im running an ESP LTD EX102 with Duncan Designed pickups through a Marshall AVT50 (only clean and overdrive channels). it has a real thick sound, but during lead work, its real hard to hear. should i get a volume pedal? ive heard that wouldnt really help much. i might get a DOD Death metal distortion pedal and switch from that to the overdrive channel and just have the overdrive channel louder for lead work. anyone that can help, please do. thanks....i play melodic death/black metal if that matters.
death metal rig
- Thread starter Metal is Religion
- Start date
Nefarious_
Messiah with no disciples
Avoid the DOD pedal at all costs for playing Death metal. It really should be called the DOD Blackmetal pedal, becuase no matter how much you fiddle with the knobs on it, you can only get a fuzzy trebly sound I like to call "the bee in a jar". It sounds similar to the guitar tone on 1349's "liberation".
It is shit for lead work, it just gets lost amongst the high end of the cymbals. It's good for black metal rhythm stuff, but apart from that it's useless.
It is shit for lead work, it just gets lost amongst the high end of the cymbals. It's good for black metal rhythm stuff, but apart from that it's useless.
Hexer
Member
I'd say for solos: more volume, more mids! maybe a pickup-change would help, I dont know. I've never played Duncan Designed PUs, but some pickups tend to make low notes sound louder than high notes, so a little PU-adjustment may also be a good thing (so that the pickup is closer to the high strings than it is to the low strings)
I think the idea with the pedal and the overdrive-channel is quite good, too (have never tried the DOD though). I usually use my lo-lead-channel for rythm-stuff and the hi-lead-channel for soloing (with the hi-lead-volume set higher than the lo-lead-volume). this adds volume, and changes the sound a little. I also like switching sound-modes from "open" to "focused" for soloing wich amplifies the low midrange more (though I do use more mids than most people anyway)
I think the idea with the pedal and the overdrive-channel is quite good, too (have never tried the DOD though). I usually use my lo-lead-channel for rythm-stuff and the hi-lead-channel for soloing (with the hi-lead-volume set higher than the lo-lead-volume). this adds volume, and changes the sound a little. I also like switching sound-modes from "open" to "focused" for soloing wich amplifies the low midrange more (though I do use more mids than most people anyway)
thanks everyone. so should i look into a really good distortion pedal and switch from that to my distortion channel on my Marshall for leads? if so, what pedal is good for death metal? i think i have my mid like all the way up. ill have to check but i think i have the bass to 4 mid to 9 and high to 10. would a volume pedal be good just for the lead work, i still dont understand why i was told it wouldnt work. thanks in advance.
Loner
In Despise
If you like you amp's distortion already, get an eq pedal, boost the mids and volume on it, and engage it for your solos. An overdrive pedal (such as the tubescreamer) would work as well, but you'll most likely have some feedback issues while running an overdrive through an already heavily distorted signal.
Nefarious_
Messiah with no disciples
well it's not that it won't work, it's more like it won't work well.Metal is Religion said:
A volume pedal will boost your signal so it's louder, but you'll need to be pretty damn loud to be be heard clearly over the rest of the band. What you want to do it to cut though a bit more, rather than simply drowning the rest of the band out. Mids are probably the most important frequency on a guitar. When you play in a band, most of the highs on the guitar are overpowered by the drummner's cymbols and most of the bass is overpowered by the bass guitar and bass drum. Mids on a guitar occupy a small niche in the sound where they have little competition, so they cut through clearly without drowning out the rest of the band. If you want a clear solo sound, then you need to boost the mids to cut through the rest of the band.
What I would suggest before you buy any gear, is to examine the rest of the band's instruments and settings. I'm assuming you play with at least one other guitarist, so you should collaborate with him/her on this. If they set their amp, similar to how you set yours, then the mids are already very high and you'll have trouble being heard over the other guitar. If this is the case, then I suggest you reduce the mids in your 'normal' tone (on both amps) to around 5 or 6 so that when one of you cranks the mids to do some lead work, they cut through the other guitar's sound. Also make sure if the bass player uses distortion, that they don't have too much treble on it, as this will also drown out guitars.
I'm sorry if you know all this already...
Nefarious_ said:
Haha, it's SO true. I was going to give mine away, but the weirdest thing- I bought a couple amps from a garage sale, and one of em is a peavy bandit solo series... I don't think it has a distorted channel, but it sounded nice and warm for clean tones(probably because it's a "solo series") but to mess around I tried a couple of my boss distortion pedals on it, and both sounded REALLY weak. I was gonna pack it in but for some reason saw the dod sitting there and decided to give it one last chance. It sounds absolutely AWESOME with that amp. Craptastic with everything else I've used(as in it blurs everything into a muddy mess), but for some reason, sounds great when paired with that amp. Just thought I'd share...
no way dude, you helped out a lot, thanks, i didnt know a lot of that shit before. thanks a million!!!!!!Nefarious_ said:
wait, if i am using my amps distortion and when a solo comes up, i engage the eq pedal, wouldnt the signal go clean then? or not. wait, i dont know what im saying anymore, its really late.Loner said:
Hexer
Member
??? the EQ equalizes whatever signal you put into it, no matter if its clean or distorted.... so you signal will stay as it is, the EQ just gives you the possibility to shape it a bit more (boost mids for example). this would probably be a really good idea if it works (I never owned an EQ).
Loner
In Despise
No, the eq just shapes the tone you've already got. An eq pedal, in my opinion, is a great tool for any metal guitarist. Also, make sure you put it through the effects loop.Metal is Religion said:
Nefarious_
Messiah with no disciples
Indiooo
Member
Loner
In Despise
Yes, it can, but if you compare the difference between running it in front and putting it through the loop, I think you'd be foolish to choose the former of the two.Indiooo said:
Indiooo
Member
And why would that be? It sounds very different since you're giving the preamp a different signal (and level) to work with. I love an EQ pedal with cranked mids in front. Plus some pedals just don't like line level.
Loner
In Despise
EQ pedals are made to take line level. Personally, I'd much rather have control of the post-preamp signal, it gives you MUCH more control.Indiooo said:
Indiooo
Member
Well i'm not sure I'd be confortable putting a Maxon EQ in the loop, since maximum input value is exactly 4dB. I'd like a little more headroom, but that's beside the point. The thing is that EQ in a guitar rig is not exactly the same as in the mixing desk. It's not as much about control but about my tone (and some weird ones, once in a while). So I let my ears decide if the pedal is gonna be in the loop or in front.
Whatever works.
Whatever works.
