Shure SM57. It’s a timeless microphone, especially for recording high gain amps. This is because it’s a dynamic mic that can handle and articulate loud output sources.

There are many other mics you can use to record your amp with. But what I don’t want to happen is for you to go buy an expensive mic only to find that you’re not happy with it.

On that note (no pun intended…okay, okay, the pun was intended!), make sure you have the ability to try out different mics before buying one.

And don’t just go by what you hear on other YouTube videos.

Because there are always other unseen factors (like the amp, guitar, pickups, post-processing, and more importantly, the person playing). That said, the Shure SM57 is the perfect place to start, and for many like myself, the perfect place to end.

Recording Your Guitar Tracks

Here’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. It’s time to press that record button and see that track light up in your DAW!

In this section, I’m going to cover:

• Rhythm guitars (and my secret to extremely amazing-sounding rhythm tracks)
• Lead guitar track
• Using effects (do not skip this part!)
• Your performance

Method to Recording Metal Rhythm Guitars

You may already know this but if you don’t, I’m about to share one of the greatest recording techniques for rhythm guitars that are going to blow you away.

It’s actually simple. You’re going to record two rhythm guitar tracks and hard-pan each track.

Here’s the process:

• Record your first rhythm guitar track
• Hard-pan that track all the way to the left
• Create a new track and go ahead and hard-pan that track all the way to the right
• Record your 2nd rhythm guitar track

In a nutshell, or a turtle shell (because I like Ninja Turtles), that’s it. Pretty easy, right?

But that will make a world of difference in how your guitar tracks sound. It will also bring more life to the overall mix.

DO NOT just copy the first track you recorded to use for your 2nd track. That will not do anything for your mix. It will only increase the volume.

Record an actual 2nd guitar track.

That 2nd guitar is going to give you these awesome little nuances because it will not be exactly like your first track. And that’s what will bring life to your mix in an era where almost everything sounds over-processed and robotic.

Recording Your Lead Guitar Track

It’s usually best to record your lead guitar track and leave it up the middle, or you can pan it slightly one way or another. This is actually cool to do if you’re breaking up your solo and recording it in different pieces.

Here’s an example:

• Let’s say you have a 20-second guitar solo.
• When you go to record it, you split it up into 5-second segments.
• For segments 1 and 3, pan the track about 25% to the left
• On a separate track, record segments 2 and 4, and pan that track about 25% to the right

Or you may have lead parts where you want the guitars to harmonize. Just use the same method I described for rhythm guitars (hard-panning those tracks).

This sounds freaking amazing and it’s so much better than using a pitch shifter or any non-organic effect. You get a real-life harmony.

Back to the basics, if it’s just one guitar solo you’re reroding for that part, you may find it’s best to just leave that track up the middle with no panning.

Gain and EQ for guitar solos: Going back to the amp settings, I do like to boost the gain and the bass a little (not a substantial boost). Guitar solos naturally have more highs and you don’t run the same risk of having a muddy sound with more gain as you do with rhythms.

Secondly, you may also want to move the mic a bit closer to the cone (if your rhythm tracks were recorded with the mic further from the cone).

This helps it cut through the mix and also gives your guitar solos that differentiation from the rhythm that’s needed.

I use the same philosophy for any additional tracks like clean or ambient guitars.

Using Effects with Your Amp

I’m not going to say use or do not use effects (pedals, rack mount effects, etc.) when you’re recording. What I will advise is for you to be aware that once you record that sound, there’s no turning back.

If you don’t like how it sounds later then you’ll have to go back and re-record that track or that part. And if it’s one of those moments where you captured this amazing solo and you’re not sure if you can pull off again, well, that would not be cool at all.

Here’s a solution…

Record your amp with no effects (other than your noise gate) and just use your DAWs plugins for effects. For example, you can add a delay plugin to your lead guitar tracks or add a touch of reverb to your rhythm tracks. And if you can continuously modify those settings until you like what you hear.

Again, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use hardware effects. Me, I like the way my Boss DD7 Digital Delay pedal sounds better than all of the delay plugins I’ve tried, so I record my lead tracks with that pedal on.

However, when I want effects with more depth, like those spacy reverbs or deeper delays and choruses for, let’s say, ambient parts, I use plugins for that.

Your Performance in the Studio

This goes without saying, but your performance is going to be the most important aspect of recording your guitar tracks.

Here are some basic yet noteworthy tips to use on studio day:

• Make sure you know your songs like the back of your hand before you attempt to record them.
• Hydrate yourself and make sure you have a nutritious meal before you start recording (you don’t want to be distracted by hunger, or anything else, for that matter).
• This should go without saying, but don’t get hammered (drunk) or come into the studio high or on anything that’s going to limit your ability to focus. Yeah, yeah, I know people say they’re more creative in that state, but when you’re in the studio, it’s time for business. Your creative time has already happened; you should know the songs and know your parts.
• It may sound a bit contradicting, but also give yourself a little room for that ‘in the moment’ inspiration to happen (this is typical during the guitar solo where you may feel something a bit different from what you originally wrote). Being in the studio can bring on that type of magic.

In short, be prepared. Studio time is money. And if you’re recording for your band, you also need to be conscious of their time.

If it’s just you recording your own album in your own studio (like many of us), then treat it like a job. Schedule the studio time and give yourself deadlines.

Have fun with it, but remember that your music is part of your legacy so don’t treat it lightly.

Post Production and Processing for Guitars

Now it’s time to put the finishing touches on your guitar tracks that you recorded. This is called post-production, or post-processing.

Since I’m just covering guitars in this post, I’m not going to go into mixing the entire song. But I do want to cover some important post-processing steps for your guitar tracks, especially if you’re recording in your home studio and you’re handling the mixing.

The good news is because you worked so hard to do everything right up to this point (by reading this post!), there’s not going to be anything outrageous needed.

In fact, there are really only two studio plugins that you’ll need. Even better news, your current DAW already includes these plugins so you don’t have to buy anything additional. They are…

• Compressor plugin
• EQ plugin

Using a Compressor Plugin for Metal Guitar Tracks

The job of a compressor is to even-out your track. This means bringing up those lower points and lowering the high points. The compressor should be first in your chain on those tracks.

So using a compressor plugin will help smooth out your recorded tracks. Most of the time this is needed for metal guitars because there’s a lot of aggressive playing, palm muting, alternate picking, and riffing…all of which will have a lot of high and low points.

This doesn’t have to be complicated at all. In fact, your DAW more than likely have a preset in its compressor for rock or metal guitar (or guitar, in general). You’ll probably be okay just using that.

But I’m also going to give you my own settings. As with everything in this post, this is just s starting point for you. Feel free to modify these settings to your liking.

• Threshold: -8.04 dB
• Ratio: 2.4:1
• Attack: .50 ms
• Release: 50.0 ms

Using an EQ Plugin for Metal Guitar Tracks

You may or may not need an EQ plugin for your tracks. But I’m going to say it’s probably best to throw one on there just to roll-off the bottom end.

The problem with metal rhythm guitars is even with the low cut you did on the amp when you recorded the track, you still may find that there are some low frequencies from your guitar track that are competing with the bass guitar, kick drum, and any other instruments.

You may also want to make some subtle adjustments to other frequencies. For example, some also roll-off the high frequencies on their guitar tracks.

Of course, you can play around with some of the other frequencies to fine-tune your guitar tracks. Just don’t go crazy with it because you don’t want to lose that initial tone from your amp that you worked so hard to get.

Video Tutorial for Recording and Mixing Metal Guitars

You can also watch the video version of this post below. It takes you through each level we discussed and you’ll also get to hear the tones as you go through it.

For this video, I’m using the ESP E-II Horizon FR-7 guitar with my EVH 5150 III (EL34) amp. All of the other gear (hardware, software, and equipment) is the same as what you read in this post.

Getting an Awesome Tone for the Mix

At the end of the day (or night), it’s all about the final mix of your song or album. You can have a guitar tone that sounds amazing in the room but that doesn’t always translate into a tone that sits well in the final mix.

That’s why I created this guide to give you the details that will hopefully save you from wasting time in the studio. There’s nothing worse than recording all of your guitar tracks only to find that they sound crappy in the mix.

And you only do so much post-processing. In other words, you can’t polish a turd. So it’s best to dial in the best tone possible from the start.

I really hope this guide helps you and encourages you to record your tone, and with using a real amp. There’s just nothing like.

Also, feel free to share this post.

Keep it Metal,

Jason

The post Complete Guide to Recording Metal Guitars with an Amp appeared first on Jason Stallworth.

Now it’s time to take it to the next level and record a full song, from start to finish.

This is more than just music. This is YOUR song and it’s part of your legacy. It’s your creation and you have a duty to complete it and put it out there for the world to hear!

That’s why I created this complete guide for recording a full metal song. I’m going to show you every step of the way. And I’ll also address all of the questions you’ve been asking yourself like…

‘what do I do for drums?’
‘how do I mix my song?’
‘how do I get my song on Spotify, iTunes, etc?

Don’t fret! I’m going to answer these questions for you and will be covering every aspect of recording your metal song.

Contents

First Guitar Track and Establishing Tempo
Expanding Your Initial Drum Patterns
2nd Rhythm Guitar Track ’Secret Sauce for Rhythm Guitars’
Recording Clean or Ambient Rhythm Tracks
Recording Your Bass Guitar Track
Getting Real Drums for Your Song
Recording Vocals Tracks
Recording Your Lead Guitar Track
Your Final Mix: DIY vs Outsourcing
Mastering Your Song
How to Submit Your Song for Release

**Below is the video version of this post. However, this post contains more updates and details than the video, so I encourage you to read the entire post.

First Guitar Track and Establishing Tempo

This first step is a two-part step. And this is the most important part of the process because everything else is going to be based on this one thing.

You have your initial riff. In fact, if I had to guess you’ve recorded that riff idea in your DAW.

However, let’s start from scratch. Here are the initial steps I want you to take:

1. Open your DAW
2. Create a new session (song)
3. Create 2 new tracks in this session
4. One track will be for your first rhythm guitar (if you’re using amp sims, you can drag that plugin into this track now)
5. The second track is going to be for your initial drum patters, and I’ll go more into that below…

IMPORTANT: These are not the drums you’re going to be using for your final song. I’m going to show you exactly what to do for the real drums later in this post!

For now, you will use a program like Toontrack’s EZDrummer.
**You can get access to EZDrummer and all of the studio gear I use here: Jason’s Gear Page.

If you don’t have a drum program, I suggest getting one as this is going to help you with the songwriting process and recording these initial guitar and bass tracks.

If buying a drum program is simply not in your recording budget, then look for loops or drum beats in your DAW. Most recording software programs come with some sort of drum patterns you can use.
If all else fails, you can always use the click track.

Finding and Setting Tempo

Now you have everything you need in place to establish the tempo for your song. So you’ll need to adjust your BPM (beats per minute) in your DAW. Typically this is somewhere towards the bottom of your DAW.

Set your BPM to what you think your song needs to be. If you don’t know where to start, here’s some guidance for finding what your BPM should be:

Below are the next steps for establishing your tempo. Just know that this will require a little back and forth, so be patient.

