Zakk Cervini Plugins -
Modern rock guitars require a delicate balance of massive low-end and bite without sounding harsh. This plugin acts as a final shaping tool for guitar busses.
, featuring 65 presets captured from his actual studio rigs. The Sound:
Zakk Cervini , a Grammy-nominated producer known for his work with and Bring Me The Horizon , has several signature audio tools and preferred software suites that define his modern rock sound. Signature Plugin & Preset Packs
🚀 Zakk often mixes on AirPods to make sure his tracks hit hard where most fans are actually listening! zakk cervini plugins
Which (e.g., Waves, FabFilter, Slate Digital, Universal Audio) do you already own?
Modern pop-punk mixes often treat bass more like an electronic synth than a traditional instrument.
, Cervini highlighted five plugins as being essential to his sound: Sound On Sound Softube FET Compressor Modern rock guitars require a delicate balance of
A Zakk Cervini mix lives and dies by the drum low-end and crack. He frequently uses custom-engineered sample libraries designed to layer beneath live drums. These plugins feature pre-processed kicks, snares, and toms that cut through dense walls of distorted guitars without losing their organic punch. 🎸 The Hybrid Workflow: Essential Third-Party Plugins
: A core component of his mixing workflow, used for surgical EQ and channel dynamics.
In professional breakdowns of his work, particularly on , Cervini highlights several key plugins he relies on for aggressive, modern processing: Dynamics & EQ : The Sound: Zakk Cervini , a Grammy-nominated producer
For parallel drum compression—often called the "addiction bus"—Cervini favors fast, aggressive compressors. Plugins like the or the stock Avid BF-76 are pushed into heavy gain reduction (often 10dB or more). When blended back in with the dry drum kit, this parallel track adds massive sustain, room energy, and body to the mix. Soundradix Drum Leveler
: This is his primary tool for guitars and bass. The pack includes 49 presets captured from his personal collection of pedals, amps, and cabinets, specifically designed to recreate his work on major albums.
Cervini’s mixes stand out because they balance extreme distortion with absolute transient control. Modern rock requires heavy saturation to sound aggressive, but too much saturation destroys the punch of drums and the clarity of vocals. Cervini relies heavily on a mix of analog emulation plugins, precision dynamic EQs, and heavy parallel processing to keep his mixes loud, wide, and punchy. 1. Vocals: In-Your-Face Clarity
Even when working with world-class drummers, modern rock productions require sample blending to ensure the drums survive dense arrangements. Cervini uses to blend phase-accurate samples beneath the live drum tracks. This adds the necessary low-end thud to kick drums and the crack to snare drums without losing the human feel of the original performance. Joey Sturgis Tones (JST) Clip
A heavily distorted track using guitar amp simulators or plugins like Waves CLA Bass to add grit, grit, and string noise, ensuring the bass remains audible on smaller speakers. 4. Master Bus: The Final Polish