What happens when a keyboard player for Korn and Five Finger Death Punch dives headfirst into the neon-soaked synthwave world? Davey Oberlin joins Marc Matthews to reveal how he transforms classic rock anthems into synthwave masterpieces through his project, All The Damn Vampires.
Davey breaks down his cover of Whitesnake's Is This Love, uncovering the creative process behind reinterpreting rock songs in a different musical style. From drop F guitar tunings that create wall-shaking heaviness to vocal production techniques that achieve 80s aesthetics in modern synthwave production, every decision is made with precision. "I picture that dark studio vocal booth in the '80s," Davey explains, "then try to get the sound that matches the vibe."
The conversation explores using vintage effects in synthwave production and the unique challenges of blending organic and electronic elements. Davey introduces “Vice Core,” his signature fusion of Miami Vice aesthetics, yacht rock sensibilities, and metal intensity—creating an entirely new sonic experience. He also shares insights into how audiences react to synthwave covers of rock classics, balancing nostalgia with innovation.
What You’ll Learn:
- Arrangement strategies for synthwave compositions that retain the emotional impact of rock originals
- Mixing and mastering techniques for synthwave tracks that balance analog warmth with modern polish
- Why so many metal musicians transition into synthwave and how the two genres overlap
- How to reinterpret rock songs while preserving their essence and avoiding common pitfalls
- The role of quad-tracking rhythm guitars in creating a massive yet controlled sound
- The importance of visual storytelling in synthwave production and its impact on sonic choices
Whether you're a producer experimenting with how to cover a rock song, a guitarist exploring electronic textures, or simply fascinated by the evolution of synthwave, Davey delivers an inspiring look at reinvention, collaboration, and pushing creative boundaries.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Follow Davey Oberlin
Follow All The Damn Vampires
Book your FREE 20 Minute Discovery Call
Follow Marc Matthews' Socials:
Instagram | YouTube | Synth Music Mastering
Thanks for listening!!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Davey Oberlin (00:00):
Again, like for that vocal, I just wanted it to
kind of have that air like whereyou picture that dark studio
vocal booth in the 80s.
You know, like that was really.
The approach was like a visualfirst and then, you know, trying
to get the sound that matchesthe vibe You're listening to the
Inside the Mix podcast withyour host, mark Matthews.
Marc Matthews (00:22):
Welcome to Inside the Mix, your go-to podcast for
music creation and production.
Whether you're crafting yourfirst track or refining your
mixing skills, join me each weekfor expert interviews,
practical tutorials and insightsto help you level up your music
and smash it in the musicindustry.
Let's dive in.
Hey folks, welcome to Insidethe Mix.
(00:45):
Today, we're diving into how totransform a classic rock song
into a synthwave masterpiece,and who better to guide us than
Davey Oberlin, the mastermindbehind all the damn vampires?
Davey, how are you, buddy?
Thank you for joining me.
Great Thanks for having me.
Fantastic.
So I've been looking forward tothis, and I should have said
this off air, but I'm on theother side of a sore throat, so
(01:08):
my voice might break slightly attimes, so my apologies.
Davey Oberlin (01:11):
You and me both, I've been fighting a cold.
Marc Matthews (01:13):
Have you.
Yeah, same man, same Every time.
I think I'm getting over it.
Then I try and do something,some sort of content like this,
and my voice just gives out.
But hopefully, fingers crossed,we're on the same page.
So by the end of this therewould just be no audio
whatsoever and either of us,they wouldn't talk.
(01:34):
Fantastic.
So for the audience listeningwho might not be familiar with
davey and all the damn vampires,he's had a quite impressive
career, from playing keyboardfor five finger death punch and
corn to I love that straightaway to crafting cinematic
synth-heavy music that'scaptivated fans worldwide.
He's no stranger toreinterpreting iconic sounds and
today he's going to share hisprocess for covering classic
(01:56):
rock songs in a synthwave style.
Now, before we went live withthis, I was just saying that
I've always been a listener ofyour, your work and whatnot, but
then I heard the the whitesnake cover of is this love,
which, for anyone who knows me,it's probably one of my favorite
songs, and I was like man,gotta get this guy on the
podcast to chat about this,because it's uh, it's a belt or
of a tune, um, to begin with.
(02:17):
And and the synth wave cover toboot as well.
So really excited for this man,really excited.
Thank you, this is awesome, yeah, so in this episode you'll
learn step by step how toapproach covering a classic rock
song.
Where to start sound design,some vocal instrumentation and
some production and mixingtechniques.
So I think the straight away Ithink to to begin with, uh,
(02:40):
breaking down the process youcovered, is this love, what drew
you to want to do a sort ofsynth wave with guitar-esque
sort of cover of this song?
Davey Oberlin (02:49):
it actually started um I.
I covered the song toy soldiersby martika and uh and I what I
wanted to do was take, like youknow that, just the vibe and the
, the synths and the melodies,and I wanted to add, you know
things that I like like heavierguitar.
So in that song I'm using aguitar that's tuned to like drop
(03:10):
a, so it's like super heavy butit's still palatable.
The vocals are still true tothe original.
Um, I kind of wanted to liketake the classic and have it
meet modern.
I'm a big typo negative fan.
That's one of my favorite bands,so there's a little bit of Typo
Negative in everything I dowith all the damn vampires and
some people either know or theydon't.
But that was kind of where itkicked off and I'm like I want
(03:31):
to keep introducing the heavierguitar to this stuff and still
pay homage to music from a timethat fits visuals so well.
Like some of the Miami Vicestuff.
I love all that blood sport,like how the music accompanies
the visuals.
So I was like how do I takethat, produce it modern and then
add, like these heavier guitarsso that when I do it live it's
(03:54):
like even more exciting?
Um, and we could, you know, doshows with like corn or five
finger, some of the bands that Iplayed with.
Like I want to fit within thesame world and still honor, like
my synth wave, you know, rootswith all that typo negative as
soon as you say I'm a massive,massive typo fan and it's.
Marc Matthews (04:09):
I'm so good I never got to see them live.
Uh and yeah, I, I would haveloved to, man, and there's,
there's that, there's aperformance of typo.
I'm going off on a tangent herethat I watch probably once a
week I think I do too.
Yeah, there's one shot withanesthesia as it pans across the
crowd at like dusk and I'm likethis is incredible.
(04:31):
So Drop A as well.
I mean, I was in a band and weplayed in Drop B yeah, but Drop
A.
What sort of strings are youusing for Drop?
Davey Oberlin (04:43):
A man, I don't know, they're like just shy of
bass strings.
Is this love?
Is drop f?
So?
But I'm actually using a, uh, apedal that tunes it down,
because during the clean guitarparts I'm playing in standard
and then, uh, the guitar itselfis that I've got right here is
tuned to drop a, and then I hitthat pedal and bring it down to
drop f, so it's like super heavy.
(05:05):
I mean by all standards itshould be like a hardcore song,
you know, but it doesn't.
It doesn't come off like that.
It still comes off like is thislove?
But you know it's easy to miss,like nobody's, like sitting
there going oh dang, like youknow.
Yeah, so that's one of myfavorite songs and, uh, maybe I
shouldn't spill the beans too.
I'll save it for later on why Igot around to what that's going
(05:26):
into for the body of work.
Marc Matthews (05:27):
But yeah, yeah, so of course, so is that are you
.
You say you go, you've got thepedal, then go to drop f.
Is that happening in the chorus?
Is that right?
Yeah?
Davey Oberlin (05:36):
exactly as soon as that didn't, didn't, didn't?
That's all like coming intodrop f, which is it's a little
bit of a mental uh mix up,because you know, you got to
reposition yourself on the neckfor drop f so differently so if
I forgot to hit that pedal orsomething it would just sound so
off, you know.
And then I got to kick that offagain for, like, even the
guitar solo.
(05:57):
Before I had andy james on it,I was doing the guitar solo,
just playing basically theoriginal solo and, um, the clean
parts.
You know, it's all like back tostandard.
Marc Matthews (06:06):
That's impressive .
That's that's.
That is a low tuning, Reallylow.
I can kind of see why, though,because when you say that you
want it to be able to sort ofshare the stage with the bands
that you've mentioned, you kindof you need that, don't you?
You need that sort of sound.
Davey Oberlin (06:23):
Yeah, Compliment each other other you want to
feel it in your chest.
You know, like I I love likethe midnight and time cop, but I
mean I can't imagine going totheir shows and feeling a sub
kicking me in the chest withthat heavy guitar and like so
you get like the sense of, likeyou know, the great synth wave
acts and then you'll get thatlike just heavy rock and metal
guitar that like just sits sowell in the mix, like with that
(06:46):
big fat bass guitar, like I feellike that's going to be a
really cool live show once weget that all you know kicked off
yeah, you mentioned that.
Marc Matthews (06:54):
The midnight and time cop.
Have you ever considered?
This is total tangent here.
Have you ever considered likecovering any of their synth wave
body of work, but with thatheavier sort of sound that
you've got?
Davey Oberlin (07:05):
that that would actually be really cool.
I have, and I did a like areimagining of uh river of
darkness by the midnight and uh,people seem to love that one.
Like.
I just slowed it down and madeit a lot dreamier, a little more
like nine inch nails, but um,nice, nice, I haven't really
reimagined anything.
I talked to uh royce, theguitar player for the Midnight,
a lot and he writes some heavystuff too.
(07:27):
We'll send each other demoswe're working on and he's super
into it.
He sent me something that washeavy guitars.
