New User Needs Help With Modern Metal Tones

dsmitty_62

dsmitty_62

Member
Hi gang. Just got an FX8 Mark ii last Thursday. I've used the unit for live practice twice so far and just can't seem to dial in a scooped chuggy sounding distortion. I was previously using stomp boxes and I loved my MXR Fullbore Metal pedal. Any suggestions? Should I use a second drive box in addition to a distortion? Looking for a Periphery/Deftones tone. Sharp attack with tight low end. Thanks in advance
 
I was really pleasantly surprised with the Full Od pedal into a clean amp, going to give it a bash on my jvm crunch sound next time I’ve got it hooked up :)
 
Generally amp distortion gets ya closer to those kind of tones, but there are a few drives to try. Not at my FX8 , so i don't recall all of the names, but maybe the Ruckus would be a start. I don't recall the names of the other two i have tried for more hi gain, but is there something with Shred in the name? I'll try to look at it after work and see if I can give you any other ideas.
 
Definitely Shred distortion, but have the drive setting low, around 3. Ruckus and 3 knob are my fav drives for driving a clean amp.
 
dsmitty_62 said:
LTD EC331 with EMGs > Fractal FX8 > Jet City 100w head (on clean) > Peavy 4x12.

I don't quite care for the distortion in the Jet City head, so I've always gone the pedal or multi effects route.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure it will get you there, but also try the dirt channel of your Jet City with a drive set for little to no drive and the level,a bit high. That can tighten up the amp tone considerably. TS type drives are great for this purpose.
 
Genghis said:
I'm not sure it will get you there, but also try the dirt channel of your Jet City with a drive set for little to no drive and the level,a bit high. That can tighten up the amp tone considerably. TS type drives are great for this purpose.
Click to expand...
Definitely gonna give this a whirl. So in theory, I'd want to program a block for switching my amps channels- then program a scene for "amp dirty channel + fractal OD pedal"?
 
dsmitty_62 said:
Definitely gonna give this a whirl. So in theory, I'd want to program a block for switching my amps channels- then program a scene for "amp dirty channel + fractal OD pedal"?
Click to expand...
Sort of. You don't need a block to change channels. If you are using the relays from the FX8, each scene can send a change for the relay state, so no extra block is required. Just set your relay to turn on the dirt channel for a particular scene, and set the drive on for that same scene.

I also often use one of the EQ blocks in the loop for my gain channels, so I'm hitting the input of the amp with a drive to tighten things up and the EQ in the loop to fine tune the tonal balance.
 
Is there a way to link up an external distortion pedal with the fractal and be able to control it with your other scenes?
 
dsmitty_62 said:
Is there a way to link up an external distortion pedal with the fractal and be able to control it with your other scenes?
Click to expand...
I do that with my Suhr pedals sometimes, but they have a 1/8 inch jack on them for running off of the relays. I have an Eclipse distortion and a Rufus fuzz. Not using thr Eclipse as much, but in my home setup I'll use it for an alternate distortion sound sometimes. (actually 2 sounds ,it's dual channel.)

I dont know what other distortions have that functionality.
 
Gotcha. So it sounds like if I run the fractal in the amps effects loop, and use the MXR fullbore right after my guitar in front of the amp, there's really no way to link the two?
 
There is no way to do it without an additional MIDI loop switch of some kind. Probably not worth the extra investment.

Take your time, there is a learning curve. Keep asking the right questions and there are a lot of people here that love this stuff and are happy to help.

If you play around with the existing drives you may find something that sounds as good or better than the MXR. I'd really recommend using the FX8 in 4 cable method, so you can put an FX8 drive before the input of the amp, and then using an EQ block in the amp FX loop. Goosing the input of your dirty channel with a FX8 drive and then EQing it in the loop will probably surprise you. I do that with my Mesa TC50, and actually use 2 EQ blocks, one for rhythm and one for lead. Rhythm has slightly less mids and a bit more bass than the lead EQ. Works well for my style. Then for clean sounds I leave the EQs off.
 
Genghis said:
There is no way to do it without an additional MIDI loop switch of some kind. Probably not worth the extra investment.

Take your time, there is a learning curve. Keep asking the right questions and there are a lot of people here that love this stuff and are happy to help.

If you play around with the existing drives you may find something that sounds as good or better than the MXR. I'd really recommend using the FX8 in 4 cable method, so you can put an FX8 drive before the input of the amp, and then using an EQ block in the amp FX loop. Goosing the input of your dirty channel with a FX8 drive and then EQing it in the loop will probably surprise you. I do that with my Mesa TC50, and actually use 2 EQ blocks, one for rhythm and one for lead. Rhythm has slightly less mids and a bit more bass than the lead EQ. Works well for my style. Then for clean sounds I leave the EQs off.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the info bud! When I bought this last week I had to throw some banks & scenes together in a hurry so I could use it for practice. I've been spending most of my time tinkering with the multidelay and the nice ambient "string section" padding it does. Not really practical for the music inmake but holy crap is it it sweet. I need to dig deeper into the distortions and EQ blocks.
 
Using two drive blocks is definitely the way to go. What I've found is the fx8 really does differ depending on setup, I've changed the speakers in my combo 3 times and each time I've changed the combo of drive blocks that I've used. This just means you have find what works for your rig. The shred distortion has the most gain on tap but out of the box it sounds thin and a bit shrill but when used with another block you can get some very meaty tones out of it. I've used the shred with the ruckus before and that was good but found the bottom end a bit compressed for higher gain stuff. Try the shred with the acb, this is currently my favourite drive combo.

Another good tip is to try changing the hi and low cuts, this can significantly alter your tone. I tend to drop the low cut on most of the drives to get a more open sound.

Last but not least try lowering the sample rate, I've found this really works on drives, maybe it's my ears but I find this makes the drives sound more natural and can also lower the very high end.

Have fun!! I've found the modulation and delays the easiest to get a good base sound but the drives take a bit longer to dial in.
 
Manxmusicman said:
Using two drive blocks is definitely the way to go. What I've found is the fx8 really does differ depending on setup, I've changed the speakers in my combo 3 times and each time I've changed the combo of drive blocks that I've used. This just means you have find what works for your rig. The shred distortion has the most gain on tap but out of the box it sounds thin and a bit shrill but when used with another block you can get some very meaty tones out of it. I've used the shred with the ruckus before and that was good but found the bottom end a bit compressed for higher gain stuff. Try the shred with the acb, this is currently my favourite drive combo.

Another good tip is to try changing the hi and low cuts, this can significantly alter your tone. I tend to drop the low cut on most of the drives to get a more open sound.

Last but not least try lowering the sample rate, I've found this really works on drives, maybe it's my ears but I find this makes the drives sound more natural and can also lower the very high end.

Have fun!! I've found the modulation and delays the easiest to get a good base sound but the drives take a bit longer to dial in.
Click to expand...
Totally agree man!! The other major challenge is that my live/rehearsal rig is a 4x12 Peavey cab and the amp at my house where I'm spending all my time dialing in sounds is a 2x10 combo.
Check out the song Hollow by A Perfect Circle. Tonight I was able to build a preset w/scenes duplicating the entire song. The verse has some pretty unique ring mod/shifted thing going on. *pats myself on the back
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom