Triple XXX Tone Tests

[cobhc]

Ok, so I restrung and cleaned up my Les Paul today, so I thought I'd try out some tones.


Guitar Chain
------------

Epi Les Paul (stock p/ups) - TS-9 - Triple XXX - Marshall 1936 (stock speakers) - SM57 - M-Audio Delta 1010LT.

Drums
------

Superior 2.0 with a little reverb and a little eq.


Oh, and as you can hear, there is no bass guitar.


Lemme know what you guys think of the tones.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=526907

Thanks.

 

[cobhc]

Ok, so on the advice of Ed (Machinated) saying there was a little too much in the high mid area, I cut at 2000hz and added some low mids in at 200hz. The new clip is "Tone Test Thicker". Lemme know if this is any better.

 

[Ermz]

There isn't too much high-mid in the original clip. You've got a bit too much going on in the 250 to 500Hz area now. Maybe do a nice, wide, scoop around there and work on brightening up the sound and getting it a bit more aggressive and lively. A high shelf and perhaps a very slight 4 to 6k boost should do a bit.

 

[cobhc]

Thanks for the comments Ermin, but I'd rather work on those problems with eq on the amp, and/or mic placement, as I don't like having too much going on eq wise in the mix.

So would you suggest leaving out the low mid boost/high mid cut I did in the second mix, and maybe boosting some highs on the amp to get it sounding more alive/aggressive?

 

[Ermz]

I would say so, yeah. The tone does lack a certain body, but I think it's more in the mid-mid range you should be looking, rather than the muddier low-mids. As far as the highs go, maybe just find a way to boost them on the amp in a non-fizzy way. A lot of it depends on how friendly its tone controls are.

 

[cobhc]

Yeah, I'll do some clips with boosted highs and mids on the amp and see how it pans out.

Edit:- Upped another test with more mids, not sure if I like it or not though.

 

[hoehlentroll]

I liked the first one better, but depends on which music you want to use it for

 

[cobhc]

Yeah, I prefer the first one overall as well.

 

[Metaltastic]

Hey Stee, listening now - "Tone test thicker" has potential, but it's quite metallic on the top end (shades of my ex-JSX shudder) and feels pretty dense in the low-mid. Still, it's got potential, so I won't totally compare it to the JSX just yet. I MUCH prefer tone test more mids, though I think you might've put just a bit too much mids in there, it's got a bit of the AM radio sound. Something with the mids in between would be pretty bitchin' I daresay! Keep up the good work man!

EDIT: Also, tone test more mids could benefit from a bit more presence (on the amp) as well, I'm definitely with you on trying to get it sounding as good as possible on the amp rather than with eq after the fact! (not like I'm opposed to eq, I just prefer it as a last resort). And "tone test thicker" is definitely too scooped, reminds me of Metallica, and from me, I gotta say that is the FARTHEST thing from a compliment

 

[cobhc]

Thanks for the comments Marcus, I'll look into it. I gotta remember I have the Ultra Channel to fuck with as well, so even more Tonal Variations there.

 

[Habsburgs]

Idk... but I think the Tone knob (Ts-9) could be giving you that "quite metallic on the top end" like Metaltastic said.

 

[ahjteam]

I just wanted to share this that we tested with our friends last week...

If you have space in the room to spare, try to put the mic a little more away, like 1-2 feet or so, and turn up the main volume from amp, try how it sounds. For me this worked wonders, because the air is one of the best and the most natural compressors there is. It tames the wild low end and loses the fizzyness quite well Maybe not the thing for tight rhythm guitars, but for leads and stuff.

 

[nwright]

Sounds OK to me, but like others, has a pretty cutting presence.

Not to highjack, but I feel I got pretty good results with miking in the regular "Sneap" fashion and using the Crunch channel with a boost.

Settings:
Bass - 1:00
Mids - 11:00
Treble - 1:00
Gain - 11:00
Preamp volume - 2:00

master to taste

Boosted with a Maxon OD808, quad tracked, HP@80Hz, LP@12kHz

tracked with an LTD Viper400 with 18 volt 81's...Maybe the Epi's P/ups have a good amount of presence?

http://geetarguy.tripod.com/newsong1.mp3

 

[cobhc]

Man, that fucking kicks ass so much on my clips. What cab/mic were you using? Also, is that on loose, medium, or tight?

Also, what settings on the Maxon?

 

[Metaltastic]

Jesus Nwright, that sounds really damn good...

 

[nwright]

Man, that fucking kicks ass so much on my clips. What cab/mic were you using? Also, is that on loose, medium, or tight?

Also, what settings on the Maxon?

Cab was a Madison 4x12 with Celestion Vintage 30's. Mic'd with a regular ol' SM57, edge of dustcap about an inch or so from the grille (metal grille was removed for tracking, though). I had the amp on medium for this with 6L6's. I've sinced moved to Ruby EL34SBTR's and in the room, this amp sounds almost identical to this clip...When I tracked it with the 6L6's, I can't say the tone in the room sounded nearly as nice as what it did recorded for some reason. When my band finally settles down to record our next CD, I'm looking foward to hearing the EL34's with this mic/cab position. This was/is the first miked tones I've got that I really liked.

*edit*

forgot to post the Maxon settings.

OD808 with the overdive set at 9:00, volume at 3:00, tone at around 10:00.

 

[jesus69lol]

I've posted this before but I swear the best tone to be had out of the triple x for high gain metal is the one where you turn all the eq knobs down except the volume and gain (i crank master and channel volume and turn gain to like maybe 3) then turn the bass up until the tone compresses, which should put the bass at about 1 or 1.5 at most. If you leave it there that is about as sweet a tone that I've gotten from the amp in my experimentation with it.

 

[Djabthrash]

Riff test > Tone Test more mids > Riff test

But i think you could get a better sound with the tone test more mids setting with more presence, as Metaltastic suggested (that's what i would do).

 

[cobhc]

Ok, uploaded another clip using nwrights settings "Tone Test nwright". See what you think of that.

 

[Djabthrash]

Ok, uploaded another clip using nwrights settings "Tone Test nwright". See what you think of that.

Not bad. It competes with the "riff test" and "tone test more mids" clips.

I still believe you should try the "tone test more mids" with more presence.