• Set the BPM in your DAW
• Go into your drum program and start listening to different loops
• Once you find a loop that best fits your riff, drag that loop into the 2nd track you created for your drums
• Continue adjusting the BPM until you lock something in that feels right for your song

At this point, you’re ready to record your first initial guitar track. So there are two steps left within this first step, and this is a neat little trick I use that will save you time and frustration…

1. Take that loop and duplicate up to about 4 minutes (most DAWs will have a shortcut option for this; in Presonus Studio One, it’s the ‘D’ key, so I’ll just hold that down until I have about 4 minutes of loops)
2. Record your first guitar track!

**Those duplicated loops are just to help you keep time as you record that first guitar track. You will be refining these in the next step.

Expanding Your Initial Drum Patterns

You may be wondering why you’re spending so much time on programmed drums if you’re not going to use them for the final mix.

There are a few reasons for this…

1. It’s more inspiring to record guitars to an actual beat than a click track
2. This next step is going to help you formulate your song structure (verse, chorus, bridge, etc.)
3. This will also give your drummer a better idea of what you’re looking for in the song when it comes time for real drums

So now that you have your first guitar track recorded with that initial series of loops, it’s time to go back into your drum machine and start figuring out where the changes are in the song.

You’ll want to explore different loops and patterns so that you can have those differentiations throughout your song. I recommend focusing on the big parts first, the verses and choruses.

• For example, you may like the initial loop you’re using for the choruses of your metal song.
• The next step would be to find an appropriate loop for the verses.
• And to make it easier, you can use the same loop for all verses and the same for all choruses.

Here’s an EZDrummer video tutorial that will help you with this process…

You don’t have to spend relentless hours on this part. But you do want separate patterns for each part of your song.

Next, work on the smaller parts by finding different loops for the bridge, solo parts, intro, and outro.

**TIP: Once you expand and enrich the programmed drums, you may find it beneficial to go back and re-record that first guitar track.

Whew, it’s been a lot of work up to this point! Well, I’ve got some awesome news. It’s pretty much downhill from here.

From here on, it’s going to be focusing on the performances until you get down to mixing. And this next step will more than likely be your favorite…

2nd Rhythm Guitar Track ’Secret Sauce for Rhythm Guitars’

This next part of the process is going to be awesome because it’s the thing that’s going to make your metal song come to life!

You’re going to record another rhythm guitar track. But there’s something I like to call my secret sauce…a specific method that I’m going to share with you.

1. Duplicate your first guitar track to create another guitar track (don’t duplicate the actual recording, just the track…this will carry over any amp sims and effects to that new track)
2. Now pan your first guitar all the way to the let
3. Pan the track you just created all the way to the right
4. Record your 2nd rhythm guitar track

Here’s a video guide how to pan your guitar tracks in the studio when recording your metal song…

This is going to give you a true stereo effect. And it’s also going to help you keep the timing of your riffs tighter and in sync as you record this next guitar track.

**TIP: If you decide to add more rhythm guitars to your metal song, you can just replicate this process for those tracks. You don’t necessarily have to hardpan all of your guitar tracks.

Just don’t let all of the guitars up the middle…that will make your mix sound muddy.

Recording Clean or Ambient Rhythm Tracks

Your metal song may call for clean or ambient guitar parts. You can simply add another track for these the same way you did with your other guitar tracks.

These types of tracks will normally be recorded up the middle or in stereo (you know how us metal guitarists like to use stereo chorus on our clean tones).

And some ambient tracks have delays and reverbs that may sound better in stereo. So if that’s the case, make sure you set that specific track to stereo before you record it.

Here’s a video guide on how to record clean and ambient guitar tones using plugins…

**TIP: If you want an organic stereo effect, try using an analog chorus, record two clean guitar tracks, and hardpan each like you did your metal rhythm tracks.

Recording Your Bass Guitar Track

You may get to this point and think ‘Ah, this is the easy part!’

In theory, recording your bass track will probably be the more simple part of the song recording process. But you don’t want your bass to be the weakest link.

Many of us guitarists prefer to lay our own bass tracks. And that’s fine. However, there are some things to think about so I’m going to give you three ‘basic’ rules for recording metal bass…

• Rule 1: The bass does not have to play every single note that the guitars are playing – in other words, don’t play your bass like a guitar!
• Rule 2: On the contrary, make sure the bass is filling in those dead spots and carrying a solid rhythm throughout the song
• Rule 3: Make sure the bass guitar has a nice balance of not being overpowering but is also pronounced and heard (we’ll talk more about this when we get tot he mixing section)

**You can read more about learning the proper way to play and record bass for your metal song in this post: How to Not Play Bass Like a Guitar Player

Getting Real Drums for Your Song

In the beginning, you spent a lot of time on drum programming. For that reason, you may be tempted to just continue using that and not worrying about real drums.

I get it but hang in here with me for a second (and learn from my mistakes!).

First, let’s talk about the challenges you have with recording real drums for your metal song…

• You’re not a drummer!
• You don’t know any drummers
• You play or know someone who plays drums but you don’t have the professional drum mics or the proper space to record drums
• Your song has a tight budget and hiring a session drummer or paying for studio time is expensive

For starters, I highly recommend making sure real drums get first consideration in your recording budget. You can get away with using fake drums in most genres, but not metal.

**There may be exceptions for programmed drums, such as for instrumental music or if you’re going for more of an industrial metal sound. But even then, your song will be so much more impactful with real drums.

This is the one thing that can hold up your music project for months. And some musicians will throw in the towel completely.

But don’t give up, and don’t settle…

How to Hire a Drummer

I’m going to give you some viable options for getting a real drummer to record drums tracks for your metal song:

First, recording just one song is not going to break the bank (you can probably skip down to the next section at this point and just go hire a real drummer!)