I was like this is so sick andso I could see a future where
something like that occurs, butnothing officially yet.
Marc Matthews (07:44):
That would be cool, man.
This is um.
This is a second interview of2025, so the first one was
actually tyler from the midnight, which is going to be recording
.
This is dropping the next week,which is the 24th or something
of march, and um, I, when Ifirst started the podcast, I
interviewed a fair amount ofartists and it was quite I.
I noticed the pattern.
There were so many, and I'm oneof them like metalheads who
(08:07):
came over to synthwave and likesynth music, this just seems to
be a this, this, um, no, I don'twant to say calling, but I
don't know some gravitationalpull.
So, like the synthwave andsynth based music, uh, what a
tangent.
Again, what drew you to sort ofmove into and start dabbling in
and in this realm with all thedamn vampires?
Davey Oberlin (08:29):
so a long time ago I had this little project
that I was dabbling with umcalled black zenith, and it was
like dark wave, like um depechemode, you know, maybe even
darker, but my production skillswere just not there.
I was just like just makingthese little little songs I'd
share with friends and maybeupload here and there.
Um, and then I I started datinga girl who was really into, uh
(08:52):
like FM 84 time cop, uh Calix,what else?
Uh the Kavinsky, so like once Iheard that I was like wait,
people are like fully justgrabbing onto this sound and
like really leading into it.
I was like I've always wantedto do that.
I just didn't know there waslike a, you know, there was like
a bed position for it.
So I started kind of messingwith it on my own.
(09:13):
I'd be on tour with Korn, I'dhave a day off in the hotel and
I'd start messing with music oryou know.
And then, uh, once I had some,some tracks done, I'd show the
other guys, thinking likethey're going to be like this is
the goofy, you know, it's likefemale-fronted pop music.
Like they're not going to beinto it.
Everybody loved it, like even tothis day, like if I run into,
(09:42):
like Jacoby from Poppa Roach,he'll love synth wave, um, and
it seems to just like translateso well.
I have a friend that I grew upwith out here, um, and we used
to go to like all these hardcoreshows and our bands would play
in them, and he's in a band it'scalled like dance with the dead
and they do yeah, yeah, yeah,tony Um, and he, you know he
comes from the same background.
(10:02):
It's like I don't know it.
Just it seems to be likeanother logical step.
Like a lot of people went fromhardcore to like dubstep and
like DJing.
I think there's like a similarlike energy behind all that,
with that like kind of tempo andyou know the stomp.
So Synthwave kind of harkensinto like metal a little bit,
with those like kind of sadminor melodies that are still
(10:24):
like it can be melodic yeah,that makes perfect sense and
it's what I've experiencedmyself and what I've chatted to
other people about.
Marc Matthews (10:31):
Like the sounds, because the great thing with
synthesizers is you're not Isuppose you're not limited
anyway with any genre of musicreally but you can create what
you want like sound wise.
Yeah, make it as heavy or aslight as you want.
But the bands you mentionedthen papa roach, man, that's a
throwback for me.
I remember listening to paparoach by the naughties man, I
grew up listening to that sortof new metal sound and then you
got under oath as well and Iknow you did a song.
(10:52):
There's a song you releasedrecently which was uh, I forget
that.
I forget the name of it now,but the singer on it.
I was like I recognize thatsinger's voice and it took me an
age to work out, but it's like18 visions and it played with me
yeah, and it played with me forso long and I was like I
recognize that voice, I totallydo.
And then I dig a bit deeper andthen I was like wow, and it just
took me back because I hands inthe air, I hadn't listened to
(11:14):
18 visions for quite a while,yeah, but it made me dig back in
and go back to that again.
So it's really cool, though,like say it's, it's interesting
that you mentioned all thoseacts as well and they're
listening to, uh, to synthwave.
It'd be uh interesting to todig into them as well man and
great shout out to 18 visions.
Davey Oberlin (11:31):
I mean, that was like one of my favorite hardcore
bands.
And then keith, the guitarplayer, for 18v, he, he actually
put me onto programming drums,which is how I got started like
breaking away from, you know,doing rehearsals where drummers
are flaking and we can't writesongs because we don't have a
drummer there.
And then I just started doingeverything in the box
programming my drums, sendingthem to people, other drummers,
(11:52):
you know.
So Keith really like helped meout there.
James is a good friend and Iwas like it'd be so cool to do a
song together.
And he came out with RunawayDreams.
He sounds kind of like a mixbetween Sebastian Bach and Ozzy
Osbourne on that track.
You know, it's like it's.
It's really I was like I wantto end the album with like a
little bit of a hint towardssome of the future stuff I'm
doing.
So then, you know, fast forwardto today.
(12:14):
We have, um, you know, thewhite snake cover, no-transcript
(12:47):
, put it in my session and Ifind the the best way for me to
work is to get the drums knockedout.
So I'll recreate the drums,I'll follow along with the track
.
Um, I'll put my own sounds in,of course, but like I just want
to have that backbone so that Ican mute that track and then
start working on my own.
What really like kind ofpropelled me towards like
(13:07):
focusing on some covers is I wasasked to do like remixes, like
Sumerian Records hit me up for abunch of remixes, but what and
what I ended up doing was barelylistening to the original.
I just took the vocal stem andmake my own song around it, you
know.
And so I realized like I'm notdoing remixes, I'm doing like
full reimaginings.
And then you know, that endedup becoming like the Avenged
Sevenfold collaboration I did,where they were just like let's
(13:29):
make a synthwave song, and so wedid that track.
And then I started kind ofhitting these covers a little
bit harder and I found theprocess of starting with the
drums really gets you there, andthen behind that, you know, you
can recreate the melody any wayyou want.
So I could have done it with asynth, I could have done it with
a guitar, you know, but for forthis particular cover, the bass
(13:52):
and the drums really like drivethe whole song, you know, and
the bass that do, do, do, do, do, do, do you know it really
drives it.
So I got this, this nice LTDbass, and I slapped on some
parallax uh from neural dsp.
That's a great plug-in, it justmakes it fat.
I have a kemper, uh poweredguitar head that I use with like
(14:12):
a really clean channel.
Put the bass in through that,slap parallax on it and then, uh
, yeah, I mean it just gives youthis massive bass sound.
I barely had to adjust it inthe mix, like I was.
I was pretty happy with itright away.
I'm also like really into lowend and bass, probably more than
a lot of people like, uh, I hadandy james and uh charlie from
five finger in in my uh truckand they were here in town, uh,
(14:35):
and I was driving them and I wasshowing them all these these
new tracks, you know, um, andthey were just getting blown
away by all the bass in the backyou know it was.
It was so brutal.
I was like I'm sorry, guys,like I can't help it.
I don't even realize it till Iget in you know, and do the car
mix like that.
The base is so cranked, but Ijust love it that way.
I always have.
Marc Matthews (14:53):
What, what, what is it you think that drives you
to to have that?
What about LA?
Davey Oberlin (15:11):
I think there's multiple answers to that.
A big part of it is growing up.
I was a big West Coast hip-hopfan.
I grew up in LA.
I was listening to Doggy Styleand all the Dre stuff so I love.
And then when I heard Korn andthey had 808s I was like okay,
that's sick.
And so I've always kind ofgravitated towards bands that
(15:32):
have a little bit more low endin their guitar mix and their
drum mix.
You know, then the other sideof that is like I think all the
years of live music I've lostsome low frequency in my hearing
.
So I think I'm cranking it moreto like compensate.
And so it's like this unholymarriage of like wanting too
much low end, so I kind of haveto dial it back.
But yeah, I do lean heavierinto the low end.
(15:54):
So I I kind of have to dial itback, but but yeah, I do lean
heavier into the low end thanmost people you've kind of gone
against.
Marc Matthews (15:58):
What is the natural tendency as we get older
is the other the highfrequencies tail off.
You've kind of like it's gonethe other way.
They're like the lows, loads oftotal.
But I didn't realize that cornused 808s.
I didn't know that.
Davey Oberlin (16:11):
Well yeah in the beginning of uh I think it's
blind boom, boom, boom, boom.
Yeah, yeah, you know.
So, like ray, uh the drummer,now he had a little sample pad
with an 808 on it.
That was that kind of iconicthat and you'll hear it in like
the older recordings now thatI've mentioned it, like if you
listen, like you're like, ohthere, it is like it's just this
one 808 sound and uh, right,yeah, so he's got that set up.
Marc Matthews (16:35):
Yeah, it's pretty cool.
Yeah, nice, nice.
Is there anything in particular?
That, when it comes to coversongs, let's say we're sticking
with the rock genre here.
That is more challenging thanwhat.
What is the most challengingpart of it, do you think?
Davey Oberlin (16:51):
let's say, well for me, I, I do everything by
ear.
I can't read music, like youknow, so I'm.
If I'm recreating something andthere's like a small little
nuance and I miss it, I'll.
I like to send my music to ahandful of friends that I trust
for like their mix, uh, input,or you know, and then they'll be
like, oh, something's off righthere, and then I I can't hear
(17:11):
it.
They'll, they'll it out enough,and then all of a sudden it'll
clear up in my head and I'llhear it.
So some of those smallernuances are a little bit more
difficult.
A while ago I would have toldyou it would be like comping the
vocals or mixing the vocals,but now I feel like I have a
pretty good handle on that.
But just being overcritical ofthe mix and just sitting there
(17:32):
and just trying to rerun ituntil I can't even hear the
difference anymore, I have tostep away for a week.
