Top 5 guitar amps for tracking death metal dist. guitar ?

[sage691]

Ya know, the "cha chunk chunk chunk" ungodly loud staccato metal guitar sound.

I know this has probably been covered already, but I'm looking to get a stack real soon and would like to know some slutty opinions on the subject.

I have worked with Mesa dual rectifiers using an sm57 and 421 on the cab, but the sound was always a bit mushy to my ear no matter how I positioned the mics.

I tried many guitars, and found that a PRS CE24 smoked everything else for this application. Something about the sound of this guitar really stood out in the low end range -- fat and heavy, without sounding mushy.

Sustained bar chords sounded good on the Mesa cabs, but the stacatto "cha chunk" stuff just wasn't cutting enough to my ear.

My room is 15 feet wide X 80 feet long, and I aimed the cab speakers in the long direction.

BTW, I used a Fearn VT2 mic pre. Perhaps the tube pre route is not the way for this type sound ?

What about Marshall or Vox amps -- model #s ?

[MX582]

i do alot of metal stuff..
mesa dual rec and cab with a TS-9 tube screamer with the gain on zero and the tone where ever it sounds good..the ts-9 will tighten things up and make the notes more pronounced

other than that..
Krank Revolution
Orange (any kind)
Peavy 5150
Peavy 6505
Mesa Mark IV

as far as mics go.. i usally put a 57 slightly off axis with the cone and then a 421 coming in from the side..also an ae3000 about 3-5 ft away from the cab to capture the highs.

also the mesa stock tubes make the high end sound really fizzy.. check out eurotubes.com

[sage691]

Originally Posted by MX582

i do alot of metal stuff..
mesa dual rec and cab with a TS-9 tube screamer with the gain on zero and the tone where ever it sounds good..the ts-9 will tighten things up and make the notes more pronounced

other than that..
Krank Revolution
Orange (any kind)
Peavy 5150
Peavy 6505
Mesa Mark IV

as far as mics go.. i usally put a 57 slightly off axis with the cone and then a 421 coming in from the side..also an ae3000 about 3-5 ft away from the cab to capture the highs.

also the mesa stock tubes make the high end sound really fizzy.. check out eurotubes.com

Thanks bro!

So you plug the guitar into the TS-9, and send the TS-9's out to the Mesa ?

I tried pedals before in this way, and they always seemed to make things worse. But I was using DOD stuff back then.

BTW, I forgot to mention that I now have 2 recording formats: an Otari MTR90 2" tape, or AD16X at 44.1khz into PT. I assume the 2" tape will be the better choice ?

Also, I'll probably want to reamp many of the DI tracks I've already recorded into PT via a Neve 1272. We've been using custom programs on SansAmp thus far to model the sound we're going after.

Pretty good, but not quite cutting it for the real chunky stuff.

Guess when I get the amp I can run the clean DI track outs from the DA16X straight to the amp, or the pedal if I go that route, mic up the amp and smack it to the Otari ?

[No4PCs]

Marshall , any model, with all buttons cranckeds ! ...

[bobx]

framus cobra or bogner uberschall through some vintage 30's. talk about gain and a tight bottom end.

[Markus Stock]

Peavey 5150
Peavey 5150 II
Dual Rectifier
Engl Fireball
ADA MP-1 Three Tube Mod Preamp
Marshall JCM 800 either boosted with Pedals or even better with a Soldano Hot Mod and some slight OD from an SD1 - insane sound!

I love OD Pedals in general in front of High Gain Amps for more midrange attack definition and less flubby lows....

[MX582]

Originally Posted by sage691

Thanks bro!

So you plug the guitar into the TS-9, and send the TS-9's out to the Mesa ?

I tried pedals before in this way, and they always seemed to make things worse. But I was using DOD stuff back then.

BTW, I forgot to mention that I now have 2 recording formats: an Otari MTR90 2" tape, or AD16X at 44.1khz into PT. I assume the 2" tape will be the better choice ?

