Worked on the Avenged Sevenfold guitar rig!!

ML SOUND LAB

Cab Pack Wizard
Vendor
Where to begin... let's start with having some of the most interesting and kind conversations with Kevin and Martin (guitar/bass techs for bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Slipknot, Stone Sour, Coheed And Cambria etc.) about them being inbetween tours right now and really interested in going full Fractal.

1.jpg

(Picture of Brian's (Synyster Gates) guitar tech Kevin, me and Brian's main guitar)

They told me they had tried it before in the GEN1 days with Jim Root from Slipknot but they weren't able to get the sound of the Orange rig straight out of the box so they left it. So I started explaining them all the science behind IR technology and tone matching and whatnot. The next thing I'm doing is shooting IR's and tone matching Brian's Avenged Sevenfold guitar rig...

2.jpg

(Picture of me matching the Hellwin head and shooting IR's of the A7X iso boxes with separate mics)

And here are the raw amp sounds A7X are using live played through my Axe-Fx and a PRS guitar:


First challenge: The Hellwin high gain channel is Marshall-based but it has more gain than any amp I know. More than an EVH 5150 to give you guys an idea. The closest thing I found was the EVH so that's what I used as a basis for that sound. It's way more gain than I'm used to using but it had this nice sludgy palm mute sound to it that was super unique. The drive channel was pretty close to a Friedman HBE and that's what I used as the basis for matching that channel. The Hellwin head has sort of an American and British clean sound and the closest thing to that was actually the Mesa Lonestar amp sim believe it or not. It required almost no tweaking.

3.jpg

(Picture of M. Shadows, Synyster Gates and the main axe I was holding in the first picture but this time on stage in action)

A7X is almost at the end of their tour and after that they'll be building new guitar rigs. I will be doing my share of assisting them with their Fractal gear as much as possible. They're not in a position where downsizing would benefit them. It's all about trying to get consistency and the best guitar tone possible. They're in the process of going from Axe-Fx II's to XL+'s so the timing couldn't be better.

It sure was fun for me and I loved helping to spread the Fractal word once again. In addition I got to see three bands that are all frickin' awesome: Chevelle, Disturbed and Avenged Sevenfold. :)
 
Very cool
Wasn't the Hellwin designed by James Brown the guy who designed
The original 5150?

Did Disturbed have any intrest in the Fractal
Donegan has some great tones IMO
On Immortalized
 
Well gel
Sounds like a fun job if you can get the work.
It's great to see people embracing the tech and willing to see it as something that's worth putting effort in too.

I just wonder who's going to be filling stadiums and headlining festivals in 10 years time.
 
Awesome story, ML. Very Cool... Since the Hellwin is his sig amp maybe Synyster could get Cliff a specimen and a schematic and just add the thing! :D
 
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I respect these dudes as musicians SO much.. I just cannot get into their tunes.. I try... but their tone, virtuosity, etc.. blows me away. I actually do like that one song bat country, it's got some radical guitar harmonies. And that's pretty wild the clean channel is just a Lone Star. I never really mess with that amp, I should bring it up and see how it's sounding with Q7.
 
Where to begin... let's start with having some of the most interesting and kind conversations with Kevin and Martin (guitar/bass techs for bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Slipknot, Stone Sour, Coheed And Cambria etc.) about them being inbetween tours right now and really interested in going full Fractal.

1.jpg

(Picture of Brian's (Synyster Gates) guitar tech Kevin, me and Brian's main guitar)

They told me they had tried it before in the GEN1 days with Jim Root from Slipknot but they weren't able to get the sound of the Orange rig straight out of the box so they left it. So I started explaining them all the science behind IR technology and tone matching and whatnot. The next thing I'm doing is shooting IR's and tone matching Brian's Avenged Sevenfold guitar rig...

2.jpg

(Picture of me matching the Hellwin head and shooting IR's of the A7X iso boxes with separate mics)

And here are the raw amp sounds A7X are using live played through my Axe-Fx and a PRS guitar:


First challenge: The Hellwin high gain channel is Marshall-based but it has more gain than any amp I know. More than an EVH 5150 to give you guys an idea. The closest thing I found was the EVH so that's what I used as a basis for that sound. It's way more gain than I'm used to using but it had this nice sludgy palm mute sound to it that was super unique. The drive channel was pretty close to a Friedman HBE and that's what I used as the basis for matching that channel. The Hellwin head has sort of an American and British clean sound and the closest thing to that was actually the Mesa Lonestar amp sim believe it or not. It required almost no tweaking.

3.jpg

(Picture of M. Shadows, Synyster Gates and the main axe I was holding in the first picture but this time on stage in action)

A7X is almost at the end of their tour and after that they'll be building new guitar rigs. I will be doing my share of assisting them with their Fractal gear as much as possible. They're not in a position where downsizing would benefit them. It's all about trying to get consistency and the best guitar tone possible. They're in the process of going from Axe-Fx II's to XL+'s so the timing couldn't be better.

It sure was fun for me and I loved helping to spread the Fractal word once again. In addition I got to see three bands that are all frickin' awesome: Chevelle, Disturbed and Avenged Sevenfold. :)

Dude...... can you share the settings for that preset, or is it going to be available through your website or what not! Please let me know, I love A7X and Brian's Tone is amazing through the Hellwin, would definitely be interested in it! LOL and Kudos, Flav
 
Well gel
Sounds like a fun job if you can get the work.
It's great to see people embracing the tech and willing to see it as something that's worth putting effort in too.

I just wonder who's going to be filling stadiums and headlining festivals in 10 years time.
I believe we've reached the time when digital is so much better than analog that it's hard to justify why not to go digital. There are so many complications with real amps that it's just not worth it for many people. I try to be as honest as possible and I did explain the weaknesses of using a real life cab live even with an iso box like in this case. Chevelle was doing their soundcheck when we were working with the iso boxes and there was no way we could get a clean signal without the low end rumble of them playing. Now imagine that when your whole band is playing and everything is interfering. One of the main secrets for a good miked guitar sound is to know which kind of space a guitar cabinet needs to be in in order to work properly. Let's just say that it's not an open space like f.ex. a stage and it's not a closed case like an iso box. So an IR shot from a cab in a studio room meant for guitar cabinets can easily sound better.

In 10 years time I just hope that the people filling the stadiums still use electric guitar. :)
 
I respect these dudes as musicians SO much.. I just cannot get into their tunes.. I try... but their tone, virtuosity, etc.. blows me away. I actually do like that one song bat country, it's got some radical guitar harmonies. And that's pretty wild the clean channel is just a Lone Star. I never really mess with that amp, I should bring it up and see how it's sounding with Q7.
Once I heard the influences behind the band I felt like "I got them better". Guns N Roses, Dream Theater, Mr. Bungle etc. If you really concentrate you'll hear a lot of Axl Rose in M. Shadows. GNR is my childhood's favorite band so that's what got me into A7X a bit more. I don't usually listen to music that's this heavy though but I love that they have their own recognizable sound. "A little piece of heaven" is a masterpiece in it's weird Mr. Bungle kind of way. :)

The Lonestar clear is definitely the one I use the most. The key with that amp is to set the drive to where it's almost breaking up. Then you get a long sustain and sparkly sound etc.
 
Dude...... can you share the settings for that preset, or is it going to be available through your website or what not! Please let me know, I love A7X and Brian's Tone is amazing through the Hellwin, would definitely be interested in it! LOL and Kudos, Flav
Honestly the tone matching did some heavy lifting here. I don't think there's an amp that sounds "just like the Hellwin" in the Axe-Fx. That does add a +1 to the schematic idea and maybe adding the amp to the unit.
 
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