I think the biggest part isjust going.
I'm doing this by ear.
I have to trust that I don'thave anything in front of me on
paper that's saying this isright or this is wrong.
That's kind of been the biggeststruggle.
Some of these songs thatWhitesnake are doing are like
(17:55):
very technical.
You know those guys were likemasterclass musicians.
Marc Matthews (17:58):
So there's there's all kinds of little
nuances that you might miss ifyou, you know, aren't paying
attention, that you don't thinkare important, but they actually
are, I suppose, devil'sadvocate in a way, and I
remember when reading sort ofinterviews with other musicians
throughout throughout thedecades and whatnot, when they
say they haven't got thatability to to read music or the
necessarily the musical theoryin a way.
(18:19):
It kind of not that you havelimitations anyway, but it means
you can be a bit more creative.
I'm not more creative or opensup creative possibilities by
accident, let's say, I guessyeah, happy accidents yeah yeah,
that's the one.
That's the one I was looking foryeah, yeah, that's very true.
Davey Oberlin (18:36):
Uh, so basically, um, is this love is like part
of a bigger thing I'm doing.
It's called we're coining itvice core and it's going to be
like like la vice, miami vice,you know, and there's some like
yacht rock covers on there, likeoh, wow, and so it's going to
be cool.
But one of the one of the trackslike um, that's going gonna
(18:56):
come out, it's kind of like that.
Like I started listening to itI was like man, I don't know
like if I even want to recreatethis, and then I ended up
bringing it into this like lo-fikind of synthy thing for the
verses and then the chorus comesin all big.
So that was like a one of thoseyou know happy accidents where
it just kind of settled into itwithout having that you know the
sheet music or whatever.
(19:16):
Like just just by ear it justfelt right, you know.
So that'll, I'm looking forwardto putting that one out too.
That'd be really cool.
Marc Matthews (19:22):
Yeah, man, yacht yacht rock sounds interesting.
It reminds me of a uh, rememberhis name, so a friend of mine
sent it to me, but he does.
York rock covers of various ummusical genres, and the first
one I saw was pantera, fiveminutes alone like a york rock
cover and I was just like I wasblown away.
I was like this is absolutelyincredible just hearing a york
(19:45):
rock version of that.
You'll have to find it it's sogood and it's, it's just the
vocal on, it is just, it'sfantastic.
Um, yeah, it might be aigenerate, but even so, okay,
that's possible yeah, yeah, itjust I was just like this this
is actually I would listen tothis.
I genuinely would listen tothat.
Davey Oberlin (20:05):
It just sounded so good yeah, I mean, like I
wish I could list off all thelike.
It's a, it's a cross betweenlike covers and originals.
I wish I could list off more ofthe covers because it would
illustrate it better.
But basically, like you know,if you were to picture like a um
, that white snake cover, thislike modern universe of like la
vice with like the you know the,the uh linen suits, you know
(20:28):
the pastels and stuff, like inthe mac machine guns, like it's
kind of like we're leaning intoum, there's even a track on
there with uh sunglasses kid andoh nice, yeah, yeah yeah, I
love edward.
He, I, I'm the uh, I don't knowif anybody knows this, but he
just put out an album andthere's like an intro with a guy
talking like a radio host yeah,uh, johnny thunder and then
(20:51):
there's like a helicopter dudewho's like illustrating every
all the action that's going on.
That's, that's all me, like Idid all the voiceovers on that,
yeah, yeah.
So we do a lot of like coolcollaborations together.
He's like one of my you knowtop five friends that are like
production wizards that I bouncethings off of.
So, like you know, everything Ifinish I send to him on like
(21:12):
whatsapp I'm like, hey, let meknow if this mix sounds good.
Yeah, he's one of the best he'salways been so yeah, yeah, ed's
great man.
Marc Matthews (21:19):
I've had him on the podcast a couple times, I
think.
Uh, I'm overdue.
Actually, I think we said we'regoing to catch up in a year's
time, so I should probably reachout to him, but yeah, oh yeah
he's great, isn't he?
He's a great bloke and likewhat he's doing on social media
as well, with his, with hiscaptions and his and his pov.
Davey Oberlin (21:35):
It's so good it's crazy like there's so many
copycats that have sponsoredthat.
Marc Matthews (21:39):
You know indeed, indeed, a new one crop up every
day.
But no, that's cool, it's.
It's really interesting because, um, obviously, speaking to
yourself today, and then, uh,you mentioned ed sunglasses kid,
and just how this sort ofcircle, this network, has sort
of grown from all these peoplefrom different sort of uh walks
(22:00):
of musical life, if you will.
Uh, yeah, it's really really,really interesting yeah, it is.
Davey Oberlin (22:05):
I I think it's a cool place to be in a really
cool time.
I mean, I I feel like, with theresources we have now, with
digital streaming and that whole, like the financial structure
behind that, it's kind ofholding back this like
incredible moment in time wherewe could all be in the same
space and, you know, putting onthese giant festivals and
there's just so many coolopportunities.
(22:25):
But, um, you know, there'slittle bits, like if people
follow really close, um, wherewe're like helping each other
out and we're doing cool littlethings like those voiceovers.
And you know, obviously there'sa lot of a track or two coming
out with ed like um for thisvice core stuff, so that'll be
really cool to show people Ilook forward to listening to
that.
Marc Matthews (22:44):
Um, yeah, excellent man, but once again
I've gone off on a tangent,steering back to the to the
cover side of things.
Um, so there was one thing Iwanted to touch on, and that was
it's actually a couple thingsactually before we sort of wrap
things up, and that was the thevocal on is this love?
Now, obviously, davidcoverdale's voice is, uh, is an
impressive voice, as as we, aswe, well know.
How did you approach handlingthe vocals and sort of the vocal
(23:07):
production on that?
Davey Oberlin (23:09):
well.
So, uh, ryan rose is the singer.
He's singing on pretty much allthe new stuff.
I have a track that is apopular older track called
Breaking Up, that Ryan sings on.
So a lot of people that arefollowing my music will know him
from that and he's just anincredible vocalist through and
through.
He's almost too powerful towhere, if he's tracking, we
(23:34):
really have to be careful withthe vocal stems, because there's
so much in there, um, so Ireally just wanted to.
I wanted it to be very clearand present.
But also, you know, I neededthat, that reverb and that delay
to kind of tail in there alittle bit, and especially if
you want to get that kind oficonic sound.
So what I did was I actuallyside chained all of the effects,
so I have the, the main vocal,and then I'm sending, sending it
(23:56):
to another bus with, like youknow, delay reverb just cranked
up, and then I turned that downvery low.
So then you don't lose any ofthe volume on the vocal and
you're not getting too muddy andcrowded, but you still have
that.
You know those effects and Ithink I used a lot of like
Valhalla vintage verb, causethey have some of the gated
stuff and that that's, uh, hasbeen working really well with
(24:17):
this um.
And then, uh, sometimes I'lluse, like FabFilter Pro R, you
know, I like, I like theFabFilter plug-in suites and the
visuals of them, um, and then Ijust I work in Cubase so I just
slapped on a Cubase stock likeping pong delay and just, you
know, put that at like 15 mix,uh, 15 mix, you know, just keep
it like nice and low.
So I, I really tried to justkeep the vocals out front and,
(24:41):
uh, I I definitely did a lot, alittle bit less effects
processing on than I normallywould.
Sometimes I'll really saturatethem.
But I felt, like um with ryan,like his voice is just so, so
powerful and distinct, like itdoesn't need much.
You know, like a lot of vocalsI'll comp and I'll get I'll have
to like you can tune them upmelody and like all that you
know, just to clean things up.
But really, once I get stemsfrom Ryan, it's it's always just
(25:04):
a matter of like taming thosethose really powerful moments,
you know, because it's so, sobrutal.
But, um, again, like for thatvocal, I just wanted it to kind
of have that air like where youyou picture that dark studio
vocal booth in the 80s.
You know like that was reallythe approach, was like a visual
first and then, you know, tryingto get the sound that matches
(25:27):
the vibe nice if I had a reverbvintage.
Marc Matthews (25:30):
There's my voice going there.
Uh, it's a fantastic reverb.
I'll be using that for years aswell, and it's it's great to
hear as well that, um I thinkthis would be really good for
the audience listening thatyou're also using stock, like
delays and and stock plugins,because they're often overlooked
.
I find, I mean, you're a cubaseuser, um, but regardless of
what sort of daw so daw, sort ofum agnostic like using just
(25:54):
stock plugins it's great to hearthat as well, you know, because
sometimes they're overlooked.
Davey Oberlin (26:00):
As I say, yeah, there's a lot of good stuff in
there, like cubase does a reallygood job.
I started on pro tools, then Iwould rewire with reason to do
synth stuff and now I'm all inon cubase.
Um, I have a good friend, he's,he goes by dj zed and uh, he
uses cubase and I loved hisproduction.
So I was like man, just teachme, and so it was a really easy
transition.
(26:20):
You know, just very similar topro tools and and it's just a
lot better for midi andeverything.
So, um, I I go in there andthen what I can't get out of the
stock stuff I'll you know I'lldo, like external plugins.
Oh, another, another plugin Ilike with vocals that people
might dig is, uh, it's called xfolks, x vo, x, um, and it's a
great starting point.
(26:41):
Like if you just need you knowa little bit more in your vocal,
you need a little push, youneed some effects, like it kind
of has everything.
You can almost just put it ontheir default.
