Getting a certain solo tone

[ianson36]

Hi guys I have a simple question I've been trying to get a solo tone that i can't seem to dial in. Some examples are like the intro of
Bullet for my Valentine : hearts burst into fire
Iced earth: spirit of the times
Iced earth get it best i believe. I'm wondering if they use effects to get such smooth sustain do they roll back the gain Or is itsimply the music they are playing over. Could it be pickups? amp? I don't know where to start

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Getting a certain solo tone

the best way to get the tone of any player is to use the same rig, or at least something similar.
Everything in your chain has its own sonic signature from the pickups, the wood of your guitar, to the leads you use, the pedals, to the preamp, power amp, cabinet and speaker.
A lot of guys use stuff like modelling amps to get a wide variety of tones, but even those have their own sound and whatever speaker they are running thru puts its own sonic imprint on things. Let alone the guitar.
However, taking an educated guess id say try this:
A superstrat with some kind of hot humbucker like a JB or hot rails running through a pedal like an 808 or sd-1 or derivative into a jcm 800 then through a quad of vintage 30s in a plywood cab.