Favorite guitar tone from Andy Sneap?

[Erik Monsonis]

TEOH in the very first place
The End Of The Heartache in the second place
KSE's first album with Howard Jones in the third place

and then

Doomsday Machine & Anthems of Rebellion
TGE
DHIADW
Ascendancy...



How can a tone be so awesome... and yes, Marcus, I love "slightly too far from dustcap" tones!

 

[LydonB]

I've always loved Arch Enemy's tone regardless of the album (Wages of Sin, Anthems of Rebellion & Doomsday Machine).

 

[Harry Hughes]

I wonder if this only happens to me, but for some reason it's only when I put on This Godless Endeavor, as in the actual last track of the album, that I really notice how amazing the tone. I just think it's the way the song is written, the riffs being used that kinda best show off the amazing tone.

 

[Metaltastic]

How can a tone be so awesome... and yes, Marcus, I love "slightly too far from dustcap" tones!

So you're really saying you prefer EoH's tone over the one on the Holy Diver cover? To me the latter is just so much more upfront and punchy, I'm really loving it!

 

[Erik Monsonis]

So you're really saying you prefer EoH's tone over the one on the Holy Diver cover?

Absolutely

I really hate their latest tones, too grainy, fizzy and way overgained for me.

 

[Ermz]

Yep, I'd take a tone that's too cloudy and muffled like EoH over a fizzy one any day of the week, and twice on Sundays. The dustcap is rife with nonlinearities and high frequency spikes. I can't imagine a worse thing to want to capture. I would sooner use a 8dB high shelf to get presence back, because at least then it will be smooth.

As far as The Gathering and This Godless Endeavor. There were points where I loved the tones on both, but these days I seem to be taking a bit more smoothness in what I like. My mixes are reflecting it, as they have the most mid content I've ever done. Too much listening to The Fathomless Mastery, I think.

We tend to sort of work in phases and moods. Not many sustain a 'favourite tone' forever.

 

[Metaltastic]

Ermz, what do you think of the Holy Diver tone though? Sorry to keep bringing this up, but that just really impressed me with the upper mid crunch/chunk but very little fizz, and I want to hear some other opinions about it specifically! (cuz it's definitely different than the tone on ADD, which I agree was a bit grainy/gainy)

 

[Ermz]

I haven't heard the cover, but I've worked with Soldanos in the past and taken quite a shining to them. They are good amps, just a little bit too nasal for live use without an outboard EQ. The SLO100 with V30s tends to have a particular thing for 2kHz that can get obnoxious.

 

[NNotN-ENN]

One tone that really stood out to me, more as a guitarist than from a mix perspective though, was the sound on Shovel Headed Kill Machine by Exodus. Almost sounded like there was a plate reverb on the guitars. Perfect modern update on the old "bitey", venomous sort of tone that I love about late 80s/early 90s thrash.

 

[Sickan]

How can a tone be so awesome... and yes, Marcus, I love "slightly too far from dustcap" tones!

+1
I dont think I have ever heard a guitar tone as great as the "The End of Heartache" one. When I A/B different guitar tones I always end up enjoying TEoH the most.

 

[greyskull]

End of heartache
Hit for six by consumed.

 

[dan weapon]

All the Testament stuff he's done. AWESOME. End of Heartache is killer too(although I prefer the songs on AoJB by a long way).

I'll be honest, I'm a big Sneap fanboy and have always loved all of his stuff. Even 11 years ago I remember hearing his Pissing Razors stuff and it just sounded so brutal.
He hasn't done anything that I really don't like to be honest, although the most recent As I Lay Dying sounded a little digital and scratchy.

 

[Aaron Smith]

The dustcap is rife with nonlinearities and high frequency spikes. I can't imagine a worse thing to want to capture. I would sooner use a 8dB high shelf to get presence back, because at least then it will be smooth.

You captured my thoughts perfectly. I was just saying recently in a different thread that I always prefer getting the mic in a position where it sounds a little too dull (off the dustcap!), then using either the amp's presence knob or just a high frequency EQ boost in the DAW to regain the missing brightness. I am absolutely in agreement that there is a lot of funny business going on in the high frequencies of the speaker itself...

I remember a while back where someone asked Andy about his use of post-EQ when mixing guitars, and he said that if he does anything, it's just generally a bit of brightening...which leads me to believe that he too stays away from the dustcap a bit.

Marcus, I understand that you like brighter, bitey-er tones, but the next time you mic up a cab, try putting the mic a little more off the dustcap and compensating for the dullness by adjusting the amp settings. You may really end up liking it a lot.

PS, I definitely prefer the "The End of Heartache" tone over "Holy Diver" too.

 

[Ermz]

^ Yeah, that gem of knowledge went into my 'Recording 101' checklist the moment I mic'ed up my very first amp in the studio however many years back. It became obvious straight away that going off-axis for a smoother tone, then bumping up the amp or post-EQ to compensate led to smoother tones.

Put it this way, would you rather be spending your time with an instance or two of Waves Q10, notching out around a dozen 'fizzle' spikes, or just slapping on an SSL E-channel and slamming the high-shelf knob? I know my preference!

 

[Machinated]

I'll join the EOH>holy diver tone movement

holy diver has slightly too much mids, and while EOH may be a little cloudy/muddy I think it gives it a cool character and doesnt exactly annoy me.

and also I like compensating for loss of high end from moving away from the dustcap by changing the amp settings a bit. can kind of give you the best of both worlds

 

[Aaron Smith]

spending your time with an instance or two of Waves Q10, notching out around a dozen 'fizzle' spikes

I've done that!

 

[GuitarHack]

Resurrection.

 

[steeltormentorx]

I am part of DHIADW and The End Of The Heartache guitartone fans ))

 

[GuitarHack]

I am part of DHIADW and The End Of The Heartache guitartone fans ))

I don't have either of those 2 seemingly popular albums. Looks like I might have to check them out. I have heard some (not much though) of the KsE album, but DHIADW not really at all. The vocals are to blame, but now I "get" the Nevermore vocals it might be worth checking out.

 

[Harry Hughes]

^If you get Nevermore, you haven't lived until you've heard TGE. Get that first, amazing song writing.