Like I like to carve out thelow end, you know frequencies
and like really just get, getall the frequencies clean.
But, um, x folks is awesome,like I sometimes will just slap
that on right away and and uhand just go from there is.
Marc Matthews (27:04):
Is that native plug-in for cubase or is that a
third party plug-in?
Davey Oberlin (27:07):
that's a third party.
I wish I could tell you whatcompany makes it, but that's got
.
Marc Matthews (27:11):
I'll put a link in the episode notes.
I'll do a bit of researchafterwards and chuck it in the
audience as well, but now that'sreally cool man.
So moving on, um, in theinterest of time here to the
actual guitar.
So you've got andy james,phenomenal guitarist.
Um, I followed his work forquite some time.
Um, so we touched on earlierthat you're using quite low
tunings, uh, to say really so,when it comes to sort of the,
(27:34):
the lead guitar elements, it.
Have you got any tips formaking?
Actually, let's start firstwith how you approached and why
you approached Andy James.
Let's start with that storyfirst.
Davey Oberlin (27:43):
Okay, so Andy is on one of my favorite All the
Damn Vampire songs I've everwritten, called Carolina Lies,
so he plays the solo on thatsong.
We were actually out on tourtogether and he was.
I hadn't been tracking guitaror anything on cubase, like I
just wasn't confident.
And then I saw him working withit.
(28:03):
He'd bring his kemper in andhe'd be tracking on cubase and
I'm like dude, like what's yourprocess?
And so he, he helped me, youknow, get myself set up to, uh,
basically track instrumentsagain in a way I hadn't been
doing for years.
I came home home I wrote likenine super heavy songs like very
typo, negative catatonia, justlike moody stuff.
I'll send you.
(28:23):
I have a private link for that,I'll send you.
Yeah, yeah, please do man it waslike the first thing I did when
I got home.
So I was like, all right, thisis killer.
And Andy also loves synth waves.
So we'd be in the dressing roomgetting ready.
You know we were doing allthose Metallica shows.
So we'd be at the stadiums andwe'd have like the midnight
playing, you know, as ourwarm-up music, while we're
getting ready just doingpush-ups, whatever.
Like Charlie and Andy loveSynthwave, we all listen to a
(28:47):
little bit of everything.
You know Sleep, token, whatever.
So that's always kind of there.
And I think once Andy didcarolina lies that the track did
really well.
It got received really well.
Um, toy soldiers, andy plays asolo on that one.
So I was like this is anothergreat song for andy.
Like I played I've originallyrecorded myself playing the solo
(29:07):
on it and I was like this iscool, but it's basically just
the original solo.
I want to hear andy james takeon this because, to be honest,
he's one of my favorite guitarplayers.
I think he's maybe one of thebest guitar players right now.
Like, uh, modern technicalityfeel he does everything looks so
well.
It's like the best of dime bagand the best of like yngwie
malmsteen all in one person, youknow so yeah, I don't.
I hope he doesn't listen to thisbecause this one played his ego
(29:29):
, but uh, but anyway.
So I was like let me throw thisto andy if he's got time, if
he's interested, you know.
And he got right back to me,you know, with his take on the
solo.
It was awesome and it was oneof those moments where he
pointed out one of those thingsthat I was missing.
So like there's that dun dundun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun dun
.
I wasn't stepping up like soonenough, so there's a step up
(29:53):
that goes a little bit like onesooner than I was doing.
Andy was like something's wrong,mate.
He's like, you know, there'sjust something that's off on
this part and I was like I can'thear it.
Man, it's driving me crazy.
He's like listen.
And then he did it.
I was like ah, so you know, hehelped me sort that, got the
solo on it.
It was cool, I'm, the otherguitars are me.
So I'm like oh man, if andydoesn't like these guitars, you
(30:15):
know I gotta listen to what hesays because he's like the
ultimate.
so yeah, but it, but it allworked out and I'm I'm always
hoping I can get andy onsomething.
You know I in a perfect worldhe'd be in the all the damn
vampires live band when I startdoing that, you know.
But uh, that just depends onhis schedule and like what he's
interested in yeah, interesting,interesting stuff.
Marc Matthews (30:34):
I have to reach out to andy once again.
This is an eye opener for mebecause you mentioned these
artists that I had no idea.
Obviously I know andy'srecorded on and you've you've
worked with andy on your stuff,um, but a lot of them I had no
idea they were sort of likethese, these, these synth fans.
So it'd be interesting to um,I'll aim high and and start
approaching them randomly and itwould be great.
Davey Oberlin (30:55):
He's yeah, he's also a Cubase user, like I said,
and so you know he's a greatproducer.
He does all of his own solostuff, he produces all of that
and the production's awesome.
I think we use the same drumkits.
Marc Matthews (31:10):
Amazing, amazing.
So with regards to that andrecording guitar for Synthwave
because I know it happens a lotbecause the the sort of core
listeners for this podcaststarted out, it really did start
out with, like, synthwaveartists and it's sort of grown
organically and ballooned fromthat into various sort of
sectors and whatnot, but thenit's sort of steering its way
(31:32):
back to synth now and I knowthere are a lot out there who do
use guitar.
In particular, what was yoursort of top tip for
incorporating guitar let's say,both rhythm and lead into synth
wave or synth music?
Davey Oberlin (31:47):
that's a tough one, like I mean, there's a lot
of ways you can incorporate it.
Obviously leads are easy, likeyou can.
Just you can play cool littleleads over most synth wave music
.
It fits it really well.
But when you're doing the, theheavier guitars or like anything
distorted or rhythmic, ifyou're not doing that kind of
clean sender, like kind ofbouncy picking which you can
(32:07):
hear in like bad dreamers stuff,you know the 1975, like that
stuff's all great.
But like if stuff, like whatI'm doing with the heavier stuff
, I feel like the drums reallyhave to match it.
So like whether that's a pureelectronic sub kick like a like
that would work really well withsome heavier guitar, something
like I use which is like areally punchy.
You know kicking and snare umwork really well.
(32:29):
So I think that's a big part ofit is.
Is that percussive elementelement like it really needs to
match?
If not, like you need to mix itlow or just like have it sit
nicely in the mix.
Um, I like to quad track myrhythms so I do like two, two
left, two right.
Um, my uh leads are usuallystereo right down the center.
Uh, bass guitar I'll do like amono down the center and I have
(32:53):
a stereo delay in cubase thatI've modified to kind of put on
that and it widens it out.
But yeah, there's a lot ofdifferent tricks.
I think guitar is a little bittouchy just because you can't
just slap distorted guitar overanything.
If you're doing those kind oflean drum sounds like some of
those classic smaller synthdrums that distorted guitar is
going to sound really messy.
(33:13):
You kind of got to tuck thatfar back in the mix at that
point.
Marc Matthews (33:23):
So I would just be mindful of the entire
composition if you're going tolean into guitars on your stuff,
like absolutely, yeah, what youmentioned there about the
percussive element of it, sortof.
My final question is and I waslistening to a podcast and uh,
they mentioned I think it waswarren hurt was on it when our
podcasting he was talking aboutit which was regards to sort of
quantizing and to the grid.
Um, with regards to production,how, how do you find your sort
(33:43):
of approach to quantization?
Is that, say, with like bassand guitar?
And then, because you mentionedthere about drums and tying
that all in together, is itquite sort of to the grid or is
there a bit of flex there?
Is it a bit looser in terms oftiming or I guess does it depend
on the song?
Davey Oberlin (33:59):
it depends on the song.
But I'll be honest with you, Inever touch quantize like I.
I just try to play in time.
Like I, my drums are usuallylocked in the grid and then my
guitar and bass I'm just like Imean, I've been doing it for so
long that I I lock in prettyquick.
I've played with a lot ofreally great drummers.
Before I was with uh corn.
(34:20):
I played guitar for a band whosedrummer was gil chiron and he's
like a master class drummer andhe's playing for manson right
now.
But he was in like dillingerescape plan and you know.
So he he puts out a lot of drumclinics and stuff and I learned
a lot playing with him becauseI had to lock in, you you know,
and I thought I was great.
And then I went to rehearsaland I left and they were just
like dude, it's not good enough.
(34:40):
I was like what?
So I'm like really locking inwith those kicks and so now when
I track I'm like pretty much inthe pocket.
But if I want that little bit ofswing, you know, like I, I just
again, I don't touch quantizeunless it's like synth stuff
that I'm drawing in, you know,vsts or like MIDI.
I stay away from that.
I like to just like that just aslight bit of push or a slight
(35:03):
bit of lag like can add a lot offeel to things.
You know that the baseline isis a great example, like it's
really.
You know, there's a little bitof push and pull on it.
Marc Matthews (35:13):
Yeah on it.
Yeah, yeah, it makes perfectsense.
Makes perfect sense.
Uh, davey, it's been anabsolute pleasure.
This is flown by and, as I said, I generally don't get through
all the questions there's a lotmore here but it's been a
pleasure talking to you todayand it's been quite eye opening
as well.
Some of the stuff you'vedropped, uh, that I wasn't aware
of.
Just the interest in synthwaveand your production techniques
and whatnot, and I know the allthe audience is going to get a
lot from this.
(35:33):
Uh, with regards to covering,um, not just rock songs, but
cover songs in general.
So a huge thank you.
And before we wrap things up,uh, is there anything you'd like
to share with the audience?
And also, where is the bestplace for them to find you
online if they want to know moreand listen to more?
