fortcon Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 To all metal players out there, what equipment do you use? Pickups, pedals, amps, everything. I'm having trouble getting anything concise from the people I know, thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisdude Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 For me, simple. GT6, Kustom amp with 8x12 and Mosers. I am SO plug and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrosion of conformity Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Not what you'd expect. I use my Les Paul (with burstbuckers) into my Fender Deville, and get my metal sound with a Boss MT-2 Metalzone and sometimes a few other distortion pedals. It's probably not the best metal setup, but for right now it suits me pretty well. It lets me have other genres available to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 I own 18 Guitars, they all have different purposes. For metal I mainly use these two... Gibson M3 Deluxe (24 frets, Gibson m3 switching-like coil taps but more variety and upper fret access) Gibson Flying V with EMG 81 and 85 Humbuckers (Demon and oilpit said I should check EMG out so I did and had them installed) I run them through a Peavey Joe Satriani Head and a Marshall 1960 Cab. The only pedals I use are a Boss GE 7 and a Crybaby Wah. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortcon Posted October 15, 2009 Author Share Posted October 15, 2009 Yeah, that's why I got another guitar. I've got the Les Paul for most things, and I just got an '84 Explorer for metal. I might get a strat at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Yeah' date=' that's why I got another guitar. I've got the Les Paul for most things, and I just got an '84 Explorer for metal. I might get a strat at some point.[/quote'] Nothing beats plugging in my V to ultra gain and letting loose if I am pissed off LMAO Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAS44 Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Nothing beats plugging in my V to ultra gain and letting loose if I am pissed off LMAO mm... with me the best way for me to relax and let it all go is to play dome BB King or the like.... to each his own... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 mm... with me the best way for me to relax and let it all go is to play dome BB King or the like.... to each his own... How old are you again? what do you need to relax from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Back to the original topic, for metal I use my Explorer with stock pickups and a Boss Metal Zone, my Mesa 5:25 almost gets there for some Metal, the pedal gives the extra push when needed. A BBE Sonic Maximizer will make the speakers blow some air placed after the Metal Zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:oilpit: Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Gibson Flying V with EMG 81 and 85 Humbuckers (Demon and oilpit said I should check EMG out so I did and had them installed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 A guitar, marshall and a few pedels (wah,gain,chorus,etc)...not much though sometimes its just me and the amp and whatever sound i can get. But in the metal guitar department i need to upgrade! Oh and thxs oplipit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 I detect a denial so strong that there is perhaps a love for EMG in those harsh words :) Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstMeasure Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Easy on the reverb. Nothing will steal your metal Chunk like too much Reverb. Being a Blues and Rock player who cut his teeth on Surf but grew up in the 80's, I always forget to cut the Reverb when playing Metal with my peers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 I haven't played in a metal band since the 80's, but I still use some metal tones with my current band. Here are some points to consider. * What FirstMeasure said about reverb; I use none. It just blurs what you're playing. * Humbucker pickup in the bridge and the bridge pickup is your main pickup, especially for rhythm. You can use a single coil pickup in the neck or a humbucker depending on what you like. I play a Les Paul Custom with stock 490R/498T pickups. * High output pickups are not necessarily the best choice for metal (or any other style of music, in my opinion). Average/moderate and even lower output pickups will give you a fatter tone and be more articulate sounding and articulate is good when you're trying to cut through a wall of distortion. * Multiple gain stages will give you a smoother sound - up to a point and then it's just too much. * More speaker mass = bigger sound (no matter what the Jimmy Page fans tell you) when it comes to metal. * There is no substitute for wattage - more output tubes = bigger sound (again, no matter what the Jimmy Page fans tell you) when it comes to metal. However, you have to balance that with a realistic outlook on where you're going to be playing or else it's like driving a Ferrari to the grocery store. My amp is 100w and, while it sounds great, it's overkill for my situation; if I could get away with taking it up just a little bit more, it'd be perfect even though we're not that loud of a band... relatively speaking. * Caveat: Bigger sound is not always better. If you're killing your bass player and your drummer's kick drums, your sound is *too* big. * You can play metal through just about any amp but you're better off using an amp that is voiced for it. I used to play through a Fender Deluxe II with a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal and it worked well enough, but it wasn't exactly ideal. These days, my band amp is a Mesa Stiletto Deuce head through a Mesa 2x12 cabinet which gives me a big sound but is still portable enough for a guy over 40 who drives a Honda. * Vintage guys will recommend lower wattage Celestion "greenback" speakers but I've never been a fan of speaker breakup when it comes to metal (cool for The Rolling Stones and Hendrix, not for Rammstein). I like speakers that are overkill for the amp and lower frequencies hold up well when you start cranking the amp. For my 100w Mesa amp, I have two 90w Mesa C90 speakers for a total power handling capability of 180w - they stay tight and bold. * Dimebag Darrel was a fan of solid state amps and, depending on what you're into, they might work for you too. Personally, I think there is no substitute for tubes. An amp with a master volume that can do high gain is where it's at