Having a hell of a time with my tone

[gittarzann]

My buddy played a show with Machinehead a few years ago. He described one of the rigs as a 5150 set on the rhythm channel with lower gain boosted by a Line 6 distortion modeler (I don't remember what model of distortion box was used)


My buddy likes similar tone and had basically the same setup except hehad a 5150 and a JCM800 stereo setup driving VIN30 cabs.

He has since switched to Fractal though.

 

[Rex]

Definitely give the PEQ a try. It lets you use a blocking filter type, which you can't get anywhere near with a GEQ. It also allows more precise choice of frequency.

 

[jerrysteel]

The guitar & pickups play a role in your sound as well.
It looks like these guys use EMG-81s on mahogany body/neck guitars.

What's yours?


Also, here's a tip from Cliff:

Here's a cool trick to get very "tight" toanz:

1. Put a filter block before the amp block. Set the type to Highpass.

2. Attach the Envelope controller to the Frequency parameter. Use default settings for the Envelope parameters.

3. Set the Scale to 40%, Offset to around 22%.

4. Go nuts.



Here's another tip from another dude with the username "mniel8195".


I have found a that cranking the tube bias is a great tool for high gain amps, by raising it to taste or all the way on some models and lowering the master volume you can get extreme metal tones. I have also found by doing this i can keep my gain around 5 and 6, i was trying to go up to 7 for my distortion and crunch but the amp models would just crap out on me.

So my rules for any newcomers looking for brutal tones

1. Keep the gain at 5 at first, check to see if the boost is usable or not, i find that it will make the tone more satchurated and is often not need.
2. Use a od before the amp, my main od is the 808, gain 0 and level between 7-10
3. add treble to a preset before using the presence. Most of my patches are set to noon = 0 The presence control can actually deplete the quality of bottom end in the patch.
4. I know i have asked this alot and its a big topic, "how to get tight bottom end" The best way to do this is just to lower the bass on the patch.
5. mess around with the tube bias you may find you like it cranked.
6. Mess around with advanced perameter like sag and depth last has always worked best for me.


Search for more on the forum, there are lots of nice gems to find.
Hope that helps.

 

[symphx]

well once again I think there should be a sticky for high gain, I think cliff should design more high gain preamps even if it is insanely over the top for others; and more sharing ofhigh gain patches. of course now this should be done for the 2!

 

[kevrock]

The guitar & pickups play a role in your sound as well.
It looks like these guys use EMG-81s on mahogany body/neck guitars.

What's yours?


Also, here's a tip from Cliff:

Here's a cool trick to get very "tight" toanz:

1. Put a filter block before the amp block. Set the type to Highpass.

2. Attach the Envelope controller to the Frequency parameter. Use default settings for the Envelope parameters.

3. Set the Scale to 40%, Offset to around 22%.

4. Go nuts.



Here's another tip from another dude with the username "mniel8195".


I have found a that cranking the tube bias is a great tool for high gain amps, by raising it to taste or all the way on some models and lowering the master volume you can get extreme metal tones. I have also found by doing this i can keep my gain around 5 and 6, i was trying to go up to 7 for my distortion and crunch but the amp models would just crap out on me.

So my rules for any newcomers looking for brutal tones

1. Keep the gain at 5 at first, check to see if the boost is usable or not, i find that it will make the tone more satchurated and is often not need.
2. Use a od before the amp, my main od is the 808, gain 0 and level between 7-10
3. add treble to a preset before using the presence. Most of my patches are set to noon = 0 The presence control can actually deplete the quality of bottom end in the patch.
4. I know i have asked this alot and its a big topic, "how to get tight bottom end" The best way to do this is just to lower the bass on the patch.
5. mess around with the tube bias you may find you like it cranked.
6. Mess around with advanced perameter like sag and depth last has always worked best for me.


Search for more on the forum, there are lots of nice gems to find.
Hope that helps.

7-10 on the od808 is that 7 o'clock or would 10 be all the way up

send from Droid

 

[DonPetersen]

dialing in a metal sound without bass & drums is completely pointless. It'll never work in context.
unless you're experienced enough to anticipate the window(s) the guitar sound will occupy.