• Ask your musician friends if they know a drummer who has their own home recording studio setup
• Consider bartering services with a drummer (you record guitars or vocals for one of their songs and they record drums for yours)
• Search for drummers for hire on places like Fiverr, Airgigs, or Soundbetter
• Reach out to the drummer I hire for my albums and projects, Cameron Fleury

There are so many drummers and musicians for hire and are eager to record for you. Yes, it costs money. But it’s one investment that you will never regret.

**TIP: When hiring a drummer, make sure you provide the BPM of the song and whether they should follow the guidance of the programmed drums or if you want them to just do their own thing with it. A combination of both will usually work best.

It’s also a good idea to write out the times of each section of your song to provide to the drummer like this…

0:00 – 0:27 – intro
0:28 – 1:07 – verse 1
1:08 – 1:43 – chorus 1
…and so forth

You get the idea. This really helps the drummer differentiate those parts of the song and will make their process smoother.

Recording Vocal Tracks

Recording vocals is the most delicate part of recording any song. There’s so much at stake because the vocals are the forefront of the music.

**If you’re just recording an instrumental song, you can skip to the next section that talks about recording your lead guitar tracks.
Or better yet, you should probably read the vocal part anyway because it’s going to be helpful information!

There are two things of huge importance when it comes to recording vocals in the studio:

1. You have to have the right type of gear setup and ready
2. You need to the right environment that’s going to inspire an amazing vocal performance

Here’s all of the hardware and software you need for recording metal vocals…

**You can also read the blog post version of this in my post: Complete Guide to Recording Death Metal Vocals

The gear you need for recording vocals is similar to recording guitars or anything else. But there are a few extras, which are…

• Proper mic (you can’t beat the Shure SM7B mic for metal vocals!) and mic stand
• High-quality closed-back headphones (open-back headphones will allow bleeding into the mix)
• Proper vocal plugin chain (you can use the plugins that come with your DAW to create this…compressor, EQ, reverb, delay).
• Proper room treatment

For the most part, you can easily set this up in your home studio. But it’s also not a bad idea to go to a larger studio that already has the proper vocal setup.

Now your greatest concern is the vocal performance. This is kind of like working out at a gym with all the mirrors and motivating atmosphere versus working out with only 1-2 pieces of equipment cramped in the corner of a room.

Whether you’re singing or you have someone else singing on your song, you want to create a certain ambiance that’s going to inspire the most awesome vocal performance in the universe of metal!

**For more on this, be sure to check out Metal Mastermind’s Golden Rule of Recording.

Recording Your Lead Guitar Track

Recording lead guitars for your metal song is either going to be your favorite or most frustrating part of the process!

If you’re like me, it’s nothing to record 100 takes of what should be a simple 20-second guitar solo. Us musicians can be our own worst enemy at times.

The process for recording your guitar solos is the same as recording any guitar track. But I’m going to share a few things that will make this process smoother for you.

• It’s a good idea to go ahead and create 2 lead guitar tracks
• Break your solos up into sections
• Record the first section on one track
• Use that other track for the 2nd section
• Repeat until you have your guitar solo recorded
• Afterwards, you can leave it as-is, or create a 3rd lead guitar track, mute the other two, and record the entire solo in one shot

I’ve found this process to eliminate so much frustration! So I encourage you to try it.

In addition, here’s a video I made showing you how to construct guitar solos. This may help you get over some of those creative humps…

Harmonizing Guitar Solos

Also, you may have some leads where you want that harmonizing effect. Many guitarists will just use a pitch shifter or harmonizer plugin. But there’s a way to make your solos sound more organic and more awesome.

Create 2 lead guitar tracks for this specific purpose. Hardpan each track just like you did with your two rhythm guitar tracks.

• Lead Track 1: play the melody lead
• Lead Track 2: play the harmony lead

This will sound absolutely beautiful!! It does take a little time to figure out the harmonies. But it’s so worth it.
HINT: play the 3rd note for the harmony and you can’t go wrong!

Also, if you’re using this method for the harmony leads, keep these two lead tracks separate from the others (in other words, allow these to have their own tracks).

The reason is you’ll want to cut down the gain and amount of delay for the harmonizing solo parts. Too much of those can make these particular types of solos lose clarity.

Here’s a video tutorial that shows you exactly how to write and record harmonizing guitar solos for that organic pitch shift sound…

Your Final Mix: DIY vs Outsourcing

It’s the ‘Final Countdown!’ Or rather the final mix…

The final mix is the thing that can make or break your song. You can have done everything perfect up to this point but a bad mix will destroy your art. And that’s not cool.

There are two ways you can go about mixing your song:

1. Mix it yourself
2. Hire someone else to handle the mixing

Of course, there are pros and cons to both.

Mixing your own song might make sense at first because you already have a good idea of what you want the finished product to sound like. You’re also familiar with almost every aspect of the song and all of the components of each track that affect the song.

The downside to mixing it yourself is that another audio engineer may hear things that you don’t, which can add more potential and substance to the song.

Hiring someone else to mix your song can add new dimensions to your song that you may have not thought of before. And I really good engineer or producer can make our song sound bigger.

The downside to this is not wanting to let go of certain elements of your song and the fear that the producer may not share your same vision.

**TIP: The best solution is for you to spend time mixing your song but also have someone else mix it. Then compare the two. But also have other people that will give you the brutal truth compare the two mixes as well.

And if you’re going to mix your own song, I challenge you to really spend time learning about mixing. Don’t just wake up one day and decide you’re going to mix your song on a whim.

Take the time to learn the process, and learn your gear.

Mastering Your Song

First understand that mixing and mastering are two separate processes. And this often calls for a segregation of duties.

**If the same person doing the mixing is also doing the mastering, have them to these processes on separate days.

Many, and this was me at one point, think that mastering is just increasing the loudness. But it’s actually much more.

