Getting that HEAVY chunk

  • Thread starter Thread starter Agtronic
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Agtronic

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I was just reading that "most dangerous" guitar thread, and I'm wondering, what kind of setups can give me that REAL CHUNKY distortion? I've tried all kinds of amps, and still I haven't heard ONE that was really heavy. Is it 'cause no amp will produce such sound? Is there alot of studio processing to get it really chunky?

I was in someone's car last year, and he had some heavy stuff playing. I asked him what it was and he said it was Iced Earth. I don't know anything about that band, but it was damn cool, and the sound was electrifying!

I have a Rocktron Voodu Valve, but it's not HEAVY.

Here's a little clip of my American Series Strat played through the Rocktron. It sounds okay, but it just doesn't have that AMP sound, it just sounds crappy ...

Oh, and please forgive the sloppy playing, I was pretty drunk when I recorded it ... :)

(Right Click, Save As)
 
If you are refering to "chunk" as in Nu Metal, from what I can tell, it is probably mostly Mesa and Marshall amps with a distorted bass note behind it. Now since there are acual bass lines that take their own path during a lot of those songs, that means one thing. Magic. Yes, thats right. Magic. You too can learn this magic if you practice real hard. Just look for the StudioOfMagicSchool.com

They will also teach you the art of playing a note or chord 2, 3, or 4 times at once. Once in the left channel, the right channel, and maybe even the center channel....plus a touch of a pristine clean chord tucking in the back for definition, because we all hate mud.

What can I say, they are pros.
 
No magic, just detuning....which can be somewhat magical :)

There was a guy who used to be around here who played modern metal and had that wicked chunk sound. He played a set of 16's (yes, 16) tuned very low, and I think he had to run into ridiculous amp (like a 200W tube head into a big cabinet) to get a good sound.

Detuning requires very heavy strings and guitar adjustment (and quite often modification).

Slackmaster 2000
 
Ya, detuning I took as a given...but a lot of people think the sound on a CD is attainable with a one guitar and one amp.
 
So, let's take Fear Factory for example. There are parts where there's just guitar right? But you know that thick scratching sound he gets when the pick hits the strings ... how do you get THAT heavy?

Marshall? Are you kidding? I don't know too much about amps, so forgive me if I sound ignorant ... I have a JCM 900 and I think it sounds like complete crap. Dead, no bass, no treble, no presence, just a dead midrange sound.

I've got the SRV sound down pretty good, but I'm trying to get a real metal sound.

Thanks for the replies guys!
 
Ya, you dub it 3 times...meaning you play it 3 times and record all 3, that makes it thick. If you also play a bass note of some of the chords the sound is tremendously huge. And powerful. Its all in the studio. How else could Limp Bizkit get the super clean chorus into a massive attack of death. Well, a couple grand worth of equipment could help for the live part....
 
Some things that give a heavy, chunky tone like those on your favorite album:

1. Proper playing technique;

2. Mesa/Boogie Rectifier, Mark IIC+, TriAxis;

3. Close mic'ing a SM57;

4. Doubling, tripling, each guitar track;

5. Detuning down at least a step;

6. Guitar type, especially using humbuckers; and

7. Bass guitar and other instruments recorded with the guitar.
 
I'm going to try that. I always played two guitar tracks, panned left and right naturally, but I never thought of doubling each side.

I'll give it a shot!

Thanks for the replies!
 
Ok, just listened to your clip. Nice playing. You didn't mention the power amp you are using or the speaker cab. These will also influence your tone.

Experiment with different mic positions. Subtle changes in angle and position drastically change your tone.
 
Also try this.

Left channel: Distortion, Clean

Right Channel: Distortion, Clean

Leave the clean so its not to noticable.

Also, you can acually dub each side with the distortion, but do one on bridge pickup and one on the neck pickup. Or Bridge on the left and neck on right.
 
Huge Chunk!

Hey if you are into that huge chunk sound, like Fear Factory pick up a line 6. Dino from Fear Facory tried the Line 6 and almost immediately ditched his marshalls, and i beleive he used to use Mesa's..he switched. I use Line 6 in my band...300 watt fullstack Line 6 will make your nuts rattle for sure. I haven't played with a band yet that has as ballsy a tone that this thing does, and is as loud. And my band Emotional Flatline have played with tons of bands in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois. Some examples of chunky tone are here on my bands song A Drug Called Hate

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=2111&alid=-1

Anyway to get that heavy chunk i play a Schecter 6 string tuned to B, or sometimes to Drop B. I run directly into the Flextone Fullstack, i do not at all process the signal before or after it hits the amp. What goes in comes out. Line 6 would be great for what you want.
 
Turn the gain down

In order to get that chunk you must turn your gain back from where you normally would have it. I just listened to your clip and it has so much gain that it becomes shrill in the high end...and that results in a tinny sound over all...your sound will be awesome if you cut some gain.
 
...spend a couple grand$ on various processors (EQ, etc.) to BOOST THE DOG-SHIT OUT OF THE LOW-END...simple.
 
Its all in the tuning and the technique.... I have got a pretty chunky Alice In Chains sound...
 
If your looking for the detuned heavy sound I dont think the strat is the right guitar. There are definantly exceptions but you might want to check out something with dual humbuckers that can give you some beef. Les paul for example
 
You can thicken the walls of your guitar sound by not panning hard left and right. Get the best distortion you can (with plenty of mids.. you can always cut later) and pan at 9:00 and 3:00.

Cy
 
When micing up your cabinet, try sticking a 57 on the backside of it. Pointing directly at the rear of the speaker cone. That gets a very nice chunky tone to it.
 
Lopp said:
Poddy,
That will give you definite phasing problems.
Click to expand...
Not when you reverse the phase of the mic, which i kinda forgot to mention. Sorry about that champ no harm eh!
 
Poddy said:
Not when you reverse the phase of the mic, which i kinda forgot to mention. Sorry about that champ no harm eh!
Click to expand...

would you do that in the recording software?
 
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