 

[Anand Mahangoe]

Hi,
I think that before starting to experiment with any kind of EQ / Drive and stuff.......start with a amp / cab combination first and experiment first with finding the right cab ...especially the custom IR impulses....the right amp / cab combi does not need anything else.......I myself use the Redwirez Uber T75V30 cabs...a mix of the Royer 121 + SM 57 , gives extremely thick body sounds............
A+

 

[mniel8195]

The 5150 is my main sound i work with...having said that i dial it in for recording primarily and monitor through a pair of rokit 6 speakers. The eq is really going to depend on your guitar, and amplification method. For recording i have been using the ownhammer #1 sm57 position 1, i also use position 3 for quad tracking to giving me a darker tone. their are two ways to run this amp, 1 running a low master which will give you a looser squishier tone because your getting the tone from the preamp. What i do is run the master at 5 so i can get more tightness from the poweramp. I never turn the gain above 4 because im running an 808 mod in front of the amp, this is crucial. I turn the drive off and turn the tone up to around 7 to gain more of an edge. You can change the diode type and take a little off of the mif frequency in the pedal if you want...i leave it stock. I would take your bass down to 0 and roll it up untill it starts to flub out, you dont need an incredible amount of base on this one. The 5150 is a mids monster. In the past i have run the mids low around 2-3 but i think it sounds best around 5 it just depends on how scooped you want it. Treble around 6-6.50 for clarity and bite. Then the presence really depends on how loud your playing. If you find your speakers are attenuating the highs and lows just fine then you wont have to adjust the high and low cut, for recording i block both highs and lows after the cab the amount depends on the mix. with firmware 11 i have found i dont have to adjust any of the advanced parameters. I do find regardless of what ir im using i do tend to take some off of the 250hz area and around 4k so its not harsh. The hardest parts i find about making the perfect tone is not the axe fx in itself its the "ir" im using. I think its almost easier to dial in an amp going into a real cab most of the time but having said that the redwirez stuf and the ownhammer stuf is amazing. I find the ownhammers have a little better presence for metal without having to mix them. I know nolly uses the redwirez stuf i would love to know his boogie recipe and i have also heard good things about the new bogner 2x12 ir.

 

[kevrock]

The 5150 is my main sound i work with...having said that i dial it in for recording primarily and monitor through a pair of rokit 6 speakers. The eq is really going to depend on your guitar, and amplification method. For recording i have been using the ownhammer #1 sm57 position 1, i also use position 3 for quad tracking to giving me a darker tone. their are two ways to run this amp, 1 running a low master which will give you a looser squishier tone because your getting the tone from the preamp. What i do is run the master at 5 so i can get more tightness from the poweramp. I never turn the gain above 4 because im running an 808 mod in front of the amp, this is crucial. I turn the drive off and turn the tone up to around 7 to gain more of an edge. You can change the diode type and take a little off of the mif frequency in the pedal if you want...i leave it stock. I would take your bass down to 0 and roll it up untill it starts to flub out, you dont need an incredible amount of base on this one. The 5150 is a mids monster. In the past i have run the mids low around 2-3 but i think it sounds best around 5 it just depends on how scooped you want it. Treble around 6-6.50 for clarity and bite. Then the presence really depends on how loud your playing. If you find your speakers are attenuating the highs and lows just fine then you wont have to adjust the high and low cut, for recording i block both highs and lows after the cab the amount depends on the mix. with firmware 11 i have found i dont have to adjust any of the advanced parameters. I do find regardless of what ir im using i do tend to take some off of the 250hz area and around 4k so its not harsh. The hardest parts i find about making the perfect tone is not the axe fx in itself its the "ir" im using. I think its almost easier to dial in an amp going into a real cab most of the time but having said that the redwirez stuf and the ownhammer stuf is amazing. I find the ownhammers have a little better presence for metal without having to mix them. I know nolly uses the redwirez stuf i would love to know his boogie recipe and i have also heard good things about the new bogner 2x12 ir.

Awesome info thanks

send from Droid

 

[mniel8195]

I would also like to add that the parametric eq should become ur best friend educate yourself to the guitars fundamental frequencies. I use the peq on everything not just for blocking highs and lows. I use to cut or boost anything I see fit. Get aquainted with ur real speakers roll offs on the highs and lows and apply that to the cab ir u are using for the 1st and 5th band then sweep through and get the mud out 200-500 hz area and deal with the highs if u have to. I find with high output pickups that the tone ur looking for us often buried under a few db of unwanted stuf