Also, I'll probably want to reamp many of the DI tracks I've already recorded into PT via a Neve 1272. We've been using custom programs on SansAmp thus far to model the sound we're going after.

Pretty good, but not quite cutting it for the real chunky stuff.

Guess when I get the amp I can run the clean DI track outs from the DA16X straight to the amp, or the pedal if I go that route, mic up the amp and smack it to the Otari ?

Yea plug the guitar into the ts-9 then into the amp.
also you should check out the Radial X-AMP for re-amping.
as far as tape v.s. digital goes..its all personal preferance
and when your re-amping, do everything you did when you were recording the origional tracks..just replaced the guitar with the re-amping box. (so re-amp - TS-9 - Amp -ETC)

[grkmetlhed]

I agree with the posts above, the 5150 is def. a go to amp for death metal, probably one of the most recorded amps in the heavier side of metal... Have you thought about the mesa dc-5? they don't make it anymore, but you can get one used for about 5-600 bucks nowadays...it has the gain of a dual rectifier, but without the low end mud...and to top it off, a graphic eq built in...all of my friends get all slutty when they hear mine, and the guy who sold it to me has regretted it ever since...definetly an unsung hero for metal amps.... I've heard great things about the Krank amps, but they seem to be better for live playing, i havent heard of anybody getting a great recording out of them..also , try out the Marshall tsl series...loud and full of gain...just my two cents...cheers

[drumdude]

I would look towards an Engl Powerball or a Bogner Uberschall.
WAY more musical then any Peavy or Krank IMO.
Both are tight and have enough gain to bore a hole in concrete!!
I've never been a fan of tube pres for this application...To soft. Prefer something tighter.
I'd look toward the usual guitar suspects....Neve, Api, Chandler TG, Pacifica, etc. etc.

[JesseJ]

You should definately check out the Randall MTS series with changeable tube pre-amps. There is 2-3 preamps in the MTS series thet work really well for serious metal tracking. Try out them yourself and decide.

+ 4x12" 30w Greenbacks + SM57 (my friend has gotten really really killer guitar tones in his studio with his royer ribbon mic)

Try putting an germanium cap fitted Ibanez Tube screamer in front of the preamp and try to avoid active EMG pickups, because they have no character. Seymour Duncan 'pearly gates' is my favourite pickup for metal.

Thats my .5c for the 'killer tone'.

[MX582]

Originally Posted by grkmetlhed

I've heard great things about the Krank amps, but they seem to be better for live playing, i havent heard of anybody getting a great recording out of them..

andy sneap has! listen to "this godless endeavor" by Nevermore
...badass guitar tone

[MasterTrax]

I'll preface my comments by saying that I own three tube amps, and that one of them is a Mesa recto....BUT....

Solid state amps are often overlooked for the application you mentioned. In my opinion this is the situation where a SS amp might outshine a tube design.

A fine example of this is the Randall RG series, particularly the RG100. The RG100 has enough balls to raise blisters on dry paint.

An added bonus is that the above amps are very cheap.

M

[picksail]

The Line 6 Pod.

[godcity]

badcat hot cat 30r

[cdog]

Multiple Guitars
Multiple Amps
Multiple Mics
Muiltiple Micing Distances
Multiple Takes

[cdog]

Originally Posted by picksail

The Line 6 Pod.

Is that an attempt at sarcasm?

[JesseJ]

Originally Posted by MasterTrax

A fine example of this is the Randall RG series, particularly the RG100. The RG100 has

I agree on that the RG100 (we call it 'the bonecrusher' here) is a great amp, but I think the MTX series works a lot better on tracks. I would definately recommend the RG100 for live use/practice, but the tone is not that sweet and dynamic as on the MTXes. Also if I remember correct, the RG100 head usually comes with those mid-prize cabs? I would go for the celestion greenbacks...

- Jesse -

[picksail]

Originally Posted by cdog

Is that an attempt at sarcasm?

Absolutely not.

[Chris Parsons]

Ditch the tube pre and go with Neve, Great River, Vintech.......BALLS!

