I NEED HELP WITH MY GUITAR RIG

brandobanjo · #1 02-24-2013, 05:21 PM

Hey everybody, this is my first post on Jemsite so i'm hoping I get some good feedback on this post. I need help getting my rig to sound as good as it can. I would like suggestions on what I need to make my rig have a very full edgy sound. I play in a metalcore band keep in mind. I have a peavey 6505+ head with a peavey cab (I forget which one). I currently play a shecter hellraiser 7 string but I am trying to get my hands on an Iron Label RG7321. (And im probably going to be putting EMG 81's on the bridge and 85's on the neck) Any ideas on how to make my tone better? I would also be willing to possibly invest in pedals or even a new cab to make the tone as good as physically possible.

Ekim · #2 02-24-2013, 08:42 PM

What do you like about your tone now? What don't you like about it? What's missing you want to add?

dccomputersa · #3 02-25-2013, 01:13 AM

Dude, you have ALMOST everything you need. I am using the same exact setup except I have a Digitech GSP1101 hooked up using the 4 cable method. It sounds HUGE!!!! You can get them used at a very reasonable price now days!!!

bates · #4 02-25-2013, 03:18 AM

How long have you been playing??? Its not uncommon for novice players to believe they need more/better gear because they do not yet know how much the tone changes with stronger more accurate playing.

I don't mean to be rude but if you gave that rig to, for example, Jim Root, it would sound monstrous yet if you gave it to my nan it would sound weak and messy.

LonePhantom · #5 02-25-2013, 03:49 AM

Your tone should be awesome with a great amp like that. You just need to learn how to dial it in to your tastes. Maybe get a noise gate like an MXR Smart Gate to control the noise when things stop.

Swirltop · #6 02-25-2013, 08:08 AM

A 10 band eq like an MXR can do wonders man

j.arledge · #7 02-25-2013, 09:42 AM

an eq would help, and yeah probably a good noise gate.

I am not a fan of emgs. I think they are lifeless and dull. If i was going active Seymour duncan blackouts or live wires would give you more dynamics.

Depending on what cab you have, you may just want to switch out speakers. Speakers are really overlooked as far as tone shaping. If your cab is solid i would certainly look in to some new speakers. Some people look down on the eminence patriot/red coat line as cheap but they are some really awesome speakers for the price. Typically you will want a higher wattage speaker. They tend to handle the chuncky thump of down tuned guitars better with better clarity.

If you think speakers might be a good way to go, take your amp to your nearest guitar store and play through whatever cabs they have. That will let you know how much speakers can make a difference.

GUITARMAGEDDON · #8 02-25-2013, 01:21 PM

How long have you been playing through the current rig? If you haven't had it for too long,, maybe check out the Peavey forum and see what the best setting are to dial in your tone. But like some of the other guys said, an EQ couldn't hurt. Even a little 6 band can do wonders. Is it that you are not getting enough gain? clarity? punch?

tell us more

brandobanjo · #9 02-25-2013, 08:24 PM

I am a pretty experienced player I've been playing around 7-8 years (not to sound modest). And my tone is decent, its just I have a hard time making it sound huge. It sounds decent, I just want it to be really as good as it can be. Some more punch would be nice. I'm definitely getting enough gain and its pretty clear. Punchier would definitely be how I want it to sound. I'm gonna look into all of these things so thank you guys.

63Blazer · #10 02-25-2013, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brandobanjo

I am a pretty experienced player I've been playing around 7-8 years (not to sound modest). And my tone is decent, its just I have a hard time making it sound huge. It sounds decent, I just want it to be really as good as it can be. Some more punch would be nice. I'm definitely getting enough gain and its pretty clear. Punchier would definitely be how I want it to sound. I'm gonna look into all of these things so thank you guys.

Your rig, along with many similar setups (me - various JCM heads drummer owns with Marshall 4x12s lying around here and there) is good enough. If you want a huge sound, fool with effects and use the big sound coming from the source of the EMG 81 and you will be golden.

