Modern Rock Sound

Nick96 · 12th March 2007

Hello people, I was wondering if I could please get peoples opinions on how to achieve a great modern rock guitar sound. This sound would be broken down into 2 categories.

1. Bright up front tone, the sound sparkles and shimmers.

2. A deep resonant tone that connects perfectly with the bass and creates the foundation of the song.

These are the two tones I want to achieveand I will list the gear I have below. Please feel free to leave any feedback as to how I can achieve this sound. Your comments are greatly appreciated.

One example of this sound would be the latest COG album. There are many other slight variations of this sound but the fundamentals remain the same. Deep resonant tone and then bright tone to comliment.

Hope that makes sense

I have a Hughes and Kettner, Marshall and Messa Boogie amps

Preamps are API type, JLM99V and OEP tranny based pre's.

Really nice compressor

Karma K6 ribbon, Rode, NT-5's, i5, sm57, ATM450's, Naint onmis, Rode NT2,

Guitars , washburn (something), and les paul

Cheers

jay22 · 12th March 2007

Hi there.
Im probably wasting space here since COG doesnt ring a bell, i dont recognize that abbreviation. I did do a google search, and hopefully I found the right band. www.myspace.com/wwwmyspacecomcog Tell me if thats right.

But anyways, you might want to check out like the Randall V2, Engl Powerball or Fireball, Framus Cobra, Mesa Boogie Triaxis preamp, marshall jmp-1 preamp, Krank Revolution or the Krank Krankenstein, things like that.

With the tone I am hearing, I would actually lean more towards a JMP-1 preamp by marshall, or a mesa boogie triaxis preamp. You could run those without any additional compression or eq units and get that tone.

Snatch like a rocktron intellifex or run the boss super chorus pedal, and eq it up so it delivers more chorus on the higher frequencies. That with a pinch of reverb and delay should get you right in the ballpark. The more distorted tones really sound like one of those two preamps. Im leaning more towards a marshall the more I hear it. Like, marshall jmp-1, marshall el34 100/100 poweramp, marshall 1960 AV cabinet, or a mills acoustics cabinet, (Local maker here in michigan that makes REAL good metal cabs...) Maybe some high gain duncan pickups, or emg-hz (passives by emg).

Other than that, I mean you didnt say what amps you have exactly, so im not sure, and I have no experience with huges n kettner, so I cant help there.

One thing that always helps, get a rack eq unit. This allows you to really tweak your sound with what you already have if your close but not quite where you want to be tone wise.

Happy tone hunting!

Hope this helps,

-Jay

BOWIE · 12th March 2007

There's really no trick to it. Get a good sound in the room and stick a 57 1" in front of it followed by a dark preamp and an LA-2A if you got one.

Little things that help are:
-Decent NOS tubes to get rid of the fizz.
-EQ on the amp, not on the board whenever possible.
-Don't crank the knobs ALL the way.
-Hit the power tubes hard (master vol).
-Don't add TOO much bass. A lot of the resonance really comes from the bass though you can't always tell.
-Things aren't as scooped as they were a few years back so don't be afraid of mids. They are your friend.

woomanmoomin · 12th March 2007

If you like the sound of your guitar gear in the room, you're probably three quarters of the way there, and people here will probably be able to help you with the last quarter (see previous messages). If, on the other hand, your equipment sounds sh#t and/or is inherently inappropriate for the task at hand, we will probably not be able to help you that much unless you substantially change your range of equipment!

If what you're saying is, 'How do I make my guitar gear sound good?' then we could be in trouble. If what you're saying is, 'How do I get a good recording of the good sound of my guitar gear?' then maybe we're in business.

Can you be more specific about your amps and the Washburn? Does the Les Paul have humbuckers? Is the Marshall amp something like a valvestate model (or would it instead be worth p#ssing on in a fire)?! What about the Hughes & Kettner? What Mesa/Boogie model do you have? What effects are you using? How do you like to use them?

jay22 · 13th March 2007

Oh, and by the way, theres a live video on the bands site. He is actually using the new mesa boogie dual rectifier head, and an old triple rectifier head.

And a prs guitar. Good luck!

