# First 8 String, Amp hates it



## RagnarThorne (Feb 14, 2015)

Recently found an Agile Intrepid 8 string in a pawn shop for an impossible to pass up price, the axe is beautiful, Excellent tone, love the feel, at the moment its my only guitar besides my daughter's lefty. But my Peavey VIP 3 100w combo amp hates the lows, Ive tried adjusting the lows and boosting the high and mids but still sounds very muddled with any sort of distortion. (however bass settings sound absolutely excellent, its like having a bass on hand without ever switching guitars/amps.) 

Id like to play around with chuggy riffs tossed into the usual stuff I like to do, but finding that happy medium where the lows dont sound like overdistorted drivel is difficult. 

Also anyone had any luck with DADADGBE tuning on this? Ive seen it mentioned but never any real feedback to it, and when I tried it on my buddies Line 6 Spyder it sounded pretty brutal to toss in on usual drop D songs just to take it to a new level of sludgey goodness. 

Im no wiz, or even all that good. I havent played in a few years and while I realize going to an Extended Range Guitar as soon as I get back on the wagon is not the best approach, but I couldn't resist the look and feel of this guitar, getting used to avoiding the top two strings hasn't been that big of an obstacle, but finding the happy medium to incorporate them into heavier material is. Any tips or help would be appreciated.


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## psychosphere95 (Feb 15, 2015)

RagnarThorne said:


> Recently found an Agile Intrepid 8 string in a pawn shop for an impossible to pass up price, the axe is beautiful, Excellent tone, love the feel, at the moment its my only guitar besides my daughter's lefty. But my Peavey VIP 3 100w combo amp hates the lows, Ive tried adjusting the lows and boosting the high and mids but still sounds very muddled with any sort of distortion. (however bass settings sound absolutely excellent, its like having a bass on hand without ever switching guitars/amps.)
> 
> Id like to play around with chuggy riffs tossed into the usual stuff I like to do, but finding that happy medium where the lows dont sound like overdistorted drivel is difficult.
> 
> ...



i'd say back off the gain a little bit and possibly look into an eq pedal


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## mnemonic (Feb 15, 2015)

I don't have any experience with the Peavey VIP, but I would focus on two things;

1.) guitar setup
If the guitar isn't set up well, with too thin or too thick strings, poor action, poorly adjusted pickups, etc. this will affect how good it sounds. When I got my RG8, out of the box it was almost unplayable and sounded awful. A new set of strings, some bridge adjustments, pickup height adjustments and a truss rod adjustment, and it played and sounded great. 

Too-heavy strings and your sound will be boomy, undefined and too 'round' sounding. Too light and you knock the guitar out of tune when you pick a string. Its a fine balance, especially with low tunings. 


2.) EQ on your amp
Since you're tuning near an octave lower than a standard guitar, a lot will have to change. Generally this means more mids, less bass, probably less gain than you're used to using too, as the low frequencies will distort the amp quicker. 

Don't underestimate the power of Pre-EQ (EQ before the input of your amp). This is why people love overdrive pedals for heavy metal. Turn the Drive low (between 0 and 2), turn the level up high (between 7 and 10), and set the tone to taste. Lower the gain on the input of the amp, since you'll be getting drive from the pedal. This accomplishes three things that help tighten the sound; firstly, it increases the level into the front of the amp, thus getting higher gain sounds with the amp gain setting lower. Secondly, it EQ's the sound, cutting bass and boosting mids and treble. This gets rid of the flubby bottom before the first gain stage of the amp, reducing muddiness. Add bass and 'thump' back into your tone by turning up the 'bass' on the amp, or by putting an EQ in the fx loop. And thirdly, it adds compression and clipping, effectively like a gain stage before the amp. This all culminates into adding additional tightness, clarity and aggression to your tone. 

An EQ pedal in front of the amp can accomplish a similar task, if you cut the lows, and boost the mids/treble.


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## Discoqueen (Feb 15, 2015)

Could it be the pickups? I'm not sure if you have cephares pickups, or if it came with emgs, but if it came with Cepherus pups I'd consider replacing those if the EQ pedal, or string and setup option doesn't pan out.

When I got an 8 string, I found I had to take the bass out of the EQ a rediculous amount. Good luck, man, and happy NGD! Pics??


