amount of distortion

metalmachine

metalmachine

New member
So I'm gonna be the only guitar player in a metal band soon. Would you say I should use a little more gain than what I would in a 2 guitar band to keep it huge or would that be counteractive?

Trying to keep it thick but understandable. It my assumption that without a second guitar I would have A LITTLE more freedom with the gain knob
 
Re: amount of distortion

High on Fire is a great 3 piece metal band and might give you a reference point. Matt Pike has a pretty raw tone with a lot of midrange. His tone was a bit of an acquired taste as I always liked more scooped thrash metal tones but now that I have acquired it, I love it. I think of it as the "sledgehammers in a cement mixer" tone, grinding and brutal rather than the tight, punchy/crunchy metal sound.

My own strategy is keep the gain reasonable and use a boost/tube screamer with low gain to kick your solos up a bit. I think too much gain can undermine the heavy.
 
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He does use a lot but however he does it, it doesn't compress too much which makes his guitar jump out more. My problem with too much gain was that it always took away bite and dynamics, and could muddy up the low end. I bet a lot of it will depend on your bass player and the kind of tone he is laying down.
 
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If you are going to play metal you are going to have to move a bit of air. Go for broke.

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I think you could aim for a bit more of everything, being just one guitar.
The key here is the sound of your bassist. If he uses distortion and has a sludgy, doomy sound, you'll have to set yourself bright and clear so no more gain for you.
If he uses a cleaner, tighter sound you might indulge a bit with extra bass and whatnot.
I know it's a cliché around here, but "hugeness" is a matter of volume, not gain IMO.
 
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If you really want to thicken your tone for metal look into buying a good harmonizer. There is some cool stuff you can do with 4ths and 5ths especially with your single note riffs. If the harmonizer has a fine adjustment you can ever so slightly detune your signal to really fatten it up. This is a trick a lot of MOOG synth players use to get a fat tone and it sounds great on guitar.
 
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Super high gain has the reverse effect for me in that at some point the gain is so high that any sort of dynamics the amp and guitar have are covered in a layer of fuzzy comfort. If you're a downpick-heavy band, I would suggest less gain. If you want toothy ragged chugs, make your bassist use a distortion pedal and make it sound icepicky. I like Stone Temple Pilot's Tiny Music album as an example of low distortion being used for heavy songs. I don't remember what album the song Down is, but it's really heavy and low gain. The bass is brutal.
 
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Badmotorfinger from Soundgarden had high gain guitar making sort of a texture for the bass to provide the dynamic punch if that's something you want. Then of course you could approach it like I do and get a Boss HM2 and sound like Entombed.
 
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Big sound doesn't necessarily call for super high gain but it might help.
Playing in a 3 piece does give you the opportunity to cover more frequencies though. If possible, I'd get a 2nd amp in the mix and go stereo. Another option would be a 2nd cab with different speakers (or a mix of speakers in your existing cab) to cover more frequencies. You'll need more mics for the FOH mix though.
Fx like an octaver or a subtle chorus, delay can also thicken your sound considerably. Lots of options and room for experimentation in a 3 piece.
 
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"I play with such a low distortion you'd be like 'Is this right?' I would go to a lot of concerts when I was younger and think, 'Hmm, AC/DC sound really good and so do The Who.' And I would wonder, 'Why do they sound so good instead of some of the metal bands where the guitarist doesn't cut through as well?'
What I've learned is that they don't use heavy gain on an amp. So I started doing that, having very low gain, although for solos I'll use a Super Overdrive just to get a bit more out of it. And it makes everything clearer; the clarity of the notes and the clarity of the chords. Because when you're hitting chords you don't want it to be washy, so I've always kept a very low gain on my amp. When I get really heavy, like in a really low tuning or something, it works in believably; it sounds so good and clear." - John5 in Guitarist Guide to Amps
 
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use less and spread your eq more. you have much more freedom for dynamics now to increase the brutality. Enjoy the space.
 
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That's a great idea..... I think I'll try a bit looser less gained out sound. But from what I've heard I can be a little more free with my gain setting than compared to two guitars
 
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allbutromeo said:
"I play with such a low distortion you'd be like 'Is this right?' I would go to a lot of concerts when I was younger and think, 'Hmm, AC/DC sound really good and so do The Who.' And I would wonder, 'Why do they sound so good instead of some of the metal bands where the guitarist doesn't cut through as well?'
What I've learned is that they don't use heavy gain on an amp. So I started doing that, having very low gain, although for solos I'll use a Super Overdrive just to get a bit more out of it. And it makes everything clearer; the clarity of the notes and the clarity of the chords. Because when you're hitting chords you don't want it to be washy, so I've always kept a very low gain on my amp. When I get really heavy, like in a really low tuning or something, it works in believably; it sounds so good and clear." - John5 in Guitarist Guide to Amps
Click to expand...

Johnny is spot-on on that one.
Clarity will come from lower gain settings. Now, I think the OP will want a bit of width and spread as well, and not just a tight but thin sound.
And there's so many ways to try that one.
From a slight dip of chorus (in a "is this pedal actually on? setting) to running two amps, or two cabs, or two rigs or God knows what. I don't know what to suggest there.
But mindlessly increasing the gain will not do it.
 
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Diego said:
Johnny is spot-on on that one.
Clarity will come from lower gain settings. Now, I think the OP will want a bit of width and spread as well, and not just a tight but thin sound.
And there's so many ways to try that one.
From a slight dip of chorus (in a "is this pedal actually on? setting) to running two amps, or two cabs, or two rigs or God knows what. I don't know what to suggest there.
But mindlessly increasing the gain will not do it.
Click to expand...
Less preamp gain, more power tube breakup, a little chorus, and an OD for leads. Basically the Zakk Wylde set up
 
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Being the only guitarist now, you'll be able to be a little louder. Turning your volume up while leaving your preamp the same will make it seem like you have less over all distortion going on, yet give the music a bigger punch from the increased volume from your amp. The fundamental part of the notes will come forward ahead of the harmonics, and it will hit harder. That, along with the bass and drums being relatively clean, will make the heavier parts heavier the tighter the band hits the parts. That's where the real heavies come from...the band crushing a part as one.
 
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Enough gain that the overall tone is full & fat, but not so much that it washes out all of your dynamics.
 
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