Why all the Metal??????

I have posted a couple of Metal clips because its fun , and I like metal alot .
But the last time I had any kind of "gig " I played Jazz at a nursing home and
my next show will be Jazz standards with a vocalist . The axe is great for the
Jazz cleans as well as Blues , Rock hard rock - pop whatever . I can switch from
Cole Porter to Laid To Rest with the touch of a button that's the beauty of it .
 
I constantly wonder about this as well. Metal is well represented on this board, but I would say less so on other boards that might discuss things 'Fractal'.

I see bias (even in this thread) both ways. A roll of the eyes for more 'classic rock' tones (like there's ONE), and a 'it's all just chugga, chugga' (anyone who's spent more than 5 minutes investigating the genre will find huge depth and very sophisticated talent there.)

I would like to see more of the blues, funk, less overdriven crowd discussing tone, but we're community driven...we talk about what we do, not by any agenda.
 
I am really more of a progressive, blues, and classic rock type player. I am using the Axe Fx now but I have been using preamp type setups since the 80s and have always preferred this type of setup over amps. Although I did use Fender amps in the 70s. I think its just a matter of time and more country and classic rock players will see the benefits of the Axe. Some of the older guys believe so much in the amps it might take awhile for them to catch on some of them maybe never. I really like the idea if being able to manipulate the sound to my liking which you can only go so far with an amp. The bottom line is the Axe Fx rules in any style of music.
 
I think a lot of had to initially do with Periphery using the Axe. (and metal is fun , being able to get a cranked 1/2 stack sound without blowing your ears out is priceless)
They are pretty big with the younger crowd so the next wave of metal wannabes have embraced the Axe as
a good working solution. Plus Misha used to be very accessible and visible on a few forums and would constantly post great sounding clips using the Axe when they were doing their initial writing.
I'm sure those clips sold a lot of Axe units early on.
When the bands you're into are suing a specific piece of gear , people tend to latch on to it. (look at all the VH clone amps that are still out there and popular)
I myself like a lot of metal ( and dislike just s much) but I am more into shred/fusion , the Greg Howe/Kotzen joint offerings are my favorite style of music.
I'd love to hear some more clips of that style (I am just getting around to writing a bunch of stuff in this vein, if I can get my drum programming up to speed I will post them )
that and most types of Shred, the Satch,Vinnie Moore.Yngie, Vai stuff and we do occasionally see clips of the shred genre posted here, but those are usually pretty high gain as well.
 
Cover'd said:
Could it be that it's possibly harder to get a 'good' (yes, subjective I know) metal tone through your average amp than it is to get a cleaner sound..?
Click to expand...

yea, could be or perhaps volume related. My good friend has a Mesa Mark V, and I still love the clean and crunchy tones, but for metal/leads... it doesnt sounds good at all. Might be that we are always in smaller venues and he can not crank it up properly. With AXE you can play djent tones at a volume that your grandma would accept.
 
And of course the black stealth design of the AxeFx implicates that it is a Metal Machine and FAS means: Frak All Softies!!!! (Not to be taken for serious..... FUBAR Monday, need to write down something silly to get the damn day done...)
 
I like Metal, Blues, Jazz, Country and most other guitar styles.

My theory about all the metal postings is that perhaps the "type" of player that's into more progressive stuff or metal is also the "type" of person who's more internet savvy and likes to post about their latest findings? I know it's a sweeping generalisation but I think that the (perhaps) "older" player may not fee the urge to broadcast the "brootalz crushing Jazz tone" they've just dialled into their Axe Fx.
 
I definitely agree. Whenever there's a firmware update I always hope for no more "ChuggachuggachuggaMotherOfDeath' amps in the list. The Axe has many of them and are great (yes, I like metal - very much so). However, if you look at the likes of what Ketil Strand can do with so many different settings you realise what this thing is capable of with the time and effort (and in good hands). I remember a few months ago picking up a Dumble patch where it was about as close to Robben Ford's Dumble sound as you could possibly get. The guy had been through and re-amped it to perfection. The feel...the sound....it just blew me away. I've downloaded lots of 'Dumble' patches that sound nowhere near the mark, so that was great.
It really is a pleasure listening to what the likes of Ketil and David Walliman can do with this unit. Yes it's very much 'front end marketed' around metal which, personally, I think is a mistake. It's far more than that.
 
I did a funky album with the Axe...
and it sounds wonderful

my own music is prog rock / hard rock / heavy rock I guess..
it gets reasonably heavy in places but never quite makes it into the realms of metal
well at least I don't think it does..

I guess the Axe is popular with metal players
particularly djenty and proggy metal types
 
Lots of interesting and well-articulated theories. Still the question is better than the answers.

It's a mystery.
 
I'm 43 and metal is still my go to. I was the youngest in a family of six children growing up and as a result I despise most "classic" rock because I had to listen to each of my siblings go through their phase with all those bands. The only ones I'm not sick of are early Aerosmith, Rush and of course Black Sabbath. My tastes have always kind of evolved "with" metal...waiting for something heavier or faster. There are a ton of "shit" metal bands out there,always have been. But the ones that know their instruments and know how to maximize effectiveness without being unoriginal and cheesey are what I gravitate to...like Vogg of Decapitated. Musically schooled since elementary age and a master shredder... and his riffs will kick your ass. I never liked cookie monster vocals but the "music"...guitar and drums in particular and are what I get off on and they don't bother me anymore...
I love Ola and Six Feet Under! So I don't know what to tell you. I've also never met a kid in school who owns an Axe FX, and I work at one...I must be extremely immature :)
 
I purchased and sold the Axe multiple times because I was never happy with the clean tones. I am very happy to say the least with the clean and vintage tones in the Axe today. Playing clean is not easy (can't hide behind a wall of distortion - LOL) and having clean tones that sound authentic are (IMO) not easy to reproduce convincingly in a modeler until the current AF2.

You also have great amplification systems out there (Matrix amps and cabs as one example) that really shine with the clean and vintage tones vs other systems that are bass heavy and make High gain patches and "Drop the dishes" tuning sound good and easy to dial in.

I think you will see more amp purists migrate to the Axe given how great it delivers authentic clean and vintage tones.
 
I also think that metal tones are extremely difficult to achieve in the digital realm; and the Axe does, BY FAR, the greatest job at producing them.
 
That video is the best part of this whole thread.

Her: Death to all butt-metal
Him: No...it's death to all, but metal
Argument:

Him to the band: You know, I was going to f her, but now I'm not.
 
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