Pickups for metal?
- Thread starter alex1fly
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Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Ascension
New member
You nail it on the amps. For many years I ran really hot pickups through amps that didn't have as much gain as a lot of the newer amps do. Now I'm moving in exactly the opposite direction. Amps with a lot of gain but not the buzzy harsh type gain but with touch sensitivity and that will open up and clean up with touch. Now I lean more to a overwound PAF vibed pickup like the Duncan Perpetual Burn and Saturday Night Specials or my Kiesel A 2 Beryllium's through something like my PRS Archon instead of some thing like a DD JB ect in the bridge.
alex1fly
Well-known member
Cool that this thread is still going. After more time spent on metal toneage I've found that the amp does indeed make the most difference. So much flavor comes just from the amp. Which I know folks have repeated ad nauseum, but that's what I'm finding as well. For me it's turning out to be the 5150 sound that I love, and then just tweak EQ/boost/compression to taste. Hex head polepieces help with tightness. But through that amp (well, through my preset on the Fractal FM3) I'm getting satisfying metal chunk from all 6 of my guitars (each with low-medium output pickups). And honestly there isn't a ton of difference between the sound of the guitars at that level of distortion.
I will add - I'm liking having an overdrive metal tone and a high gain metal tone on tap. One is pretty guaranteed to scratch the itch as a bedroom/studio player.
I will add - I'm liking having an overdrive metal tone and a high gain metal tone on tap. One is pretty guaranteed to scratch the itch as a bedroom/studio player.
Demanic
PenultimateTone Member
If you want a gargling garbled mess with no definition then this is the way for sure.
If you want a seriously legit versatile distortion then just reduce the level and highs quite a bit, and then use active pickups or a boost that does not filter all the lows in front of the HM-2.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
On a serious note, I don't think Slaughter of the Soul was the HM-2 cranked. Doesn't sound like it.
But the old school Swedish Death Metal sound is the HM-2 with all the knobs cranked.
STLMTLHD79
New member
SotS has layers upon layers of guitars. There WAS HM-2 on the album, but it was 1-2 tracks.
That is exactly right. The cranked HM-2 is part of the sound no doubt, and I do like those albums and love the tone even more, but I just find it a shame that people don't explore that pedal's potential more.
Even so I watched a gear rundown of one of those band's very recent live setup, and I sure wish I could remember and find it on youtube, but they were using it almost exactly like I do and not with all knobs cranked.
I love that tone but at the very least people should make sure to try it with the level not cranked all the way. Sometimes that will play 666 with the amp's input stage and actually cancel-out some of that tone's ugly beauty.
I actually was notified by phone when my local go-to store received their first copies of that album. I had became friends with the store owner by that point and the magazine promo ads were saying it was the most vicious metal album of all-time, so me and my buddies were counting down the days.
I have to admit I was a bit disappointed after hearing it. It is very good and I liked it, but it did not live up to the unreasonable hype IMO.
I have to admit I was a bit disappointed after hearing it. It is very good and I liked it, but it did not live up to the unreasonable hype IMO.