If anything that may be too big and drown others out so keep mindful of others, too. In a band I used to be in, the bass player got tired of being under the weight of the Marshalls so he got a 250 watt bass head and put in some really hot, yet passive pups, and then he started to overpower the guitar/Marshall JCM 900. I have seen other bands with that famous EMG 81/Marshall combo that went so big the vocalist and drummer just became so drowned out and it became noise pollution.

There are some users who don't think any guitar rigs can handle the intensity of the big 7th string so they play through a bass amp using the proper effects to add in the appropriate tones for the small strings. Some dropped down tuning even with six strings make the Marshalls sound farty. It could also be the ancient Celestions in the Marshall cabs which were totally not designed for djent stuff.

kfssdude · #11 02-25-2013, 09:53 PM

If punch is what you're after, I'd look at your cab first and foremost. A really punchy sound comes from a quality sealed cab and good speakers. A textbook example of a "punchy" cab to me is a 90's Mesa recto cab w/ Celestion V30's. These cabs are huge sounding and very punchy but can be kind of muddy sounding compared to the 80's Marshall dominated sound - which meant solos didn't cut through as well. As others mentioned take your head & axe into a GC or something & try out some different cabs. When you fin one you really dig, get the specs. If you LOVE it maybe you wanna snag it...

You don't necessarily have to go out and buy a new cab though. Peavey makes decent cabs but they aren't sealed very well, which robs a lot of the punch. I have Peavey 5150 cabs (using an original 5150 head - the head your 6505 is modeled after) and what I did was take the backs off and the speakers out and then run a bead of black caulk along every single joint inside the cab - especially around the speaker baffle! I let that dry for a couple days and then sprayed FlexSeal over the top of all the caulk beads. Then reinstall your speakers. I used this opportunity to upgrade the speaker wire from the crap stock 22-gauge to good stranded 16-gauge. This is also a great time to upgrade speakers if you want to - I changed out my slant cab speakers to Celestion greenbacks & V30's in an X pattern which makes a huge sounding cab that has punch from the V30's but outstanding midrange for solos from the greenbacks, making a great "do-it-all" cab for smaller venues that only require a half-stack.

At any rate, speakers aside, just doing the sealing will add a lot of punch to your cab tone & will only cost you about $20 & some elbow grease.

LonePhantom · #12 02-25-2013, 10:13 PM

Definitely, looking at speakers and the cabinet itself is a good starting point.

Another option from a pedal is the TC Electronic Spark Booster. This pedal is absolutely brilliant. The Fat boost option may very well give you what you want.

brandobanjo · #13 02-26-2013, 01:58 PM

Thanks for the advice guys I'll let you know what I decide to do.

63Blazer · #14 02-27-2013, 11:09 AM

As for the comments on EMG active vs. passive, I think one is definitely more suited for clean and the other for distortion and contribute to the "bigness" of sound. Your rig, as others have stated, is probably more than enough and pickups could be the missing factor here. When you get too much bigness you may then lose some dynamics. However, being cranked up all the time via Metallica works better with a full bore attack and that's why they use EMGs. I use EMG passive pickups and they are actually way more like the average passive pickup and don't sound anything like the 81. It's too bad you can't have one 81 and one passive on same guitar.

Anyway, this is good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE3tV_9V0kw

ozzuk · #15 02-27-2013, 09:33 PM

The cab may or may not be a problem.

You should definately look at testing other cabs out with the head...

The 6505's love a boost infront of them many bands use a tubescreamer or ts type pedal boosting the front end just to tighten it up, you could also try a compresor pedal...

My 6505+112 also sounded better if you jumped the loop patch cbale between the send/return, if it wasent being used, sounded much better. It may not be an issue on the american peavey's.

Definately wont hurt to try a few different things but the boosting thing is probably what your after.

I quite like the bad monkey its tubescreamer based but ahs a seperate treble/bass controls...