ENGL Powerball settings

[Ermz]

Hey dudes,

I'm just wondering if any of you have favourite amp settings/mic types/positions when recording a Powerball?

We've been experimenting with one down at the studio and I can't say we've arrived at anything that's blown my mind yet.

I'm really fond of the dry sound Tesseract get, and that CJWall managed to pull out of his fireball on the recordings he posted on here... I'm looking for something with that level of articulation (I suppose the guitar/pickups would have a lot to do with it... probably will be using my Hellraiser for it next time, so no problems there).

Cheers.

 

[Nebulous]

Focused mode- Channel 3- Lows:3 Mid:10 High:5 Presence:2 ....

 

[Ermz]

Ohh boy... did we come a long way from there...

 

[Torniojaws]

Channel 3

Gain 2
Lo Lead Bottom: On
Bass 4
Mid-Focused 10
Treble 7
Lo Lead Volume 10
Presence 7
Depth Punch 6
Master volume A at 1

SM57 in roughly a 86º angle facing directly towards the center of the lower speaker of Engl Vintage 2x12" (Celestion V30). About 2 cm from the cover grill.

 

[Ermz]

Thanks a lot. We're restricted to a Marshall 1960A cab at the moment though, I should have said as much from the start.

 

[Torniojaws]

From everything I have heard from other peoples' experience, you should never pair an Engl head with Marshall cabs, it sounds dull and "weird".

 

[Ermz]

Really? I was under the impression that the Tesseract stuff was done with a Powerball through a 1960A, and that sounded amazing.

 

[CJWall]

Really? I was under the impression that the Tesseract stuff was done with a Powerball through a 1960A, and that sounded amazing.

My clips were done with the 1960a as well. If you like that dry, articulated sound, a Pre-EQ boost is a *must*. I find cutting 100 and 200hz and boosting around 1.6khz really tightens things up and gives everything a nice, tight chug.

I actually run my treble and presence quite a bit higher when recording than I would if I was playing with a band. I end up cutting quite a bit of it when it's sitting in the mix, but there's something that it adds to the overall sound, a "juiciness", is how I put it.

BTW, I think tesseract uses one of the ENGL cabs now (V60s?), as well as a Neumann TLM-193 (which im sure puts quite a vibe on the sound) this is also the mic Meshuggah used on Chaosphere for guitars.

 

[Nebulous]

My clips were done with the 1960a as well. If you like that dry, articulated sound, a Pre-EQ boost is a *must*. I find cutting 100 and 200hz and boosting around 1.6khz really tightens things up and gives everything a nice, tight chug.

I actually run my treble and presence quite a bit higher when recording than I would if I was playing with a band. I end up cutting quite a bit of it when it's sitting in the mix, but there's something that it adds to the overall sound, a "juiciness", is how I put it.

BTW, I think tesseract uses one of the ENGL cabs now (V60s?), as well as a Neumann TLM-193 (which im sure puts quite a vibe on the sound) this is also the mic Meshuggah used on Chaosphere for guitars.

Just to clarify, you run a TS in front, then do the EQ after the fact, or you use a rackmount/pedal EQ going into the amp?

Cheers for the tips.

 

[CJWall]

Just to clarify, you run a TS in front, then do the EQ after the fact, or you use a rackmount/pedal EQ going into the amp?

Cheers for the tips.

I'm running a Boss GE-7 before I hit the amps input (gtr > ge-7 > fireball).

The GE-7 has a "level" slider as well I boost a bit for more grit.

Charlie

 

[Rich - Rannoch]

Running the Powerball through an Engl cab does produce a noticeable difference over the Marshall.....a lot more low end and less 'fizz' (though I can't comment on how they sound through any other type of speaker cab). While tracking guitars (for some new Rannoch stuff) recently we tried a few different set-ups and 7 strings but found the best tone was achieved using the Powerball through an Engl E 412VG cab with a stock Universe UV777PBK.

 

[JeffTD]

Just to clarify - Acle (Tesseract) Runs his ENGL through a V60 loaded ENGL cab, and then into a TLM-193.

 

[Rich - Rannoch]

Yes - there are some pics of his (current?) set-up here:

http://www.tesseractband.co.uk/photos.php

 

[Ermz]

Hmm. Thanks guys, definitely helpful.

 

[Ermz]

To show you guys what I'm talking about. The horrible result we achieved with the guitars is here:

http://users.tpg.com.au/afiteam/mental-disarray.mp3

I know the guitars are way over-gained, way too scratchy and way too one-dimensional. I tried to salvage them in the mix, but I couldn't, no matter what I did.

Is there any direct suggestions you powerball users could make based on that? Specifically regarding mic position, particular knobs on the amp etc.

I'm really in a stump... we spent so long getting such a mediocre guitar tone. I feel like a failure :zombie:

 

[Torniojaws]

Some of the playing sounds quite sloppy, the notes sort of "bleed" outside from how much I feel they should be ringing. A symptom of too much gain

Also, the guitars are a little too loud in my opinion, they almost drown everything else.

Drop the gain, drop it more, and even more. The Powerball has too much gain by itself, so back it up even more

Try even the Crunch channel very LOUD with only as much gain as needed for playing. And drop it down a little bit more when the guitarists don't see

 

[Ermz]

Hehe thanks, thought as much. I just got told by another guy that the drums are too loud :s. I'll have to see where everything sits if we retrack guitars.

I agree about the playing. It is sloppy. I'm gonna need to work with the guitarist... show him where to palm mute for best effect, probably let him use my Hellraiser instead, and turn that fuckin gain DOOOOOOOWN.

 

[CJWall]

hmm.. IMO the gtrs need to come down, along with the gain as you already know. I think the problem here is your bass guitar as well. It seems as if it needs a bit different EQ'ing, can't tell specifically but it sounds rather dull.

One thing I do to try and find a good level for the bass is let the song play but with your bass track(s) muted, slowly bring up the bass until the sound fills out and your guitar(s) sound fuller.

I stand by my motto that the bass gtr tone is the key ingredient to a great guitar tone.

Charlie

 

[Ermz]

Thanks, duly noted. Wasn't much potential with the bass tone, sadly... the bassist was unable to play even those simple riffs properly. I was too afraid to make the bass more present, because it may have brought the mistakes out.

But yeah, I'll take the guitars down next time round.

 

[KeithRT99]

i think you're overreacting about the guitars. i think worst part is the bass tone. the guitars/kick/snare are probably the best part of the entire mix. also on my speakers, the guitars are quiet in the mix compared to the drums.