Help with Dimebag tone....

gatgod77

Member
Anyone got some good advice on nailing his tone? Amp,effects etc
I'm playing in a Pantera tribute band \m/ and need an amp sound to go through a Mesa stilletto cab.
I have Dean guitars,Axe fx runs into poweramp input of a JVM 410,also have Matrix GT1000fx as a back up,
thanks in advance for any helpful advice
 
^THIS

Tonematching would be the easiest way. That being said, the amp model that I found has similar characteristics (mostly harmonically) to Dime's Randalls would be the Cameron CCV-100 (Channel 2).

So, if I were in your shoes (and I have been), I'd create a patch with that amp in the signal chain and tone match one of Pantera's albums (probably 101 proof live), and go DI with it. That'll give you the closest results.

If you want to use your physical power amp and cab too, there's ways to route it, but it's a bit more complicated.
 
Tried google,taken notes already was hoping for Axe fx specific tips for amp to use etc,thanks for the CCV-100 i'll give it a try tomorrow, 1.30am here in Australia,

I'm aiming to use my JVM and physical Mesa cab to take over this town \,,/
 
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I did a near perfect tone match with the FAS MODERN but that was a direct tone that wouldn't help you unless you just used the cab sound for stage volume and then went direct. You could just start with the Modern and a tube screamer and start pullin out lowend and midrange. You can tone match the same way and do your own direct signal by just tone matching the intro to Walk. It's a perfect signal for tone matching.
 
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I did a near perfect tone match with the FAS MODERN but that was a direct tone that wouldn't help you unless you just used the cab sound for stage volume and then went direct. You could just start with the Modern and a tube screamer and start pullin out lowend and midrange. You can tone match the same way and do your own direct signal by just tone matching the intro to Walk. It's a perfect signal for tone matching.

To get his tone the first thing you should do it put a PEQ as the first block, that was the key to his sound. Set the 2nd Freq at 400 Hz, 3rd at 800 Hz , 4 the at 1 kHz and last at 8 kHz set at peak.
Set the q 1/2 or narrower.
The main freq to boost is 800 Hz for mids and 400Hz for thickness. 1 kHz is optional if you need more mids and also 8 KHz just incase you need some brightness. Try boosting which ever frequency sounds best to you.
As far as amps, just try any of the high gain amps and you can use a drive block after the PEQ.
I hope this helps.
 
schlagdog,I think the tone match I have must be your one,after 20 years of listening to Pantera I almost crapped myself when I heard it through my headphones! Such a nice thick tone to jam with! Has anyone tried with success to EQ out a cabinet? say if we knew what frequencys a particular cab used?

eljodon thanks man,i'll give that a try,400hz for thickness,thats good to know,I used to crank the bass to try and thicken it
 
schlagdog,I think the tone match I have must be your one,after 20 years of listening to Pantera I almost crapped myself when I heard it through my headphones! Such a nice thick tone to jam with! Has anyone tried with success to EQ out a cabinet? say if we knew what frequencys a particular cab used?

eljodon thanks man,i'll give that a try,400hz for thickness,thats good to know,I used to crank the bass to try and thicken it

I have a Furman parametric eq because I'm also a Pantera freak! I tried a Randall RG series and with the Furman I was able to get the same tone. He also used a ton of doubler! You can use the Pitch block and detune the L side around -7 and the right + 7, pan them hard left and right and set the delay to 10 millisecond and the other 15 msec and that will give you more thickness.
The frequency points I have you are just a trying points. It will vary depending on what pickups you use an also what amp you use.
 
eljodon i've used all your tips in a patch and come up with a rough tone that blows away my other tones lol,
only thing extra I have is a physical MXR 10 band eq between the Axe fx and my JVM's poweramp input,
only because I like the way it colors the tone(like a very mild chorus) and the convenience of a real world eq,
thanks for the tips! if youve got other Dimebag tricks of the trade feel free to share :)
Getcha pull \m/ \,,/
 
eljodon i've used all your tips in a patch and come up with a rough tone that blows away my other tones lol,
only thing extra I have is a physical MXR 10 band eq between the Axe fx and my JVM's poweramp input,
only because I like the way it colors the tone(like a very mild chorus) and the convenience of a real world eq,
thanks for the tips! if youve got other Dimebag tricks of the trade feel free to share :)
Getcha pull \m/ \,,/

