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Old 08-11-2010, 11:51 AM   #40
infinitenexus
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Monterey, CA
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I have learned more from your thread than I have in 10+ years about reading about recording. You really should consider putting this in a book, we would all support you and you truly have something to offer.

That being said, I would like your help with something. This is in reference to recording death metal guitars. Here is the example I will provide:
(no vocals on this song, don't worry)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bducLR8gHM

This band usually tunes down to B flat, but for this song they are tuned to A flat(!)

I do not want to copy their guitar tone. What I do want, however, is to have that same grinding-in-your-skull "power" and crunchiness that they have. I know all the gear they use, (heavy strings, high output pickups, mesa boogie amps), and I use the "standard gear" for a clear yet immensely powerful heavy tone (heavy strings, high output pickups, bugera 6262 amp (which is a 5150 copy)). In my (ignorant) recordings in the past, I have come nowhere near this sound, even though the sound out of my amp is HUGE (even at low volumes). This thread has shown me why, I believe. However, getting to my main point, and the question that lies within:

I know what a "scooped" guitar tone sounds like, and to me that guitar tone sounds scooped. Also, the parts where they're just palm muting the open low string - it is just too damn crunchy and saturated, there's no way you can get that sound palm muting a single string without a proverbial buttload of distortion. So people say turn down the gain and up the mids, but this guitar tone seems to completely defy that. And if you are to listen to the rest of this album, even though it's an unfortunate victim of the loud wars, it is remarkably clear (for it's genre, mind you) even when they're playing 16th notes at over 200bpm. The bass is audible, the drums sound good, each instrument is in it's own place in the audio spectrum.

I'll be blunt. I don't mind mids that much, but when I turn them up on my amp, it sounds like absolute shit. Horrible. I have them on about 1.8 right now, which is the highest it can go without sounding, well, "honky" and nasal, and all those bad qualities that midrange can have. If I nudge it up a touch more, and turn my gain down from 10 to maybe 7 and quad track my guitars, panned 100L 80L 80R 100R, will it at least put me on the path to a powerful, heavily distorted tone like that? I've always believed that only 2 rhythm tracks were needed (metallica's self titled album only uses two on most songs, 3 on some). I'm not sure if I'm being clear here, sorry. I'm just having a really hard time believing that I can turn down my gain considerably, boost my mids some, and get a tone that is thicker and more saturated, even with quad tracking. Does quad tracking really offer any benefits beyond just double tracking? Sorry for the novel, I tend to ramble because I feel everything needs a huge explanation and backstory
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