Best Heavy guitar sound

[excellrec]

I like listening to songs with awesome heavy guitar sounds. What songs have your favorite heavy guitar sounds?

[djui5]

Chevelle..........

[el cochino]

Believe it or not, the new Europe album has some of the heaviest guitars I've ever heard!

The album is still carp, though...

[jpaudio]

Gotta agree with Randy on Chevelle... monster tone

[DirkB]

dito on Chevelle.

I'm starting preproduction on a new (dirt guitar) album release next week and on our first meeting the band brought the latest Chevelle record "this is the guitar sound we want".

Yep, me too

Hats of to our Slipperman: they also brought a Thursday cd which Slipperman mixed and the guitars also sound great on that one .

Greetings,
Dirk

[Dr. Nutz]

some of my favorite heavy guitars are on AFI's last record, Sing the Sorrow.

[crypticglobe]

Man... I thought I was the only one! The guitar tone on Chevelle's "Wonder What's Next" is simply stunning! Hands down the best heavy tone I have heard in a long time. Every aspect of the record sounds pretty good to me... but the guitars... WOW! And I am guitar player too... so I am REALLY picky about that.

I was so impressed... that I dug into trying to find out what dude was using.....


Mesa Mark IV, with Mesa 4x12 Cabinets filled with V30's! I was really suprised. I really had it pegged for a Modded Marshall blended with a Dual Rec. They did say they used the Dual Recs on certain things.... I can definitely hear that.... but the majority of the record was a Mark IV. Guitars.... mainly PRS.

I simply hadn't considerd the Mesa Mark series amps as a "heavy" guitar tone kinda amp for a long time... (Metallica in the late 80's). So.... I am trying to find one locally to check out. If I can confirm..... I am buying one!

[crypticglobe]

Originally posted by DirkB
dito on Chevelle.

I'm starting preproduction on a new (dirt guitar) album release next week and on our first meeting the band brought the latest Chevelle record "this is the guitar sound we want".

Yep, me too

Hats of to our Slipperman: they also brought a Thursday cd which Slipperman mixed and the guitars also sound great on that one .

Greetings,
Dirk

Careful now.... you are coming dangerously close to outing the ole boy.... That is frowned upon round these parts I think.... LOL! :)

[JuicyFruit]

I love Chevelle's guitar sound on Wonder What's Next. I think they lost a little something on their latest album but it still rocks. I also like Staind's sound on 14 Shades of Grey, but that's not as "in your face".

[jpaudio]

Mark IV, wow... never would have guessed that! Had it pegged for a Bogner Uberschall from day 1, but never had any info to back that up.

I know Gggarth uses multiple amps and cabs simultaneously in the studio, so ya never know, we could be hearing a blend of the Mark IV and something else.

FWIW, I think he was playing a Rectifier live, but it was tough to see clearly.

[James 'LA' Lugo]

Metallica Black album!!!

[jpaudio]

Originally posted by James 'LA' Lugo
Metallica Black album!!!

That was Hetfield's old Mark IIC+... kinda dated IMHO, but yeah it ruled at the time!

[Jules]

Sex Pistols!

[jpaudio]

Originally posted by Jules
Sex Pistols!

could be wrong, but wasn't that an LP into a Fender Twin with a Dist+ in front of it? I love playing "Name that amp"

[biggator6]

for a real modern heavy sound...
Disturbed - Believe.

It's a total square-wave.. intentionally.

Great for listening to when you're REALLY pissed off.
"-)

[LumenStudio]

My fav is the deftones around the fur.

[AnthonyV]

I can't believe somebody posted Disturbed - Believe on this thread. That has got to be the thinnest, crappiest, weakest guitar sound I've ever heard IMO. Don't get me wrong I love Disturbed.. but I just don't "get" that guitar sound.

Nothing personal at all.. obviously people have vastly different ideas of what good tone is.

Also, people's idea of "heavy" is interesting too.. when I think "heavy" a band like Chevelle is not even on the radar for me (great band as well). I was thinking like Prong - Cleansing or White Zombie's first album.. Sepultura - Roots.

Anyway, great thread.

peace,
Ants

[jpaudio]

Originally posted by AnthonyV


Also, people's idea of "heavy" is interesting too.. when I think "heavy" a band like Chevelle is not even on the radar for me (great band as well). I was thinking like Prong - Cleansing or White Zombie's first album.. Sepultura - Roots.

I think you're perceiving 'heavy' as having more to do with the musical style or overall sound/vibe of the band. Chevelle isn't as heavy as those bands or albums, but their guitars sound boatloads better IMHO. Roots would get my vote for possibly the heaviest album EVER lol, but that's got more to do with the bass, drums, musical style, and vibe overall. The guitars are cool but nothing all that special, it's their interaction with everything else that kicks so much ass.

BTW, agreed on Disturbed... someone's smokin the wacky tobaccy

[beechstudio]

Rage Against the Machines first album. The tone wasn't very distorted..but HUGE! I guess that was the secret!

[AnthonyV]

Yeah, I think I'm just hanging on to the golden years when heavy music was really.. well heavy.