I love my MXR 10 band eq! I use it when I record with my real amps! I boost 500 Hz, 1 kHz 2 to 5 db, depending how heavy I want it to sound. I also boost 4 and 8 kHz if I want to add some twang.
I experimented with my Axe Fx 2 to see which amp sounds the heaviest to get the Dimebag sound and the best ones were the FAS Modern, Splawn Nitro, which I have the real one and the 5150. The Splawn Nitro had the most bottom and the FAS Modern had the best midrange.
I started jamming with " I'm Broken" and " Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills" from Far Beyond Driven, one of my favorite Pantera albums. My 2nd fav is Cowboys From Hell.
I got my Axe Fx sounding pretty damn close to Dimebag's sound!
I'm using a Mesa Boogie 2 90 through a bunch of Marshall cabs with Scumback M75's in one cab, H75's on another and BM75 on another one.
Sounds devastating!
I'm buying a Matrix GT1600Fx to replace my Boogie 2 90 which I'm going to keep it in my studio. The Matrix GT1600FX puts out 480 x 2 at 8 ohms and 800 x 2 at 4 ohms!. The Mesa is just to heavy! I want to keep my rack light!
 
You can use the PEQ or the Graphic eq at the end of the signal chain to replace the MXR if you want to keep things simple.
On the amp block I use graphic eq using the smily curve starting with the 1 kHz freq at -4 as the center point and them adjust the other freq in 1 to 2 db increments until you have a smily curve. Then use the PEQ at the end if the chain and start with a hi pass filter at 75 Hz the use band 4 and cut 2 kHz using a q set at . 922 and cut - 3.75.
Then use a low pass filter on band 5 setting the freq at around 9 to 10 kHz. This setting makes your tone more focused. The setting will vary depending on what speakers you're using.I also depends we're you set your presence on your Marshall which I believe you're using as a power amp.
It also helps if could use another head as a power amp to get a stereo sound.
 
That Fas modern is quite a Brutal amp indeed! as are the others you mentioned,I think the Fas does everything I need,menacing tone,good for artificial harmonics and Dime squeals catch quite easily!
I'll prob have to watch my mids so I dont drown out the other guitarist,as well as Pantera we are jamming on Sepultura too,
Don't have a band name yet,Sepultera??? Pantura??? lol

I can only imagine what ur rig sounds like....wow!
I've been contemplating trying C12k 100 speakers for the xtra headroom and bottom end,
I have access to Eminence Super lynch's (150 watts!!!) too,
Scum backs i'll try to find,i'm sure i'd luv them,
I like the Vintage 30 but crave a more thunderous bottom end that'll stand up at gig levels.

My fave Pantera album...Cowboys,awesome....everything on that album,the leads especially,
my fave lead? The Sleep \m/
As cool as Floods is this lead to me has the most soul,heart and balls of any of his solos....period!
Vulgar and Far beyond follow close behind.

Thanks again for the tips,
time to tweak and crank that tone!
 
I'm in need of a little help crafting the Dimebag tone from CFH. I've done Tone Matching which gets me very close, but I think I'm missing some key things:

(please bear with me, I'm no Dimebag expert by any means...)

1. I've read about the use of a PEQ and a GEQ in the signal chain. Can someone provide some guidance as to placement and (dare I say) settings for these blocks? I read the post by eljodon above about EQ's That's some good info. That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for.
2. Which amp to use? I've tried the FAS Modern and it just feels like too much gain even with the input drive set low. It just feels to compressed. Maybe a different amp would be better? Something with a little more growl/separation like Recto Red?
3. A big part of Dime's sound was the doubler. I found another thread where they simulate a double tracked guitar. I'll probably end up using some of those tricks in my final preset.
4. Flanger block? Sure sounds like he used a flanger during the intro to CFH.
5. Tone Matching- I'm quite new to this, but even with my limited experience I was able to get decent results... however... It seems to me that I should be able to achieve this tone without the use of TMA.
6. What about solo tone? The CFH solo tone definitely has delay on it. Maybe some mid boost to make it cut? The tone sounds a lot like Randy Rhoads to me.

