i got a real biting distortion sound
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Posted on Mar 05, 2004 03:41 pm
fortymile
Member Since: Jan 18, 2003
in case anyone is interested, i just created a new biting distortion sound. you know, a real chunky sound that's good for palm muting. mostly, the key was a partially closed wah effect.
i was listening to the band "Bot" in one of these posts here, the band i said reminded me a bit of the old seattle band gruntruck. gruntruck had a very crisp 'metal' distortion. i wanted to model it on my pod if i could.
the winning formula required two to four guitar tracks. two separate amp models (using POD 2.0) were required.
1. panned full left. 95 mesa boogie rectifier through line6 flextone 1x12 cabinet.
2. panned full right. same rectifier through fender small tweed cab model.
so i recorded the part separately with each model, and panned left and right. then i duplicated/copied those tracks and panned them likewise, but did two very narrow midrange notch cuts on these new ones, and applied the POD's wah effect--scanning for the best-sounding resonance--to the second tweed cabinet model. for effects, all the pod models had very short delay and short short reverb on them.
the result was a weird, multidimensional stereo sound with a really biting attack.
anyway, yeah. sorry for starting a thread on this. what's up with these EQ notches? does anyone have a favorite frequency to notch on distorted guitars?
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TheTincanbugsloppy dice, drinks twiceMember
Since: Aug 05, 2003
Mar 05, 2004 04:03 pm Sounds like a lot of fiddlin' went into getting that right... :) I'd like to hear the final version!
My only favorite frequency is the one that cuts out the awful hiss I get during a distorted guitar lead... I don't really like notching as a general rule because you have this kind of "not all there" sound afterwards. But I have played with it some myself, I just find it most useful for knocking out hiss, personally.
MinkusMazBane of All ExistenceMember
Since: Mar 27, 2003
Mar 05, 2004 05:26 pm man put up a sample!
Mar 05, 2004 06:25 pm alright i'll put up a very short clip a little later. but i did make a mistake in that description.
i used the wah effect on BOTH of the 'copied' tracks. so thats two unwahed and two wahed. i guess the wah is acting as an additional narrow notch filter. so in those two copied tracks, you could say i've got two notches working in the midrange in each one.
Mar 05, 2004 07:32 pm www.nowhereradio.com/arti...785&alid=-1
the original song is there for comparison (tribe). my version is a lot less bassy, but that might be good.
who knows, maybe this sucks. i won't know until i test it in some real speakers. then maybe i can tweak it. i created this sound in my lousy headphones, as always.
note: just tested it. not enough bass or something. but getting close.
MinkusMazBane of All ExistenceMember
Since: Mar 27, 2003
Mar 05, 2004 09:21 pm that's a good match!
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Mar 06, 2004 12:00 am Sweet, nice recipe as well. Now me go bake a cake.
Mar 06, 2004 12:34 pm When I hear biting distortion, it makes me thing of the sound that metallica used back in the day or pantera. Just a real fast, sharp crisp and hard sound. If thats the case, its easiest to acquire that sound but keeping the bass and treble pretty high, sweep out the mids as much as you can without making the sound to terribly flat, add a compressor(not afterwards but a compressor in your chain of effects) with high attack settings(like 65) average sustain settings(like 50) turn the level on the compressor to about 75 and use a good analog type distortion like with the eq settings similar to the overall eq. Only thing, the new wave of amp sims are awesome, but for metal distortion they are sometimes too warm. Ive started miking a lot lately rather than just line in off the amp sim, and Im miking an old 60's fender amp. I have an amp sim pedal too and Ive noticed that when you add the warmth of the amp sim to the fender tube amps natural warmth, it almost becomes too warm and not sharp enough. So my pedal has the option to adjust how much amp sim level goes into the effect, mic placement settings can be adjusted, and also how much direct level goes in. If you are running into your own amp, use a little more of the direct sound and less of our pods simulated amp sound cause a good amp will make enough of its own warmth that it wont quite require the pedals help as much as a straight line in to a computer does to get a warm sound. Wah pedals basically adjust eq through the motion to change the guitar sound, and it sound as if you used a wah pedal to basically simulate and eq setting thats condusive for this type of distortion. Anyways, with a good amount of guitar compression, a lot of gain on the distortion, plenty of lows and highs in the eq, and the mids swept out you will get that sharp and fast distortion sound.
Mar 06, 2004 01:22 pm good tips, mang, i'm gonna keep toying with this. i do need to bring up the bass. i'm using a 6:1 compressor on these patches right now, and i'm going totally line-in. that compressor effect is from within the pod. the only higher option is infinty:1. there's no way to set the attack or sustain on the pod compressor; the whole effect is automated. line-in is my only option, as well, as i will have no private space to mic an amp in the foreseeable future. i totally agree with the metalica thing. hopefully there's a way to come reasonably close without having to wait around until i get a garage or rehearsal space. i don't think i'll ever mic an amp again. i'll just make do with second best and take the convenience over the quality.
TheTincanbugsloppy dice, drinks twiceMember
Since: Aug 05, 2003
Mar 06, 2004 08:36 pm Hey forty, I dig your guitar sound. Very metal, very somber-yet-punchy.
TheJazzyOneYour favorite rockstarMember
Since: Feb 03, 2003
Mar 09, 2004 09:34 am A lot of the low end you're after could come with a bass line playing the same part. I think that's how Metallica got a lot of their sound... the bass player just matched the guitar in order to beef it up
Mar 09, 2004 12:25 pm i will try that. i might run some kind of frequency analyzer to see the spread on gruntruck and then i want to learn to use a multiband compressor. i will save this set of patches, though, because as you said, this might sit well in a mix.
