Frustrated. Help me dial in a killer metal tone with my Carvin 8 string

The thing about thicker strings is they get rounder and bolder, I don't hear increased attack, I hear quite the opposite. I really believe now (after years of absurd gauges and tail chasing) that you need the lightest possible gauge that works. It's usually not that light at all, but it's never as heavy as you think it should be. Stepping down a gauge or two will give you a natural sharpness, cut, and bite that will let you get your tones with less of the treble knob.

Edit: listened to your tones and you're really close to something good. The advice to lower the gain a tad and tweak the highs are right on. You'll be there soon man
 
NatKingAlford said:
What is the scale length of your neck? If it's long enough you don't need to go massive on the strings unless you want to. If you're using a boost pedal you can raise the Low Cut for added tightness and raise the Hi Cut for extra attack, plus the drive block has the mid boost eq section where you can boost some high mids if you want. 3dB or so around 1250Hz could possibly help if you like the sound of it.
Click to expand...

The scale length on DC800's is 27"
 
Paperjace said:
Ok, I can tell you now for the Meshuggah song you're playing, the tone comes from a combination of the 2 guitars and the bass. YouTube ToonTrack EZMix and look for the "Do Not Look Down" video. They go through each guitar part individually and the bass takes care of most of the clanky "djent" sound.

I would start by lowering some of the gain and use the high cut filter in the speaker block to get rid of all the hissy highs.
Click to expand...

Interesting! they are only using the axe-fx as a DI and bypassing all of it's amp/cabs correct?
 
Alright guys, I'm thinking of just getting an 11-80 set (WAAAAY WAY lighter)

Does anyone here have any objections to this? intonation worries? Please note that I am tuned lower than Meshuggah. Entire guitar is dropped down a whole step and I often take my 8th string down another wholestep further tosin abasi style.

My luthier told me to pick out a new gauge and he will set it up for the new tension for free so i want to make sure i get it right this time
 
rifflord22 said:
Interesting! they are only using the axe-fx as a DI and bypassing all of it's amp/cabs correct?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I probably should have been more clear. The EZMix thing is just an emulation of what they used in the studio (I'm pretty sure...). I'm not sure what they used on the record, but I know that Meshuggah worked with Toontrack on those EZMix sounds so its very close to the original. The breakdown of the different parts should probably help you understand the layering going on to create the final sound. Lots of magic going on in the studio :)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Meshuggah do use the Axe FX for their sound; amp block, cab block, etc.
 
rifflord22 said:
Alright guys, I'm thinking of just getting an 11-80 set (WAAAAY WAY lighter)

Does anyone here have any objections to this? intonation worries? Please note that I am tuned lower than Meshuggah. Entire guitar is dropped down a whole step and I often take my 8th string down another wholestep further tosin abasi style.

My luthier told me to pick out a new gauge and he will set it up for the new tension for free so i want to make sure i get it right this time
Click to expand...

Think that'll be a lot easier to get the sound you want out of it, man. I'd check an online string tension calculator just to make sure you're going to have the tension you want out of it. He's going to have to cut a new nut too.
 
Paperjace said:
Sorry, I probably should have been more clear. The EZMix thing is just an emulation of what they used in the studio (I'm pretty sure...). I'm not sure what they used on the record, but I know that Meshuggah worked with Toontrack on those EZMix sounds so its very close to the original.
Click to expand...

They used the stock Cubase amp sim for Koloss.
 
rifflord22 said:
Alright guys, I'm thinking of just getting an 11-80 set (WAAAAY WAY lighter)

Does anyone here have any objections to this? intonation worries? Please note that I am tuned lower than Meshuggah. Entire guitar is dropped down a whole step and I often take my 8th string down another wholestep further tosin abasi style.

My luthier told me to pick out a new gauge and he will set it up for the new tension for free so i want to make sure i get it right this time
Click to expand...

FYI, Tosin's tuning is EBGDAEBE, he only drops the top string.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP60ZKw-nm0
 
I have the 7 string version of your guitar ha very nice choice of woods ! I think the Swamp Ash body and Koa Top sound very nice together . Since I use the standard strings 10's and standard tuning haven't got any helpful advise to offer.
IMO the Dizzy V4 slvr 4 model sounds very good w my guitar . good luck and post up some sample tones when you get it sorted .
 
+1 to lighter strings.

back your gain down quite a bit, i'd also recommend putting your noise gate after the drive pedal
 
RockerAlex said:
That super bright IR is not helping at all ...
Click to expand...

I dont know... though it could be improved, it's not the brightness that's bothering me here. especially on the lowest string it just has no...balls. very unpleasant muddy and almost phasey

That being said would you like to recommend a cab? Maybe I'm compensating for the lack of attack and bite with brighter cabs and I will change my opinion when I get lighter strings on her.

I'll have them by next week- tuesday or wednesday- and will keep you guys posted.
 
VeryBadMan said:
I have the 7 string version of your guitar ha very nice choice of woods ! I think the Swamp Ash body and Koa Top sound very nice together . Since I use the standard strings 10's and standard tuning haven't got any helpful advise to offer.
IMO the Dizzy V4 slvr 4 model sounds very good w my guitar . good luck and post up some sample tones when you get it sorted .
Click to expand...

Yeah I enjoy the cleans on this guitar, even with thick strings and lundgrens. actually lundgrens were a massive improvement in clean tone over the A80's

people post clips of the A80's all the time and go "heres my band using stock A80's, see how awesome it sounds?" and I'm like...dude no.

I hated those pickups the moment I plugged in.
 
I don't know man , your raw clip sounded what id expect a 8 string tone to sound like isolated. Chuck some cleanish bass playing in unison on there and it will fatten right up.
 
In my opinion, string thickness is governed by string tension. Use what FEELS right to you, then focus on how to attenuate the bass response.
Based on your "crap tone" clip, I heard something in the low end around 80-180hz that needed to be cut, and some mids that needed to be boosted around 800-2500hz.
Maybe try a high-pass filter and turn the "mid" knob on the amp up.

OR- use a compressor on just the low end, like Andy Sneap does.
He strikes me as someone who knows what he's doing.

Don't use lighter gauge strings if that screws with your string tension and intonation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom