# How to get a Dethklok like tone?



## Gabe_LTD (Sep 29, 2011)

Hi Can you guys help me with getting a good dethklok like lead tone? 
I' have a good rhythm tone thats pretty metal I like it, It still needs a tube screamer. 
Though im having problems getting a lead tone like Brendon small.
I use a Krank Revolution 1, with a Rivera Cab ( celestion t-75s) 

What pedals could help me get that lead tone? 
Would a tube screamer and a noise gate do the job?
Or what settings could I use to this?


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## warlock7strEMG (Sep 29, 2011)

TS/OD pedal will get you that lead tone. Will also improve your rhythm tone. What settings are you currently running? Your head will definitely do the trick, not sure about ur cab tho. Ive heard that T75's dont sound good with Krank heads. Im actually not a fan of them with anything, they sound pretty good with JCM800's though.

Heres video of Brendan playing Dethklok stuff thru a Rev Jr, basically the low wattage version of your amp. So his tone CAN be more or less achieved with your amp

EDIT:Now featuring, as promised, the video!!!!!


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## Chickenhawk (Sep 29, 2011)

You forgot the video, warlock 

Brendon used Krankenstiens and Kerry King JCM800's on the first album, and Marshall Mode 4's and JVM amps on the second, with a Keeley modded TS-9 (presumably on both albums).

He also uses a POD in the studio.

I don't see a problem whatsoever in getting his tone with a Revolution. Less mids than what we (read: SS.Org) usually suggest, and a heavy picking hand.


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## warlock7strEMG (Sep 29, 2011)

Chickenhawk said:


> You forgot the video, warlock



Epic fail of the day on my part  Thanks for reminding me to fix that!!!!



Chickenhawk said:


> I don't see a problem whatsoever in getting his tone with a Revolution. *Less mids than what we (read: SS.Org) usually suggest*, and a heavy picking hand.



Your prolly right!!! in that case, the T75's should be just fine


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## Gabe_LTD (Sep 29, 2011)

warlock7strEMG said:


> TS/OD pedal will get you that lead tone. Will also improve your rhythm tone. What settings are you currently running? Your head will definitely do the trick, not sure about ur cab tho. Ive heard that T75's dont sound good with Krank heads. Im actually not a fan of them with anything, they sound pretty good with JCM800's though.
> 
> Heres video of Brendan playing Dethklok stuff thru a Rev Jr, basically the low wattage version of your amp. So his tone CAN be more or less achieved with your amp
> 
> EDIT:Now featuring, as promised, the video!!!!!






The ironic thing is that I tried the dimebag darrel krank Cab it didn't sound very good at all, I tried a bunch of marshall speakers, 1 laney one peavy and one other one.
The Rivera blew them all away, idk why but it sounds really good with my Krank.
I have a guitar teacher who put the Joe Satriani Peavy head on a Fender cab and it sounded totally metal.  

Plus I really like that Low bass sound that the Rivera cab gives me, its sexy.

Currently I think I Keep my presence Nob all the way up, The sweep at 3 or 4 Bass at 6 or 7 mid range at 2 and the treble at 6.


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## Gabe_LTD (Sep 29, 2011)

warlock7strEMG said:


> Your prolly right!!! in that case, the T75's should be just fine



Wait I also forgot I keep that Gain at 7 or 8.

Im kinda of a noob when it comes to Amp setting but these settings I use on my amp sound pretty beast but its just missing something you know?


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## Chickenhawk (Sep 29, 2011)

Try lowering your presence, and bumping your mids a bit. I don't know what the sweep does on your amp, but I'll assume it's a mid-frequency sweep. In that case, bump your mids up to 4 or so, and play with the sweep knob until you find a nice medium between "full-bodied" (aka middy), and snarl/growl (not the thrash scoop sound).

EDIT:

You'll always be missing something playing alone, compared to a studio recording.