Mixing is all about each individual track while mastering is looking at the song from a higher lense. Sure, loudness is part of that. But there are also things like limiting, adjusting frequencies that might be clashing, adding warmth, reducing harshness…things like that.

In most cases, I strongly recommend that you hire someone else to master your song. Even if you’re mixing your own song, have a pro handle this part.

You need that extra pair of ears and you also want to put this in the hands of someone who masters songs and albums consistently.

How to Submit Your Song for Release

Your metal song is recorded, mixed, and mastered. Now it’s time to share it with the world?

In the old days you had to hope to get signed by a label. But today, you can release your music as an independent band or artist.

There are several digital music distribution services you go through for this. A few are:

• Bandcamp
• CD Baby
• Tunecore
• Distrokid

You’ll basically sign up with the service and they will instruct you on what steps to take, song format, artwork, etc.

Your Music, Your Legacy

I truly hope this complete guide to recording a full metal song helped you.

I encourage you to save this post in your favorites so that you can quickly refer back to it.

Remember, this is your legacy. Your music is your own creation.

There’s nothing more beautiful, more authentic, and more powerful than that.

Be encouraged, never stop or give up, and press on!

Keep it Metal,

Jason

The post Record a Full Metal Song (Complete Guide) appeared first on Jason Stallworth.

With these three simple steps:

1. Setup up a guitar track in your DAW (digital audio workstation) to record
2. Film yourself playing as you’re recording your guitar
3. Take the files from your video and audio and sync them in your video editing software

It sounds simple, and for the most part, it is. But there are some more details within each step that I want to share with you to make this process smooth.

In fact, I’m going to take through my own process and show you how to do this fast while avoiding many frustrations that can come with this kind of stuff…because being a headbanger doesn’t mean you want to bang your head against the wall!

Setting Up Your DAW to Record Your Guitar

This first step is simple, and chance are you already know how to do this.
*If you’re good here, then just skip down to the next section about filming yourself playing guitar.

Here’s what you’ll do first…

• Open your recording software
• Create a new (or bring up an existing) studio session
• Add a track to record your guitar
• Make sure the ‘record’ button is on and test your sound

Again, this is simple but it’s the very first step in the process. The last thing you want is to start filming only to find you didn’t set up your guitar track to record properly.

It’s not really a big deal, but that’s one small frustration that can lead to many (you know how everything snowballs once you screw something up in the studio, not to mention this kind of stuff can kill your mindset!).

All that said, the process runs smoother when you double-check, even the preliminary basics. And that’s your goal!

TIP: Make sure the playback volume on your interface is up enough to where your camera can pick up the sound.

Even though you’re not going to be using the sound from your monitors, having the volume up will help when you get to the audio and video syncing part.

Setup Your Camera to Film Yourself Playing Guitar

Now it’s time to set up your camera for filming. I’m also going to give you some additional tips to enhance your video quality.

• Position your camera on a tripod to where you both of your hands are visible when playing guitar (it’s easiest when you have your camera where you can see yourself recording)
• You may also want to show some of your computer screen in the background where you can see the track being recorded (that’s just an option if it’s something you prefer)
• Make sure have appropriate lighting in front of you
• You may want to have a small colored light on behind you somewhere as this can enhance the overall video quality

**You can see what gear I use for recording and filming on my gear page here: Jason’s Gear Page

Most of us guitarists like to film ourselves playing with our studio in the background. That is a cool and relevant setting. However, don’t be afraid to try some different backgrounds.

I’m preaching to myself on this one more so because…I need to try some new background (look for those coming soon on my Instagram!).

TIP: You don’t need expensive filming gear. For starters, you can just use your iPhone or smartphone. The modern versions come with some pretty awesome cameras.
*At the time of writing this post, I’m using my iPhone 11.

Lighting is relatively inexpensive as well. Just read reviews to make sure you get quality lighting and get something that’s within your budget. You’ll be just fine with that.

Hit the Record Buttons!

Notice I said buttons (plural).

Once you’re set up to record and film, it’s time to record and film yourself playing guitar! What I usually do is start filming first then I press record in my studio and start playing my guitar.

Sometimes you may want to talk before and after you play guitar. But I recommend filming that separately for two reasons…

1. It’s going to be more video you have to cut and work with to sync with the audio file
2. I forgot what the second reason was so just trust me on this one!

Once you’ve finished playing, it’s time to get back to work behind the screen…

Transferring Your Audio and Video Files into Your Video Program

The next step is to get your audio and video files onto your computer. Let’s tackle the easy part first.

For audio, you’ll render the track you recorded in your DAW to an mp3. That file will be downloaded to whatever folder you have dedicated to studio files (this is usually a folder for that song within your studio).

For video, there are two ways to do this:

1. Connect the appropriate cable from your camera to your computer (the computer end should be USB)
2. Or most cameras have WiFi capability so you can just transfer the video file through WiFi

**If you’re using your iPhone or smartphone, you’re more than likely already connected to your WiFi at home so the transfer should be seamless..

How to Sync Your Guitar Audio and Video in Your Video Editing Program

It’s the Final Countdown (had to throw in a Europe pun…lol)!

Seriously, it’s the final step of the process. This is where the magic happens and it’s how you’ll create the video of you playing guitar with that pristine, clear sound (the sound from your DAW that you recorded).

Let me warn you that this can be a tedious process. So be patient, for your own sake!

Most of the time it’s fairly easy to sync up the audio and video but there will be ‘those moments’ as you already know when working with technology.

Here are the steps to take:

• Open your movie program on your computer (yeah, I know that was kind of expected, but I want to be thorough here!)
• First, go to the folder in your computer where your video file is and drag that into your video editing program
• Cut the beginning and ends off of that file so that you only have the part of you playing guitar (in most programs, you can just drag those ends in and out)
• Next, go to the folder where your mp3 was downloaded to and drag that file into your video editing program (in most cases, you’ll place this file below the video file in your program)
• Now start working to align the audio file with the video file s that they’re in sync
• Once the audio and video are synced, you can render your movie from your video editing software – now you’re ready to post it on YouTube or social media!

