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LOOK AT THIS EQ-GRAPH...

Your mixes do not sound like Nickelback for these reasons - You do not have 4 professional musicians with decades of experience playing top tier gear who have rehearsed these songs to perfection - You do not have a professional recording engineer who is capturing the best input tones possible with the right mic setups to fit the song -Then all of this gets sent to a world class mixing engineer who now mixes a track that is already sounding like a record with a fresh set of ears -Then a new mastering engineer gets the record and add's the final cherry on top also with a fresh set of ears So if you are scratching your head on why you cant get your own songs to sound like this.... just realize the amount of talent that goes into these records is insane. But then at the same time realize that if you can even get 50% of your song to sound this powerful by yourself you have done a great job.

Even the guy who mixes Nickleback is a complete Chad

I am not a Nickelback fan. But for what they do they are REALLY REALLY good at it. More so, the album Dark Horse sounds CRAZY. From a production standpoint it's directly responsible for how Devin Townsend mixed "Addicted" as he said "it sounds like they recorded it in a space ship" and he's right. Something about how that album is mixed is fucking ridiculous. I can't explain it but it nearly sounds futuristic for commercial rock at the time it was released.

I liked what he said about choosing the right samples in pre-production at 4:40 . that goes for all sounds imo. mixing is easier when the tracks already sound fitting.

URM really kicking the proverbial hornets nest with that title and I'm all for it. 10/10 clickbait marketing

Great video! This makes so much sense, and I think the same approach works for a lot of other creative work as well, whether it's songwriting, video production, or whatever.

This is refreshing because it is so easy to get trapped into looking for things. When mixing post, I figured out what I liked and just stuck with it. There are certain ones you might like for different reasons, but I always have an REQ6 as an alt. Building the mix from a strict plugin channel strip POV makes the most sense. Build the mix with one tool, and tools as you need them. I mean, Andy Wallace is a pretty bare bones guy. Korn record he was mixing was basically being mixed by SSL compression. It was Untouchables. Granted the recording already had a lot of the work done. Frank, Beinhorn and the Euphonix R-1. I remember when they came to the studio I was at to listen to the Euphonix converters analog ones. 703 and 713s. Tested the Lavry 4 channel converters as well with the 704/714 AES to Madi converters. Beinhorn wanted the Lavry converters 24 channels for the drums. I'm pretty sure he bought it outright from his own pocket. The R-1 was 100k. Then I remember going to Conway as they were trying to figure out how to get 96k recording into PT which was 48k at the time still I think, via a Pyramix Madi card that wouldn't work. Editing on the R-1 was almost like cutting tape. From what I remember, from what I was told, they split the 96k into 2 channels for editing and combined them back to 96k. It was a technique because Pro Tools wasn't 96k at the time. I still remember 5.1 truncating the bit if you lowered a fader internally. We caught that on a John Powell score. Be that as it may, having a console has the advantage. Because you have to make it work. Some outboard for when you need help. I think Nuendo got it right in that respect.

Never into nicklelback, but this song is a banger, and I love Chris Baseford's insight on decision making.

Yeah, this was really ... relaxant for me! I'm mixing quite fast and my standard track template is my well-know EQ and a SSL style channel. And it works out in 99% of the time. Sometimes adding some other comps or eqs ... when I feel to do something more / different. And I always felt bad because of this "habit" ... but I'm really happy to hear, that it's total "OK" to just drop your standard channel you know well and you are fast with. Thanks very lot! Thumbs up, Stefan

In the end, it’s all about the samples you choose.

Nickelback has the best drum sound EVER. Drums are HUGE, so massive that you feel that BOOOOOOOM when the drummer hits toms.

Great advice all around. Sometimes as engineers we get wrapped around certain technical things and it distracts us from the fun, creative stuff. Obviously there are technical, science-based issues to worry about, but there still needs to be the artistic side of mixing. Here’s another thing I thought was super helpful. Mixing quickly, but efficiently, will allow more time for creativity to flourish. Workflow is the key in this regard. Presets, templates, defaults, whatever…should be setup well in advance of the mixing, so again we can have more time to JUST mix and enjoy that process.

Wow that’s the first time I’ve ever seen or heard anyone say, “as good as Nickelback”

This goes directly against the grain of the typical mix engineer mindset of "know your frequencies; know this; know that" and I love it. Use your ears, not your eyes.

Great stuff, man! This kind of attitude/philosophy is very rare (I can think of Joe Barresi as another maestro) among all those frequency-number-plugin-gear people out there. Many times in my own experience it has been that the numbers show one thing, ears deliver the other (and vice versa). Go figure, huh?! So, ears are any producer's/engineer's most valuable plugin ever to be present in this business which should be utilized way more than it's being done. And these kinds of interviews help that to happen. Thanks again!

