Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

[pac112]

hi folks,

you all know in heavy music, palm mute is very often used. and a good distortion enhances it alot, giving it the chugah chugah sound, but which property of distortion is reponsible for it? the bass? the clipping ? the type of distortion? mid boost/scoop?

:headbang:

 

[Breaking the law]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

Actually, I've never thought of this before, but when I had an amp capable of mid scooping, I think palm mutes got more chugga chugga. I'd say thay are a sum of many factors, though. And basically, scooping the mids enhances the bass. Palm mutes havee their own frequency, so basically boosting those freqs will work.. right?

 

[Pierre]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

I'm with breaking the law. More bass + emphasizing it. Personally I use a lot of mids when playing metal so it doesn't chugchug that well but that's how I like it.

 

[suislidE03]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

I dont think its the bass all that much. I have a similar problem with my Laney right now. It has a different voicing that makes it really sweet for leads, but when you try and play rythym you have to be careful with your distortion and eqs. I find that if i pump the mids too much, its hard to get a real crunchy palm mute. I have to boost the treble to get more crunch when i use mids, but when i drop all the mids, it has more of a chug tone. The more treble i use, the crunch comes back quick.

So in my opinion i think its about EQ first and then the amps distortion voicing.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

it's a combination of everything. i prefer how my chugs sound with dimed mids, lots of bass and plenty of treble...full-sounding crunchy grr.

-X

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

I love those chugging, crunchy rock tones. I get plenty of chug with the mids boosted, the treble set back a little bit and the bass about middle. I haven't noticed that a particular frequency makes the chug stand out more, to me it sounds like the more overdrive, usually the better type of chug you get. I don't play with high gain, but I still get a great crunchy rock tone between my Fargen and my P90 Gibby.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

I'm of the opinion that most of the "tone" in metal comes from the mid & gain knobs. However, as we can see, we don't all agree on this.

I would recommend that you sit in front of the amp and start twisting knobs while you're chugging on the low E.

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

I'm of the opinion that most of the "tone" in metal comes from the mid & gain knobs. However, as we can see, we don't all agree on this.

Hell yes! That's not an opinion, that's fact!

 

[Davey]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

turn everything to 13!!


:headbang:

it's everything together..

you got no gain, you got no chug.
if you leave out the bass, the sound is scratchy and empty
if you leave out the mids, you can hack it and the sound is somewhere around there, but it's only good for home practice. you're lost in the mix like a 5 year old in the woods.
if you leave out the heights, you loose the top sparkle and the sound can get muddy.

combine them all in heathy doses = tone nirvana and a chug sound to rip heads off the unwary :headbang::headbang:

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

it's everything together..

I agree, though I think the key to a good chunky tone is in the mid & gain. Bass and treble aren't really hard to get right, but it's difficult to find the proper balance of mids and distortion with a new piece of gear... I always tend to try to use too much of one and not enough of the other

 

[Davey]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

I agree, though I think the key to a good chunky tone is in the mid & gain. Bass and treble aren't really hard to get right, but it's difficult to find the proper balance of mids and distortion with a new piece of gear... I always tend to try to use too much of one and not enough of the other

you say true sai. say thankya


i'm off to bed guys.. see ya tomorrow

 

[Kac]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

for me it's definetly not scooped mids.

I use a Boss CS-3 Compression/Sustainer, keep it on at all times, also the dist. knob is cranked to 11 and the mids are pushed up a bit higher than the treble and bass.

With my Dmz Super Distortion into the DC-10 into a 2x12" I get the best palm muted or otherwise just plain metal sound that I've ever had.

Rock On :headbang:

 

[dani]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

eq and distortion aside, the tracking of guitar pickups are important too. it determines how "tight" a pickup feels. the tighter it is, the more precise your chuggahs will be. somehow, i find pickups with ceramic mags the tightest followed by a5 then a2.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

what do you mean by tighter tracking?

 

[dani]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

tracking means how fast the response when you strike or mute the strings. faster tracking results in a tighter feel. however, it can be affected by eq especially with too much lows or low-mids. the ring-iness of excessive low frequencies will negate the tightness of a pickup.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

The most important part of a heavy palm mute is how you set your palm.....if you can't get a heavy mute sound out of a clean amp, you're not doing it right.


Anyway...I set my mids based on how fast the rhythm work is and how much muting is involved.

- if I'm playing punk, I'll bump them a bit higher as I want everything to sound messy and barely under control.

- If I'm playing normally, I set them normally (around noon).

- If I'm playing fast and/or something with lots of rhythmic muting I drop the mids down until they are tight, but I try to keep as much mid in there as I can without loosing that tightness. The faster I go, the less mid I can have.

Yeah, sometimes that means you're not cutting as well as you could, but you're playing f*cking metal, so get over it. You're guitar is there to provided a certain effect when combined with the whole.....it's not supposed to cut through like a razer....that's what the lead guitar is for.

.....I mean, lets face it....playing Master of Puppets at full speed needs a tight ass sound, and if your mids are at full you'll sound like ass.

 

[ex-250]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

.....I mean, lets face it....playing Master of Puppets at full speed needs a tight ass sound, and if your mids are at full you'll sound like ass.

indeed. maybe somebody should tell Metallica that. their live tone recently has been waaaay too middy. i think theyre trying to compensate for the AJFA days. it makes for great clarity, but the mids are so overbearing it takes the strength outta the tone.

 

[SeraphimTN]

Re: Calling Metalheads n Punks : Distortion Tone Question

CHuga Chuga is gonna come from a well EQ'd good amp with mids and bass being just under the fart out stage. I know that at least high volumes in a band setting, your tone sounds totally different than what it sounds like when your alone, the less gain and bass the better for me. The chuga chuga comes from mids and just enough bass mixed with a good amp, cab, and the right pickups to suit your guitar.