[grkmetlhed]

Originally Posted by MX582

andy sneap has! listen to "this godless endeavor" by Nevermore
...badass guitar tone

Did he use kranks that on that record? hey, i could be wrong.... I would venture to say that a producer as talented as andy sneap may have used many amps on his records for diff. textures..I think we all could benefit from having a few high gain amps at our disposal (they dont call it gearslutz for nothing... )come to think of it, I gotta go pick up that Nevermore record, they are definetly one of the most underrated bands......cheers

[Jonboy79]

Originally Posted by picksail

Absolutely not.

I can see where a metal type sound would be the one thing a pod would work nicely for but don't you still think a mic'd amp would be needed for the balls that'll be missing by going to pod route. I'd think a thick meaty sounding amp and a pod combined would yield a decent "metal" tone.

[sage691]

All,

OK, wow -- I didn't expect so many responses. Guess there are more "balls to the wall" dist. guitar slutz on here than I initially imagined.

I'm actually more of a piano player and singer, so excuse my lack of knowledge on this subject. We just have a few tunes on this record that require that tight, excessively LOUD, fat bottom, ballistic guitar sound.

As far as multiple takes and layering tracks, we've got that down already.

I know it may sound like sacreliege, but we got some pretty impressive tones going DI via a Neve 1272 and tweaking the *hit out of the SansAmp plug. I just feel like it could all be stepped up a notch or 2, especially since the material is so visceral. I'm thinking about going the route of layering the live amp stuff over the SansAmp stuff just to fatten it up further, and give it some analog pump that it seems to be missing.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we'll be using a recently recapped Trident 80 console to mix. I'll probably try out the pres and the EQ on this for tracking the live amp stuff, as I'm sure it will have that SS attack we're looking for.

Anybody else ever get anything "useable" going DI with SansAmp ?

[EduardoApolonia]

Peavey 5150
Krank Revolution
Mesa Dual/Triple Rectifier

Mesa 4x12 cabinet

Pre amps: Neve, Chandler, API
Mics: mostly SM57s but also a 421 and a Royer 121 to add something different.

[picksail]

Originally Posted by Jonboy79

I can see where a metal type sound would be the one thing a pod would work nicely for but don't you still think a mic'd amp would be needed for the balls that'll be missing by going to pod route. I'd think a thick meaty sounding amp and a pod combined would yield a decent "metal" tone.

I wasn't endorsing it. Just stating, what I thought was the obvious.

[MX582]

Originally Posted by grkmetlhed

Did he use kranks that on that record? hey, i could be wrong.... I would venture to say that a producer as talented as andy sneap may have used many amps on his records for diff. textures..I think we all could benefit from having a few high gain amps at our disposal (they dont call it gearslutz for nothing... )come to think of it, I gotta go pick up that Nevermore record, they are definetly one of the most underrated bands......cheers

well yea it was boogie and krank..got this from andy's site.. "and here's Loomis with a few choice amps, we've gone for the Boogie and Krank both through the Boogie cab."


and yes..nevermore kicks some serious ass

[Protools Guy]

Framus Cobra

[eleo]

- Framus Cobra
- Peavey 5150
- Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier
- Krank Kankenstein
- Engl Savage 120
- JCM 800 with Boss HM 2

Box: Marshall 1960 with vintage Speakers

[alternative4]

Originally Posted by godcity

badcat hot cat 30r

yeah!hot cat is my favorite amp into some heavy guitar riffs too!
i personally record a mini cat with x-tone pedal at home,it's working but lacks some bass.

[cody brown]

marshall jcm 800 with some type of clean boost like an analog man beano boost for some extra pow.

[el cochino]

Most decent tube amps with el34s, KT88s or 6L6s will do the job just fine. If it doesn't have enough gain you need a boost pedal or distortion, but that's pretty much it. A big part of the death metal guitar sound is the low tuning and the scooped mids.

Add a quality 4x12 cab loaded with Vinatge 30s and you're ready to rip.