Best Gear to play BLACK/DEATH metal??

[SonsOfNorthernDarkness]

Hey everyone I alittle fustrated , Im in band which plays black metal and melodic death , and were not getting the right sound that we are looking for. I was wondering if anyone can reply back telling me whats a good amp and maybe guitar for playing death metal and black along with other types of equipment. I have ESP VIPER 300 and its an excellent guitar put I have no good amp to back it up. please reply



Tommy "Chaos Ignitor"

 

[xenophobe]

If you want to know about some rack gear, just ask... as for heads that get brutal crunch:

Bogner Uberschall
Mesa Dual/Triple Rectifiers
Peavy 5150

There's a whole world of good and bad rack gear out there. You can generally trust ANY USA Rocktron... stay away from the import stuff (crappy build quality and cheap components), Bruce Egnater or Bradshaw preamps are good, as well as preamps from Bogner or Soldano.... Depends on your price range and what kind of sound you're looking for.

Personally, I prefer USA Jackson guitars. USA BC Rich is awesome stuff, and Carvin makes good guitars.
Pickups will make a whole bunch of difference in tone.

I tend to prefer active electrionics, EMGs and Seymor Duncan Live Wires, but I have guitars with all kinds of pickups... Dimarzio makes some good pickups too.

How much money you looking to spend?

 

[Nate The Great]

For very little money, but a good amp, try something from Peavey. They have quite a few amps with great metal tones.

Tell us how much you want to spend and we can help more.

 

[SonsOfNorthernDarkness]

about 1,500$ ? thanks for the help





Tommy

 

[spikes77]

what part of the bronx are you from , And whats your band name?

 

[SonsOfNorthernDarkness]

Pelham Parkway area , are bands name is Fortress of Souls

 

[spikes77]

kool , i live around that area too , near williamsbridge road , know where?.....does your band play any shows?

 

[Nate The Great]

SonofNorthernDarkness: Your guitar should be adequate for a good metal tone. Your amp is probably where the problem is. However, new pickups on your guitar might be an excellent addition. If you are going just for an amp, try Marshall, Mesa Boogie, Peavey 5150, Laney, and a few others you might know. For $1500 I would stick to a good head and a 4X12 cabinet. Personally I'd go for a Marshall JCM900 and a cab. JCM2000 is good too, but a little more expensive.

 

[SonsOfNorthernDarkness]

Thanks for the advice , I have EMG-HZ pickups. I have an ESP VIPER 300 which i think is pretty decent for metal and yea Im basically just looking for a good amp.

 

[SonsOfNorthernDarkness]

Originally posted by spikes77
kool , i live around that area too , near williamsbridge road , know where?.....does your band play any shows?

I use to live on williamsbridge road across the street from P.S 89 now I live on white plains and pelham parkway , under the two. and may band doesnt have any shows yet.. we need a drummer



Tommy "Chaos Ignitor"

 

[xenophobe]

I'd stay away from Marshall, overrated, overpriced cookie cutter, cheapest components available.... Besides, with up to $1500 to spend, you can get something that will deliver brutal crunch without the needs for a distortion or overdrive pedal.

With $1500 you could go either with a nice head, Mesa Dual, or some pretty decent rack setups...

The Peavy 5150 would be good, and you'd have a bit of money left over... The Crate Voodoos are getting decent reviews....

If you could spend a bit more, Soldano and Bogner makes some great products, handbuilt using mil-spec components.

What type of sound are you looking for, something versatile or something with a couple killer sounds?

 

[Metal is Religion]

I would definetly stick with the pick ups you got. EMG's are great, especially for solos. I would also go with either Marshall or Mesa Boogie. I havent played a Mesa Boogie, but i hear they are really good. I have a Marshall, its got great sound.

 

[chupe666]

Are you buying new or used? Some people have an aversion to buying used, I know, but you can save quite a bit of money that way sometimes. A 4x12 cabinet used would probably be around $300-400, so that'd leave you with about $1000 for a head, which is a very decent amount. Start at the top, looking at Mesa Boogie and the high end Peavey/Marshall amps.

From my experience with Marshalls, they sound good for distortion, but not so great on clean channels (it still distorts the sound some), and they are not as solid as Peaveys and esp. Mesas. They are, however, cheaper than the Mesas. A used Marshall JCM800 could probably be picked up for around $400-500, while a Mesa Dual/Triple could be more like $1000, even used.
So, I guess all I'm saying is I agree with the names that have been thrown out here, but don't count out used gear.

Good luck.

 

[xenophobe]

The Marshall JCM800's are good amps, and there are a number of good people and companies that can mod them to scream.

Why spend $1000+ on a tube amp that needs the front end loaded up with a $50 pedal to get good crunch from?
Alll of the new Marshalls suck. EOS. You're paying for the NAME... The quality sucks... mass produced like a Sony Walkman...

If you're not against going rack, you can get a used Mesa 2:Nintey and a Rocktron Voodoo Valve for under your price, and you'll have BRUTAL crunch...

 

[WarHead]

yeah dude.,.,mesa are nice.,.,.and so are marshall.,.,.,but personally im using a randall half stack.,.,it doesnt have tubes,.,.,.but i get a great rhythm sound and lead.,.,hmm.,.,but marshall can stomp randall with loundness,., but i wasnt too happy with the shaping of marshall tone.,.,hmm,.,.i guess mesa is your best bet.,.,

 

[Shadowdance]

Hey Xenophobe I thought I was the only one thinking that Marshall amps are overrated.I personally use a Crate half stack with a death metal distortion pedal from DOD and an equalizer from DOD too.My guitar is an Ibanez RG270 GX problably one of their cheapest models but it does the trick.Iwas resently told my set up is kind of like the set up from one of the Cannibal Corpse guys althohg Idon't sound anything like them.

 

[Dvoters]

What about guitar setups? How are ESP?

 

[The Wanderer]

I think randalls are shit. the zyklon is ok but overall their stuff is weak. try the line 6 amps and the the digitech 2120 processors. get that and some good power and you can totally rock it.

 

[xenophobe]

Originally posted by Shadowdance
Hey Xenophobe I thought I was the only one thinking that Marshall amps are overrated.I personally use a Crate half stack with a death metal distortion pedal from DOD and an equalizer from DOD too.My guitar is an Ibanez RG270 GX problably one of their cheapest models but it does the trick.Iwas resently told my set up is kind of like the set up from one of the Cannibal Corpse guys althohg Idon't sound anything like them.

Well, I don't know what Cannibal uses....

Anyways, MARSHALL sucks ASS... POD sounds like ASS... heh

And you don't need botique gear to get a good sound, though that's all I'll reccomend. heh

Dream Rig:

Bradshaw RSB 18 controller/switcher
Bogner Fish Preamp
Custom Audio Electronics 3+ SE Preamp
Alesis DEQ 2030 1/3 octave graphic EQ
BBE Sonic Maximizer 422A
TC Electronics G-Force FX Processor
VHT 2150 Power Amp
Contained in a Mesa 16 space shock rack.