I play very tight, fast prog metal and I'm looking for a head that can handle fast string to string 16th note rhythms as well as low end 7 string rhythms without turning to mush. I've heard good things about the Peavey XXX and the Bogner Uberschall, but I'd like to hear more. I've been using a digital preamp and am through with that nonsense. Also, any ideas on cabinets that would fit the order?
Best head for very tight, fast metal?
- Thread starter cdm7string
- Start date
metalizer
www.transparent-metal.com
I use a Johnson Millinium 250 head (actually i have two) It´s like line6´s Vetta just better. I´m not into tubes it sounds cool for some people but it doesn´t suit the way i play, i used a Mesa boogie on some things on my bands latest recording, but i prefered the Johnson. Alot of people will proberly disagree on this but you have the use what fits your style of playing, so if tubes are your thing Go for a Mesa or Engl i haven´t heard The Peavy But people are saying good things about it. 
Look at the VHT UltraLead. It's supposed to be the tightest, most unforgiving amp available. Haven't played one personally but I've heard lots of clips on Harmony Central and it will probably be my next amp.
Ola Englund
Only gay in the village
If you're into Mesa Boogie, check out their Mark III or IV. They have extremly tight sound. Also the rectifier circuit in triaxis is supertight aswell, suits very well for death/speedmetal...
Razorjack
Bass Behemoth
Nostalgiaplatz
So why not moving?
Yeah, that's the VHT. I think the cost is one arm and one leg. I think it goes for over $2000 USD. Check Musicians Friend, they carry them, or Tone Merchants.
commandante
Zealot
- Apr 23, 2002
- 1,246
- 3
- 38
- 40
Don't buy from Musicians Friend unless you like to spend more money than you should. You can't haggle like you can do with other dealers. If you are a junkie like me you can always look for deals on ebay, too. I have friend who got that VHT for 1900 dollars on the bay.
silverwulf
Ghost in the Machine
Razorjack said:
Didn't Andy mention before that he didn't agree about the 4X10's being better for tight/heavy playing?
Frank'nfurter
Thrash till death
Marshall JCM 800 2210series and a Marshall 1960 cab (the lower one from the fullstack).
A good placed SM57 in front of the cab and hey....that's it.
))))
A good placed SM57 in front of the cab and hey....that's it.
))))
Razorjack
Bass Behemoth
silverwulf said:
He may have done, I was just offering a different opinion than the usuall Mesa Recto 4x12 with v30's. It does depend on the player though, personally, my palm muting creates excessive bass so the 4x10 keeps the sound tighter than a 4x12.
Nitronium Blood
UM BOARDS' JESTER
Does not John Petrucci use a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier with Mesa cabinets?cdm7string said:
With a super tight player like him, (that sounds dirty) I suppose his setup is what you may be looking for.
Razorjack
Bass Behemoth
Petrucci uses:
1-DMC System Mix
2-TC Electronic 2290
2-TC Electronic M3000
1-TC Electronic G Force
1-Eventide DSP7000
1-DBX 266XL
1-Mesa High Gain Amp Switcher
1-Dunlop Cry Baby Custom Shop Rack Wah (newer version)
1-Custom Mark Snyder interface
1-Furman AR Pro power regulator
3-Mesa Boogie Roadkings
2-Mesa Boogie Lonestars
2 2x12 Mesa cabinets
2 4x12 Mesa cabinet
list taken from here - http://www.johnpetrucci.com/equipment.html
1-DMC System Mix
2-TC Electronic 2290
2-TC Electronic M3000
1-TC Electronic G Force
1-Eventide DSP7000
1-DBX 266XL
1-Mesa High Gain Amp Switcher
1-Dunlop Cry Baby Custom Shop Rack Wah (newer version)
1-Custom Mark Snyder interface
1-Furman AR Pro power regulator
3-Mesa Boogie Roadkings
2-Mesa Boogie Lonestars
2 2x12 Mesa cabinets
2 4x12 Mesa cabinet
list taken from here - http://www.johnpetrucci.com/equipment.html
Nostalgiaplatz
So why not moving?
Yeah, I was just going to say he uses a couple of Roadkings, at least when they played here.
As for VHT, they're pretty expensive indeed would like hear samples from them. What does tight really mean? (don't paste a dictionary transcription, please) I mean, I've seen the word and I've used it a few times, in the hopes of trying to say "fast, controlled and very responsive playing", but the word has gone a bit beyond the uses I'm used to, so if anyone would like to clear out this doubt of mine, I'd appreciate, cuz this buzz word thing is seen regularly around here.
