KORN setup? KORN sound? still trying

[Joshka]

This tuning instability issue puzzles me. I didn't have them even when I used a .059. I use a .068 now, and at Gb, it's fine. Hey, that's it! Maybe you need to adopt MY tuning! Rock solid stable, baby!

Yeah, when I went to a 60 (Dean Markley) - I had tuning stability problems too... the tuner would be crazy, it would be sharp, then flat. I couldnt also hear it doing that - without any doubt.

Something weird was happening there.

As opposed to a 56 (which I have now - D'addario) tuned to B - and my tuning is rock solid - and the tone is awesome.

I just wish I could get that same quality pitch/tone when I was using a bigger guage and had it tuned to A...

[Two hands31]

See, my tuning problems (not intonation problems) were worse with a 56. Now that I've got the intonation pretty close (will never be perfect due to crappy bridge that I already had to modify to get it this close) the tuning stability is better, but I still find that the string seems too loose. When I'm tuning, I find it's hard to get it right on a note as a slight adjustment moves the pitch a large amount (similar to tuning a 6-string down really really low).

[failsafe306]

Two Hands-
How high is your action set up? I ask because I use a 60 on my PRS, which only has a 25 inch scale, and it sounds perfectly fine. I noticed that when I was having problems like you guys are having, it was due to my action being too high up and when you fret the note at the 12th to intonate it, it actually bends it a little sharp, making your intonation settings a little off. Once I reset the action, I was actually able to move the saddle up some. Just a suggestion.

Chris

[Two hands31]

My action's pretty low, but higher than my 6-string simply because the thick strings buzz if they're any lower.

[Akhenaten]

I don't know if this helps any...but a big portion of the live sound from Korn has nothing to do with their onstage sound. Under the stage they run isolation cabs and those are miked. Lots of people are doing this now I guess because it's so much more consistent. You have a big dealed box with the cabinet and mic in there already in place and positioned...you just run the mic out and the amp line in...

Munky had mentioned that they like this sound because they've been able to really dial in the tone off the speaker in the iso boxes. There's not a lot of interference...the box is soundproof, so the mic is just being hit with the speaker sound...

Then again, this has moved on to talk of strings and tension, so none of that may be helpful...lol Just an idea guys, as far as the Korn tone thing.

[Two hands31]

The isolation boxes and stuff doesn't matter much. That's just what keeps them sounding closer to how they sound in the studio when they're playing live. Lots of bands do this now.

If anyone's interested in hearing how my Schecter Revenger-7 (basswood, stock pickups) sounds with my Line6 Flextone II and 10-60 guage strings, check out these songs on my site:

I Know (standard tuning, clean tone)

Follow Blindly (standard tuning, Recto2 and Insane models)

Bring Me To Life (cover) (tuned down a whole step, Recto2 model, right side is Squier Strat w/ DiMarzio Super Distortion tuned to drop-C)

Hurt (cover) (tuned to "baritone" tuning: beadg#be, clean and Recto2 models)

[Joshka]

man, i LOVE your sound that goes off!

[Joshka]

is this your amp man? http://www.xs4all.nl/~eniens/mijn_versterker.htm

far out that sounds good...

what sort of mic are you using? and what sort of recording devices?

[Joshka]

Two hands31 - man, eleven59+demo3.mp3 is awesome. Man i can relate to that so much , that's inspiring. I would love to add to that.

I am thinking really heavy and fat... nice work

[Tezifon]

someone has tried to use a bass to get that tones?

or a bass with lighter strings?

[The Dark Wolf]

Two Hands, looks like you got a fan, bro.

[Two hands31]

Yea, that's the kind of amp I use, it's not big, but it knows kung fu

As for recording stuff I use an Apex dynamic mic (can't remember the exact model name but I'll get back to you with it if you want) and a Tascam US-122 into my laptop with the bundled version of Cubase VST.

The main part of my sound is just mixing. Especially on "Follow Blindly" I noticed I got a real Korn type sounding mix because both guitars sound really weak on their own, but when they're playing together it sounds really heavy.

[Joshka]

yeah man, I noticed that about the 2 guitars - you use different EQ settings for guitar 1 and 2. Sounds awesome.

[Drew]

double-tracking is about the coolestthing int he world, imo. I've never really got a single track of rhythm guitar on its own to sound right, to me- it sounds too thin and "narrow," somehow. Copying and pasting it to a second track, and mixing them to each side helps a bit- a little more spacious, and with a little more body- but something about combining two distinc performances, even with almost the same amp settings... and when you start combining tracks with different tones- one for more gain and depth, another with more treble bite for definition, for instance- you can get some sick tones. Just massively expansive.

The problem, of course, is leaving space for a lead track...

-D

[Two hands31]

Yea, I did the left side with a kinda treble-y Recto2 patch, and the right side with a bassy Insane patch. I normally mic the speaker at a 45-degree angle an inch or two away, but found for these patches it got too muddy. For some of the other tracks (the Bring Me To Life and Hurt covers off the top of my head) I had the speaker mic-ed at a 45-degree angle as I mentioned above for the left and right channels, and then mic-ed the speaker straight on with the mic pressed against the cloth for the center channel.