Hillsong - Run....Gretsch tone

T

takamine

Member
Hey guys,

Just need help on getting a good tone for Run, by Hillsong. I've got a Gretsch so I think that's a step in the right direction for getting that tone. But just not sure how to get that really nice distinct 'wet' sound at around 2:14

I've tried using the Top Boost and Mr Z amps with a 2x12 Brit cab, but just can't get the settings right to sound good. Mine just seems to sound real flat. I've got the delays ok as well so it's just the main tone I'm after.

I'm going through KRK Rokit 8 studio monitors so I think it gives a reasonable representation of what comes out through the PA.

Let me know if any tips.

Thanks!
 
takamine said:
Hey guys,

Just need help on getting a good tone for Run, by Hillsong. I've got a Gretsch so I think that's a step in the right direction for getting that tone. But just not sure how to get that really nice distinct 'wet' sound at around 2:14

I've tried using the Top Boost and Mr Z amps with a 2x12 Brit cab, but just can't get the settings right to sound good. Mine just seems to sound real flat. I've got the delays ok as well so it's just the main tone I'm after.

I'm going through KRK Rokit 8 studio monitors so I think it gives a reasonable representation of what comes out through the PA.

Let me know if any tips.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Which guitar :D There are 2 electrics going there both with delays. There is the slighly distorted one and the one with rolled off highs.
 
To add a little sparkle you might want to try and blend in a matchless amps w/ the ac30 or dr z . I prefer the dr. z. I like giving the stereo separation, if your sound system supports it. Maybe a clip of what your patch is like now could be helpful. I don't have a gretch so my hillsong patches are tuned to my les paul. They also like to use a filter(like a parked wah) effect. You could try that, it doesn't really sound like it though.
 
Thanks for the tips.

Do you think you could point me to a page/thread where there's some explanations on how to run the stereo amps? Also whereabouts should I put the filter? I tried the following for stereo amp setup (with Boutique 1 i think) but I'm just not good with blending and it keeps clipping my output 1:

-- CPR -- DRV -- AMP---CAB ________
---AMP ---CAB --------------/

Currently have the following (simplified) minus the delay/reverbs. Wish the new editor was out!

- CPR - DRV - AMP - CAB -

Compressor = Pedal (Sustain/Attack/Release all around 12pm, Detect RMS; Level = 7.1db)
Drive = Treble Booster (Drive = 9am, Tone and Level = 3pm)
Amp = Top Boost (with Boost on); Drive 1.97; Bass 4.37; Mids 7.36; Treble 7.76 (Bright on);
Presence 10; Deep 1.34; Damp 3.39; Sag 2.01; Master 9.61; Level -18.5db
Warmth 4.06; Thump 2.99; Low cut Freq 450.3; Hi-cut freq 5990; Bright Cap 0.1; Tonestack Passive; Tonestack Freq 699; Location = Post; Presence freq 3010; Tube bias 0.752; B+ 5.67; Trans LF 39.7; Trans HF 12038; Trans Match 4.02; Spkr Res Freq 90
Cab = Mono Hi Res 2x12 Brit with R121 mic, 0 drive

So that's about the basic sound I have. Sorry I can't get a clip at the moment, don't have the right equipment.

Thanks again for your help so far, hoping to gain more insight through this!
 
takamine said:
Thanks for the tips.

Do you think you could point me to a page/thread where there's some explanations on how to run the stereo amps? Also whereabouts should I put the filter? I tried the following for stereo amp setup (with Boutique 1 i think) but I'm just not good with blending and it keeps clipping my output 1:

-- CPR -- DRV -- AMP---CAB ________
---AMP ---CAB --------------/

Currently have the following (simplified) minus the delay/reverbs. Wish the new editor was out!

- CPR - DRV - AMP - CAB -

Compressor = Pedal (Sustain/Attack/Release all around 12pm, Detect RMS; Level = 7.1db)
Drive = Treble Booster (Drive = 9am, Tone and Level = 3pm)
Amp = Top Boost (with Boost on); Drive 1.97; Bass 4.37; Mids 7.36; Treble 7.76 (Bright on);
Presence 10; Deep 1.34; Damp 3.39; Sag 2.01; Master 9.61; Level -18.5db
Warmth 4.06; Thump 2.99; Low cut Freq 450.3; Hi-cut freq 5990; Bright Cap 0.1; Tonestack Passive; Tonestack Freq 699; Location = Post; Presence freq 3010; Tube bias 0.752; B+ 5.67; Trans LF 39.7; Trans HF 12038; Trans Match 4.02; Spkr Res Freq 90
Cab = Mono Hi Res 2x12 Brit with R121 mic, 0 drive

So that's about the basic sound I have. Sorry I can't get a clip at the moment, don't have the right equipment.