As for VHT, they're pretty expensive indeed would like hear samples from them. What does tight really mean? (don't paste a dictionary transcription, please) I mean, I've seen the word and I've used it a few times, in the hopes of trying to say "fast, controlled and very responsive playing", but the word has gone a bit beyond the uses I'm used to, so if anyone would like to clear out this doubt of mine, I'd appreciate, cuz this buzz word thing is seen regularly around here.
elmuchoescadawg
Member
Tight fast lead playing? Chris Amott uses and off the shelf Peavey JSX head with Triple XXX 412 cabs. 3 channels and an active EQ!!
DIOBOLIC5150
I think I broke something
- Jul 18, 2004
- 456
- 0
- 16
- 44
If you don't like tubes, try a Randall Warhead. Mine has great string separation. It sounds best with the matching Randall cabs. My .02
In all honesty with my experience with the many....many.....did I mention many? amps that I have owned and/or played (combined total of like 100+ including rare vintage Marshalls and Fenders, etc. as well as tons of high gain tube, hybrid, and 100% solid state amps) it mostly depends on the player. There are soooooo many things to add in to determine what amp to get. In fact too many. Here's a list of things you should look at, just so you really get a full view of yourself as a player:
-Plectrum (pick) gauge
-String gauges
-Guitar (body and neck woods, pickups, etc.)
-Instrument cables you use
And there are several other things but I just got done writing an e-mail to Andy so I'm all dis-organized. Point being, there are a lot of factors involved in order for you to get a "tight" sound. I've heard my friend (very...VERY tight player btw) play through a Jackson USA model (SL-2 I beleive) into a Mesa Dual Rectifier and it sound tight as FUCK. And then play the same exact way through the same setup except with a USA model ESP...and it was tight...but not NEARLY as tight as with the Jackson. We went to a guitar center where they surprisingly had a Mark IV, which as stated before is a very tight amp. And he played with a PRS Custom 24 into the Mark IV into a Mesa 2x12, using a 1.14 gauge pick, pretty tight. Played the same everything but with a 2.00 gauge pick, less tightness. The pick is more rounded, less sharp attack, so there was more "slipping", therefore not as tight. However...I beleive that has something to do with the string gauge as well, since I play with a 2.00 and typically get a tighter sound, although I do use lighter strings than he does, than I do with a 1.14. I can play faster though with the 1.14..but it's because of less friction on the pick itself, so the motions are less as stressed.
With all that said, anyone can deduce that it's not any one particular peice of the combination's fault for having a less tight sound (assuming the player is tight), but rather the combination of two or more peices. I'll stop being technical now being it's annoying...even to me, heh.
Bla bla, generally speaking, I would say look up your favorite guitarist's rigs online and see what they use. Everything that they use. Outboard rack stuff and pedals also. The ones with the tightest sound and the least outboard/pedals is what you'll want to seriously consider. Sorry to add this but....some tightness of a player's sound on cd may be contributed to by what is called "studio magic", basically just the engineer editing the guitar tracks to sound tighter than they are, as well as compression, gates, and limiting on the original source. Which, by the way, is most often used..it's almost rare to find a guitarist with a rig that doesn't need all that, but whatever. My post is useless now, it's too long and too much crap. Oh well, hope it helps.
~006
-Plectrum (pick) gauge
-String gauges
-Guitar (body and neck woods, pickups, etc.)
-Instrument cables you use
And there are several other things but I just got done writing an e-mail to Andy so I'm all dis-organized. Point being, there are a lot of factors involved in order for you to get a "tight" sound. I've heard my friend (very...VERY tight player btw) play through a Jackson USA model (SL-2 I beleive) into a Mesa Dual Rectifier and it sound tight as FUCK. And then play the same exact way through the same setup except with a USA model ESP...and it was tight...but not NEARLY as tight as with the Jackson. We went to a guitar center where they surprisingly had a Mark IV, which as stated before is a very tight amp. And he played with a PRS Custom 24 into the Mark IV into a Mesa 2x12, using a 1.14 gauge pick, pretty tight. Played the same everything but with a 2.00 gauge pick, less tightness. The pick is more rounded, less sharp attack, so there was more "slipping", therefore not as tight. However...I beleive that has something to do with the string gauge as well, since I play with a 2.00 and typically get a tighter sound, although I do use lighter strings than he does, than I do with a 1.14. I can play faster though with the 1.14..but it's because of less friction on the pick itself, so the motions are less as stressed.