The Dethklok albums are double or quad-tracked, with professional studio equipment, and experienced people turning the knobs and working their magic to make everything sound as good as they can. One guy in a bedroom, by themselves, with a guitar and an amp will never be able to replicate that certain 'something'.

There's a metal band called Myopic. They have a VERY heavy guitar sound...recorded. I actually have the patches they used for their Axe-FX's, and the guitars by themselves sound like garbage (to my ears). Almost no gain (seriously...almost zero gain), and some jacked up EQ. But played by them, recorded and mixed, sitting with the rest of the band, it sounds phenomenal.


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## Gabe_LTD (Sep 29, 2011)

Chickenhawk said:


> Try lowering your presence, and bumping your mids a bit. I don't know what the sweep does on your amp, but I'll assume it's a mid-frequency sweep. In that case, bump your mids up to 4 or so, and play with the sweep knob until you find a nice medium between "full-bodied" (aka middy), and snarl/growl (not the thrash scoop sound).





Thanks! should I lower it down to like 5 or 6? or 8? or at like 3-4?


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## Chickenhawk (Sep 29, 2011)

Gabe_ESP said:


> Thanks! should I lower it down to like 5 or 6? or 8? or at like 3-4?



Personally, I absolutely LOVE playing with a LOT of presence. Unfortunately, I have bad hearing 

I'd lower it to around half, and then start adjusting your EQ (play with your mids), and the sweep. Listen to what everything does. Once you start really getting a feel for how everything reacts, and what you feel you should set the EQ at to fit your playing style, guitar, pickups, effects, cab, desired tone, etc. Then you can move on to the presence, and set it where you keep the punch and growl your looking for, but not going into 'piercing' territory. 

You'll probably need to run the presence at about 7 or so, but it all depends on how dark your guitar sounds, where you set your sweep knob, and how your cab reacts to your amps voicing. 

^^ That is the root cause of gear-whoredom.


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## warlock7strEMG (Sep 30, 2011)

I've spent alot of time with Krank amps, specifically the Revolution. And I can say from personal experience that part of the tonal issues u are having is from ur presence so high. These amps, especially the non + models were touchy with the EQ(hard to dial in) and had wayyyyyyyyy too much presence. They corrected both issues to a degree with the + models, but even those I wouldn't run my presence above 4, ESP not with a cab as sizzley on the top end as urs. G12T-75's are known for having lots of high end presence. 

Another thing that will help is bringing ur mids up a bit. Some amps u can run the mids that low and still have a full sound, such as the 5150. But Kranks, ESP the non + models, tho having a decent amount of mids when dialed in right still have somewhat of a scooped sound to them. When u combine that with a T75 loaded cab, which is also somewhat scooped by nature, ur tone is gonna feel like it's missing something. So turn those mids up a bit. Bassy guitar tone is cool, but not as important as ur mids. Not only will turning up ur mids get u more thickness and body out of ur tone, u will also find it to "growl", which will allow u to turn ur gain down a bit. Less gain also will give u more thickness. 

Try this: presence: 4-5, sweep: 4, treble: 5-6, mids: 5-6, bass: 7, gain: 6-7 at most(4-5 once u get a TS/OD). It may sound odd at first but let ur ears get adjusted to it. Once they do, fine tune from there


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## AxeHappy (Sep 30, 2011)

It's probably worth pointing out that Brendon plays 13 gauge strings.


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## Andromalia (Sep 30, 2011)

60-13 is sort of a standard for playing Death metal in B on a gibson.


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## gunshow86de (Sep 30, 2011)

A few weeks ago, Carvin posted a video interview with Brendon on YouTube. Brendon is apparently using the Legacy II for his solo record, and is going to be using it with Metalocalypse/Dethklok going forward. At least that's what the interview said, but Carvin took it down in less than 24 hours. So................. 

EDIT: In case you think I'm making stuff up, you can kinda tell what's going on  => http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/gear-equipment/169516-carvin-interview-brendon-small.html

EDIT Part II: Electric Bugaloo:

Carvin put it back up. 