I just remember hearing that opening riff to Zombie - Thunder kiss '65 back in the day and thinking "Oh my god, that is the greatest most heaviest sound I've ever heard".

Sure people are getting great heavy tone these days.. but it just ain't the same.

You're right about the musical style and vibe of the bands being a factor there as far as heavy goes. Now with some of these bands you could take away the dirt guitars and it could just as easily be a pop song... anyway..

[biggator6]

/me ducks!

Guess I'm outvoted on Disturbed - I guess it's not so much the guitar tone in particular, but the overall effect.

Just listening to the opening on that record (prayer) whacks me in the head like a 2x4.. so while the guitar itself is kinda thin - the combination makes for heaviness.
"-)

[max cooper]

So do you 'slutz perceive a difference between a guitar sound that's heavy in and of itself, and a guitar sound that helps the whole band come across as heavy?

Does it help a guitar sound heavy if it's tuned low? Does it help if it's got more low end? Distortion certainly seems to be a part of a heavy guitar sound, but too much can make a guitar sound thin. Some of those "scooped" tones don't sound that heavy to me.

My band used to rehearse at Cole Studios and one time we all had new Mesa stuff (couple of Triple Recs, three 4x12 Rectos and a Bass 400). We're playing, and all of a sudden it sounded like an earthquake hit. We stopped playing and realized that Rage was rehearsing next door, and when they took a break, we could see that there was one half stack with a 4x10 (yup!) and a 4x10 bass cab. But I don't know if I've ever heard anything as heavy as Rage contained by a small room. Certainly blew our sh*t away.

I dunno if it's ranks anywhere near the heaviest, but some of Corrosion of Conformity's "Deliverance" sounds pretty heavy.

Although they're really not my taste at all, my band did some shows with Nickelback in 2000 and they had a surprisingly heavy guitar sound.

I really like some of the sounds on that last AFI record. Also, NOFX's "Punk in Drublic" has some really fun, super fast, chuggy guitar sounds. Sometimes Ministry had some fun, heavy guitars even though they were sampled sometimes. Sepultura, yeah! Also, Kerry King sometimes gets a really heavy sound.

[jpaudio]

To me, heavyness comes from the way the individual sounds work together, and with the song and performance as well. A guitar tone that works within context might sound thin and wimpy on it's own... a guitar that sounds huge and heavy on it's own might not fit into the track properly.

[excellrec]

When i think of heavy i think of really vile or mean, just plain evil sounding. La sexorcisto (zombies first album) is album i think of when i think of heavy. Although that album is so dark (sound wise) it kinda bugs me, even if they were going for it, but thats a whole different story. The coolest heavy sound i've heard lately is on the song "aerials" by System of a down. There is a part where daron plays the sorta verse melody distorted, it sounds real mean.

I think some people are thinking more clean and precise heavyiness, personally i like things just a bit over the top.

[beechstudio]

Originally posted by max cooper
So do you 'slutz perceive a difference between a guitar sound that's heavy in and of itself, and a guitar sound that helps the whole band come across as heavy?

Does it help a guitar sound heavy if it's tuned low? Does it help if it's got more low end? Distortion certainly seems to be a part of a heavy guitar sound, but too much can make a guitar sound thin. Some of those "scooped" tones don't sound that heavy to me.

My band used to rehearse at Cole Studios and one time we all had new Mesa stuff (couple of Triple Recs, three 4x12 Rectos and a Bass 400). We're playing, and all of a sudden it sounded like an earthquake hit. We stopped playing and realized that Rage was rehearsing next door, and when they took a break, we could see that there was one half stack with a 4x10 (yup!) and a 4x10 bass cab. But I don't know if I've ever heard anything as heavy as Rage contained by a small room. Certainly blew our sh*t away.

I dunno if it's ranks anywhere near the heaviest, but some of Corrosion of Conformity's "Deliverance" sounds pretty heavy.

Although they're really not my taste at all, my band did some shows with Nickelback in 2000 and they had a surprisingly heavy guitar sound.

I really like some of the sounds on that last AFI record. Also, NOFX's "Punk in Drublic" has some really fun, super fast, chuggy guitar sounds. Sometimes Ministry had some fun, heavy guitars even though they were sampled sometimes. Sepultura, yeah! Also, Kerry King sometimes gets a really heavy sound.

Ditto on the AFI guitars! I thought Butch Vig did a good job with the production on that album. Some of the songs were a little weak in content.......but the overall sound was kick'n!

[beechstudio]

I might be showing my age here, but the guitars on Def Leppards High and Dry used to knock me out! CRUNCH CITY!!

[alphajerk]

suplecs-sad songs better days
fu manchu- california crossing

[biggator6]

how about the opening guitar tones from Green Day's 'Brain Stew'... ccccrrunchy
"-)

[jpaudio]

Originally posted by biggator6
how about the opening guitar tones from Green Day's 'Brain Stew'... ccccrrunchy
"-)

Hell yeah! Come to think of it, he's always had a nice fat rhythm guitar tone.

[Ahellam]

well for modern rock heavy powerchordy stuff.. I really dig Jimmy Eat World Bleed American tone. For metal type heavy tone... anything thats relatively new from In Flames.