With all that said, anyone can deduce that it's not any one particular peice of the combination's fault for having a less tight sound (assuming the player is tight), but rather the combination of two or more peices. I'll stop being technical now being it's annoying...even to me, heh.
Bla bla, generally speaking, I would say look up your favorite guitarist's rigs online and see what they use. Everything that they use. Outboard rack stuff and pedals also. The ones with the tightest sound and the least outboard/pedals is what you'll want to seriously consider. Sorry to add this but....some tightness of a player's sound on cd may be contributed to by what is called "studio magic", basically just the engineer editing the guitar tracks to sound tighter than they are, as well as compression, gates, and limiting on the original source. Which, by the way, is most often used..it's almost rare to find a guitarist with a rig that doesn't need all that, but whatever. My post is useless now, it's too long and too much crap. Oh well, hope it helps.
~006
OH! To add on....tube amps are amazingly great. But contrary to popular belief, they are not the best for everything. Solid state amps are amazingly tight. Not to mention the sound itself is tight ("sterile"). Tube amps have that warm organic sound, which in turn sounds like it's....fat....or something. Hard to describe, I would have to show you..but it's kinda hard on here. Yeah.
~006
~006
black sugar
The Burninator
For a truly tight guitar tone, I'd recommend running a Les Paul custom with EMG's (81's or 85's -- your preference) in 18v mode into a Maxon OD820 or a TC Line Driver, then into a JCM800 with an extra gain stage, then through a THD Hot Plate and into a Krank Revolution cab.
Then send the Hot Plate signal through a laptop running the Waves C4 plugin with Andy's preset into the power amp in of a 5150 (with the master gain on 6) into a Dual Recto cab.
But wait, you're not done yet, crunchmaster! Place the two cabs facing eachother at a 3:1 ratio distance from the Royer R-121 that you're gonna put between them. Don't worry, the latency of the laptop send will prevent any phase problems. Run the signal from the R-121 into a Manley Slam!, then through the house PA. Or just bring your own.
Now it's time to build the ISO booth! You're gonna have to do some research on this, since this is an unprecedented tight guitar tone endeavor. But first you'll need to send out an expedition to locate a suitable supply of Owens Corning 703, aged Brazilian rosewood, and clay tiles from an Aztec temple (Incan will do in a pinch) just to get a head start.
For reading, I would suggest the usual acoustic texturing drivel, of course, as well as some magnetic theory (even though nobody really understands that anyway), quantum mechanics, microbiology, astronomy, astrology, and air purification and pressurization.
You might also want to brush up on your relativity in case you need to lay down some tracks on a spaceship when you're collected by beings of higher intelligence because the paradoxical blend of unparalled tightness and earth shattering crunch of your tone caused a rift in the space-time continuum.
Please post some .mp3's when you're done. Thanks!
Then send the Hot Plate signal through a laptop running the Waves C4 plugin with Andy's preset into the power amp in of a 5150 (with the master gain on 6) into a Dual Recto cab.
But wait, you're not done yet, crunchmaster! Place the two cabs facing eachother at a 3:1 ratio distance from the Royer R-121 that you're gonna put between them. Don't worry, the latency of the laptop send will prevent any phase problems. Run the signal from the R-121 into a Manley Slam!, then through the house PA. Or just bring your own.
Now it's time to build the ISO booth! You're gonna have to do some research on this, since this is an unprecedented tight guitar tone endeavor. But first you'll need to send out an expedition to locate a suitable supply of Owens Corning 703, aged Brazilian rosewood, and clay tiles from an Aztec temple (Incan will do in a pinch) just to get a head start.
For reading, I would suggest the usual acoustic texturing drivel, of course, as well as some magnetic theory (even though nobody really understands that anyway), quantum mechanics, microbiology, astronomy, astrology, and air purification and pressurization.
You might also want to brush up on your relativity in case you need to lay down some tracks on a spaceship when you're collected by beings of higher intelligence because the paradoxical blend of unparalled tightness and earth shattering crunch of your tone caused a rift in the space-time continuum.
Please post some .mp3's when you're done. Thanks!