Carvin said:


> Season 1 and 2 was Krank. Marshall deal was for&#65279; Season 3. Carvin is for his solo stuff. Honestly does any guitar player use only one amp?


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## Gabe_LTD (Sep 30, 2011)

Chickenhawk said:


> Personally, I absolutely LOVE playing with a LOT of presence. Unfortunately, I have bad hearing
> 
> I'd lower it to around half, and then start adjusting your EQ (play with your mids), and the sweep. Listen to what everything does. Once you start really getting a feel for how everything reacts, and what you feel you should set the EQ at to fit your playing style, guitar, pickups, effects, cab, desired tone, etc. Then you can move on to the presence, and set it where you keep the punch and growl your looking for, but not going into 'piercing' territory.
> 
> ...



Ahhah thanks !
Would A eq pedal help ?


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## Gabe_LTD (Sep 30, 2011)

warlock7strEMG said:


> I've spent alot of time with Krank amps, specifically the Revolution. And I can say from personal experience that part of the tonal issues u are having is from ur presence so high. These amps, especially the non + models were touchy with the EQ(hard to dial in) and had wayyyyyyyyy too much presence. They corrected both issues to a degree with the + models, but even those I wouldn't run my presence above 4, ESP not with a cab as sizzley on the top end as urs. G12T-75's are known for having lots of high end presence.
> 
> Another thing that will help is bringing ur mids up a bit. Some amps u can run the mids that low and still have a full sound, such as the 5150. But Kranks, ESP the non + models, tho having a decent amount of mids when dialed in right still have somewhat of a scooped sound to them. When u combine that with a T75 loaded cab, which is also somewhat scooped by nature, ur tone is gonna feel like it's missing something. So turn those mids up a bit. Bassy guitar tone is cool, but not as important as ur mids. Not only will turning up ur mids get u more thickness and body out of ur tone, u will also find it to "growl", which will allow u to turn ur gain down a bit. Less gain also will give u more thickness.
> 
> Try this: presence: 4-5, sweep: 4, treble: 5-6, mids: 5-6, bass: 7, gain: 6-7 at most(4-5 once u get a TS/OD). It may sound odd at first but let ur ears get adjusted to it. Once they do, fine tune from there



-Wow man you know a lot about Kranks and t-75's, hahha A lot more than most people. 
is the krank rev 1 Better than the Peavy 6505/5150 heads? I heard its easier to dial in a good tone on those.

I will do that those settings on my Amp! thanks  

I actually changed my settings but Krank amps are very touchy amps.
Like the distortion sounds heavier if i use a thick pick over a thin pick...kinda weird lol.

im kinda cheap when it comes to pedals,( like under a 100$)
What od or tube screamer would be a good one thats cheap?
Are the Delta lab tube distortions good? 
or should I go for a digitech Hardwire Tube overdrive? 
( ive played a hardwire and I was very impressed with the quality and it sounded like a good booster!)
Or is the 100$ tube Ts 9 a better option>
or the Ibanez TS9DX Turbo Tube Screamer ?


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## warlock7strEMG (Sep 30, 2011)

Just have had plenty of experience with both of those . Kranks don't get much love by alot of people and I know they aren't for everyone because they are kinda unique sounding, but dialed in correctly and with the volume up ALOT I think they sound awesome!!! 

As far as being better than a 5150, that's really up to preference I guess. A 5150 is gonna be warmer and potentially bigger sounding, but also kinda a one trick as far as different tones go. However I find that their tone is pretty useful for all types of heavy music and tho the EQ doesn't change ur tone a whole lot, they more or less sound good no matter how they are dialed in, as long as u don't go nuts with the gain(anything past 5-6 is useless). They are also fairly fluid feeling, which makes them somewhat easy to play. Very compressed which makes them forgiving of not so tight playing to a degree, but still open and dynamic is it's own way. 

Kranks, tho not having as much warmth or being quite as thick as a 5150, sound much clearer and tighter and still have plenty of thickness. When dialed in right they sound huge!!!! They may not be plug and play like a 5150 but with a little time, I find Kranks are capable of doing a wide range of tones. Anything from classic JCM800-ish to tones similar to a 5150(emphasis on similar, it'll never sound just like a 5150 or a JCM800 for that matter, it'll always sound like a Krank). From classic rock to death and black and metal, Kranks can do it. Some feel they are too tight and stiff feeling, but using an OD pedal will alleviate alot of the stiffness. They can also be a little difficult to play in the sense that are pretty open and not really compressed, so not-so-tight playing and sloppiness is more noticeable(an OD will also help with this to a degree, the pedals compression will make it more "forgiving"), which isn't really a bad thing. Kinda forces one to play a little better and it means the amp is dynamic in the sense that it responds alot to ur playing(hence u noticing the difference between thick and thin picks when playing thru ur head), that to me is actually kinda cool!!! The harder u pick, the more aggressive and heavy they sound!!!

As far as OD pedals go, I'd go with the Digitech Hardwire OD or even a Digitech Bad Monkey. Both pedals are actually very similar sounding to a TS808, but a little more transparent(less midrange bump, but still enough there to benefit from). The Hardwire would be the better of the 2 no doubt, as it's a essentially a better built Bad Monkey. But with either pedal, set with Drive:0, Treble:4, Bass:5-6, Level:7-8. This combined with the amp settings I mentioned before (amp gain 4-5), u will have a pretty killer tone!!! I will say though, that if u can find a Maxon OD9 used for a good price, that is THE best OD pedal in my opinion. Its what the TS9 is supposed to(and used to) sound like.

*EDIT:* Another great OD is a BBE Green Screamer. AMAZINGLY built pedal that also similar to TS808, nice and warm, but little brighter than the 808. Can be found for under $100, usually for around $80



Gabe_ESP said:


> -Wow man you know a lot about Kranks and t-75's, hahha A lot more than most people.
> is the krank rev 1 Better than the Peavy 6505/5150 heads? I heard its easier to dial in a good tone on those.
> 
> I will do that those settings on my Amp! thanks
> ...


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## Gabe_LTD (Oct 7, 2011)

warlock7strEMG said:


> Just have had plenty of experience with both of those . Kranks don't get much love by alot of people and I know they aren't for everyone because they are kinda unique sounding, but dialed in correctly and with the volume up ALOT I think they sound awesome!!!
> 
> As far as being better than a 5150, that's really up to preference I guess. A 5150 is gonna be warmer and potentially bigger sounding, but also kinda a one trick as far as different tones go. However I find that their tone is pretty useful for all types of heavy music and tho the EQ doesn't change ur tone a whole lot, they more or less sound good no matter how they are dialed in, as long as u don't go nuts with the gain(anything past 5-6 is useless). They are also fairly fluid feeling, which makes them somewhat easy to play. Very compressed which makes them forgiving of not so tight playing to a degree, but still open and dynamic is it's own way.
> 
> ...




Ill look into the Digitech hardwire pedal, maxon od9, and the BBE green screamer!
thanks for the info  this really helps a lot!
Im buying a 7string guitar before the od pedal though, then a ISP Decimator pedalthen a tube screamer pedal.
Kranks are great they just need a decimator pedal and a OD pedal to sound super amazing .
To be fair though I did buy my krank used on ebay for 650$ lol 
I am actually using the setting you told me to try out but I haven't been able to use my amp a lot this week, been busy. -__- 
Also you didn't say anything about the delta lab tube pedals ? Are they really shitty or something? or just not that great?
I think im gonna go for the hardwire pedal cause I like the way the construction of the pedal and the sound ( from what ive heard ).


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## incinerated_guitar (Oct 8, 2011)

Andromalia said:


> 60-13 is sort of a standard for playing Death metal in B on a gibson.


 
He tunes to C


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