Guitarus Rex
Member
Any good amps to try for that heavy tone? Is my power amp in any way tied into this? If so how?
Possibly could be impacted by your power amp... I tried the Fractal through a Crown XLS2000 stereo power amp into a Marshall JCM900 4x12 cab and it sounded great, until I plugged the Fractal into a 50-watt tube head (effects loop RETURN only) and thru the same 4x12. The tube amp was much more like the "amp-in-the-room." Pretty much dead-on, actually. The big difference-maker is the GLOBAL settings on the front panel. Turning the power amp and/or cab modeling on or off makes a sizeable difference. You mentioned wanting a good "metal" patch, try the Dizzy's and Herbie's as a start; no drive pedal needed! Ha! "Das Metal" is an obvious choice. I think you'll find the other secret is in the EQs. You've got a really nice power amp, but it does react differently than a tube amp.
I always try to start with my EQs flat (either Global or the amp's featured EQ) and tweak from there. In the old days, I knew how to set every amp: dime the bass and treble, zero out the mids... Ha! I find it is MUCH easier to dial-in a great tone when I start flat. I hardly ever move more than 3 numbers from flat and find a sweeter tone, quicker. I also tend to roll back the treble and push up the presence control for the highs.
Also picked up a gem well over a decade ago from Bob Rock, when he was producing the Black album for Metallica: turn DOWN the gain to get a heavier sound. Sounds wrong, but it works great. You start over-compressing the tone (in a bad way) when you dime the gain and preamp volume right off the bat. Start in the middle (or less) and work your way into it. You'll probably be surprised at how little you are using when you find the sweet spot. AC/DC uses little gain, it's ALL volume!
Possibly could be impacted by your power amp... I tried the Fractal through a Crown XLS2000 stereo power amp into a Marshall JCM900 4x12 cab and it sounded great, until I plugged the Fractal into a 50-watt tube head (effects loop RETURN only) and thru the same 4x12. The tube amp was much more like the "amp-in-the-room." Pretty much dead-on, actually. The big difference-maker is the GLOBAL settings on the front panel. Turning the power amp and/or cab modeling on or off makes a sizeable difference. You mentioned wanting a good "metal" patch, try the Dizzy's and Herbie's as a start; no drive pedal needed! Ha! "Das Metal" is an obvious choice. I think you'll find the other secret is in the EQs. You've got a really nice power amp, but it does react differently than a tube amp.
I always try to start with my EQs flat (either Global or the amp's featured EQ) and tweak from there. In the old days, I knew how to set every amp: dime the bass and treble, zero out the mids... Ha! I find it is MUCH easier to dial-in a great tone when I start flat. I hardly ever move more than 3 numbers from flat and find a sweeter tone, quicker. I also tend to roll back the treble and push up the presence control for the highs.
Also picked up a gem well over a decade ago from Bob Rock, when he was producing the Black album for Metallica: turn DOWN the gain to get a heavier sound. Sounds wrong, but it works great. You start over-compressing the tone (in a bad way) when you dime the gain and preamp volume right off the bat. Start in the middle (or less) and work your way into it. You'll probably be surprised at how little you are using when you find the sweet spot. AC/DC uses little gain, it's ALL volume!
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