what pedal for Pantera sound?

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stangme01

New member
I just started playing a few months ago and i'm not familiar with too many pedals yet, from the pedals i have tried at GC (very limited time on them) i couldn't find one that gets me that powerful metal sound of Pantera especially off of their Far Beyond Driven album (love that album btw :bowdown: ) Any ideas? I was thinking of just getting another vox but the ad50vt this time. I tried the Spider
III flextone plus......yuck!!! WTF is up with this amp? It looks nice, seems like it has tons of options but even to a newbie like me it sounds bad. Peavy valvestate or whatever ones (above the bandits) sounded "okay" kinda cheapie sounding. Roland 60 is a VERY powerful sounding amp, and such beautiful tone with the Ibanez SZ720fm i was using in samash!

Oh i sold the Vox i'm buying an amp at the same time and probably getting a roland cube 60 to use for its great clean tone and just run external processing to get the sounds i want in the preamp stage. ONly problem is i don't think it has an fx loop :( So i'm not sure. Any ideas for under $400? I play 80's metal, hard rock, some light rock, and heavy heavy metal, not much industrial type stuff which seems marshall amps are only good for at least on the OD channels.

The vox metal (nu metal one etc.) models were horrible IMO so i couldn't get any such sounds with it. I mainly got rid of it for a more powerful amp though. Otherwise incredible tone.
 
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Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

Well that sure would make sense :smack: Guess i should have done a search

I still cannot believe what happened to Dime :(
 
Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

the dime distortion is gonna sound like sh1t if you dont have a good amp!
 
Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

what about saving up and buying a randall? A big muff and an eq pedal might get you there too. I have gotten Dime Esq sounds before with it.
 
Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

metal said:
the dime distortion is gonna sound like sh1t if you dont have a good amp!
Click to expand...
it wont do **** either with a good tube amp.. he played solid state randall warheads :laugh2:
 
Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

I think the tone you seek is solid-state saturation. That's probably why the Line 6 wasn't working for you. It has some good home-use tones, but you won't find Dime's tone in there. It doesn't sound like crap, it just doesn't sound the way you want it to. I can't get a Dime tone out of my Line 6, but I can out of my 15-watt Crate with enough stuff piled in front of it and the right attitude.

I'm with Davey and the boys. Take it from someone who always tried to get by on a shoestring (me) and lived to regret it. You might need to go large to get the tone you seek. You'll need an amp that gets that solid-state distortion, and probably a good metal pedal in front of it. Also, remember that Dime played for years and years, and he used to sound like Van Halen in the early years. He took years to develop his sound, so don't be surprised if it takes awhile for you to get there also. Also, some of the tone is in the hands of the man. That takes some time also.
 
Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

I remember reading in an old Dime interview that he wasn't really crazy about the guitar tone from that album (which I found surprising) since he recorded a lot/most of the guitars while on the road, so he was limited to the the tones he could get out of a Zoom 505 (or the Korg equivalent at that time). It was from an old Guitar World (or Guitar One or GFTPM).

So:
a) it still really sticks out in my mind how surprised I was to read that (since I have always really enjoyed his tone on that album)
b) when Trendkill 1st came out I wasnt crazy about his tone (since I liked the FBD tone so much, and the GST tone is way more raw), but after reading that interview, and listening to subsequent albums, I think the tone from Trendkill is probably the closest to how he actually wanted his tone (as opposed to the too compressed Damageplan tone, which is my least favorite of his "modern gear" tones)
c) so much of a guitar players tone is in your fingers.

RIP Dimebag
 
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Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

Spark said:
I remember reading in an old Dime interview that he wasn't really crazy about the guitar tone from that album (which I found surprising) since he recorded a lot/most of the guitars while on the road, so he was limited to the the tones he could get out of a Zoom 505 (or the Korg equivalent at that time). It was from an old Guitar World (or Guitar One or GFTPM).
Click to expand...

he recorded FBD on a Zoom 505? What?!?!?
 
Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

Closed Eye said:
he recorded FBD on a Zoom 505? What?!?!?
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Right, that was my reaction, that's why I remember it so clearly. Again, it may have been the Korg equivalent - I will have to see if I can find the article when I get home. But I couldn't believe it when I read he hated that FBD tone, and was even more shocked when I read why.
 
Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

or ***Warning: Conspiracy Theory*** he made the whole thing up ala EVH so no one could figure out his tone. But he didn't seem like the type to bs.
 
Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

In my opinion there's no other way to get closer Dime's tone than having the amp and the right pickups. I have the combo version of the amp he used from CFH through GST, and just playing through the Distortion channel I can get relatively close to his tone. But it's important to remember that he also put two EQs in FRONT of his amp; a Furman PQ-3 and a blue MXR 6-band. With my blue MXR in the loop of the amp I find I can get closer to his tone than with it in front. But I'd be willing to bet that if I changed my EMG's out for the Bill Lawrence L-500XL I could get a little closer.
 
Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

JammerMatt said:
Yeah, that's a few hours overtime for most of us.
Click to expand...

True, but if you know where they have been you might get an idea for where you want to go.
 
Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

The 80's blue MXR 6-band EQ. I *think* the low mids were boosted and the other mids were scooped.

What frequency on the mid freq knob on the metal zone? When I either cut it or boosted(cant really remember I have a bad memory) I got a fat Dime tone but it still had the crunch of scooped mids.
 
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Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

taphappy said:
The 80's blue MXR 6-band EQ. I *think* the low mids were boosted and the other mids were scooped.

What frequency on the mid freq knob on the metal zone? When I either cut it or boosted(cant really remember I have a bad memory) I got a fat Dime tone but it still had the crunch of scooped mids.
Click to expand...

Wonder if you can still get the guitar to stand out that way?
 
Re: what pedal for Pantera sound?

Probably not, but it sounds good by if your by yourself. I think mid drenched tones dont sound the best if your a bedroom player.
 
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