Thanks again for your help so far, hoping to gain more insight through this!
Click to expand...

When I get home, I'll send you a write up on how I have my Hillsong stuff wired up.
 
Yeah I saw that one already. Thanks! I can get closer to that sound than the one on the album. Hmm, maybe they did some post-processing after they recorded it...
 
takamine said:
Yeah I saw that one already. Thanks! I can get closer to that sound than the one on the album. Hmm, maybe they did some post-processing after they recorded it...
Click to expand...

They always do. They add/fix parts as well.
 
Hey! I just worked out a tone pretty similar to that section in "Run" you're talking about. The delay's with the chunky, sparkly tone.

My general block goes like this:

drive > graphEQ > amp > cab > dly > reverb

The drive is a TS808 with a HV Tube as the diode and the gain set pretty low: around 3.5 or 4. This gives it the thickness that is extremely important to this "clean" sound. I think the trick to duplicating the tone is to have a nice shimmer-y AC30 type tone but put some hair around the midrange.

The graphEQ is basically a low-mid boost, not much but I cut a bit of the lows and added a tad of the top two sliders (doing this from memory, but I believe it's 12k and 8k?)

Amp is a Boutique 1 (Matchless) with a Top Boost tonestack! Yup that's the secret right there. I don't do dual amps cause I worry about the CPU usage but this has gotten a nice hybrid sound that I've been looking for. I have the master at around 8 and the drive at around 6.5. Warmth is slightly higher at 3.4ish and thump is at 5. I also have the lo and hi-cut frequencies opened up quite a bit. I don't remember the exact numbers but it's much wider than the default Top-Boost setting. I also only have my presence up to about 7.

Cab is the second piece to the puzzle IMO. I use the 2x12 Golds and I think they're perfect for this sound. Try those out! Drive is up to about 1.5-2. No mic sim. I went through all the cabs basically and I opted for this over the 2x12 Blues.

Delay is a dotted 1/8th bout 27% on the feedback, 25-30% on the mix and 2.00db boost on the level. I also have the drive up a bit at around 2.

Reverb is a default Large Hall with slightly less time to tighten it up... around 2.5-3 seconds. I might have reduced the room size too.

In summary: try the Boutique 1 with the TopBoost tone stack. Make sure that the drive is smooth and not raspy (play with the MV and drive a bit too for that) with the drive block in front and EQ your sound to taste. The delays just need to be heard so make sure the mix isn't dampening your initial attack but coming back to you at 80% strength so that the "jogging" delay sound is very apparent.

Finally, this is a trick that I read about the Edge who frequently does these tones. Hold one of those Dunlop picks with a grip (the textured ones with a bunch of little dots to help you hold on to it better) upside down and pick with the textured part. It sounds super dumb but if you try it you'll get what I'm talking about. It gives the attack a slightly chunkier sound.
 
Thanks for your help! Some new stuff I never really tried. Anyways, we played Run on Friday night and I think it went fairly ok. I upgraded to 7.12 without backing up my patches and somehow it erased all my patches. It was a brief moment of panic but it's all good, nice to start fresh again. I won't be playing for around a month due to exams but looking forward to the holidays.

Thanks again!

By the way, JJ, just wondering whether you had that write up for your Hillsong stuff? I'm keen to know how you shape your sounds.
 
takamine said:
Thanks for your help! Some new stuff I never really tried. Anyways, we played Run on Friday night and I think it went fairly ok. I upgraded to 7.12 without backing up my patches and somehow it erased all my patches. It was a brief moment of panic but it's all good, nice to start fresh again. I won't be playing for around a month due to exams but looking forward to the holidays.

Thanks again!

By the way, JJ, just wondering whether you had that write up for your Hillsong stuff? I'm keen to know how you shape your sounds.
Click to expand...

Go side tracked. i"ll try in the AM
 
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