Which contributes more? Amp or guitar?

[Xypher]

When playing metal generally, which one contributes more to tat ballsy metal tone? Isit the guitar+pickups or the amp?

Thx..

 

[Nicholasim]

i think its the drive.
actually it all contributes but imo i think drive is most important for the kinda sound u wanna get

 

[Xypher]

I cant get a nice metal tone with my amp even with gain very high.. Vox ad15 btw...

maybe the amp needs upgrading?

 

[Gr3yF0x]

bah. you need a cabinet. HAHAA

 

[lifele55]

If you were at Randolf's past Tonequest, you'd know its definitely the amp or like what Nicholism said, its the drive.

Ok, I'm just still awed by the Triamp but yeah... its the amp distortion (if its high gain enough for it) or your main distortion pedal that'll get you that metal drive you want.

 

[lifele55]

Hmmmmmmmmmm.. I just re-read what i said. It doesn't make sense! LOL!

:\ I need sleep. My bad.

 

[almondx]

Amp. You need a high-gain rig. Not pseudo little modelling amps but a proper half stack at minimum if you really want to kope that meaty metal chugga chugga weee weeeeeee sound. That metal chug is by the speakers physically pushing the air, something which smaller amps are limited to by the law of physics.

Same reason why mp3s sound crap on handphone speakers. Not enough bass/thump/power.

 

[optisailor2002]

ya thats why you should always listen to metal through a karaoke system and kill your whole neighbourhood =x

 

[Xypher]

Dang..Wads the best thing i could do to improve it w/o changing amp? My amp is only 6 mths old, wanna keep it longer. lol


Edit: I notice that when i blast my amp, the chug gets a tad nicer.. More thump.. I thought this info wud help

 

[almondx]

Hmm, there's this pedal they sell at standard value which boosts your signal. Tesla Pickup Booster MK1. It makes a singlecoil sound like a humbucker, and passive humbuckers sound like active buckers. So that should get you close to emg grounds.

Yup, the chug gets nicer since more air is being pushed by the speakers at louder volume.. makes sense =)

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

Maybe it would help to start getting a good drive unit. eg Boss MT-2, EHX Metal Muff, Line6 Uber Metal etc.

They won't make you sound exactly like what you want, but they would certainly bring you closer to what you are looking for.

 

[Xypher]

Im looking at the sabbath, maiden, early metallica kinda sound to be precise..

But i play a single coil strat so it cud make it harder.


Wud a EHX Linear power booster or something of that sort work?

 

[optisailor2002]

just get the behringer gdi 21 xD

 

[Midnight]

i agree with madwerewolfboy. just buy a nice metal distortion and ur good to go. its alot about EQ settings..

 

[Ized]

lol get a MT-2 or EHX metal muff. Just dont be too picky about dynamics =)

 

[almondx]

Ah sorry I assumed that you wanted to get to the next level of getting a huge metal tone instead of the twitter from smaller practice amps, which would be impossible to achieve. If you're looking for metal distortion at bedroom levels, any metal voiced distortion pedal would suffice.

You may want to still consider the tesla pickup booster, or swap out you bridge to a HSS config or else a sc-sized hum in the bridge.

 

[leecs]

A pedal & a solid state amp with 10' speaker would never give you a a full tube amp + 4x12 speakers kinda dist. it can never happen. Unless you get an amp simulator like POD XT, etc.. Even with POD XT & solid state amp, there are still limitations. So my vote is amp.

 

[harbinger]

I say amp. Modelling and pedals can only get you so far if what you're after is a high gain metal tone. Nothing beats a cranked tube high gain amp, because a)when close to full output tubes produce natural harmonics and overtones which give the tone "life" and b)the speakers also have a distorting threshold; if you drive them hard you will get a better sound. But realistically speaking, cranking any tube amp is not a good idea unless you're gigging or at a jam studio. Or don't live in an apartment, heh.

And another thing, if you want metal, it has to be a humbucker equipped guitar. Single coils just can't produce the type of sound you want to get out of them.

 

[M.I.A]

SKILL!!!

cuz everythg sounds the same to me now

wahahahaha

 

[subversion]

That metal chug is by the speakers physically pushing the air, something which smaller amps are limited to by the law of physics.

Same reason why mp3s sound crap on handphone speakers. Not enough bass/thump/power.

the smaller speakers can match the bigger siblings' performance in numbers- you'd be surprised how bassy a quartet of 10" drivers can be. yes, it's the law of physics...

mp3 files gives off a rubbish tone at lower bit rates, this is what many people failed to edit upon conversion