Anyway- just looking for some solid tonal advice from the experts. I've scoured the web and have found conflicting information.

I promise to share the preset when all is said & done! :)
 
Hey

Download that Cowboys From Hell preset ,for silent underground dudes website. He have amazing tone matching presets ,for Metallica and Pantera. And when you have downloaded that preset ,try to compare that preset to original track for CFH. Because if you have different guitar and pickups ,you then must remake that tone match again. And do only that tone matching again ,if that preset do not sounds exatly like original. He was use active pickups ,and very bright guitar to tone match that preset. And he have that Dimebag MXR Doubler style effect there too ,witch give that Dimebag guitar doubler tone too. And there is two eq pedals in chain ,like Dimebag was use to eq together. Link is below download that ,and enjoy.

Online Recording Studio - Clone Tones 4


I'm in need of a little help crafting the Dimebag tone from CFH. I've done Tone Matching which gets me very close, but I think I'm missing some key things:

(please bear with me, I'm no Dimebag expert by any means...)

1. I've read about the use of a PEQ and a GEQ in the signal chain. Can someone provide some guidance as to placement and (dare I say) settings for these blocks? I read the post by eljodon above about EQ's That's some good info. That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for.
2. Which amp to use? I've tried the FAS Modern and it just feels like too much gain even with the input drive set low. It just feels to compressed. Maybe a different amp would be better? Something with a little more growl/separation like Recto Red?
3. A big part of Dime's sound was the doubler. I found another thread where they simulate a double tracked guitar. I'll probably end up using some of those tricks in my final preset.
4. Flanger block? Sure sounds like he used a flanger during the intro to CFH.
5. Tone Matching- I'm quite new to this, but even with my limited experience I was able to get decent results... however... It seems to me that I should be able to achieve this tone without the use of TMA.
6. What about solo tone? The CFH solo tone definitely has delay on it. Maybe some mid boost to make it cut? The tone sounds a lot like Randy Rhoads to me.

Anyway- just looking for some solid tonal advice from the experts. I've scoured the web and have found conflicting information.

I promise to share the preset when all is said & done! :)
 
I did a near perfect tone match with the FAS MODERN but that was a direct tone that wouldn't help you unless you just used the cab sound for stage volume and then went direct. You could just start with the Modern and a tube screamer and start pullin out lowend and midrange. You can tone match the same way and do your own direct signal by just tone matching the intro to Walk. It's a perfect signal for tone matching.

Same here, I have tonematched with FAS Modern, and it sounds spot on. If you can't find the stems, just tonematch the beginning of walk.
 
Hey

I have original paper version ,for Live Dimebag signal chain. That paper have ,Grady himself write years ago. I found that in the net ,some years ago. Lots of peoples did not know that Dimebag was use her Furman Pq first in the chain ,then it was go blue Mxr 6-band and hit the Randall input. I remember all was think first was 6-band in the chain ,there is big different for those two eq pedals witch are first and last. And like that site where is Dimebag signal chain ,that eq place in chain is wrong first was furman pq and then mxr 6-band. And Mxr 6-band did not have that classic scooped V curve ,that pedal Dime was use boost mids a lot. And Mxr doubler ,was in the effect loop one of her Randall amps. He was use 5 Randall heads ,one of those amps was have Doubler in the loop and rest was dry.

 
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Hey

I have original paper version ,for Live Dimebag signal chain. That paper have ,Grady himself write years ago. I found that in the net ,some years ago. Lots of peoples did not know that Dimebag was use her Furman Pq first in the chain ,then it was go blue Mxr 6-band and hit the Randall input. I remember all was think first was 6-band in the chain ,there is big different for those two eq pedals witch are first and last. And like that site where is Dimebag signal chain ,that eq place in chain is wrong first was furman pq and then maxr 6-band. And Mxr 6-band did not have that classic scooped V curve ,that pedal Dime was use boost mids a lot.

Nice! After reading this I searched a bit and found the paper:

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