Again, you have to be like Guns n’ Roese here and use a little patience. But the most you do it, the better and faster you’ll get. And sometimes you’ll just magically nail it pretty close as soon as you drop the files in…those times are awesome!

*TIP: One trick I use is I’ll raise the volume on the video file so that it matches the volume of the audio file. Naturally, the initial video volume will be lower because of how far the camera is from your studio monitors or sound source.

If you’re having trouble, as it’s bound to happen, keep playing around with the volumes of both files as you’re trying to line them up – this can help with the audio and video syncing process.

VIDEO: Syncing Audio and Video for Guitar

You can watch the video version of this post below.

In the video, I also show you more screenshots of the editing and syncing process. So if you’re a visual learner, this should help even more.

Advanced Audio and Video Syncing for Guitar Players

There are some more advanced methods to this if you really want to spice up your YouTube and social media videos.

• Recording your video from multiple angles
• Recording full mixes where you may be playing different parts

Recording yourself playing guitar from different angles is fairly simple. You can set up a second camera from a different angle. Or you can just film yourself playing the guitar part a second time from a different angle.

This is more work as you’re syncing two video files with the one audio file. You’ll essentially go through the same process but will just need to split up the video parts where you prefer.

The fastest way to do this is the first sync both video files with the audio. Then you can start cutting the video parts accordingly.

Here’s an example:

• You have all 3 files (2 video files, 1 audio) synced and layered on top of one another in your video editing software
• You want to change the angle after 7 seconds into the video
• So you’ll make a split on both video files at that point
• Remove the first video portion that you don’t want to be seen while keeping the part you want to be seen
• Repeat

You do have to be careful with this. If you remove the first video file that’s directly on top of the audio file, it will remove the audio.

Let’s say you want that video on the very top to be those first 7 seconds and maybe want to change up the frames every 7-10 seconds (this can really improve viewer retention!)…

• You’ll drag that part down to be directly over the audio file.
• You may have to move the audio file up to match that before removing that other section.
• Continue splitting both files where you want the frames to change and repeat this process

Did that confuse the crap out of you?

I hope not! You’ll just have to play around with this and be meticulous with the splitting and cutting.

Like I mentioned earlier, the most you do this, the easier it gets and you’ll be a pro at it soon enough!

You can use that same process if you’re recording yourself playing parts of the song, or even different instruments.

For example, you may want to have the video showing you playing the rhythm guitar in some parts but also playing the guitar solo when that comes up. You may even want to record yourself playing bass in some parts.

This does get a bit more involved! But it can be so rewarding when you finish your video.

I hope this tutorial helped answer your questions and that you now know a litle more about how to sync your audio and video.

Get out there and start making some cool guitar videos! Post your videos on your Instagram and tag me @jasonstallworth

Also, don’t forget that you can get access to the recording gear that I use and recommends on my gear page: Jason’s Gear Page

Keep it Metal,

Jason

The post How to Sync Audio with Video Guitar (for YouTube and Social Media) appeared first on Jason Stallworth.

You don’t want to just play it alone in your room. But there’s a problem…you don’t have a full band to play behind you.

That’s when you need to create your own backing tracks. And I’m going to show you each step of the process is this blog post.

I’ll also show you everything you need as far as studio gear. And I’ll include budget-friendly options, too.

Why You Need Backing Tracks

Here’s the thing. No one wants to see or hear you just play guitar by yourself. No matter how good you are, that gets boring after…hmmm…about 30 seconds.

Your audience wants that full experience. And if you don’t have a band, playing your guitar along with backing tracks is the next best thing to delivering that experience.

But there are many other reasons to create your own backing tracks. And I’ll go over those below…

• If you want to do a solo act, playing along with a backing track is a great way to enhance that experience for your audience
• For the same reason as above, this would also work if you want to give your audience a live virtual performance
• You want to make original backing tracks for your YouTube or social media videos
• Backing tracks are great to practice to, helping you enhance your accuracy and timing
• Playing along with backing tracks can help you come up with new ideas and melodies
• The process is essentially the beginning of writing and recording your own music
• You’ll get more studio experience and learn best recording practices along the way

So whether you’re a pro musician and playing live, or spend most of your time in the studio writing original music, or just a hobbyist who simply loves playing and practicing guitar, creating your own backing tracks is extremely helpful.

Recording Gear You Need

Before we move forward, I’m going to give you a list of gear that you need to record your music. This is mainly for beginners, so if you already have everything, feel free to scroll down to the next section of this post.

Here are some notes about the gear I’m listing below…

• You’ll see some items duplicated as I’m giving you different options, which you’ll see dollar signs to represent the price range (this is kind of like what you see when you Google restaurants!)
• Everything listed is either what I currently use or have used at some point – I’m not going to recommend anything that I have not personally used
• I do use ‘fake’ drums for most backing tracks (most of us can’t justify hiring a real drummer for these types of tracks – I personally save that for albums and professional releases)

***You can find all of this gear on my Amazon Influencer Store here (click the button below):

As an Amazon Influencer, I do get rewarded with a small commission when you purchase through my links.

So if you decide to do that, you’re also supporting me as an independent musician, and I appreciate your support!

Complete Process to Creating Your Own Backing Tracks

Alright, let’s get to the good stuff! Let’s learn how to record your backing tracks!

I’m going to you through each step of the process. The cool thing is this is the exact process that I use for creating my own backing tracks.
*But I’ll skip the preliminary stuff like ‘open your DAW,’ ‘add a track,’ etc.