Great video, thanks

Very cool mindset!

Great video. Great advice.

Solid information, if only people were given this right at the beginning of their mixing journey (:

Been using the API Console Emulation inside of UA LUNA, amazing. Can't wait for a NEVE or SSL.

How do you add that channel topper to Logic Pro X mixer view?

what little controller does he use? unfortunately I didn't see it in the video.

This is GENIUS. Thanks so much for this- exactly the tone I needed to be spoken to in. This man knows me

It’s funny that this vid pops up now. About a week ago I heard NB on the radio and thinking how great the mix was comparing it to the song before and after.

thank you both

I’m neurotic about speed, having lost my license over it a long time ago. But I would definitely AGREE that if you’re paying attention to individual things and not just enjoying song - absolutely… there is your clue.

Hi Great video :) It would be great to know what plug in controller you use to control the waves SSl channel strip? So many many thanks :)

I suddenly feel a lot better about my own process having heard this guy talk. He's on another plane than me in terms of skill, but my buddies and I always talk about the "am I speeding?" test when we're mixing.

I’m going to use this as my excuse in court for my next speeding ticket.

That was awesome

What plugin controller does he use to control SSL strip?

Very cool indeed my dudes

wow thanks for all the insights, that was so thorough 😂 I’m newbie so cannot grasp them all yet but thanks for sharing. Even the drums that already sounded ok live version have undergone tweaking with samples and all. No wonder in the final recording it’s awesome. Metallica black is one of my fav drum mix heard in recording. Hope you can have another episode featuring that particular album mix.

Came for the click bait title, some of the best tips I have heard ever! Great methodology and breakdown of broad stroke moves that actually make a difference.

Love this song, love this mix, love chris, the best NTM for me, pretty in depth and philosophical. Thank you guys!

lol my most recent mix (for practice) i’ve been using Nickelback as a reference, and constantly feeling like their music is so huge and loud and mine sounds like a garage so this is perfect

Not sure what I just watched. But what this guy is saying is if you can’t hear what you want it to sound like then you’re going to be wasting energy looking for it. There is a reason why he’s the best of the best, he has as much talent for hearing what he wants as the actual artist. This guy would do well back in the analog recording days. He reminds me of how Rick Rubin produces.

What I found after many years recording music is that each individual track, be it drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals, HAS to be perfect before you ever mix the song. Tone + performance is everything. Don't skimp on any track. Spend as much time as you can exploring sounds and character for every single track. Every nuance. It will be worth it come mix time. Be anal. Learn how to spot what is not working. What is working. It takes time but it will pay off in the end. 8)))

How does it feel?

Came for the thumbnail, stayed for the wisdom 🤘

What device does he use to control the SSL Plugin into his DAW?

I hate to be the contrarian but the old Waves E channel is still absolutely one of the most versatile and greatest sounding channel strips for any genre imaginable. Choosing that specific one is going to streamline your process and guarantee results as long as you know what you're doing.

Great video and lesson. It's not a out the plugin.

This reminds me a lot of Chris Lake who basically writes massive dance tracks in 30 minutes

His mentality is great. Even though he uses the exact same channel strip as most others I see mixing, but still. It's about the why. No one is going to know or care about what plug in you're using. The listener isn't on a honeymoon with the new plug in YOU bought and thought was the answer to every issue you have in your mix JUST because you want it to end up being worth the money. Your secret sauce can be established AFTER you get the basics down and understand why you're making whatever moves you're making in the mix.

What's boom track?

this philosophy immediately reminds me of hardcore academys Jordan Valeriote

Sometimes we jus have to get our heads out of it.

the songs and mix are very strong

i find that the people that give the whole spiel "have a really narrow Q and pull down 4.5k, 6.034k, by 3db" etc are often amateur or inexperienced, but have been impressed when they've heard another amateur or inexperienced person promote the same thing. thus creating an endless cycle of bullshittery and bad habits. this is really refreshing seeing a guy with a completely no bullshit approach, just getting stuck in. if it sounds good, its good. end of story.

That was interesting.

Love these tips he’s got something similar to Rick Rubin it’s rare to see modern producers who approach mixes like this anymore

The San Quinten music video clips really make this 💀

I love the Nickelback sound. I love the final product. I am kind of disappointed in how they get there now. I used to stack sounds like this but have become way more of a "purist" which is kind of bs because after I put all my tweaks, comps, whatever-- its not pure, far from pure.. but ??? I guess if I need a radio hit to sound big, I better stack the hell out of it and sculp the sound.

Sounds to me a lot like CLA's approach. Yeah given that your incoming tracks are amazingly produced, mixing it's always a lot simpler than most people think it is (and I said "simpler", not "easy")

Fuckin' NICE.