for me. Pedals can help for boosting but don't buy an amp based around a pedal; an amp that can do it on it's own will sound much better. * One boost pedal I'll recommend is a treble booster. It's a really simple device but ends up being like a Swiss Army knife as it can be used as a second rhythm tone or as a boost to give your more overdrive and bite when taking a solo. My Analogman Beano Boost is my second favorite dirt pedal next to my overdrive pedal (which I use because my amp doesn't do high gain very well...). Metal gets dumped on by people, particularly other guitar players who don't care for it, but getting a good rhythm sound for metal is probably the most difficult tone there is unless you're trying to clone your favorite guitar player's sound: - Too much overdrive and you won't be able to hear what you're playing plus you'll be fighting feedback. Too little and it won't be metal. - Too much bass and you'll stomp all over your bass player. Too little and you'll sound like a bumble bee. - Crappy sounding distortion is crappy sounding distortion. I recommend going for more mids before gain to get your distortion the way you want it to *react* and *feel* and then going for how you want it to *sound* after the distortion. It's a tightwire act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Right on the money Rich. True that guys that don't like metal think distortion is distortion, that is the equivalent to say that all clean tones are the same. I play at low volume so when I play metal the Sonic Maximizer makes up for the air on the speakers and wattage Rich talks about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Edited for lack of reading comprehension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Me? for agreeing with you? I guess I'll go ahead and say I am confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laney1566 Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 This is gonna be with pictures!! Metal is what I am. Custom board going stereo out to the carvin and fender from the DD20 Giga delay. Just before the delay is a stereo chorus. The inputs on the delay allow for a stereo input. The Carvin isn't a heavy enough distortion, so I rely on 3 different gain boxes increasing in intensity. The mellowest of them being the Fulldrive 2 with mosfet. The Digitech hardwire Pedals are valve distortion and metal distortion. I use the octa-switch as follows. Bank 1. Metal distortion 2. Metal Distortion with EVH Phase 90 3. Metal Distortion with Rotovibe 4. Metal Distortion with Flanger 5. Valve distortion 6. Valve distortion with EVH Phase 90 7. Valve Distortion with Rotovibe 8. Clean or Fulldrive engaged. The volume, wah, octaswitch and rotovibe are on the lower level. Having the Fulldrive, Chorus and delay up front on top for easy access. The Super Comp and tuner on the right are also up front for easy access. The chain before and after the octa-switch is as follows: Volume, (Tuner out to Korg Pitchblack) to wah, MXR Super Comp to Octa-switch. After octa-switch is CE 20 Stereo Chorus Ensemble, DD20 Giga Delay to amps. By running the switcher I am able to keep most out of the current loop. I get a great signal and the ISP Decimator is active on Banks 1-7. The Chorus is always engaged. Distortion with a decent stereo chorus gives me my tone. Not much fluxuation but plenty of depth. The Sonic Stomp is always on. All connections are made with Planet Waves Cable Station Jacks and Wire. Guitars. All have the lowest action possible. 490R/498T in all but the V. 496R/500T on it. I spent over 3 years picking pedals and designing my board. I wasted tons of money till I got the sounds I wanted. My Distortion is very active and responsive to picking. The Hardwire pedals are truly great! I can compare my tone with the Metal Distortion with a song you can easily find.....Balls to the Wall by Accept. The tone with the Valve Distortion is a little more difficult to reference. Kind of a cross between Do You Wanna Touch Me by Joan Jett and Rocky Mountain Way by Joe Walsh. Just great Valve Distortion. Best I have ever heard in a pedal. The Fulldrive 2 is a very popular pedal and can generate anything from Blues to Hard Rock the way I have it set. Remember...You asked and I love to show off!!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Me? for agreeing with you? I guess I'll go ahead and say I am confused. I read something else but I had a couple of cocktails in me after work tonight so I must have run it through the Drunkense Language Converter (DLC) and got some sort of weird output. My apologies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 apologies?? It made the thread even more rock n' roll! Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 apologies?? It made the thread even more rock n' roll! Matt My bad - I had a Dan Fogelberg moment... YAAAAAHHHHH!!!! DEATH METAAAAAL!!! MAY THE DARK LORD CONSUME YOUR MORTAL SOUL FOR ALL ETERNITY!!! m/ Whew! Much better! That was a close call! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAS44 Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 How old are you again? what do you need to relax from? sometimes school sucks.... or just relaxing from the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 I read something else but I had a couple of cocktails in me after work tonight so I must have run it through the Drunkense Language Converter (DLC) and got some sort of weird output. My apologies! :) No apologies necessary, I knew it was a misunderstanding. I was not offended but rather confused. I am 40 and grew up with all the same metal you did so I am on the same frequency so to speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 sometimes school sucks.... or just relaxing from the world I am the opposite. Stress has been at an all time high at my job lately even though things are going really well. When I go home and crank my amp I just go for well executed power chords to release bad energy and makes me feel like new. My wife encourages me to do this as she notices the difference in me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 I can compare my tone with the Metal Distortion with a song you can easily find.....Balls to the Wall by Accept. You know it looks like Accept is getting together again, I listen to them quite often and look forward to see them live. I love their metal tone and playing,they have always been so unapreciated even by metal fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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