Here are the 8 steps to what you’ll learn:

1. Setting the tempo for your track
2. Creating your initial drum track
3. Recording the first rhythm guitar track
4. Polish your drum track
5. Record 2nd rhythm guitar track
6. Record bass guitar track
7. Other instruments
8. Final mix

1 – Setting Your Tempo/BPM

The first thing you need to do is determine the tempo of your song or riff. Here are the steps I recommend taking:

• Create 2 tracks in your DAW (one for your guitar and one for the drum software or loops)
• Set the tempo in your DAW on what you think it should be
• Play one of the drum loops and start playing your riff along with it
• Continue modifying the tempo (BPM) until you find something that works with your riff

*At this point, you’re not recording anything yet. You’re just establishing what the track tempo will be.

The more you do this, the better you be at it. And soon you’ll be able to guess your BPM as soon as you write the riff. But be patient during this process because it’s the heart of the song.

PRO TIP: Make sure you change the BPM in your DAW, not your drum program. Of course, your drum program should be in sync with what your DAW is set at.

2 – Initial Beat/Drum Track

This is a quick and easy step. Once you establish the tempo (BPM), start going through more drum loops in your program.

We’ll come back to this, but here’s what you do for now:

• Just choose one loop (one that fits your riff the best)
• Drag that loop into the track for drums in your DAW
• Once it’s there, duplicate that loop in that track several times, extending it out for as long as you feel like your song will be

This is going to be your ‘metronome‘ when you record your initial guitar track. It’s much easier and more motivating to record your guitar to an actual drum beat instead of that ‘tick, tick, tick…’

3 – Recording Your First Rhythm Guitar Track

Now for the fun part! It’s time to lay down your first guitar track. In most cases, this will be your primary rhythm track.

Of course, your rhythm will probably not stay the same even though the drum loop you just duplicated several times is the same. But don’t worry. You’re going to go back and refine your drums in the next step.

PRO TIP: You can create an additional rhythm guitar track if you want and record the rhythm parts piece by piece. This comes in handy when you’re writing as you’re recording, which is what I do half the time!

Here’s an example:

– Record the first part of your rhythm in track 1
– Record the next part of that rhythm in track 2

This way you’re not ‘punching in’ to your initial track when it comes to that next part. Doing this will allow you to listen to that entire first part before recording the next part (this helps will timing and such).

You can merge the parts together into one track afterward; in fact, it’s important to do that because this should be just one track.

Or, once you have it down you can just go back and re-record the entire track in one shot and then delete the other guitar parts. Hopefully, this makes sense!

4 – Refining The Drums

Sometimes you may be recording a very simple or short backing track where you can get away with using the same drum beat all the way through.

But more than often that’s not the case. And even if your backing tracks is going to be simple, I still recommend that you revisit the drum parts and ‘church them up’ a bit.

Here’s a method you can follow:

• Treat each section of the song as it’s own
• Spend time listening to different loops in your drum program and test them out with each part of the song
• Don’t forget to add fills between the musical transitions; this helps add more life to the song
• Don’t forget to add that last ending kick with a splash or cymbal; many loops and fills do not have that – they end right at that phrase and your final guitar note will often be one ‘chop’ right after that.

PRO TIP: This is the exact method I use to give my drummer an idea of what I’m looking for on my pro albums and releases. It’s a great reference point for drummers.

5 – Record Your Next Guitar Track

It may be okay to just use the rhythm guitar track you recorded earlier. But I’m going to show you how I record my metal guitar rhythms and how it can help your backing track sound 100 times more awesome:

• Take the first guitar track you recorded and pan it all the way to the left
• Add a new track for your 2nd rhythm guitar, and pan it all the way right
• Record that 2nd rhythm track

Again, this is my personal recording method for guitars, especially for metal music. It gives your song so much more liveliness and a true, organic feel.

PRO TIP: You can play harmonies in certain parts of the song that might call for that, with that 2nd rhythm track.

6 – Record Bass Guitar

As a guitarist, there may be cases where you don’t feel that your backing track requires a bass. This could be true if you’re just using that backing track for practice or to share an idea.

But if it’s for anything more than that, I strongly urge you to record a bass guitar track. Your song will sound extremely amateur if you don’t.

PRO TIP: If you do not play or have a bass guitar, you can probably find a friend who plays and would be happy to record a short bass run for your backing track.

If you’re doing this for something professional, then not having a bass is not an option. Hire a bass player if you can’t play it yourself.

On that note, I would also recommend hiring a real drummer as well, for something professional.

7 – Other Instruments

I won’t spend a lot of time on this section. At this point, you can add in any other instruments if your backing track calls for that.

One example is adding a keyboard. Or there may be some ambient guitar sounds you want.

You could add your guitar solos at this point as well. Although I assume you may be creating this backing track to that you can play your guitar solos to it. If that’s the case, there’s no need to record any leads.

PRO TIP: You could record the lead guitar track so that you remember it. And when you render the song to an MP3, just mute that lead track so that you only have the rhythm section that you’ll be playing to.

8 – Final Mix

The best piece of advice I can give you here is to mix along the way. If something sounds too soft or loud while you’re recording, then fix it right then.

This way, when you’re done recording all of your instruments, the final mix will require very little effort.

Once your mix is where you want it, render it down to an MP3. Then play it on multiple sources to make sure it sounds good in all of those sources (your car, headphones, home sound system, etc.).

YouTube Video on How to Create Backing Tracks

More ‘Notes’ on Studio Gear and Budget

Let’s circle back around to studio gear because it’s so easy to get caught up in the ‘best this’ or ‘best that.’ And I know how overwhelming that can be.

Here’s the thing…

You don’t necessarily need expensive gear to do this. It really just depends on what else you plan to do with your music.

