HEAVIEST guitar tone

drew_half_empty

drew_half_empty

Looking for Real Life
i don't really need information for anything, just thought it would be interesting to find out how people would approach this.

once again, going for the HEAVIEST tone, not the most distorted, in other words, mids at 0, bass dimed, you know what i'm getting at. Umm, i guess i should set some guidelines, so, no EQ pedals, and only 1 cab; 4x12, aaand a 6 string guitar. Oh, and keep it out of the mud as best you can, for instance, don't say a schecter tempest blackjack with an invader in the neck, no bridge pickup, and 100k pots.

I'm thinking

guitar: SD custom 5 loaded les paul, no neck pickup, no load tone/volume pots

amp: first edition 5150 with russian 6l6's and chinese pres

cab: splawn, no casters, x pattern of eminence swamp thangs & governors

pedals: MAYBE a mxr dyna comp to tighten things up, if needed
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

For maximal bottom end, get a cheap 2x18" PA sub, a huge PA amplifier, and an electronic sub crossover at 80 hz.

:D
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

Seriously though, a closed back 4x12" with some PA bass\mid speakers would provide tremendously more bottom end than a open back cab with standard guitar speakers. ;)
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

Heaviest tone and best are definately not the same ;).

I'd prefer to get my heaviness with 4 tracks of a good guitar sound than with one track of a super heavy one... definately for clarities sake.


Plus, 7's > 6's ;).
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

I would go with VHT Pittbulls with matching cabs. Honestly if you play a VHT setup next to a 5150, the difference in girth and clarity is pretty laughable. You will laugh in disbelief after dialing in the VHT.

(Yes I know a lot of famous rock players and heavy metal bands use 5150's)
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

I get some insanely heavy tones out of my ESP Mirage Custom with a Dimarzio Tone Zone and my Mesa Boogie Mark III combo. Heavier tones with that guitar than my SG and seven string. Think I may get a TZ for the seven stringer. Great mids and low end with the TZ. Just not so hot for leads IMO.
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

Koreldyre said:
I would go with VHT Pittbulls with matching cabs. Honestly if you play a VHT setup next to a 5150, the difference in girth and clarity is pretty laughable. You will laugh in disbelief after dialing in the VHT.

(Yes I know a lot of famous rock players and heavy metal bands use 5150's)
Click to expand...


Clarity possibly, but I find 5150's to have way more balls when paired with a nice cabinet than VHT's.


That said, ENGL's absolutely CRUSH.
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

If I wanted maximum heaviness I'd look towards a Bogner Uberschall, VHT Pitbull UL, or a Diezel VH-4. Bogner's have massive chunk and the the lowend is absolutely killer. If I had a 4x12'', I think I could shake the fillings out of people's teeth with that thing cranked! The Uberschall is an absolutely brutal metal amp, so I think if you wanted that killer bottom to nail heavy tones, that would be the way to go.

The Ultralead and VH-4 are two other incredibly heavy sounding amps and no doubt with the amount of wattage the VH-4 cranks out, I would expect a massive tone.
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

Keep in mind that a closed back cab will produce alot more lowend than a open back cab. Also, most guitar speakers doesn't go any lower than about 100hz, if you want to compete with the bass guitarist, then use some PA bass\mid speakers ;)
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

Erlend_G said:
Keep in mind that a closed back cab will produce alot more lowend than a open back cab. Also, most guitar speakers doesn't go any lower than about 100hz, if you want to compete with the bass guitarist, then use some PA bass\mid speakers ;)
Click to expand...


Yeah, but he said heaviest guitar tone ;). Guitar is a midrange instrument. I wouldn't touch anything below 100hz or above 14khz.
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

Well heres my 2 cents worth. My PRS Singlecut loaded with 2 SH6's, into my Rivera Knucklehead Reverb, channel two, boost on with my Rivera subs, los low bottoms on.... now i dunno who heard this type of rig in person..... but thats the "tightest" fattest, heaviest thing "ive" ever heard.

2cents.....
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

DeadSkinSlayer3 said:
Clarity possibly, but I find 5150's to have way more balls when paired with a nice cabinet than VHT's.


That said, ENGL's absolutely CRUSH.
Click to expand...


The magic of the VHTs are in the power section, the secret is in turning the master UP, and the channel volume DOWN. The average joe goes in and does the opposite, and in that case, yes it would sound like it's missing balls. This is because the preamp gain levels alone on VHTs are actually quite moderate. Dialed in right I have not found an amp that sounds even nearly as big as a VHT UltraLead for metal or rock.

The only other amps I would recommend for the "absolute best metal tones" are Diezels.

These amps are in a whole different ballpark when it comes to pummeling brutal tones and really open your ears to the difference between frontloaded preamp buzz and real girth.
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

$20,000 Gibson Custom Shop LP into a Marshall MG10 Combo Amp! Complete with closed back and 6.5" speaker.
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

DeadSkinSlayer3 said:
Clarity possibly, but I find 5150's to have way more balls when paired with a nice cabinet than VHT's.


That said, ENGL's absolutely CRUSH.
Click to expand...


Actually I have a VHT UltraLead/FatBottom setup in Simi Valley, just 1 hour south of you in Ventura. You're welcome to come down and play through it.

If you still think 5150's and ENGL's compare, I will eat my words. :)
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

Justice4all said:
Well heres my 2 cents worth. My PRS Singlecut loaded with 2 SH6's, into my Rivera Knucklehead Reverb, channel two, boost on with my Rivera subs, los low bottoms on.... now i dunno who heard this type of rig in person..... but thats the "tightest" fattest, heaviest thing "ive" ever heard.

2cents.....
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was going to say. That amp rig is scary. The only things I would change would be the guitar. I would use my Hamer Special with a Screamin Demon. Only for clarity's sake, mind you. ;)
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

For the heaviest guitar tone I can stand, is my current tone (which is just an ultimately refined tone from my first day of playing an electric 6-string, 13 years ago).

I achieve this through an open-back Crate and a Seymour Duncan Distortion (take your pick of which one) humbucker, I swear to you, it's easily one of the heaviest tones I've heard, and I'm definitely not sayin' this cuz it's my own personal tone, but it is.

People think you need a ton of high-end gear to get heavy, but a decent adequate (power for overdrive) humbucker and a great eq tweak at the amp and you've got it!

I used ta wonder how artists got their heavy tones and in a recent article I read, Yngwie M. said he'd just mike his speaker a certain way and it was very heavy-- just a strat and a Marshall!

He's SO right.
 
Re: HEAVIEST guitar tone

DeadSkinSlayer3 said:
Heaviest tone and best are definately not the same ;).

I'd prefer to get my heaviness with 4 tracks of a good guitar sound than with one track of a super heavy one... definately for clarities sake.
Click to expand...

+1
Although I normally use more than 4 tracks. Different guitar for each track. Different Tone for each take. Different Amp/pedal when possible.
 
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