Good Overdrive for Metallica Solos?

[FFXGuitar]

I'm into alot of those "pushed tube" type Metallica solos like the four Sanitarium solos, the Interlude solo to Master of Puppets, The Unforgiven solo, and the Nothing Else Matters solo. Not sure about what pedal to use, but I know I'm sick of my crappy ass Marshall MG15's built-in OD. Try listening to these songs, and give me a recommendation. Thanks alot, FFX

[FFXGuitar]

Hello? Any help here?

[wholelottasomethin']

Blackstar ht dual

[Horse]

Originally Posted by FFXGuitar

I'm into alot of those "pushed tube" type Metallica solos like the four Sanitarium solos, the Interlude solo to Master of Puppets, The Unforgiven solo, and the Nothing Else Matters solo. Not sure about what pedal to use, but I know I'm sick of my crappy ass Marshall MG15's built-in OD. Try listening to these songs, and give me a recommendation. Thanks alot, FFX

hey bro, got the same trouble with my crappy Mg....... there are loads of peddles for good rock/metal distortion. if i were you, id try the EH big muff or metal muff, reasonable prices too. if you want a tubed preamp dist, try the damage control demoniser.........

[wholelottasomethin']

Originally Posted by Horse

hey bro, got the same trouble with my crappy Mg....... there are loads of peddles for good rock/metal distortion. if i were you, id try the EH big muff or metal muff, reasonable prices too. if you want a tubed preamp dist, try the damage control demoniser.........

Big muff is a fuzz pedal, it has nothing to do with metallica type distortion.

[FFXGuitar]

True, but thanks anyways, I'll check out the demonizer and the blackstar. Any more suggestions are welcome. Thanks, FFX

[JCM223]

You can't polish a terd. Buy a new amp

[FFXGuitar]

Im getting a Vox AD50VT but I want a pedal that can boost it.

[Splattle101]

Originally Posted by JCM223

You can't polish a terd.

But you can roll it in glitter.

Splat

[Splattle101]

Ages ago I read an article in Guitar Player on distortion sounds used by lots of different players. It included interviews with the players, engineers and producers of the various recordings. It would’ve been in the mid-1990s that the article came out.

DISCLAIMER: I’m not a particular fan of Metallica. I don’t hate ‘em, but I don’t know their stuff either, so I’m not personally familiar with the pieces you’re talking about.

The bit of the article that related to Metallica had Hetfield saying that his sound was pure tube. No pedals at all. He said something like ‘Pedals always seem to give the sound a shitty coating.’

He went on to say that Hammett does the solos using a Tube Screamer to boost an overdriving amp. Can’t remember if the amps were Marshalls: probably. Please note, Hetfield didn’t say ‘TS808’; he just said Tube Screamer. Given that the TS9 has a little more gain than the 808 the TS9 would seem more likely to me.

So, it seems that Hammett was just bangin’ the front of a JCM-style amp with a TS pedal. I would guess that he’d be using maximum level. Dunno how much gain he’d have needed, given that his normal sound is pretty dirty anyway. From there it would be a case of dialling your tone control on the guitar and pedal, and dialling your EQ on the amp. However, you need to remember is that the sound on the recording is probably a tone put together specifically for the solo in question. It’s not like his normal rhythm tone that he then kicks a stomp box into for his lead tone. It’s a one-off, in all likelihood. It was probably a careful combination of volume, gain, EQ, guitar controls, pick attack, speaker selection and – finally - microphone placement. It’s highly improbable that he just kicked his TS and went for it.

On a slightly tangential note, a theme that emerged from the engineers interviewed on that article was the preference for JCM 800s. The tenor of the comments was that the JCM 800 gave the right tone, and a better tone than the later ones, and that they were more consistent than the earlier Marshalls. Sort of like a plug-and-play industry standard. There was also a lot of tape distortion. Quite a few of the engineers talked about using a little bit of tape over-saturation to colour the overdrive tone further. The preferred tape for this exercise was good old Ampex 456.

Splat

[jonesy]

I am not a Metal Player, but I have played Metal as many of My students like it. One thing I found out is that AC/DC Rock crunch requires a lot of MID boost on your amp, Metal Needs the MIDs pulled back to around 3-4 with Bass and Treble almost Full up. That gives me a Great Metallica "Sad But True" Tone without any pedal at all, just your amps distortion channel...try it
There are dozens of Pedals out there, some are very expensive..here is one I think is a great Buy and it is Built Solid...



But Hey, I am just an aging Blues Player, What do I know anyway??

Peace, jonesy

[Horse]

Originally Posted by wholelottasomethin'

Big muff is a fuzz pedal, it has nothing to do with metallica type distortion.

i was giving an option thats all, as many metal bands use a an OD pedal to push the tubed amp, like Hammet, and most the metalcore guitarists, the use of the tubescreamer is common, would you say the screammer has nothing to do with metal?

ive played the screamer and the big muff, the muff gives a good dirty push to the sound if not overdone goes well with a gained up amp. i own the screamer but prefer my mates big muff (that didnt sound right..) for some things.......

Mick thomspon also uses the screamer, and they all use it on a low drive/level, just to add a little something/tighten the sound, not to really colour the sound........but for an amp like the mg or vox, the metal muff or a demoniser are good choices, its my personal preference as i find pedals like the metalzone too harsh thin and fizzy......

[FFXGuitar]

Cool thanks guys. I guess I can't really get too close to their sound as of now (no way I'm gonna pull together the money to buy a JCM800 head) but I will probably buy a TS9 in order to boost my signal and add more gain. Thanks alot, FFX

[st.bede]

Originally Posted by Splattle101

However, you need to remember is that the sound on the recording is probably a tone put together specifically for the solo in question. It’s not like his normal rhythm tone that he then kicks a stomp box into for his lead tone. It’s a one-off, in all likelihood. It was probably a careful combination of volume, gain, EQ, guitar controls, pick attack, speaker selection and – finally - microphone placement. It’s highly improbable that he just kicked his TS and went for it.

Splat

just want to agree....

Please remeber these are just my thoughts on the issue...and I am not a big Metallica guy

I own an orig ts9 and a new ts9 w/keeley mod...keeley moded one is a bit brighter then the orig...

(I ONCE played a good LP through a new ts9 into a 1965 fender priceton it sounded very sweet but, as I said that was only once and I was checking to see how the amp responded to a OD and also humbuckers...not interested in purchasing that pedal....the amp passed and it took it home that day)

of course any paticular setup will really favour certian pedals where as the same pedals will not shine as much through a different set up....

I also know that the blackstar got a good review in Sound on Sound....l did read it but, can not remeber that paticulars...

take the amp and guitar down to you local shop and give a few pedals a whirl...

or if you can take one home and if you do not like it, they will let you bring it back, then do that....

and you can always read the reviews on Harmony Central.....

I am going out a bit on a limb.....maybe to a look at zvex box of rock, Lovepedal plexi 800... YouTube - Xotic BB Preamp, Zvex Box of Rock, Lovepedal Purple Plexi 800

last thought....have you posted this question on the

Marshall Amp Forum - MarshallForum.com

[FFXGuitar]

Cool, thanks bede, I will try that! Once again, thanks to everyone for their input.

[Dave67]

Here is link to his rigs Kirk Hammett's Amplifiers
I like the Rocktron Metal Planet in front of my Epi mini stack.

[coldsteal2]

Marshall on 10 i believe

[jonesy]

Originally Posted by coldsteal2

Marshall on 10 i believe

Right On...Nice Old School Playin' Brother

[FFXGuitar]

Haha, cool thanks for the website. I'm looking at this and it says that Kirk used a simple fully boosted Ibanez Tubescreamer for soloing early in his career(Kill Em All, to Ride the Lightning, to Master of Puppets. Later in his career ( Justice, Metallica, Load, Reload, and St. Anger) he used (and still does) a combo of a fully boosted Tubescreamer and a full gain Marshall JCM800 OD Channel

[WSR66]

Originally Posted by Horse

Mick thomspon also uses the screamer, and they all use it on a low drive/level, just to add a little something/tighten the sound, not to really colour the sound........but for an amp like the mg or vox, the metal muff or a demoniser are good choices, its my personal preference as i find pedals like the metalzone too harsh thin and fizzy......

*his name is Mick Thomson, not Thompson.* Anyway, I agree that the tubescreamer is the way to go. The guitarists in Trivium use them with their JCM's and 6505+'s, and they LOVE Metallica. BFMV uses them, and other metalcore bands use the Maxon version of the tube screamer. In contrast, Synyster Gates uses the BOSS SD-1 and the TS9 Tubescreamer. good luck.

[FFXGuitar]

Thanks for the info man!

[WSR66]

I don't recommend BOSS.

[WSR66]

Originally Posted by FFXGuitar

Thanks for the info man!

Sure. Anytime. Distortion is my thing! Anyway, most of the metalcore bands I've listed absolutely LOVE Metallica and want to be Metallica, so what they use will get you close. good luck

[FFXGuitar]

I was thinking about getting a Keeley Mod'ed Ibanez TS-9. Anyone have any knowledge or experience on these pedals?

[coldsteal2]

Originally Posted by jonesy

Right On...Nice Old School Playin' Brother

I played in bands like theirs back in the
early 80s' nobody even had a distortion
or overdrive pedal, just dimed everthying

[shotgunlew]

James and kirk used old mesa boogie mark IV ( I believe ) later used a triple rec. Kirk used a original tube screamer for boost, while james dident use a OD pedal. Also For lead Kirk hammet used alot of wah to boost the treble.


chris

[FFXGuitar]

Awesome thanks man.

[st.bede]

Originally Posted by FFXGuitar

I was thinking about getting a Keeley Mod'ed Ibanez TS-9. Anyone have any knowledge or experience on these pedals?

I own both an orig ts9 and a keeley mod...the keeley is very nice....like everything some pedals work exceelent with one setup and do not shine with another setup....the org ts9 is mid heavy (smooth type sound) and thick...where as the keeley mod I have is more balenced, clearer sounding.....I wish I could venture a guess for you but given the differnces with the Vox AD50VT I would not even be able to speculate (12ax7 as a power tube...valvetronics?)....try out some pedals...EH, MXR, TS9 at the store and post what are your experences....

[FFXGuitar]

Originally Posted by st.bede

I own both an orig ts9 and a keeley mod...the keeley is very nice....like everything some pedals work exceelent with one setup and do not shine with another setup....the org ts9 is mid heavy (smooth type sound) and thick...where as the keeley mod I have is more balenced, clearer sounding.....I wish I could venture a guess for you but given the differnces with the Vox AD50VT I would not even be able to speculate (12ax7 as a power tube...valvetronics?)....try out some pedals...EH, MXR, TS9 at the store and post what are your experences....

Alright cool, man, will do.

[IndianScout]

I use one of these, mean as hell when cranked up..