Heavier Tone

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dwarf

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Ok I have a Laney VC30 and a boss gt-6 which cant distort/od for crap. So i need something to make my tone heavier. What would you guys reccomend pedal/preamp whatever whise.

Cheers.
 
you dirty rat.

That may not be the amp that you're looking for actually as you may need a different amp to get a heavier tone. If you dig on the clean tone of it, dig up a Vintage Rat made in Kalamazoo, MI. Heavy saturation without sounding muddled, that ripping Black Sabbath sort of gain. They've also got true bypass if that's important to you.
Hmm, apparantly they've stopped making them but they're selling off what they've got. http://cgi.ebay.com/ProCo-VINTAGE-R...ryZ41416QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


cheers,
scott
 
I know its not traditionally a metal amp, I just wanted to see if I could get a heavier tone out of it with the use of an external device.
 
Laney amps are good enough for Opeth so I don't think the amp is the problem, and if you can't get a descent distortion out of a GT-6 then you are doing something wrong. Personally, I have never found an amp distortion that I like for heavy tones, so put the amp on clean and just use the GT-6 for effects. Use the Metalzone distortion setting. You shouldn't have to crank the drive above 50 or 60 (people always try to run too much distortion when making heavy tones). Add a dab of reverb and a pinch of chorus to taste and then it is just a matter of tweaking the EQ. Getting good EQ settings is probably the most important part. Another important, but often overlooked, part of getting good distortion is compression. A good compressor can really tighten things up. Unfortunately, I can't really recommend a specific compressor. For recording I ususally use my cousin's megabucks Avalon preamp for compression, but I have just started looking for a unit to use live.
 
I was thinking about getting a boss metal zone single pedal (more controll) to use as the main distortion and run it through my 6 and use that purley for effects.

Opinions?
 
Have you tried an overdrive pedal like a Tubescreamer or a Boss super overdrive in front of the Laney's distortion?

The very idea of a bypassing the sound of the tubes in favor of something like a Boss Metal Zone just makes me cringe...... :eek:

I have never liked the sound of any "distortion" pedal. I always prefer the distortion of a nice amplifier with maybe a little help to get it there with an overdrive pedal. But, to each his own.....
 
metalhead28 said:
The very idea of a bypassing the sound of the tubes in favor of something like a Boss Metal Zone just makes me cringe...... :eek:
Click to expand...
+1 !
The metalzone is not one of Boss's better sounding pedals - and this is coming from someone who loves metal, and brutal tones. I have a 100 watt Laney tube amp, and it get's a nice heavy tone all by itself. With a little boost from an SD-1 overdrive, it can also get a nice, tight, more modern metal sound.
 
amra said:
+1 !
The metalzone is not one of Boss's better sounding pedals - and this is coming from someone who loves metal, and brutal tones. I have a 100 watt Laney tube amp, and it get's a nice heavy tone all by itself. With a little boost from an SD-1 overdrive, it can also get a nice, tight, more modern metal sound.
Click to expand...


I agree with this concerning tube amps. the metalzone will liven up a deadbeat solidstate amp with the right settings. I used it live for many years with a peavey solid state amp, and got very favorable results with the combination of the two, but....the light bulb finnally went on in my head i went all tube, and cant believe i waited so long to do it.

With tube amps the metalzone just ruins the sound. I dont think it was ever made with the intentions of helping a tube amp, but im no expert. Just talking from personal experience.

i would think the laney amp would have something useable right out of the head for metal. Also keep in mind, if your just playing in your room to some CD's and want a studio quality sound to match the CD, your probably wont get it from that amp. YOu may want to consider what it is you need for a great live sound which is way different than what most people think they should be hearing playing along in their house.

That Laney Head probably in a live situation is a great amp for metal when cranked(which in your house would deafen you for long periods of time), but at lower volumes in your house wont sound as good or heavy when you just want to practice.


just a thought. Not sure of your practicallity of it.
 
if you are looking for an individual pedal to give you a heavy distortion, I'd suggest the Radial Tonebone Hot British pedal. it is a bit pricey, but well worth the money. check it out at www.radialeng.com it has a built in 12AX7 tube, and has a wide range of tonal possibilities with either a turn of a knob or push of a switch. i've been told it sounds like an old marshall plexi, but again, it ranges...the bottom line is its built for heaviness, cant hurt to check it out...
 
metalhead28 said:
Have you tried an overdrive pedal like a Tubescreamer or a Boss super overdrive in front of the Laney's distortion?

The very idea of a bypassing the sound of the tubes in favor of something like a Boss Metal Zone just makes me cringe...... :eek:

I have never liked the sound of any "distortion" pedal. I always prefer the distortion of a nice amplifier with maybe a little help to get it there with an overdrive pedal. But, to each his own.....
Click to expand...

Agree completely. I've used an Ibanez Tube Screamer TS10 for years to add a little extra edge to my amps and systems. The TS10 usually isn't the first Tube Screamer people mention, but it works great (like the earlier TS's as well), and they can be had for a pretty good price!
 
if you want a good distortion from your tube amp playing at low volume, try a zombie rectified distortion pedal from rocktron. IT's cheap and it's deigned specifically for tube amps and helps overdrive immensley. It sounds like shit with a solid state amp but it is super sweet when put in front of a tube amp.
 
Codmate said:
I run a TS-9 into a Deucetone RAT.
That's one pretty heavy sound :)
Click to expand...
Do you have any clips of that? I love the sound of my Rat, but wish it was a tad heavier. I boost the level of my EQ a bit to OD the input stage of the Rat, but I've been wanting to try a Tube Screamer in front of it. Just wanted to hear some samples before I lay down the money.
 
IronFlippy said:
Do you have any clips of that? I love the sound of my Rat, but wish it was a tad heavier. I boost the level of my EQ a bit to OD the input stage of the Rat, but I've been wanting to try a Tube Screamer in front of it. Just wanted to hear some samples before I lay down the money.
Click to expand...

I haven't recorded with the setup yet - but I'll make some clips for you tonight or tomorrow and PM you.

Bear in mind that the Deucetone RAT is two rats in series, giving me that extra boost.

I'll try with a single RAT first, so you can hera what it's like. What variety of RAT do you have? The Duecetone can do Dirty Rat, Vintage Rat, Turbo Rat and Clean Rat, so I should be able to give you an authentic sample if you let me know which one.

Hell - I'll do a variety, as I could do with a reference myself :)

Cheers :)
 
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