Metal Guitar Tone Questions

SuperJackADoodle · 3 Weeks Ago

Hello! I have a question about getting a certain guitar tone. Its a common tone for newer metalcore/hardcore bands. Here is an example, Like Moths To Flames - You Won't Be Missed (Video) - YouTube. I have tried plenty of things to get this tone. I always seem to get a super muddy low end. I usually run 2 SM57s one slightly off axis and 1 on the edge. Using a Schecter Damien Elite, Emg 81 85 pickups, a Johnson J-Station (oldschool I know), a clean Randall amp (so i get the sound from the J-Station replicated without any guitar head mumbo jumbo), and a Carvin 4x12 cab with Celestion speakers. Any suggestions? Thank you!

Jgbrenn · 3 Weeks Ago

Cut 400Hz 3-6db with a medium-large Q setting

That should clean up some of the muddy-ness

texasguitar903 · 3 Weeks Ago

I also use a Carvin cab.......with a 5150 or JSX though

TUBES make a huge difference. Try to get a high gain all tube head and a Baritone.

These guys are definitely getting their sound from active pickups and tubes.

EmuChicken · 3 Weeks Ago

hi-pass the guitars.... there's hardly any low frequencies in them guitars... - but with amp settings, bass around 3 Oclock... mid 9 oclock... treble from around 12 to 3 oclock ... depends on the guitar though.

maybe add a condensor to the mics recording the guitars for some grit...

edit; if the J-Station is like a POD, maybe it needs to be run into the FX Return instead of the Input of the Amp... try that... .. hell if youre using a Pod-like pedal, just run it straight into the line input of your interface! - this might have been your "muddy" problem all along... and probably added ultra ear killing highs!

Geeorj · 3 Weeks Ago

General consensus for eqing metal guitars as far as I know:

- High pass between 70-130Hz (alter according to taste, my preference is 120Hz)
- What Jgbrenn said, 400Hz is lethal to a metal tone, but it's all subjective with how much of it to remove
- Sharp parametric (Q = 5 or 6, -5dB) at 700Hz gets rid of an unnecessary mid-frequency that can muffle up the tone
- For a nice focused djenty-type sound, play around 1.3Khz (Q = roughly 4ish, +3dB) to bring out that subtle but cutting low end snarl
- A nice compressor stompbox can do wonders for your tone, to level out the quieter parts, improve sustain and save your tone from needing loads of distortion

rksguit · 3 Weeks Ago

Sometimes not having your guitar's volume all the way up helps,depending on the pot/pickup/amount of gain.

SuperJackADoodle · 1 Week Ago

Thanks guys! I appreciate it.

3 Weeks Ago	#1
SuperJackADoodle Gear interested Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 4 Thread Starter	Metal Guitar Tone Questions Hello! I have a question about getting a certain guitar tone. Its a common tone for newer metalcore/hardcore bands. Here is an example, Like Moths To Flames - You Won't Be Missed (Video) - YouTube. I have tried plenty of things to get this tone. I always seem to get a super muddy low end. I usually run 2 SM57s one slightly off axis and 1 on the edge. Using a Schecter Damien Elite, Emg 81 85 pickups, a Johnson J-Station (oldschool I know), a clean Randall amp (so i get the sound from the J-Station replicated without any guitar head mumbo jumbo), and a Carvin 4x12 cab with Celestion speakers. Any suggestions? Thank you!

3 Weeks Ago	#6
rksguit Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: AUSTRALIA Posts: 996 1 Review written	Sometimes not having your guitar's volume all the way up helps,depending on the pot/pickup/amount of gain. __________________ ___________________________________________ Cooler M.Silenco 550/i7 2600k@ 4.5GHz/16GB RAM/GA-Z68XP-UD3[rev 1.0]KeyRig 49/UA25-EX/KRK G2 5s/SONAR X1C Expanded,64bit only/DC V.I.P/SSD3.5,SSD4,EZ/Ampl 3,Xgear,Metal/Guitar Rig-4,5/Komplete 8E/Dell XPS L502x+other junk/Les Paul/Marshall 2203.

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3 Weeks Ago	#2
Jgbrenn Gear interested Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Chicago Posts: 13	Cut 400Hz 3-6db with a medium-large Q setting That should clean up some of the muddy-ness

3 Weeks Ago	#4
EmuChicken Gear nut Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Aichi, Japan Posts: 144	hi-pass the guitars.... there's hardly any low frequencies in them guitars... - but with amp settings, bass around 3 Oclock... mid 9 oclock... treble from around 12 to 3 oclock ... depends on the guitar though. maybe add a condensor to the mics recording the guitars for some grit... edit; if the J-Station is like a POD, maybe it needs to be run into the FX Return instead of the Input of the Amp... try that... .. hell if youre using a Pod-like pedal, just run it straight into the line input of your interface! - this might have been your "muddy" problem all along... and probably added ultra ear killing highs!

3 Weeks Ago	#5
Geeorj Gear interested Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 6	General consensus for eqing metal guitars as far as I know: - High pass between 70-130Hz (alter according to taste, my preference is 120Hz) - What Jgbrenn said, 400Hz is lethal to a metal tone, but it's all subjective with how much of it to remove - Sharp parametric (Q = 5 or 6, -5dB) at 700Hz gets rid of an unnecessary mid-frequency that can muffle up the tone - For a nice focused djenty-type sound, play around 1.3Khz (Q = roughly 4ish, +3dB) to bring out that subtle but cutting low end snarl - A nice compressor stompbox can do wonders for your tone, to level out the quieter parts, improve sustain and save your tone from needing loads of distortion

1 Week Ago	#7
SuperJackADoodle Gear interested Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 4 Thread Starter	Thanks guys! I appreciate it.