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## Bearitone (Feb 15, 2015)

EQ in the effects loop will help TONS! I never thought an EQ would make such a tremendous difference but it does. There may be other problems, but IMHO an EQ and OD pedal are must haves for every amp. They can turn a muddy tin-can of an amp into an out right beast if used properly


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## thrashmetal85 (Feb 15, 2015)

Guitar amps in general don't like 8 strings. They were never designed to process such low frequencies. Why do you think most 8 stringers use modellers \m/


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Feb 15, 2015)

Only one suggestion for using an OD pedal? That's like... the first thing I'd do. 



thrashmetal85 said:


> Guitar amps in general don't like 8 strings. They were never designed to process such low frequencies. Why do you think most 8 stringers use modellers \m/



I hope you're joking. 

A full-sized guitar amp could handle those low tunings, but you need something like an OD pedal and an EQ in the loop to handle it. I tried using a POD HD without an EQ or OD and it sounded like mud, even with a drop C-tuned 6-string. 



Sounds fine to me here. 

EDIT: I will admit the reason why a modeler _can_ be better is because it gives you more tweakability when compared to a standalone amp. especially when it comes to overdrives.


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## Daniel13 (Feb 15, 2015)

i have the smaller VIP 2 amp and use the bass amp section with a distortion pedal, eq is slightly boosted on lows mids and highs and sounds really good, maybe test out a couple pedals and see if that helps. also i'm tuned to drop d an octave down.


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## RagnarThorne (Feb 15, 2015)

Daniel13 said:


> i have the smaller VIP 2 amp and use the bass amp section with a distortion pedal, eq is slightly boosted on lows mids and highs and sounds really good, maybe test out a couple pedals and see if that helps. also i'm tuned to drop d an octave down.



worth a shot im sure i have a boss metal zone still kicking around in the garage somewhere. 

strings have been replaced, I haven't really had it properly setup, action, height etc all look and feel pretty legit.

It is a Cepheus pup, single humbucker at the bridge, which will get replaced in time, for now I just want something to play on and get back in the groove before modding it. 

Adding an OD pedal and tweaking the sound preamp sounds like a good way to probably go, Ive not much real experience in the world of Extended Ranges, other than a buddy who uses a seven and is himself even awed by the size and awesomeness of the guitar. clean, bluesy, bluegrassy stuff sounds great, its just when distortion is added its all blargghlegblarggleboofboof. 

Tonight Ill load up the software and see if I can tweak something more out of it, and stop by the local shop tomorrow to check on an EQ and OD pedal. Thanks for the awesome tips, seems I came to the right place.


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## mnemonic (Feb 17, 2015)

IIRC the fiber-board Cepheus pickups are very similar to the lundgren M8, so if you have that one, I doubt it's a pickup issue, since the M8 is about as tight as it gets. 

I think the plastic/covered ones aren't as good though? I can't remember.


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## davemuselman (Feb 17, 2015)

RagnarThorne said:


> Recently found an Agile Intrepid 8 string in a pawn shop for an impossible to pass up price, the axe is beautiful, Excellent tone, love the feel, at the moment its my only guitar besides my daughter's lefty. But my Peavey VIP 3 100w combo amp hates the lows, Ive tried adjusting the lows and boosting the high and mids but still sounds very muddled with any sort of distortion. (however bass settings sound absolutely excellent, its like having a bass on hand without ever switching guitars/amps.)
> 
> Id like to play around with chuggy riffs tossed into the usual stuff I like to do, but finding that happy medium where the lows dont sound like overdistorted drivel is difficult.
> 
> ...



Your first problem is that you have an Agile, no disrespect, but thats gonna be about 50% of your problems. You first have to get it set up proper, get someone to level and recrown those frets back, shave the nut or at least position the strings to a comfortable level, setup your guitar in general, then replace the pickups, check your string gauge poundage and make sure your tuning isnt wavering too heavy on your pick attacks. OR, get a better guitar... No disrespect of course.

Oddly enough, if you have too many lows on these low tunings, it sounds like garbage, most of the tone will come from your higher frequencies. I think if you look at the actual note, it will make sense.

For example, if you were to simply play the A string on a Drop A 7 String guitar, there would be several overtones that usually accompany the sound. The fundamental note is 55Hz. There would also be an overtone at 110Hz, and at 220Hz, and even for a short time some at 440Hz. Remember that if you play in a band, your bass player has to play the note below yours.. If he did his note would be near inaudible, so, when dialing your amp, just cut out the fundamental frequencies a bit, and you should clear up. OR, buy a better guitar! YAY, NGD


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## FILTHnFEAR (Feb 17, 2015)

^^^

He came here asking for help not to be told his guitar sucks and he needs another one.

On topic - OP I think, as has been stated, that an eq pedal in the loop and and an OD in front are going to be your best friends here. They will make a night and day difference. Keep the bass and gain lower than you are normally used to and don't be afraid of the mids. 

Have you checked intonation? That can make a big difference in and of itself.


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