12th March 2007	#1
Nick96 Gear Head Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 42 Thread Starter	Modern Rock Sound Hello people, I was wondering if I could please get peoples opinions on how to achieve a great modern rock guitar sound. This sound would be broken down into 2 categories. 1. Bright up front tone, the sound sparkles and shimmers. 2. A deep resonant tone that connects perfectly with the bass and creates the foundation of the song. These are the two tones I want to achieveand I will list the gear I have below. Please feel free to leave any feedback as to how I can achieve this sound. Your comments are greatly appreciated. One example of this sound would be the latest COG album. There are many other slight variations of this sound but the fundamentals remain the same. Deep resonant tone and then bright tone to comliment. Hope that makes sense I have a Hughes and Kettner, Marshall and Messa Boogie amps Preamps are API type, JLM99V and OEP tranny based pre's. Really nice compressor Karma K6 ribbon, Rode, NT-5's, i5, sm57, ATM450's, Naint onmis, Rode NT2, Guitars , washburn (something), and les paul Cheers

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12th March 2007	#2
jay22 Gear interested Joined: Mar 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 27	Hi there. Im probably wasting space here since COG doesnt ring a bell, i dont recognize that abbreviation. I did do a google search, and hopefully I found the right band. www.myspace.com/wwwmyspacecomcog Tell me if thats right. But anyways, you might want to check out like the Randall V2, Engl Powerball or Fireball, Framus Cobra, Mesa Boogie Triaxis preamp, marshall jmp-1 preamp, Krank Revolution or the Krank Krankenstein, things like that. With the tone I am hearing, I would actually lean more towards a JMP-1 preamp by marshall, or a mesa boogie triaxis preamp. You could run those without any additional compression or eq units and get that tone. Snatch like a rocktron intellifex or run the boss super chorus pedal, and eq it up so it delivers more chorus on the higher frequencies. That with a pinch of reverb and delay should get you right in the ballpark. The more distorted tones really sound like one of those two preamps. Im leaning more towards a marshall the more I hear it. Like, marshall jmp-1, marshall el34 100/100 poweramp, marshall 1960 AV cabinet, or a mills acoustics cabinet, (Local maker here in michigan that makes REAL good metal cabs...) Maybe some high gain duncan pickups, or emg-hz (passives by emg). Other than that, I mean you didnt say what amps you have exactly, so im not sure, and I have no experience with huges n kettner, so I cant help there. One thing that always helps, get a rack eq unit. This allows you to really tweak your sound with what you already have if your close but not quite where you want to be tone wise. Happy tone hunting! Hope this helps, -Jay

12th March 2007	#3
BOWIE Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2007 Location: Scottsdale, AZ. Posts: 3,289 2 Reviews written	There's really no trick to it. Get a good sound in the room and stick a 57 1" in front of it followed by a dark preamp and an LA-2A if you got one. Little things that help are: -Decent NOS tubes to get rid of the fizz. -EQ on the amp, not on the board whenever possible. -Don't crank the knobs ALL the way. -Hit the power tubes hard (master vol). -Don't add TOO much bass. A lot of the resonance really comes from the bass though you can't always tell. -Things aren't as scooped as they were a few years back so don't be afraid of mids. They are your friend.

12th March 2007	#4
woomanmoomin Lives for gear Joined: Jan 2007 Location: London, England Posts: 1,021	If you like the sound of your guitar gear in the room, you're probably three quarters of the way there, and people here will probably be able to help you with the last quarter (see previous messages). If, on the other hand, your equipment sounds sh#t and/or is inherently inappropriate for the task at hand, we will probably not be able to help you that much unless you substantially change your range of equipment! If what you're saying is, 'How do I make my guitar gear sound good?' then we could be in trouble. If what you're saying is, 'How do I get a good recording of the good sound of my guitar gear?' then maybe we're in business. Can you be more specific about your amps and the Washburn? Does the Les Paul have humbuckers? Is the Marshall amp something like a valvestate model (or would it instead be worth p#ssing on in a fire)?! What about the Hughes & Kettner? What Mesa/Boogie model do you have? What effects are you using? How do you like to use them?

13th March 2007	#5
jay22 Gear interested Joined: Mar 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 27	Oh, and by the way, theres a live video on the bands site. He is actually using the new mesa boogie dual rectifier head, and an old triple rectifier head. And a prs guitar. Good luck!