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Classic Metal/Thrash
For some general guidelines on how to use the Pod HD and dial in patches similar to those below, please see my Pod HD tone guide.
Overview
Went for the Blizzard of Oz tone. It's a crisp but midsy overdriven Marshall tone. It actually sounds kinda muddy and nasty, but that's what makes it unique. Mixed with the way he liked to run a chorus into it and some reverb, all the sudden you have a legendary tone.
Amp/Distortion Tone
With the addition of the Plexi model, you can basically replicate Randy's rig and get a near identical tone as him. I run first into a Tube Drive for a bit of compression and mild distortion, as well as a bit of a low-end filter. Then I run into two EQ's. These are designed to simulate Randy's graphic EQ settings, which are basically an upward sloping line, with a dip in it towards the high end. I am guessing he wants to brighten the tone to get a more crispy distortion, but dials back one spot that just gets too nasty. The Plexi has a little learning curve on where to set Drive - it gets too compressed at higher settings without really adding much distortion. I find I usually like it around 60-70%.
Also, since we're getting some power amp distortion here, we have to EQ the amp the right way to get the distortion to sound right. I find with the Plexi this involves cranking up the presence, which get that's Marshall crunch. I keep treble conservative, as it just seems to make the tone more harsh than get a good harmonic distortion.
Amp DEPs
I find the DEP's don't have too much impact on the tone here. I just leave the default settings, which has the power section cranked, really controlled by the pre-amp Drive setting.
Cab and Mic
I use the Hiway 4x12/57 on axis. The Hiway delivers the best tone to my ear. Randy's actual cabs used Altec 417-8H speakers, but rather than try to imitate that, I chose the best-sounding cab and just EQ'ed it to sound close. Normally I use the 57 off axis because it has a rich, natural sound, but I use the on axis here because Randy's tone has so much bite.
Cab DEP's
For the cab DEP's, I boost resonance and thump to get that pushed cab tone that Randy has, then turn up the high pass filter until the low end isn't so dominant. I boost Decay to thicken up the tone a bit - otherwise it cab be very thin and harsh, especially for leads.
EQ
For EQ, I keep things relatively tame. The Plexi and Hiway both give you a real midsy and crisp tone, which is actually what you want. The amp EQ controls don't really have such a strong impact on the actual EQ when you're pushing the amp, but the EQ ends up sounding good anyway.
Effects
I put a chorus in front the amp to get his kind of swooshy tone. It's more subtle of an effect in front the amp than behind - it changes the distortion more than sounding like you put an effect on top the tone. I use a bit of reverb to fatten up the tone and make it more alive. I included an optional flanger to get some of his more extreme modulation tones and put it behind the amp, so it really stands out.
I use the Vintage Mic Pre here. It adds something to the tone I tried in vain to get from every editable feature above. Many have complained this effect just adds distortion to the tone. Well, it does add some high-end crackle, but that's what Randy's recorded tone sounds like. It does something else to the high-end that just makes it shine. It's hard to describe. Try to get the same quality to the tone without it, and you'll see what I mean.
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Slash
Welcome to the Jungle
Overview
The Slash Appetite for Destruction tone with delay settings for Welcome to the Jungle.
Distortion/Amp
There is some debate about what amp Slash used for AfD. While there's lots of talk about a JCM-800, there is also a story about a rented modified older Marshall model to have an extra gain stage. I originally dialed this tone in for the J-800 but find the Plexi Bright model does a much better job. I add a distortion pedal in front to simulate that extra gain stage and filter the frequencies to get a more crunchy tone from the amp.
Amp DEP's
I find the DEP's don't have too much impact on the tone here. I just leave the default settings, which has the power section cranked, really controlled by the pre-amp Drive setting. I push the Bias to make the amp tone a little more edgy.
Cab/Mic
Treadplate/XXL 4x12's with 57 on axis mics. My amp EQ is basically dialing in the power amp distortion tone, but it turns out where I want it - a very midsy yet crisp tone. The Treadplate also gets you a real midsy and crisp tone, which is actually what you want. The XXL fills in the warmth a bit.
Cab DEP's
For the cab DEP's, I lower the Thump and raise the High-Pass. This gives you that thin but but not too thin tone Slash gets. I also reduce Res. Level just a bit to get less resonance in the mids, and I boost Decay to thicken up the tone.
EQ
I use an EQ effect to dial really boost the mids.
Effects
Two delays to get that strong echo effect. One is a short delay, designed to thicken up the tone and make it sound more open. The other is a traditional delay.
Same as above but with strong reverb to get that empty warehouse tone, instead of using the dual delays. I may mix up the EQ just a bit to get a smoother sounding tone.
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Metallica
Overview
Attempting to get the Boogie Mark IIC+ rhythm tone used for Puppets and Justice - pure thrash.
Amp/Distortion Tone
I'm using some EQ in front of the Uberschall model to dial out the mud and get more midrange saturation and crunch, which I use to simulate a Mark IIC+.
Amp DEPs
I like to boost Bias X fairly high to get more of a bloom quality to the sound as you sustain a note, which I think is an essential part of the Boogie tone. I reduce Sag to get a tigheter response, but not so low as to lose tone. I boost the Bias to get a more aggressive tone.
Cab and Mic
Hiway 4x12 mixed with XXL V-30. I use a 57 off axis on the Hiway to get the crisp but not overly bright tone that Metallica got in the 80's. On the XXL I use an uncommon 421 Dynamic mic. This was to get the kind of phasy, filtered, extreme tone they got on the album. Kind of that Scht Scht tone.
Cab DEP's
EQ
For EQ, I go fairly extreme like Metallica used to do and scoop the mids and give a small presence boost.
Overview
Attempting to get the super-saturated, yet smooth, rhythm tone Metallica got on the black album, where they ran ADA-MP1 preamps into Mesa/Boogie simul-class power amps.
Amp/Distortion Tone
I found the Rectifier pre-amp-only model gave a similar smooth saturation to this tone and ran with it. I use a little EQ in front the amp to actually soften up the tone. Without this the palm mutes sound a bit too crunchy and thick, instead of spongy and crisp.
Cab and Mic
Hiway 4x12 mixed with XXL V-30. I used the 57 off axis on the Hiway and the 409 Dynamic on the XXL. I used these mics because the album tone feels a bit squishy to me, which these mics replicates well. The mic does not produce a very natural signal on its own, and can be kind of fizzy.
Cab DEP's
EQ
I use some crazy EQ'ing here - I'm cutting a boomy spot and most of the warmth and rolling off the low-end. I boost the highs with a shelf and the amp EQ controls, but I roll them off with a low-pass filter. This basically acts kind of like a presence boost, but I can use the low-pass to control where it cuts off.
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Pantera
Overview
This is an attempt at the Vulgar Display of Power tone. It's an odd tone - very filtered sounding, but very heavy.
Amp/Distortion Tone
I use a Graphic EQ to scoop some mud and add a mid boost in front of a Line 6 Distortion. This gets that kind of raw Randall tone. I run this into the Tweed Bassman pre-amp-only model. I used this amp for no particular reason - I just wanted a clean amp and this seemed to work best from the ones I tried.
Cab and Mic
Two Hiways, one with 57 off axis and one with 409 Dynamic. Not sure how I settled on these choices - I wanted the kind of filtered tone on the album.
Cab DEP's
EQ
EQ-wise I cut the 409 side's treble all the way, but otherwise the amp settings are similar. Then I'm mostly brightening and adding presence to the tone, as well as sucking out a boomy spot with EQ effects.
Effects
An optional Phaser behind the amp to get that extreme phaser sound Dimebag sometimes used.
Overview
Description: Very strange tone here - super thick and crunchy, but also quite midsy, which is generally not how people describe Dimebag's tone. While I didn't care much for this album, I did like the guitar tone.
Amp/Distortion
Same premise as the above patch - Graphic EQ to suck out mud and boost saturated mids into a Line 6 Distortion. Here I use the Divided by 13 amp. Again, I'm using it for clean tone, but this one sounds more midsy than the Bassman. I'm only using Drive 1 which seems to be cleaner than Drive 2.
Cab/Mic
Hiway/57 on axis for the bright, crispy highs and an XXL/409 Dynamic for the rest.
EQ
Cut on the amp is a strange control - basically defines the entire tonal character. Presence dials in highs but there's a sweet spot to this control depending on where you place cut. I went for good saturation here. I use mild EQ effects to brighten the tone up.
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Megadeth
Overview
I'm going for Megadeth's more saturated, chunky tone here, like they got on most of their albums after Risk. I used United Abominations as reference.
Amp/Distortion Tone
I'm using an overdriven JCM-800, with both pre-amp and power amp distortion. I'm also running a boost pedal here - a Screamer. This gives a strong mid-boost and low-end filter, which tightens and thickens the tone. I also use a very small amount of drive on the Screamer to get some compression, making the tone even thicker. On the amp EQ controls, I go easy on bass and presence to avoid mud or grit, and boost mids and treble to get a smooth-yet-crunchy distortion. Again, the pre-amp drive provides saturation and thickness, while the power amp adds a more organic crunch.
Amp DEPs
I turn up the Master to get power amp distortion. I turn down Bias a little to get cleaner distortion from the power section, so it doesn't get gritty. I turn down Bias X to lock-in my bias setting. And I reduce Sag to get a tighter feel.
Cab and Mic
Hiway 4x12 mixed with XXL V-30, 57 on axis and 409 Dynamic. I use the Hiway/on axis to get the real crisp crunch to the tone, and the XXL/409 to get the chunky bass and punch.
Cab DEP's
EQ
The Marshall run this way can get a pretty wonky sound, so I tame it with EQ effects. I'm cutting the mids and some fizz. I also roll off the bass and treble.
This is more of a classic Megadeth tone, but with modern production value. I used Th1rt3en for reference.
I use a mid-boost before the amp to get more of a saturated tone, but not nearly as much as the last patch - I want some low-end and high-end to get through, so the amp produces a nastier distortion. On the amp EQ controls, I keep everything pretty neutral in relation to each other, but emphasize mids and de-emphasize presence. I let the mud fly and I allow the grit to come through, but I keep it on a tight leash. I keep Bias at 50% to get the raw tone it delivers.
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