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Guitar EQ Help (Metal)


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Alright, I'm doing a metal remix of a song, and I think I got a decent sound out of the mix for now besides the rhythm guitars. I feel that there isn't enough "bite" and too much "mud" to the guitar. I want a tone similar to Slayer or System of a Down guitars. Is there a way to EQ to a sound similar to that, or will I have to find the tone myself on the amp and re-record the guitar? Should I turn down the gain a little?

Here's part of an original song I used the exact same settings on:

http://www.filefreak.com/pfiles/76342/Power%20Mix%20Test.mp3

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It's hard to tell but aside from anything else, the rhythm guitars could use a definite boost in volume. As for EQ, it's best if you start out with a tone that's already very good, and just use post-processing to tweak it a bit, you can't polish a turd so to say. I Generally use a slight, wide boost around 2000 Hz works to help bring out definition, and roll off around 150-200ish to get rid of those pesky bass frequencies. Also, use a bass guitar.

Oh, and not meaning to mini-mod but your sig is too tall, it can only be 250 pixels high at most.

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It's hard to tell but aside from anything else, the rhythm guitars could use a definite boost in volume. As for EQ, it's best if you start out with a tone that's already very good, and just use post-processing to tweak it a bit, you can't polish a turd so to say. I Generally use a slight, wide boost around 2000 Hz works to help bring out definition, and roll off around 150-200ish to get rid of those pesky bass frequencies. Also, use a bass guitar.

Oh, and not meaning to mini-mod but your sig is too tall, it can only be 250 pixels high at most.

I'll try re-working my amp and see if I can find a better tone and re-record then.

Also there is bass guitar in there, just really really low. I just didn't like the tone very much, guess I'm re-recording that too. :razz:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Almost all metal uses "scooped mids", where the mids are turned significantly down on the amp, while the bass and treble is turned up. If your equalizer is the slider type, the presets should be in a V shape.

The next step with metal guitars is compression and distortion, obviously. The trick is to not use too much of either; you'd think that by metal they use more distortion that anyone else, and that's just not the case.

Finally, the type of pickups in your guitar make a load of difference; humbuckers will almost always sound better playing metal than single coils. There are always exceptions, of course (Yngwei Malmsteen plays single coils, for instance), but the sound that you say you're aiming for is almost certainly played through humbuckers.

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It's all dependent on what you classify metal as, as well; most of the time, punk rock actually uses more distortion.

And, you're right about Yngwei using stacked humbuckers; they still get the single coil sound, but they're running the current in the same way a humbucker runs it, to cancel out the hum.

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Almost all metal uses "scooped mids", where the mids are turned significantly down on the amp, while the bass and treble is turned up. If your equalizer is the slider type, the presets should be in a V shape.

NO

NONONONONONO

NONONONO

NO

NONOONNONO

DO NOT SCOOP YOUR MIDS WHEN YOU RECORD. EVER.

Worst.advice.ever. Common advice from noob guitarists is to SCOOP TEH MIDS. It does not work for recording, and it does not work for a live environment. Your mids are what cut you through the mix; what makes it so that you can even be HEARD. Record at a NEUTRAL EQ setting, with slight boosts/cuts here and there, and then EQ it LATER if you must. But if you cut the mids, you neuter the guitar tone entirely.

Same for a live environment; if you cut your mids you are NOT going to be heard over the bass, drums, and vocalist, no matter how loud you get. There are GOOD mids and BAD mids -- the punchy and the honky.

The only time I ever cut the mids is at bedroom level whilst practicing; it sounds sweet as hell but you'll never be able to reproduce that in a live environment that sounds as sweet as that. And recording.. forget about it.

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I thought yngwie played double coils stacked on top of each other? Maybe they are still classified as single coils with additional hum resistance or something.

What genre uses more distortion than metal???

Nooo, Yngwie uses noisy-ass single coils. And Nekofrog is right. You don't wanna scoop your mids. Dip the mids a little if you want, but the meat of guitar tone is in the mids.

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Nooo, Yngwie uses noisy-ass single coils. And Nekofrog is right. You don't wanna scoop your mids. Dip the mids a little if you want, but the meat of guitar tone is in the mids.

No, he uses stacked humbuckers, specifically DiMarzio HS-3 in the bridge, and DiMarzio YJM in the middle in neck.

He plays with a lot of gain, though, and that's where the hum could be coming from, but it's not his guitar.

Anyway, this isn't a gear/guitar forum, so arguing over what pickups Yngwei uses is pointless.

And I'm sticking with my scooped mids for metal comment, noob or not. You don't want to scoop them post, but recording with them scooped from the amp is just fine.

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No, he uses stacked humbuckers, specifically DiMarzio HS-3 in the bridge, and DiMarzio YJM in the middle in neck.

He plays with a lot of gain, though, and that's where the hum could be coming from, but it's not his guitar.

Anyway, this isn't a gear/guitar forum, so arguing over what pickups Yngwei uses is pointless.

And I'm sticking with my scooped mids for metal comment, noob or not. You don't want to scoop them post, but recording with them scooped from the amp is just fine.

No it's not.

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  • 4 weeks later...

And I'm sticking with my scooped mids for metal comment, noob or not. You don't want to scoop them post, but recording with them scooped from the amp is just fine.

No it's not, it doesn't work. ESPECIALLY not for metal. Kerry King actually boosts his mids and dips his bass and treble a bit; are you going to tell Slayer they don't know how to do metal right?

As a gigging and recording guitarist I was searching for my magic tone for a good while before I settled on my current preferred tone for clean and distorted parts, which is a boosted-mid curve. It sounds better and cuts through the mix better.

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Metallica does not use scooped mids, at least not anymore. Kirk and James have stated in recent retrospective interviews that early on in their careers, they were given the tip to boost the mids above the bass and treble.

Also, hardcore =/= metal.

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And I'm sticking with my scooped mids for metal comment, noob or not. You don't want to scoop them post, but recording with them scooped from the amp is just fine.

You're not being smart about sticking to bad advice. You never want to drastically EQ something BEFORE recording, whether or not you like scooped mids or not, that's a horrible idea, and it is NOT fine. Stop sticking to horrible advice just for the sake of your ego.

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You're not being smart about sticking to bad advice. You never want to drastically EQ something BEFORE recording, whether or not you like scooped mids or not, that's a horrible idea, and it is NOT fine. Stop sticking to horrible advice just for the sake of your ego.

It has nothing to do with ego. It has to do with (limited) experience recording metal, where we scooped at the amp, and it worked fine.

The only reason I've been sticking to my guns is because a) it's worked for me and B) everyone's been such a dick about it, it seemed more an issue of pride to everyone that they should change a noob's mind, and I'm not about to have my opinion changed without solid evidence proving me wrong.

My apologies for continuing this, and if I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but you don't have to be a jerk about it.

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Really, I'm surprised people care that much to prove me (a reggae guitar player) wrong. It really is all a perspective thing, anyway.

And I couldn't care less how you define metal. Zakk Wylde to Kerry King to Meshugga to Old Man Gloom, it's all the same to me.

And guess what? None of them have an EQ curve that looks like a dopey smile.

Anyways, snappleman is right. Huge tone changes before your signal hits the soundcard is a bad idea as it is, since it locks you too much in one tonal space.

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