Guitar Sound

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Ok, so I wrote a few songs, and they are death metal type songs, with lots of melody, sorta like Opeth, but when I went to record them, I didn't like the sound of my distortion. It seemed like it didn't make the notes I was hitting clear enough, and Im thinking this can be solved with some serious tweaking on my GNX multifx pedal. So does anyone know some sweet settings for an Opeth like sound, for when they are strumming chords with mad distortion??? I really need to achieve this sound. Thanks.


P.S. Is scooping mids a bad idea for this sound im lookin for???

 

[Ermz]

Record your guitar with only very light gain, and then multitrack it on a program such as CoolEditPro or whatever else you use, and that will give you the nice 'clean distortion' that Opeth use, that retains clarity as well as sounds very extreme.

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Record your guitar with only very light gain, and then multitrack it on a program such as CoolEditPro or whatever else you use, and that will give you the nice 'clean distortion' that Opeth use, that retains clarity as well as sounds very extreme.

Yeah, but Im looking to get as close as I can to get that sound with just one setting/guitar, like what they use live. It still sounds very close to the records, and it can't be more than 2 guitars, especially when each guitar has a seperate part.

 

[Ermz]

I've achieved close to their distortion just using the on-board distortion on the higher-caliber Marshall valve amplifiers, but as it is, if you want to get the exact tone, you'll need to buy yourself a GT-6 and/or get a PRS, lol.

 

[Netheral]

Yes the PRS does a lot of the guitar sound.........I have one, too and my sounds really near to Opeth's. Besides I'm using a Marshall Amp and the GFX-8 from Zoom. With a Peavy 5150 top you're also coming kinda close to their seound. But in my opinion the PRS does the most.

 

[KevyCanavan]

You want the GT-3 by Boss

Metal 1 Distortion Drive Full
with eq & Compression you should be alble to gain what your looking for. I'll post patches if anyone wants them.

 

[nevershine]

Just don't use maximum gain as Moonlapse said. Try a little over half or a bit more. If you use complex or "big chords" with a lot of gain they will not sound as good and the listener won't hear it the way it's supposed or something. Shit! This would be much easier to explain in finnish...
I think you get the idea.

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Ok, thanks for the input guys, and with the people saying that their sound is most closest because of a PRS, I don't believe that, because I know the guitar can make the difference, but it only decides like 15% of your sound. I definitely think it is all up to your amp, pedals, and eq settings.

To whoever was saying they could make a patch, o you think you could make a patch for my Digitech GNX?????That would kickass, thanks.

P.S. Does anyone know what kinda of specific eq settings on an amp/pedal would help??????

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

*bump*

 

[Gnuckell]

No, don't ever scoop the mids. The Opeth sound has lots of mids, and that's why it comes through crunchy and tr00. Also, keep the bass eq level pretty low.

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

No, don't ever scoop the mids. The Opeth sound has lots of mids, and that's why it comes through crunchy and tr00. Also, keep the bass eq level pretty low.

K, thanks, anyone else on some eq tips????

 

[Scourge of Malice]

Experiment, find your own sound

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Experiment, find your own sound

I know, I just need some tips on eq settings to get to "my sound", it's just hard to get that sound when you don't know what muffles notes, what makes them clear, bassier, trebly, etc...

 

[Episteme]

I'd go easy on the treble, boost the mids and but the bass to around 3 quarters. It also depends on what pickups you got.

I don't use very good gear but I get a sound pretty close to Blackwater Park with my set up. I use a Jackson Kelly Star with and EMG81 in the bridge. I use a Laney TF300 valve preamp amplifier for distortion.
I put the enhance to somewhere around 10 o clock, distortion full, my treble around 12(I do this to counter the extreme treble from the EMG), the mids at around 5 o clock and bass up full. I also tend to not use any reverb unless I'm on a clean tone. This is for my set up and I get a good middy clear heavy tone, and it still palm mutes like a chunky bitch.

 

[Gnuckell]

I'd go easy on the treble, boost the mids and but the bass to around 3 quarters. It also depends on what pickups you got.

I don't use very good gear but I get a sound pretty close to Blackwater Park with my set up. I use a Jackson Kelly Star with and EMG81 in the bridge. I use a Laney TF300 valve preamp amplifier for distortion.
I put the enhance to somewhere around 10 o clock, distortion full, my treble around 12(I do this to counter the extreme treble from the EMG), the mids at around 5 o clock and bass up full. I also tend to not use any reverb unless I'm on a clean tone. This is for my set up and I get a good middy clear heavy tone, and it still palm mutes like a chunky bitch.

But in a band situation (with a bass player), wouldn't that kinda bass setting muffle up the overall sound quite bad?

 

[Brooks]

Remember, the guitar is a mid range instrument, you dont want your bass up all the way, thats the bassists job, remember. Turn up your mids to about half, treble just over half, bass just under, maybe even less, season to taste.

I keep my bass at about 3 (the number, not the "o'clock"). Dont turn up your gain too high,, get the tone with your pick attack, to avoid mud.

It also depends on the quality of gear, different gear requires different EQing. Also remember, my general rule when it comes to metal distortion is, if it sounds great by itself, it'll probably get lost in the mix with a band.

Turn up your mids!!

 

[Episteme]

But in a band situation (with a bass player), wouldn't that kinda bass setting muffle up the overall sound quite bad?

It would, but for some reason in my band you can hear the bassist. There must be something fucked up with my gear because if I turn the bass on my amp lower than 3 o clock, it starts getting really trebly. Right now the whole band sounds good, with the settings we have.

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Thanks guys, Brooks, and Manifesto pretty much provided me with the guidance I was looking for, and I have been at it, trying to find a new good tone, but why can't I stand not having enough gain??? It seems even when I put my gain down to about 75%, it sounds so weak, and non-metalish. I love cranked gain, but then I know complex chords just arn't going to be heard. Hmmm.....maybe when I change out pickups to my Seymour Duncan combo, I will reach that tonal guitar ecstasy. Well, thanks anyway, if anyone has anything more to say, shoot!

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Damnit, I still can't find the sound I want, anyone with some advice?>???? This sucks, it's either too distorted, or not enough, I just can't find a good compromise.

 

[Judas Pissed]

why can't I stand not having enough gain??? It seems even when I put my gain down to about 75%, it sounds so weak, and non-metalish. I love cranked gain, but then I know complex chords just arn't going to be heard.

The only reason it's good to turn the gain down is for recording multitracked guitars. Opeth record their rhythm guitars 4 times then pan them hard left and right. If they had full on distortion it would ruin the recording, that's why they multitrack and turn down the gain - you still get a heavy sound but with clarity.

When I play at home I use pretty much full gain and it sounds good, it's just that when you start layering guitars (how every band records) you need to cut it back.

Also a huge factor when recording is the equipment you're using. Do you have a mixing desk or are you just going straight from the mic into the computer? And what sound card do you have? It's hard to get a good recorded distortion sound by going straight from the mic into the computer. I do that for my demos but when I record my band we hire a mixing desk and better mics. Also try messing around with the position of the mic. Micing it close and then combining it with a condenser mic placed a few metres back is a fairly easy way to get a decent recorded distortion sound.