Tech nooby chasing 90'ies extreme metal sound.

[Larz89]

Hello everyone,

I own a 2010 Ibanez prestige rg1451 and I'm looking to upgrade those stock pickups (HSH).

I don't know a lot about gear (I always told myself to first learn to play decent then get decent stuff) but now the time has come to chase some tone.

The sound I'm looking for is typical for 90'ies black and (melodic) death metal; especially European bands.
The sound combines crunchy riffs with cheesy/warm leads.

Here are some examples (don't worry I specified the time intervals):

-lead tone

https://youtu.be/rVaqBjDRzXk?t=4m45s

https://youtu.be/5Ge9k4fHWqg?t=3m58s

-rhythm tone:

https://youtu.be/T3o_A58aSdo?t=19s

https://youtu.be/D-W_dur9-k0?t=1m49s

Now I know that a lot of these bands used the typical MB dual rectifier + Maxon OD808 combination for that typical 90'ies sound (saving up for that rectifier lol).
However, since I'm in need of replacing my pickups (kinda crappy + old age has taken its somewhat rusty toll) I want to pick a combination that pushes me towards that sound as well.

The ones I had in mind are the black winter set + a single coil to give me some versatility (Duncan wizard recommends the STK-S4M).
Are the black winters the ones I'm looking for? And what about that single coil is it the best for the combo or not (money is not an issue)?

As long as the pickups compliment that old skool metal sound I will be satisfied (for the love of god no 7/8/9 string modern metal sound; its to clean and sterile for my tastes).

Best regards

 

[El Supremo]

Re: Tech nooby chasing 90'ies extreme metal sound.

Dissection were stock Gibson V's and Explorers through Marshall 800's. Duncan Distortion should be the closest, but the Black Winter's are pretty awesome too albeit a little less fat/warm and a bit more modern sounding.
Dimmu played Marshall Valvestate with EMG's at that time. Pretty much the typical 90's extreme metal combo.

European bands typically do not use Mesa with some exceptions (Vader for example) as they were/are ffing expensive over here.
Maxon didn't release stuff under their own name at that time and were still manufacturing for Ibanez.

Popular boost pedals at that time were the Boss SD-1, Boss HM2, Boss DS-1, Ibanez Tubescreamers (TS9) and the Proco Rat.

In short, pretty affordable and obtainable (except for the legendary HM2).

Good luck!

 

[frostopsy]

Re: Tech nooby chasing 90'ies extreme metal sound.

Great post! The HM2 can be duplicated with the Behringer HM300. It can be obtained all day for under $25. The case is... Plastic. But mine has held up so far. Pedal sounds good enough to try transplanting into a metal case.

Gets the Swedish sound - Think of Entombed : Left Hand Path.


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[Larz89]

Re: Tech nooby chasing 90'ies extreme metal sound.

Dissection were stock Gibson V's and Explorers through Marshall 800's. Duncan Distortion should be the closest, but the Black Winter's are pretty awesome too albeit a little less fat/warm and a bit more modern sounding.
Dimmu played Marshall Valvestate with EMG's at that time. Pretty much the typical 90's extreme metal combo.

European bands typically do not use Mesa with some exceptions (Vader for example) as they were/are ffing expensive over here.
Maxon didn't release stuff under their own name at that time and were still manufacturing for Ibanez.

Popular boost pedals at that time were the Boss SD-1, Boss HM2, Boss DS-1, Ibanez Tubescreamers (TS9) and the Proco Rat.

In short, pretty affordable and obtainable (except for the legendary HM2).

Good luck!

Thanks for clearing that bit up.

As I have said I don't know a lot about gear and I'm dependent on secondary sources.

Now I'm back to square one. I have no idea what pickups/amp to get.
I will check out your suggestions but the EMG's Dimmu played, do you know which ones? Did they had active pickups in those days or did they played with passive ones?
Modern EMG's don't seem that warm to me :/

Also, any suggestion for which single coil to slap between those humbuckers?

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Tech nooby chasing 90'ies extreme metal sound.

+1 for the BW set, for the middle position I'd suggest a Hot Rails for a definite scorcher.

 

[El Supremo]

Re: Tech nooby chasing 90'ies extreme metal sound.

Thanks for clearing that bit up.

As I have said I don't know a lot about gear and I'm dependent on secondary sources.

Now I'm back to square one. I have no idea what pickups/amp to get.
I will check out your suggestions but the EMG's Dimmu played, do you know which ones? Did they had active pickups in those days or did they played with passive ones?
Modern EMG's don't seem that warm to me :/

Also, any suggestion for which single coil to slap between those humbuckers?

EMG81 bridge and 85 neck is what most people used. Bridge for rhythm and leads, neck for clean and leads, so the middle pickup isn't really that important and up to you, though you should get an active one if you're going active.
The Black Winter set would be a nice middle ground if you want to stay passive and don't care too much about getting the exact same thing. I'd pair it with something vintage output (or just keep what you in that position) for some added versatility. Though the Black Winters aren't exactly a one trick pony.

As far as amps go, bands of that era used Marshall Valvestates, JCM800 and later on the JCM900 and Peavey 5150. Marshalls were usually boosted with a pedal. Wasn't much of a choice back then, yet bands still managed to not sound exactly the same .

 

[Larz89]

Re: Tech nooby chasing 90'ies extreme metal sound.

Okay, so the humbuckers will be the black winter set.
Now for the middle single coil I was leaning toward the SSL-4 RWRP.

It seems like a decent middle ground between a single coil humbucker and a low output vintage coil; a single hum would kill the versatility of a HSH set-up but a low out-put coil would be to great a contrast for the winters no?

 

[Demanic]

Re: Tech nooby chasing 90'ies extreme metal sound.

If you want lower output in the middle how about a Cool Rail or a little Screamin' Demon? No hum.

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[dave74]

Re: Tech nooby chasing 90'ies extreme metal sound.

You can add a lot to an 81 or any pickup in the studio by simply miking the speakers at various position, or even miking separate amps/cabs at the same time.
The 85 in the bridge can also sound amazing, but IMO it only works well in guitars with a clear solid low-end and clear bright highs,,,,,,for classic death/black-metal anyways.
Album tone itself isn't much of an indicator of a pickup model's tone.

Black Winters having strong thick mids and clarity (by most accounts I've read) would surely be as easy to work with as anything out there for tailoring your own great high-gain sound.
I want to try them too!

 

[Mincer]

Re: Tech nooby chasing 90'ies extreme metal sound.

The Black Winters would absolutely be my choice, and could easily get that sound with the right amp. The Classic Stack Plus is a great pickup too, which used in combo with a split Black Winter, could get a nice amount of quack in there (if you needed it).

 

[El Supremo]

Re: Tech nooby chasing 90'ies extreme metal sound.

Another option for the middle might be the Classic Stack Plus if you can't live with the 60's cycles hum that true singles produce. I think you might get some more contrast in te 2, 3 and 4 positions when you stick with vintage output singles.
The Black Winters shouldn't dissapoint though. Clear and tight whilst handling high gain and they have a pretty cool clean sound to boot.

 

[Larz89]

Re: Tech nooby chasing 90'ies extreme metal sound.

Ok, what about a hot rails neck pickup for the middle? It has an output rated at 10.9 (the Winters are rated at 16.6 and 13) and it seems to do cleans fairly well (still versatile).

Any arguments to pick the cool rails neck pickup over this? They sound very similar if you listen to the audio samples at SD.

...or the Classic stack plus

all 3 of them seem like good choices and can't seem to decide.