If it’s just you, you probably do not need the latest and greatest in studio gear. A simple interface with a computer that’s powerful enough to run your recording software will work just fine.

And you can more than likely get by with just headphones for now and get studio monitors later if your budget is tight. There are some pretty decent headphones from about $100.

Now, if you plan to expand your studio to record more people, artists, or bands, then you don’t want to go the cheap route. This will actually cost you more in the long run. So if that’s you, then do your research and get the right equipment.

*I also have another blog post on setting up your home studio here: Complete Home Studio Guide for Metal Guitarists

I really hope that you found this guide to recording your own backing tracks helpful. If so, please consider sharing this post!

Keep it Metal,

Jason

***Don’t forget to check our my gear page here.

The post How to Create Backing Tracks for Guitar Players: Complete Guide appeared first on Jason Stallworth.

What if I told you there’s an original Christmas metal song you can listen to instead? 

Christmas music is cool, but you can only listen to the same song so many times before you get sick of it!

“So, what about that metal Christmas song you were talking about?”

It’s called Christmas Presence!

Listen to Christmas Presence Here
This will open a new browser, so you don’t lose this page

The Making of Christmas Presence

This all started back in 2012. I had this strong urge to write an original Christmas metal instrumental—something different from the same handful of songs we hear every year.

Naturally, Carol of the Bells was the first thing that came to mind. So I picked up my guitar and started riffing off that main melody. But it didn’t take long before things evolved. Within just a few sessions, I had created something with its own identity—still holding that Christmas spirit, but with a fresh metal vibe.

Some parts of the song clearly pay tribute to Carol of the Bells, but most of it grew into something unique. And that was the challenge—I didn’t want to just make another cover of a song that’s already been rehashed a thousand times.

I wanted Christmas Presence to stand out as its own track—recognizable as Christmas music, but not a traditional carol or even a metalized rendition. The structure, riffs, and melodies all came from a place of inspiration, not imitation.

Watch the Video

Evolution of an Original Metal Christmas Song

I sat on this track for a few years (okay, not literally sat on it—but I didn’t do anything else with it!). Occasionally, I’d go back and listen, and I’d even play it for a few friends during the holidays.

But every Christmas season, that itch came back—the urge to do something with it…

Then, in early 2016, it hit me:
Why not release it as a single?
It would be my first official single, and I had already released two full albums by that point. Plus, I had just dropped Heavy Metal Workout that February and had already started working on the next record. The momentum was there, and I’ve learned that when you’ve got momentum, keep moving.

I went back to my original recording of Christmas Presence and… it didn’t sit right with me anymore. Something was off. It felt too much like a cover of Carol of the Bells—which was the opposite of what I wanted.

So, I made a bold move…

I deleted everything.

I scrapped the old session, made some structural changes to the composition, and re-recorded the entire track from scratch.

The biggest change? That melodic nod to Carol of the Bells—I reworked it until it had just the right balance. The song still gives you that Christmas vibe, but it’s far from a cover. It’s got original melodies and progressions with just enough seasonal flavor to make it feel like the holidays…metal-style.

How I Recorded the Music for Christmas Presence

If you’re a guitar player or musician, you’ll dig this part. Even if you’re not, I think you’ll still find it cool to hear how the track came together behind the scenes.

I actually used three different amp sounds for the guitar tracks on this one:

• Fender Mustang IV miked with a Shure SM57 for the rhythm guitars and melodic leads
• Positive Grid BIAS FX (amp sim) for the solos
• Line 6 POD HD500 for the clean/ambient parts—there’s a specific reverb on this unit that I’ve still never been able to replicate anywhere else!

Bonus: Here’s a post where I talk more about the Mustang IV’s metal tones

For the acoustic guitar, I used a couple of simple effects in Studio One Pro—just a compressor and EQ—to give it a full, rich tone.

And for the bass, I’m pretty sure I used Studio Devil’s Bass Amp Pro (man, that plugin served me well back in the day!).

The recording process overall was smooth. This track came together naturally, almost effortlessly.
Now, I did spend some time tweaking and dialing in the solos—but hey, that’s par for the course!

Christmas Presence – The First Video (Pre-Release Version)

Fast forward about a year after I first wrote the song—I ended up playing an early version of Christmas Presence live at a church. Around that same time, I uploaded a video of the track to YouTube.

We actually shot the video in our old apartment. My wife and I used to make Christmas videos instead of sending cards (still love that idea!). In this one, we introduced the song and shared it with our friends and family.

Here’s the YouTube video below. Again, this is the first version of Christmas Presence before it was officially released on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc. So the below will sound a bit different from the official release.

Watch the first version of Christmas Presence:

This was way before the official release—and way before I knew what I was doing on YouTube. So please forgive the video quality!

Note: This version sounds a little different from the final mix that was released on Spotify, iTunes, and other platforms.

Where to Listen to Christmas Presence

Now for the good stuff—here’s where you can listen to and support the song!

Christmas Presence is available on all major streaming platforms like:

• Spotify
• iTunes
• Amazon Music
• YouTube Music
• …and more!

Click here to view and listen on all available platforms

Metal Christmas Music Brings Good Tidings (and Riffs!) of Comfort and Joy

Metal music is our passion. And for many of us, there’s something special about Christmastime. So, when you can combine the two…that’s magic.

The goal with Christmas Presence was to bring all those warm, nostalgic holiday emotions together with the powerful, spellbinding energy we get from metal. It’s a song from the heart—heavy and hopeful.

I hope you enjoy listening to Christmas Presence as much as I enjoyed creating it. Be sure to add it to your metal Christmas playlist this year!

Keep it Metal,
Jason

The post Behind the Scenes: Christmas Presence – My Original Christmas Metal Instrumental Song appeared first on Jason Stallworth.