I've hit rock bottom

[GAS-a-holic]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

A lot people are guilty of that. When I see people make comments like "it's too dark. The only way I can get the tone I want is with the treble up full" or "I have to put the tone knob all the down in order to make it sound good because it's too bright"; I can't help but say "Did you get the sound you want? If the answer is yes, the gear is not the problem."

^This.

It also took me a while to learn that sometimes when a pedal has more EQ controls it makes it just as easy to dial in a bad sound as a good one... the more options you have, the easier it is to pick the wrong one. YMMV, of course.

 

[ThisDyingSoul76]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

^This.

It also took me a while to learn that sometimes when a pedal has more EQ controls it makes it just as easy to dial in a bad sound as a good one... the more options you have, the easier it is to pick the wrong one. YMMV, of course.

Exactly why the MZ and similar pedals get so much crap. The more knobs, the easier to screw it up. In the case of the this particular pedal it seems people are unable to dial in the midrange properly. I'm finding it challenging now. It doesn't sound horrible... Better than I remember; but I've found that no matter how I adjust the EQ, when it comes to the mids, I either get mud, or too much high end.

I'm hoping if I play around a bit more I can make it happen. I've also noticed my position compared to the speaker makes a difference. I have a closed back 2x12 on top of an old coffee table in a small room.

If I was on stage, what sounds awesome to me will be an ice pick to the forehead to an audience. I'm thinking I may want to get myself accustomed to a slightly dark, slightly muddy tone and keep in mind it does not sound that way to someone farther back or whose ears are at the same level as the speakers... Or to a microphone that is a few inches from the speaker cone.
Lol

 

[Demanic]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

^^
Exactly. I've struggled for years to get the other members of the band I'm in to understand that, without in ear monitors or something similar, what they are hearing when they've playing is not what an audience would hear.

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[Gainstage]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

There's a reason you can find them on Craigslist and Feebay for only 20 bucks...

Amen

 

[GAS-a-holic]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

^^
Exactly. I've struggled for years to get the other members of the band I'm in to understand that, without in ear monitors or something similar, what they are hearing when they've playing is not what an audience would hear.

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My band has a couple of trusted friends who like to watch us rehearse. It's always good to find out how what you're playing sounds like from "the other side".

 

[Demanic]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

That's why I record all our sessions with a Zoom H4.

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[PFDarkside]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

That's why I record all our sessions with a Zoom H4.

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Any tips to get the best out of the zoom at rehearsal levels? Placement, etc...

 

[Demanic]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

I've spent years trying to dial it in. I run the bass cut at about 4 or 5. Try to set the overall level between -6 and -12 dB's. I physically place the recorder at about 3 1/2' off the floor 7' back from the kick drum in the center of the room. I like the C414 mike preset.

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[Demanic]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

I'm G.A.SIng for an H4n or one of the newer models that allow 4 to 6 tracks of simultaneous recording. Then I could close mike the drums, bass and guitar while using the built-in mikes for the room.

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[ThisDyingSoul76]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

^^
Exactly. I've struggled for years to get the other members of the band I'm in to understand that, without in ear monitors or something similar, what they are hearing when they've playing is not what an audience would hear.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

When I'm jamming with friends I'm typically farther away from the amp. My challenge in a jam/band setting is hearing myself with a clean tone... But, I think my big issues getting a tone I like are that I can't get far enough away from the speaker to hear it properly. I may get an amp stand or find some way to angle the cab from the floor. When I was gigging, if we had the luxury of mic'd Amps we used to put the amps at the side of the stage and pointed across so we got clear sound anyplace on stage then let the PA handle the volume for front of house. This also helped avoid phasing issues resulting from the amps being placed at the back of the stage and PA speakers at the front of the stage.

 

[ThisDyingSoul76]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

Now, I just have to replace the switch. I've noticed a delay where sound cuts out when turning on the pedal. Not sure if this is the switch itself or the PCB it mounts to, but I'm going to do my research and get whatever parts I need to resolve that. It's like a 1 second delay between when I switch the pedal on and the point where sound comes out. Depending how much that will cost I might just keep this pedal for parts and buy another.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

I've spent years trying to dial it in. I run the bass cut at about 4 or 5. Try to set the overall level between -6 and -12 dB's. I physically place the recorder at about 3 1/2' off the floor 7' back from the kick drum in the center of the room. I like the C414 mike preset.

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Thanks... I've used them for recording classical and they work great for that. Bass cut makes a lot of sense for band rehearsal.

 

[Lucy Diamond]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

The Metalzone is an awesome tool to have in the arsenal.

 

[geetard]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

The MZ is a great pedal if used right. Sure,it's not the best "4 all da metalz" but you really can dial in some great tones, I get a nice, thick (though a little treble-high) distortion from it that I use on a lot of songs, and a really nice lo-fi sound that comes across as a louder clean tone played through bad audio equipment (think, the tapping riff in the song Sour from Limp Bizkit's first album).

I find that pedals that model the MZ are better than the MZ itself though, I love the Digitech DF7 and the Zoom MS50g for that.

 

[saladin]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

One of the best tones I've gotten for heavier music was Metal Zone into the cranked clean channel of a Marshall JCM800 2210 into a 2-15 Fender Showman cab.
We had no need for a bass player.

 

[Demanic]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

+1 to using it through a clean channel. For death metal, the cleaner the better.

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[80's_Metal]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

My G.A.S. Has gotten so bad, I've got an urge to get a Metal Zone or even a Metal Clone.

After being at a friend's the other week and using his metal zone, I realized the big mistake most people make with it is they crank too much bass and scoop too many mids.

Now I'm curious what kind of sound I can get from one now that I have a decent tube amp instead of the solid state amp I had 25 years ago.

Am I completely insane for even considering revisiting the Metal Zone?

Gosh I owned one of those forever! it was my favorite pedal until I bought the Digitech Metal zone....
The metal zone is so over the top amazing... Much love from this guy....

 

[Demanic]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

^^
How does the Bloody Mary compare to the Metalzone?

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[geetard]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

If you set the Mid Freq to 2 oclock then it's easier to dial in a nice mid tone, the mid freq is what messes it up rather than the mid knob itself (at least, going by the modelled version of it in the DF7).

 

[ThisDyingSoul76]

Re: I've hit rock bottom

If you set the Mid Freq to 2 oclock then it's easier to dial in a nice mid tone, the mid freq is what messes it up rather than the mid knob itself (at least, going by the modelled version of it in the DF7).

I have found this too. while one key to a decent sound is to use plenty of mids rather than scooping them out, the mid freq knob is the one that can make or break the tone of the pedal. Dial in a pleading frequency and you're good. Then raise or lower the mids until it's not overly nasal and not overly scooped. If it's muddy, raise treble by just a hair at a time until it starts to get fizzy, then back off a bit.