Dude this guy rocks.

epic thumbnail😝😝

I use the brainworx ssl channel on every single one of my tracks too. The EQ just sounds the absolute best compared to anything I’ve ever used. It’s so musical. It’s literally hard to make things sound bad with it.

Anyone know what plugin controller he’s using?

What controller is he using to control a Waves channel strip in Pro Tools? I didn't think the SSL controller worked with anything other than their own plugins. He must have a generic midi controller mapped with Mulligan to control just the parameters he cares about.

Basically make good templates this will help you save time and focus more on playing the instrument and performance

I've always thought Nickelback had a tight sound even though they've been the subject of a lot of undue hate. They're a solid band that sticks to the basics.

I don’t love NB’s music outside of Silver Side Up, but their mixes/production both studio and live are incredible.

sweet!

I wish more reverb plugins had note subdivision times rather than ms so I didn’t have to bust out the calculator and divide the tempo by 60,000 or 30,000 to find a note subdivision for the song. I mean I do it to get that perfectly long tail he’s talking about but yeah I wish more plugins incorporated it

Our hows In the middle of the whys

I like this guy

yo that first few seconds sounded like a mathcore/hardcore riff for sure

Marketing has infected the production world for years. Ypu dont need every single plugin ever made or the best converters to get a good results.

Easiest workaround. Q3 on every track or Softube Console.

Niiiiice

Chris must use Auto Align 2

Mega-Church vibes.

Tommy Turtle is comin' out of the shell tonight!

I guess if you want a big, fat, larger than life sound, then you have to do things in the studio that aren’t possible with actual playing, like layering multiple samples together. I don’t remember Led Zep having to layer kicks, but what do I know. And I suppose if you layer kick samples then you have to have use a backing track when playing live to reproduce the layered kick, or have someone trigger it when playing live.

Bruh that Thumbnail made my day 😂

Me: let’s see how the pros do it. The Pro: So I slap this sample on top of that sample then layer it with these samples.

Nickelback? That's a real mean burn, take it back!😂

Why do you need a channel strip on every channel?

The answer is very simple - the quality of your mixes' input signals is not even 20% as good as Nickelback's.

I like big drums and I cannot lie. However, of course his mixing process is fast and little work is necessary on EQ or compression: he did all the work in pre-production.

Well… the title wins. Hooks you right in.

That really solidifies where I'm at right now. I've always been a believer of stock plugins. Keep it simple, does the job, move on

I'm confused! On the one hand you're basically saying just adjust the frequency or gain and move on! But then you're talking about mixing all those kick samples together, which usually takes a lot longer to complete than it does just to turn a few knobs to get your sound! So, either way you're still spending roughly the same amount of time adjusting the kick versus creating a new one from samples! Which probably takes longer!

Still amazing to see Nickelback haters in comment sections. The haters are a huge reason why Nickelback is a arena band these days and makes millions. Keep up giving free publicity and marketing for them.

I wouldn't know

dimmu borjire lmao

no mix can save a Nickelback song

Because Joey Moi is an absolute animal. That’s why

🤘😎

He makes thing easier but its not easy at all.

He seems like the guy who mixes Nickleback

"Who cares, what frequency did I end up on? I don't know, I fixed the problem, move on." - truer words have never been spoken. Stop fucking around, and get the job done.

OMG! This guy get's it... This day and age, with the plug-in overload, and the fact that so much is digital, and plugins are now almost all on an equal level, he's taking the process back to "why", instead of what. The whole GAS epidemic has caused that. You can't tell what a piece of gear is when listening, whether recording, or instrument. It ALL sounds good today. You knowledge, workflow, and ears are FAR more important than what gear you own. The irony is that I'm not a fan of the drums, because they sound exactly like what it is...a bunch of WAY over-processed samples. They're high-and low-pitched thuds with tons of reverb. It works for Nickelback (whom I'm a HUGE fan of), though. So much of the recording today is digital, which means, as long as the signal being recorded is a fundamentally good sound, it shouldn't matter which "digital" piece of gear you use (theoretically). I'd like to see just how good one of the pro's could get a Presonus, or Focusrite piece of gear to sound, with high-end plugins. Because, there's literally no difference between a Neve, SSL, or Presonus mic-pre's (in and of themselves). Several comparisons have already disproven that. So, I'm trying to see where the quantum leap of bad mixes to good mixes takes place. I'm convinced, that once you get to a certain point of quality with gear (which is now VERY accessible today) it's the knowledge of the equipment.

mostly it's how things are recorded. source material is crucial. you can't polish a turd.

HA! I see kallmekris, directly in front of the band, straight out of the gate. :) I know she's a Nickleback fan and friend of the band. Very cool.

Amazing advises I 100% agree with. But God I really don’t wanna sound like Nickelback tho ‘ x).