Davey Oberlin (35:50):
if you, uh, if you need like kind of a central
hub to just find all my stuff, Iwould just go to my instagram,
which is just davy oberlind-a-v-e-y oberlin, um, and uh, I
have a new track I justfinished with mint simon that's
going to be set to release soon,uh, called leaving los angeles,
and it's a very, very twinpeaks kind of romantic ballad
(36:13):
and uh.
And then I've got a lot of vicecore lined up, so there'll be,
uh, there'll be an announcementon that, and then we'll have an
entire album coming out, uh.
So, yeah, I got a lot of newmusic coming out, but all the
damn vampires in particular, anda couple other projects.
So just, uh, follow me oninstagram and all my links are
through there.
Marc Matthews (36:32):
I share everything I do in real time on
that fantastic man, vice core,that I'm not gonna lie, that was
a new one on me today, but I'muh that, that that term in
particular.
So I'm excited to yeah, tolisten to more david.
It's been an absolute pleasureand I will leave you to enjoy
the rest of your day and I'llcatch up with you soon.
Again, like for that vocal, I just wanted it to
kind of have that air like whereyou picture that dark studio
vocal booth in the 80s.
You know, like that was really.
The approach was like a visualfirst and then, you know, trying
to get the sound that matchesthe vibe You're listening to the
Inside the Mix podcast withyour host, mark Matthews.
Marc Matthews (00:22):
Welcome to Inside the Mix, your go-to podcast for
music creation and production.
Whether you're crafting yourfirst track or refining your
mixing skills, join me each weekfor expert interviews,
practical tutorials and insightsto help you level up your music
and smash it in the musicindustry.
Let's dive in.
Hey folks, welcome to Insidethe Mix.
(00:45):
Today, we're diving into how totransform a classic rock song
into a synthwave masterpiece,and who better to guide us than
Davey Oberlin, the mastermindbehind all the damn vampires?
Davey, how are you, buddy?
Thank you for joining me.
Great Thanks for having me.
Fantastic.
So I've been looking forward tothis, and I should have said
this off air, but I'm on theother side of a sore throat, so
(01:08):
my voice might break slightly attimes, so my apologies.
Davey Oberlin (01:11):
You and me both, I've been fighting a cold.
Marc Matthews (01:13):
Have you.
Yeah, same man, same Every time.
I think I'm getting over it.
Then I try and do something,some sort of content like this,
and my voice just gives out.
But hopefully, fingers crossed,we're on the same page.
So by the end of this therewould just be no audio
whatsoever and either of us,they wouldn't talk.
(01:34):
Fantastic.
So for the audience listeningwho might not be familiar with
davey and all the damn vampires,he's had a quite impressive
career, from playing keyboardfor five finger death punch and
corn to I love that straightaway to crafting cinematic
synth-heavy music that'scaptivated fans worldwide.
He's no stranger toreinterpreting iconic sounds and
today he's going to share hisprocess for covering classic
(01:56):
rock songs in a synthwave style.
Now, before we went live withthis, I was just saying that
I've always been a listener ofyour, your work and whatnot, but
then I heard the the whitesnake cover of is this love,
which, for anyone who knows me,it's probably one of my favorite
songs, and I was like man,gotta get this guy on the
podcast to chat about this,because it's uh, it's a belt or
of a tune, um, to begin with.
(02:17):
And and the synth wave cover toboot as well.
So really excited for this man,really excited.
Thank you, this is awesome, yeah, so in this episode you'll
learn step by step how toapproach covering a classic rock
song.
Where to start sound design,some vocal instrumentation and
some production and mixingtechniques.
So I think the straight away Ithink to to begin with, uh,
(02:40):
breaking down the process youcovered, is this love, what drew
you to want to do a sort ofsynth wave with guitar-esque
sort of cover of this song?
Davey Oberlin (02:49):
it actually started um I.
I covered the song toy soldiersby martika and uh and I what I
wanted to do was take, like youknow that, just the vibe and the
, the synths and the melodies,and I wanted to add, you know
things that I like like heavierguitar.
So in that song I'm using aguitar that's tuned to like drop
(03:10):
a, so it's like super heavy butit's still palatable.
The vocals are still true tothe original.
Um, I kind of wanted to liketake the classic and have it
meet modern.
I'm a big typo negative fan.
That's one of my favorite bands,so there's a little bit of Typo
Negative in everything I dowith all the damn vampires and
some people either know or theydon't.
But that was kind of where itkicked off and I'm like I want
(03:31):
to keep introducing the heavierguitar to this stuff and still
pay homage to music from a timethat fits visuals so well.
Like some of the Miami Vicestuff.
I love all that blood sport,like how the music accompanies
the visuals.
So I was like how do I takethat, produce it modern and then
add, like these heavier guitarsso that when I do it live it's
(03:54):
like even more exciting?
Um, and we could, you know, doshows with like corn or five
finger, some of the bands that Iplayed with.
Like I want to fit within thesame world and still honor, like
my synth wave, you know, rootswith all that typo negative as
soon as you say I'm a massive,massive typo fan and it's.
Marc Matthews (04:09):
I'm so good I never got to see them live.
Uh and yeah, I, I would haveloved to, man, and there's,
there's that, there's aperformance of typo.
I'm going off on a tangent herethat I watch probably once a
week I think I do too.
Yeah, there's one shot withanesthesia as it pans across the
crowd at like dusk and I'm likethis is incredible.
(04:31):
So Drop A as well.
I mean, I was in a band and weplayed in Drop B yeah, but Drop
A.
What sort of strings are youusing for Drop?
Davey Oberlin (04:43):
A man, I don't know, they're like just shy of
bass strings.
Is this love?
Is drop f?
So?
But I'm actually using a, uh, apedal that tunes it down,
because during the clean guitarparts I'm playing in standard
and then, uh, the guitar itselfis that I've got right here is
tuned to drop a, and then I hitthat pedal and bring it down to
drop f, so it's like super heavy.
(05:05):
I mean by all standards itshould be like a hardcore song,
you know, but it doesn't.
It doesn't come off like that.
It still comes off like is thislove?
But you know it's easy to miss,like nobody's, like sitting
there going oh dang, like youknow.
Yeah, so that's one of myfavorite songs and, uh, maybe I
shouldn't spill the beans too.
I'll save it for later on why Igot around to what that's going
(05:26):
into for the body of work.
Marc Matthews (05:27):
But yeah, yeah, so of course, so is that are you
.
You say you go, you've got thepedal, then go to drop f.
Is that happening in the chorus?
Is that right?
Yeah?
Davey Oberlin (05:36):
exactly as soon as that didn't, didn't, didn't?
That's all like coming intodrop f, which is it's a little
bit of a mental uh mix up,because you know, you got to
reposition yourself on the neckfor drop f so differently so if
I forgot to hit that pedal orsomething it would just sound so
off, you know.
And then I got to kick that offagain for, like, even the
guitar solo.
(05:57):
Before I had andy james on it,I was doing the guitar solo,
just playing basically theoriginal solo and, um, the clean
parts.
You know, it's all like back tostandard.
Marc Matthews (06:06):
That's impressive .
That's that's.
That is a low tuning, Reallylow.
I can kind of see why, though,because when you say that you
want it to be able to sort ofshare the stage with the bands
that you've mentioned, you kindof you need that, don't you?
You need that sort of sound.
Davey Oberlin (06:23):
Yeah, Compliment each other other you want to
feel it in your chest.
You know, like I I love likethe midnight and time cop, but I
mean I can't imagine going totheir shows and feeling a sub
kicking me in the chest withthat heavy guitar and like so
you get like the sense of, likeyou know, the great synth wave
acts and then you'll get thatlike just heavy rock and metal
guitar that like just sits sowell in the mix, like with that
(06:46):
big fat bass guitar, like I feellike that's going to be a
really cool live show once weget that all you know kicked off
yeah, you mentioned that.
Marc Matthews (06:54):
The midnight and time cop.
Have you ever considered?
This is total tangent here.
Have you ever considered likecovering any of their synth wave
body of work, but with thatheavier sort of sound that
you've got?
Davey Oberlin (07:05):
that that would actually be really cool.
I have, and I did a like areimagining of uh river of
darkness by the midnight and uh,people seem to love that one.
Like.
I just slowed it down and madeit a lot dreamier, a little more
like nine inch nails, but um,nice, nice, I haven't really
reimagined anything.
I talked to uh royce, theguitar player for the Midnight,
a lot and he writes some heavystuff too.
(07:27):
We'll send each other demoswe're working on and he's super
into it.
He sent me something that washeavy guitars.
I was like this is so sick andso I could see a future where
something like that occurs, butnothing officially yet.
Marc Matthews (07:44):
That would be cool, man.
This is um.
This is a second interview of2025, so the first one was
actually tyler from the midnight, which is going to be recording
.
This is dropping the next week,which is the 24th or something
of march, and um, I, when Ifirst started the podcast, I
interviewed a fair amount ofartists and it was quite I.
I noticed the pattern.
There were so many, and I'm oneof them like metalheads who
(08:07):
came over to synthwave and likesynth music, this just seems to
be a this, this, um, no, I don'twant to say calling, but I
don't know some gravitationalpull.
So, like the synthwave andsynth based music, uh, what a
tangent.
Again, what drew you to sort ofmove into and start dabbling in
and in this realm with all thedamn vampires?
Davey Oberlin (08:29):
so a long time ago I had this little project
that I was dabbling with umcalled black zenith, and it was
like dark wave, like um depechemode, you know, maybe even
darker, but my production skillswere just not there.
