Newbie looking for some guidance on chug tones

chris said:
I imagine you’d have the same struggle with the real amps then. The amps you’ve mentioned don’t really have the “higher quality” amp tone and fullness of typical amps. Maybe cut a lot of low end in the cab block low cut as a starting point.
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I've been messing around with the Brootalz amp found in an axe exchange "djent" preset. The input of the amp has a low cut of 460! I thought that was crazy but it sounds the part. I think making the low cut pregain is imporant but don't quote me on that. I don't love the brootalz amp but I want to try that same cut with other amps like the 5150.

Car130 said:
You’re gonna laugh but my favorite metal tone is my line 6 spider iv amp n I hate that it comes from that but it’s the truth 😂 I can make a video comparing the two and show you. And my other rig which is my second favorite metal tones is my bugera 333 and Mesa 2x12 w v30’s
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Hey I think Vildhjarta used pods on the first album and pods were a joke in 2011. You like what you are used to and that's fine, but If the one amp Fractal can't model is a Spider IV than I think their customers will be understanding. Don't forget that a huge part of Djent tone is the bass. It's hard to find where the guitar ends and the bass begins on an album so that makes things tricky.
 
RB2021 said:
I've been messing around with the Brootalz amp found in an axe exchange "djent" preset. The input of the amp has a low cut of 460! I thought that was crazy but it sounds the part. I think making the low cut pregain is imporant but don't quote me on that. I don't love the brootalz amp but I want to try that same cut with other amps like the 5150.
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I cut up to 800 sometimes. There are no rules, just results.
 
Car130 said:
I like the beefy but still fizzy tones like in hourglass by motionless in white but when I go for that tone I either get way too much highs or way too dull I can’t find that middle balance for some reason
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Hey there, I might get what you are after, because I too initially had the impression, that the sounds lacked top end sizzle.
From my experience, there are two things, you should consider:

1. Fletcher Munson Effect
These sizzly sounds you are after don't translate very well in a live context. Due to the Fletcher Munson Effect, at greater volumes, we perceive the higher frequencies as very harsh and shrill. So if play these high end heavy sounds in a live band, amplified to a degree, where they can compete with a drum kit, any sound guy will immediately filter out a lot of highs from your sound. The presets in the Axe are allready "ready to use". I've had absolutely great results myself.

2. Power Amp Sounds
The AXE is an extremely accurate reproduction of the real thing. If you look at where the master volumes of the amps are set, ask yourself: would you set an amp like that? Have you ever cranked a 100 watt tube head with a 412? It is painfull to say the least. Try turning down the master volumes to where you would set them with the real thing. A saturating power amp creates a significantly darker sound.

So all in all, these two things are actually the same. ;)
It's all about volume.

I'd love to hear, wether this was any help.
 
Excellent suggestions already provided about cabs, master volume, etc.

However, when you have already arrived at a tone you generally like, but want to give that extra bite and tightness, there are a couple of tricks I learnt from the old Ultra days that I find are extremelly effective:

1. An envelope-controlled highpass filter before the amp, which helps removing bass palm mute tails.
2. A (carefully adjusted) second noise gate, normally between amp and cab, or inbetween drive and amp, maybe sidechained to input.
3. Multiband compression.

I remember reading tips 1 and 2 probably like 10 years ago in some post in this forum, and they pop up again from time to time, so probably there are lots of messages detailling them. For multiband compression, I think Leon Todd's tutorial is an excellent starting point:

BTW, I have been using Euro Uber models with the II and III for a long time for tight metal sounds, but I have recently rediscovered the Das Metall model, which is normally overlooked due to the more accurate Dizzy models, and instantly switched all my patches towards it. Somehow, I get the best results with it.
 
Try out this preset:
https://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=7825

Some things to tweak:
  • IR is one of the biggest things. You could try the ML Bulb Zilla, ML USA Djent. Play with the high / low cut. Add some preamp drive.
  • Add some "room" reverb to the cab. Or use a "ambiance" reverb block after the cab. Good for headphones.
  • For jamming via headphones, you'll probably want to EQ things a bit because otherwise it's like you have your ear next to the cab speaker.
  • Watch this:
 
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