I was just like just makingthese little little songs I'd
share with friends and maybeupload here and there.
Um, and then I I started datinga girl who was really into, uh
(08:52):
like FM 84 time cop, uh Calix,what else?
Uh the Kavinsky, so like once Iheard that I was like wait,
people are like fully justgrabbing onto this sound and
like really leading into it.
I was like I've always wantedto do that.
I just didn't know there waslike a, you know, there was like
a bed position for it.
So I started kind of messingwith it on my own.
(09:13):
I'd be on tour with Korn, I'dhave a day off in the hotel and
I'd start messing with music oryou know.
And then, uh, once I had some,some tracks done, I'd show the
other guys, thinking likethey're going to be like this is
the goofy, you know, it's likefemale-fronted pop music.
Like they're not going to beinto it.
Everybody loved it, like even tothis day, like if I run into,
(09:42):
like Jacoby from Poppa Roach,he'll love synth wave, um, and
it seems to just like translateso well.
I have a friend that I grew upwith out here, um, and we used
to go to like all these hardcoreshows and our bands would play
in them, and he's in a band it'scalled like dance with the dead
and they do yeah, yeah, yeah,tony Um, and he, you know he
comes from the same background.
(10:02):
It's like I don't know it.
Just it seems to be likeanother logical step.
Like a lot of people went fromhardcore to like dubstep and
like DJing.
I think there's like a similarlike energy behind all that,
with that like kind of tempo andyou know the stomp.
So Synthwave kind of harkensinto like metal a little bit,
with those like kind of sadminor melodies that are still
(10:24):
like it can be melodic yeah,that makes perfect sense and
it's what I've experiencedmyself and what I've chatted to
other people about.
Marc Matthews (10:31):
Like the sounds, because the great thing with
synthesizers is you're not Isuppose you're not limited
anyway with any genre of musicreally but you can create what
you want like sound wise.
Yeah, make it as heavy or aslight as you want.
But the bands you mentionedthen papa roach, man, that's a
throwback for me.
I remember listening to paparoach by the naughties man, I
grew up listening to that sortof new metal sound and then you
got under oath as well and Iknow you did a song.
(10:52):
There's a song you releasedrecently which was uh, I forget
that.
I forget the name of it now,but the singer on it.
I was like I recognize thatsinger's voice and it took me an
age to work out, but it's like18 visions and it played with me
yeah, and it played with me forso long and I was like I
recognize that voice, I totallydo.
And then I dig a bit deeper andthen I was like wow, and it just
took me back because I hands inthe air, I hadn't listened to
(11:14):
18 visions for quite a while,yeah, but it made me dig back in
and go back to that again.
So it's really cool, though,like say it's, it's interesting
that you mentioned all thoseacts as well and they're
listening to, uh, to synthwave.
It'd be uh interesting to todig into them as well man and
great shout out to 18 visions.
Davey Oberlin (11:31):
I mean, that was like one of my favorite hardcore
bands.
And then keith, the guitarplayer, for 18v, he, he actually
put me onto programming drums,which is how I got started like
breaking away from, you know,doing rehearsals where drummers
are flaking and we can't writesongs because we don't have a
drummer there.
And then I just started doingeverything in the box
programming my drums, sendingthem to people, other drummers,
(11:52):
you know.
So Keith really like helped meout there.
James is a good friend and Iwas like it'd be so cool to do a
song together.
And he came out with RunawayDreams.
He sounds kind of like a mixbetween Sebastian Bach and Ozzy
Osbourne on that track.
You know, it's like it's.
It's really I was like I wantto end the album with like a
little bit of a hint towardssome of the future stuff I'm
doing.
So then, you know, fast forwardto today.
(12:14):
We have, um, you know, thewhite snake cover, no-transcript
(12:47):
, put it in my session and Ifind the the best way for me to
work is to get the drums knockedout.
So I'll recreate the drums,I'll follow along with the track
.
Um, I'll put my own sounds in,of course, but like I just want
to have that backbone so that Ican mute that track and then
start working on my own.
What really like kind ofpropelled me towards like
(13:07):
focusing on some covers is I wasasked to do like remixes, like
Sumerian Records hit me up for abunch of remixes, but what and
what I ended up doing was barelylistening to the original.
I just took the vocal stem andmake my own song around it, you
know.
And so I realized like I'm notdoing remixes, I'm doing like
full reimaginings.
And then you know, that endedup becoming like the Avenged
Sevenfold collaboration I did,where they were just like let's
(13:29):
make a synthwave song, and so wedid that track.
And then I started kind ofhitting these covers a little
bit harder and I found theprocess of starting with the
drums really gets you there, andthen behind that, you know, you
can recreate the melody any wayyou want.
So I could have done it with asynth, I could have done it with
a guitar, you know, but for forthis particular cover, the bass
(13:52):
and the drums really like drivethe whole song, you know, and
the bass that do, do, do, do, do, do, do you know it really
drives it.
So I got this, this nice LTDbass, and I slapped on some
parallax uh from neural dsp.
That's a great plug-in, it justmakes it fat.
I have a kemper, uh poweredguitar head that I use with like
(14:12):
a really clean channel.
Put the bass in through that,slap parallax on it and then, uh
, yeah, I mean it just gives youthis massive bass sound.
I barely had to adjust it inthe mix, like I was.
I was pretty happy with itright away.
I'm also like really into lowend and bass, probably more than
a lot of people like, uh, I hadandy james and uh charlie from
five finger in in my uh truckand they were here in town, uh,
(14:35):
and I was driving them and I wasshowing them all these these
new tracks, you know, um, andthey were just getting blown
away by all the bass in the backyou know it was.
It was so brutal.
I was like I'm sorry, guys,like I can't help it.
I don't even realize it till Iget in you know, and do the car
mix like that.
The base is so cranked, but Ijust love it that way.
I always have.
Marc Matthews (14:53):
What, what, what is it you think that drives you
to to have that?
What about LA?
Davey Oberlin (15:11):
I think there's multiple answers to that.
A big part of it is growing up.
I was a big West Coast hip-hopfan.
I grew up in LA.
I was listening to Doggy Styleand all the Dre stuff so I love.
And then when I heard Korn andthey had 808s I was like okay,
that's sick.
And so I've always kind ofgravitated towards bands that
(15:32):
have a little bit more low endin their guitar mix and their
drum mix.
You know, then the other sideof that is like I think all the
years of live music I've lostsome low frequency in my hearing
.
So I think I'm cranking it moreto like compensate.
And so it's like this unholymarriage of like wanting too
much low end, so I kind of haveto dial it back.
But yeah, I do lean heavierinto the low end.
(15:54):
So I I kind of have to dial itback, but but yeah, I do lean
heavier into the low end thanmost people you've kind of gone
against.
Marc Matthews (15:58):
What is the natural tendency as we get older
is the other the highfrequencies tail off.
You've kind of like it's gonethe other way.
They're like the lows, loads oftotal.
But I didn't realize that cornused 808s.
I didn't know that.
Davey Oberlin (16:11):
Well yeah in the beginning of uh I think it's
blind boom, boom, boom, boom.
Yeah, yeah, you know.
So, like ray, uh the drummer,now he had a little sample pad
with an 808 on it.
That was that kind of iconicthat and you'll hear it in like
the older recordings now thatI've mentioned it, like if you
listen, like you're like, ohthere, it is like it's just this
one 808 sound and uh, right,yeah, so he's got that set up.
Marc Matthews (16:35):
Yeah, it's pretty cool.
Yeah, nice, nice.
Is there anything in particular?
That, when it comes to coversongs, let's say we're sticking
with the rock genre here.
That is more challenging thanwhat.
What is the most challengingpart of it, do you think?
Davey Oberlin (16:51):
let's say, well for me, I, I do everything by
ear.
I can't read music, like youknow, so I'm.
If I'm recreating something andthere's like a small little
nuance and I miss it, I'll.
I like to send my music to ahandful of friends that I trust
for like their mix, uh, input,or you know, and then they'll be
like, oh, something's off righthere, and then I I can't hear
(17:11):
it.
They'll, they'll it out enough,and then all of a sudden it'll
clear up in my head and I'llhear it.
So some of those smallernuances are a little bit more
difficult.
A while ago I would have toldyou it would be like comping the
vocals or mixing the vocals,but now I feel like I have a
pretty good handle on that.
But just being overcritical ofthe mix and just sitting there
(17:32):
and just trying to rerun ituntil I can't even hear the
difference anymore, I have tostep away for a week.
I think the biggest part isjust going.
I'm doing this by ear.
I have to trust that I don'thave anything in front of me on
paper that's saying this isright or this is wrong.
That's kind of been the biggeststruggle.
Some of these songs thatWhitesnake are doing are like
(17:55):
very technical.
You know those guys were likemasterclass musicians.
Marc Matthews (17:58):
So there's there's all kinds of little
nuances that you might miss ifyou, you know, aren't paying
attention, that you don't thinkare important, but they actually
are, I suppose, devil'sadvocate in a way, and I
remember when reading sort ofinterviews with other musicians
throughout throughout thedecades and whatnot, when they
say they haven't got thatability to to read music or the
necessarily the musical theoryin a way.
(18:19):
It kind of not that you havelimitations anyway, but it means
you can be a bit more creative.
I'm not more creative or opensup creative possibilities by
accident, let's say, I guessyeah, happy accidents yeah yeah,
that's the one.
That's the one I was looking foryeah, yeah, that's very true.
Davey Oberlin (18:36):
Uh, so basically, um, is this love is like part
of a bigger thing I'm doing.
It's called we're coining itvice core and it's going to be
like like la vice, miami vice,you know, and there's some like
yacht rock covers on there, likeoh, wow, and so it's going to
be cool.
But one of the one of the trackslike um, that's going gonna
(18:56):
come out, it's kind of like that.
Like I started listening to itI was like man, I don't know
like if I even want to recreatethis, and then I ended up
bringing it into this like lo-fikind of synthy thing for the
verses and then the chorus comesin all big.
So that was like a one of thoseyou know happy accidents where
it just kind of settled into itwithout having that you know the
sheet music or whatever.
(19:16):
Like just just by ear it justfelt right, you know.
So that'll, I'm looking forwardto putting that one out too.
That'd be really cool.
Marc Matthews (19:22):
Yeah, man, yacht yacht rock sounds interesting.
It reminds me of a uh, rememberhis name, so a friend of mine
sent it to me, but he does.
York rock covers of various ummusical genres, and the first
one I saw was pantera, fiveminutes alone like a york rock
cover and I was just like I wasblown away.
I was like this is absolutelyincredible just hearing a york
(19:45):
rock version of that.
You'll have to find it it's sogood and it's, it's just the
vocal on, it is just, it'sfantastic.
Um, yeah, it might be aigenerate, but even so, okay,
that's possible yeah, yeah, itjust I was just like this this
is actually I would listen tothis.
I genuinely would listen tothat.
Davey Oberlin (20:05):
It just sounded so good yeah, I mean, like I
wish I could list off all thelike.
It's a, it's a cross betweenlike covers and originals.
I wish I could list off more ofthe covers because it would
illustrate it better.
But basically, like you know,if you were to picture like a um
, that white snake cover, thislike modern universe of like la
vice with like the you know the,the uh linen suits, you know
(20:28):
the pastels and stuff, like inthe mac machine guns, like it's
kind of like we're leaning intoum, there's even a track on
there with uh sunglasses kid andoh nice, yeah, yeah yeah, I
love edward.
He, I, I'm the uh, I don't knowif anybody knows this, but he
just put out an album andthere's like an intro with a guy
talking like a radio host yeah,uh, johnny thunder and then
(20:51):
there's like a helicopter dudewho's like illustrating every
all the action that's going on.
That's, that's all me, like Idid all the voiceovers on that,
yeah, yeah.
So we do a lot of like coolcollaborations together.
He's like one of my you knowtop five friends that are like
production wizards that I bouncethings off of.
So, like you know, everything Ifinish I send to him on like
(21:12):
whatsapp I'm like, hey, let meknow if this mix sounds good.
Yeah, he's one of the best he'salways been so yeah, yeah, ed's
great man.
Marc Matthews (21:19):
I've had him on the podcast a couple times, I
think.
Uh, I'm overdue.
Actually, I think we said we'regoing to catch up in a year's
time, so I should probably reachout to him, but yeah, oh yeah
he's great, isn't he?
He's a great bloke and likewhat he's doing on social media
as well, with his, with hiscaptions and his and his pov.
Davey Oberlin (21:35):
It's so good it's crazy like there's so many
copycats that have sponsoredthat.
Marc Matthews (21:39):
You know indeed, indeed, a new one crop up every
day.
But no, that's cool, it's.
It's really interesting because, um, obviously, speaking to
yourself today, and then, uh,you mentioned ed sunglasses kid,
and just how this sort ofcircle, this network, has sort
of grown from all these peoplefrom different sort of uh walks
(22:00):
of musical life, if you will.
Uh, yeah, it's really really,really interesting yeah, it is.
Davey Oberlin (22:05):
I I think it's a cool place to be in a really
cool time.
I mean, I I feel like, with theresources we have now, with
digital streaming and that whole, like the financial structure
behind that, it's kind ofholding back this like
incredible moment in time wherewe could all be in the same
space and, you know, putting onthese giant festivals and
there's just so many coolopportunities.
(22:25):
But, um, you know, there'slittle bits, like if people
follow really close, um, wherewe're like helping each other
out and we're doing cool littlethings like those voiceovers.
And you know, obviously there'sa lot of a track or two coming
out with ed like um for thisvice core stuff, so that'll be
really cool to show people Ilook forward to listening to
that.
Marc Matthews (22:44):
Um, yeah, excellent man, but once again
I've gone off on a tangent,steering back to the to the
cover side of things.
Um, so there was one thing Iwanted to touch on, and that was
it's actually a couple thingsactually before we sort of wrap
things up, and that was the thevocal on is this love?
Now, obviously, davidcoverdale's voice is, uh, is an
impressive voice, as as we, aswe, well know.
How did you approach handlingthe vocals and sort of the vocal
(23:07):
production on that?
Davey Oberlin (23:09):
well.
So, uh, ryan rose is the singer.
He's singing on pretty much allthe new stuff.
I have a track that is apopular older track called
Breaking Up, that Ryan sings on.
So a lot of people that arefollowing my music will know him
from that and he's just anincredible vocalist through and
through.
He's almost too powerful towhere, if he's tracking, we
(23:34):
really have to be careful withthe vocal stems, because there's
so much in there, um, so Ireally just wanted to.
I wanted it to be very clearand present.
But also, you know, I neededthat, that reverb and that delay
to kind of tail in there alittle bit, and especially if
you want to get that kind oficonic sound.
So what I did was I actuallyside chained all of the effects,
so I have the, the main vocal,and then I'm sending, sending it
(23:56):
to another bus with, like youknow, delay reverb just cranked
up, and then I turned that downvery low.
So then you don't lose any ofthe volume on the vocal and
you're not getting too muddy andcrowded, but you still have
that.
You know those effects and Ithink I used a lot of like
Valhalla vintage verb, causethey have some of the gated
stuff and that that's, uh, hasbeen working really well with
(24:17):
this um.
And then, uh, sometimes I'lluse, like FabFilter Pro R, you
know, I like, I like theFabFilter plug-in suites and the
visuals of them, um, and then Ijust I work in Cubase so I just
slapped on a Cubase stock likeping pong delay and just, you
know, put that at like 15 mix,uh, 15 mix, you know, just keep
it like nice and low.
So I, I really tried to justkeep the vocals out front and,
(24:41):
uh, I I definitely did a lot, alittle bit less effects
processing on than I normallywould.
Sometimes I'll really saturatethem.
But I felt, like um with ryan,like his voice is just so, so
powerful and distinct, like itdoesn't need much.
You know, like a lot of vocalsI'll comp and I'll get I'll have
to like you can tune them upmelody and like all that you
know, just to clean things up.
But really, once I get stemsfrom Ryan, it's it's always just
(25:04):
a matter of like taming thosethose really powerful moments,
you know, because it's so, sobrutal.
But, um, again, like for thatvocal, I just wanted it to kind
of have that air like where youyou picture that dark studio
vocal booth in the 80s.
You know like that was reallythe approach, was like a visual
first and then, you know, tryingto get the sound that matches
(25:27):
the vibe nice if I had a reverbvintage.
Marc Matthews (25:30):
There's my voice going there.
Uh, it's a fantastic reverb.
I'll be using that for years aswell, and it's it's great to
hear as well that, um I thinkthis would be really good for
the audience listening thatyou're also using stock, like
delays and and stock plugins,because they're often overlooked
.
I find, I mean, you're a cubaseuser, um, but regardless of
what sort of daw so daw, sort ofum agnostic like using just
(25:54):
stock plugins it's great to hearthat as well, you know, because
sometimes they're overlooked.
Davey Oberlin (26:00):
As I say, yeah, there's a lot of good stuff in
there, like cubase does a reallygood job.
I started on pro tools, then Iwould rewire with reason to do
synth stuff and now I'm all inon cubase.
Um, I have a good friend, he's,he goes by dj zed and uh, he
uses cubase and I loved hisproduction.
So I was like man, just teachme, and so it was a really easy
transition.
(26:20):
You know, just very similar topro tools and and it's just a
lot better for midi andeverything.
So, um, I I go in there andthen what I can't get out of the
stock stuff I'll you know I'lldo, like external plugins.
Oh, another, another plugin Ilike with vocals that people
might dig is, uh, it's called xfolks, x vo, x, um, and it's a
great starting point.
(26:41):
Like if you just need you knowa little bit more in your vocal,
you need a little push, youneed some effects, like it kind
of has everything.
You can almost just put it ontheir default.
Like I like to carve out thelow end, you know frequencies
and like really just get, getall the frequencies clean.
But, um, x folks is awesome,like I sometimes will just slap
that on right away and and uhand just go from there is.
Marc Matthews (27:04):
Is that native plug-in for cubase or is that a
third party plug-in?
Davey Oberlin (27:07):
that's a third party.
I wish I could tell you whatcompany makes it, but that's got
.
Marc Matthews (27:11):
I'll put a link in the episode notes.
I'll do a bit of researchafterwards and chuck it in the
audience as well, but now that'sreally cool man.
So moving on, um, in theinterest of time here to the
actual guitar.
So you've got andy james,phenomenal guitarist.
Um, I followed his work forquite some time.
Um, so we touched on earlierthat you're using quite low
tunings, uh, to say really so,when it comes to sort of the,
(27:34):
the lead guitar elements, it.
Have you got any tips formaking?
Actually, let's start firstwith how you approached and why
you approached Andy James.
Let's start with that storyfirst.
Davey Oberlin (27:43):
Okay, so Andy is on one of my favorite All the
Damn Vampire songs I've everwritten, called Carolina Lies,
so he plays the solo on thatsong.
We were actually out on tourtogether and he was.
I hadn't been tracking guitaror anything on cubase, like I
just wasn't confident.
And then I saw him working withit.
(28:03):
He'd bring his kemper in andhe'd be tracking on cubase and
I'm like dude, like what's yourprocess?
And so he, he helped me, youknow, get myself set up to, uh,
basically track instrumentsagain in a way I hadn't been
doing for years.
I came home home I wrote likenine super heavy songs like very
typo, negative catatonia, justlike moody stuff.
I'll send you.
(28:23):
I have a private link for that,I'll send you.
Yeah, yeah, please do man it waslike the first thing I did when
I got home.
So I was like, all right, thisis killer.
And Andy also loves synth waves.
So we'd be in the dressing roomgetting ready.
You know we were doing allthose Metallica shows.
So we'd be at the stadiums andwe'd have like the midnight
playing, you know, as ourwarm-up music, while we're
getting ready just doingpush-ups, whatever.
Like Charlie and Andy loveSynthwave, we all listen to a
(28:47):
little bit of everything.
You know Sleep, token, whatever.
So that's always kind of there.
And I think once Andy didcarolina lies that the track did
really well.
It got received really well.
Um, toy soldiers, andy plays asolo on that one.
So I was like this is anothergreat song for andy.
Like I played I've originallyrecorded myself playing the solo
(29:07):
on it and I was like this iscool, but it's basically just
the original solo.
I want to hear andy james takeon this because, to be honest,
he's one of my favorite guitarplayers.
I think he's maybe one of thebest guitar players right now.
Like, uh, modern technicalityfeel he does everything looks so
well.
It's like the best of dime bagand the best of like yngwie
malmsteen all in one person, youknow so yeah, I don't.
I hope he doesn't listen to thisbecause this one played his ego
(29:29):
, but uh, but anyway.
So I was like let me throw thisto andy if he's got time, if
he's interested, you know.
And he got right back to me,you know, with his take on the
solo.
It was awesome and it was oneof those moments where he
pointed out one of those thingsthat I was missing.
So like there's that dun dundun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun dun
.
I wasn't stepping up like soonenough, so there's a step up
(29:53):
that goes a little bit like onesooner than I was doing.
Andy was like something's wrong,mate.
He's like, you know, there'sjust something that's off on
this part and I was like I can'thear it.
Man, it's driving me crazy.
He's like listen.
And then he did it.
I was like ah, so you know, hehelped me sort that, got the
solo on it.
It was cool, I'm, the otherguitars are me.
So I'm like oh man, if andydoesn't like these guitars, you
(30:15):
know I gotta listen to what hesays because he's like the
ultimate.
so yeah, but it, but it allworked out and I'm I'm always
hoping I can get andy onsomething.
You know I in a perfect worldhe'd be in the all the damn
vampires live band when I startdoing that, you know.
But uh, that just depends onhis schedule and like what he's
interested in yeah, interesting,interesting stuff.
Marc Matthews (30:34):
I have to reach out to andy once again.
This is an eye opener for mebecause you mentioned these
artists that I had no idea.
Obviously I know andy'srecorded on and you've you've
worked with andy on your stuff,um, but a lot of them I had no
idea they were sort of likethese, these, these synth fans.
So it'd be interesting to um,I'll aim high and and start
approaching them randomly and itwould be great.
Davey Oberlin (30:55):
He's yeah, he's also a Cubase user, like I said,
and so you know he's a greatproducer.
He does all of his own solostuff, he produces all of that
and the production's awesome.
I think we use the same drumkits.
Marc Matthews (31:10):
Amazing, amazing.
So with regards to that andrecording guitar for Synthwave
because I know it happens a lotbecause the the sort of core
listeners for this podcaststarted out, it really did start
out with, like, synthwaveartists and it's sort of grown
organically and ballooned fromthat into various sort of
sectors and whatnot, but thenit's sort of steering its way
(31:32):
back to synth now and I knowthere are a lot out there who do
use guitar.
In particular, what was yoursort of top tip for
incorporating guitar let's say,both rhythm and lead into synth
wave or synth music?
Davey Oberlin (31:47):
that's a tough one, like I mean, there's a lot
of ways you can incorporate it.
Obviously leads are easy, likeyou can.
Just you can play cool littleleads over most synth wave music
.
It fits it really well.
But when you're doing the, theheavier guitars or like anything
distorted or rhythmic, ifyou're not doing that kind of
clean sender, like kind ofbouncy picking which you can
(32:07):
hear in like bad dreamers stuff,you know the 1975, like that
stuff's all great.
But like if stuff, like whatI'm doing with the heavier stuff
, I feel like the drums reallyhave to match it.
So like whether that's a pureelectronic sub kick like a like
that would work really well withsome heavier guitar, something
like I use which is like areally punchy.
You know kicking and snare umwork really well.
(32:29):
So I think that's a big part ofit is.
Is that percussive elementelement like it really needs to
match?
If not, like you need to mix itlow or just like have it sit
nicely in the mix.
Um, I like to quad track myrhythms so I do like two, two
left, two right.
Um, my uh leads are usuallystereo right down the center.
Uh, bass guitar I'll do like amono down the center and I have
(32:53):
a stereo delay in cubase thatI've modified to kind of put on
that and it widens it out.
But yeah, there's a lot ofdifferent tricks.
I think guitar is a little bittouchy just because you can't
just slap distorted guitar overanything.
If you're doing those kind oflean drum sounds like some of
those classic smaller synthdrums that distorted guitar is
going to sound really messy.
(33:13):
You kind of got to tuck thatfar back in the mix at that
point.
Marc Matthews (33:23):
So I would just be mindful of the entire
composition if you're going tolean into guitars on your stuff,
like absolutely, yeah, what youmentioned there about the
percussive element of it, sortof.
My final question is and I waslistening to a podcast and uh,
they mentioned I think it waswarren hurt was on it when our
podcasting he was talking aboutit which was regards to sort of
quantizing and to the grid.
Um, with regards to production,how, how do you find your sort
(33:43):
of approach to quantization?
Is that, say, with like bassand guitar?
And then, because you mentionedthere about drums and tying
that all in together, is itquite sort of to the grid or is
there a bit of flex there?
Is it a bit looser in terms oftiming or I guess does it depend
on the song?
Davey Oberlin (33:59):
it depends on the song.
But I'll be honest with you, Inever touch quantize like I.
I just try to play in time.
Like I, my drums are usuallylocked in the grid and then my
guitar and bass I'm just like Imean, I've been doing it for so
long that I I lock in prettyquick.
I've played with a lot ofreally great drummers.
Before I was with uh corn.
(34:20):
I played guitar for a band whosedrummer was gil chiron and he's
like a master class drummer andhe's playing for manson right
now.
But he was in like dillingerescape plan and you know.
So he he puts out a lot of drumclinics and stuff and I learned
a lot playing with him becauseI had to lock in, you you know,
and I thought I was great.
And then I went to rehearsaland I left and they were just
like dude, it's not good enough.
(34:40):
I was like what?
So I'm like really locking inwith those kicks and so now when
I track I'm like pretty much inthe pocket.
But if I want that little bit ofswing, you know, like I, I just
again, I don't touch quantizeunless it's like synth stuff
that I'm drawing in, you know,vsts or like MIDI.
I stay away from that.
I like to just like that just aslight bit of push or a slight
(35:03):
bit of lag like can add a lot offeel to things.
You know that the baseline isis a great example, like it's
really.
You know, there's a little bitof push and pull on it.
Marc Matthews (35:13):
Yeah on it.
Yeah, yeah, it makes perfectsense.
Makes perfect sense.
Uh, davey, it's been anabsolute pleasure.
This is flown by and, as I said, I generally don't get through
all the questions there's a lotmore here but it's been a
pleasure talking to you todayand it's been quite eye opening
as well.
Some of the stuff you'vedropped, uh, that I wasn't aware
of.
Just the interest in synthwaveand your production techniques
and whatnot, and I know the allthe audience is going to get a
lot from this.
(35:33):
Uh, with regards to covering,um, not just rock songs, but
cover songs in general.
So a huge thank you.
And before we wrap things up,uh, is there anything you'd like
to share with the audience?
And also, where is the bestplace for them to find you
online if they want to know moreand listen to more?
Davey Oberlin (35:50):
if you, uh, if you need like kind of a central
hub to just find all my stuff, Iwould just go to my instagram,
which is just davy oberlind-a-v-e-y oberlin, um, and uh, I
have a new track I justfinished with mint simon that's
going to be set to release soon,uh, called leaving los angeles,
and it's a very, very twinpeaks kind of romantic ballad
(36:13):
and uh.
And then I've got a lot of vicecore lined up, so there'll be,
uh, there'll be an announcementon that, and then we'll have an
entire album coming out, uh.
So, yeah, I got a lot of newmusic coming out, but all the
damn vampires in particular, anda couple other projects.
So just, uh, follow me oninstagram and all my links are
through there.
Marc Matthews (36:32):
I share everything I do in real time on
that fantastic man, vice core,that I'm not gonna lie, that was
a new one on me today, but I'muh that, that that term in
particular.
So I'm excited to yeah, tolisten to more david.
It's been an absolute pleasureand I will leave you to enjoy
the rest of your day and I'llcatch up with you soon.
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