Many people start playing guitar, because they hear a super heavy hardcore riff on the radio and it inspires them to become a musician. That’s cool because heavy metal is a fun genre of music that is also a rewarding genre for guitarists. The sound of a hardcore metal guitar is awesome; however getting ‘that’ sound can be difficult.

First let me note that there are many variations in metal sounds depending on the bands style and how heavy they are. Just like any genre of music there are many variations depending on the band or song. Also lead players need a different tone when they are playing.

However there is a basic ‘metal tone’. This is essentially loud and as distorted as you can be. Often it is common in metal to ‘scoop’ the tone. This means that you should put your bass and treble near full and pull your mids back to around 3 or so. The results this can have may vary wildly depending on the kind of amp you have, so experiment with your equipment.

When it comes to your guitar, generally metal guitarists use humbucker pickups. This is because they reduce feedback and give off a warmer fatter sound. For this reason if you find you are having trouble getting a good sound out of your guitar maybe you need to think about whether you have the right kind of pick ups.

So try these ideas if you are having trouble getting the right metal sound. Remember these are only guidelines for you to experiment with. Remember turn your amps up to eleven and rock out.

Another way to get a good metal sound is the use of distortion or effects pedals. This gets into an area that really can’t be covered in the Tech Tips section of this newsletter, but it’s an important topic to talk about. It can’t be covered because guitar sound is very personal, and the ideal sound for one guitarist won’t sound good to others.

Here is one of the most innovative Metal bands with a great and classic metal guitar sound:

Posted by Moses Robbins.

So, is there a marketplace for this (old school) style of playing? Well, plenty of people want to learn how to do it for sure, and it`s all in your hands and your ears for me. Buy the right albums too.
My commercial song based album project with reknowned producers Turei, George and 50hz is available here at www.jakeedwards.net:
When it comes to songwriting I just can`t sufficiently explain, no matter how hard I try, how, where and why to do it.

You need to talk to God about that one.

John has written in asking about pickup and amplifier configurations:

Hi my name is john I bought your jamorama and lead programs. I was wondering if you can explain the difference in the pick-ups in the fender guitars. There are the 500.00 – 1700.00 dollar guitars and up, I am confused because they look like single coil p/u but can sound like dual humbuckers to me.
If I was to buy one how would I know which ones would give me a heavy rock distortion sound, you know, switch between clear clean sound to heavy distortion?

Hi John,

Jake Edwards here. Personally I use a fender stratocaster plus with gold lace sensors used exclusively by Fender from 1987 to 1996. These were used by Eric Clapton for some time, and Jeff Beck also. So if you`re interested, check out the sounds these guys achieve between these dates in a live situation. I think they deliver a great sound through a range of amplifiers and I`d recommend them.

humbuckers

The options for pick ups are pretty vast these days but if you are keen on Fender guitars Fender are now producing their own Fender Special Design dual-coil ceramic Noiseless™ pick ups in Stratocasters, so these, which Clapton (using the vintage model) and Beck have in their current signature guitar models should be pretty good. In telecaster they are using Samarium Cobalt Noiseless™ Telecaster pickups.

The best course of action is to try and find a guitar that really has that magic feel, playability and sound for you. Try a telecaster and a stratocaster.  Consider the sound that Bruce Springsteen, Joe Strummer, or Keith Richards get with a telecaster and then maybe have a listen to some strat` users – Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Rory Gallagher or Jeff Beck….

There are two main styles of electric guitar pickups: single-coil and humbucker.

Single-coil pickups are most commonly seen in Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars.

The humbucker is basically, two single-coil pickups stacked on top of each other. They are the muscle car pick up of the guitar world and produce thicker, punchier tones. Humbuckers are seen in all kinds of guitars but are most closely associated with the Gibson Les Paul. It’s called a hum bucker because it was designed to do exactly that – buck the hum.

Country rock or blues players often choose single-coils, while heavy metal music is predominantly played on guitars with humbuckers. There is no limit to your imagination either and you can combine any array of pickups you like.

Really at the end of the day your choice of pickups is a highly individual matter and it is well worth taking the time to choose a pickup that suits your style and sound. One of the best ways to do this is to listen to some of your favourite records and use the internet to find out what kind of guitars, amplifiers and equipment the artist is using.

Cruise on over to GUITAR GEEK and check out what your favourite professional guitarist is using. You`ll be surprised at some of the set ups.

Just for example here is the set up used by Head from Korn:

Maybe start by playing the guitars unplugged so you can gain an insight into the feel of the neck, the balance of the machine and the kind of tones it makes before amplification. When you think you’ve found a guitar that really feels right then you can plug it into something!

Are you going to be playing live to 500 people or just playing at home? Will you be recording with your amplifier in the studio? Or will you be having a small jam down at your local bar?

These are the types of questions you should ask yourself when thinking about an amplifier to begin with. Having a huge stacking amplifier set up with a head and cabinets is great for high volume applications but difficult to move and incredibly loud. Personally I would suggest a valve amp but at the end of the day use your ears carefully. A Fender twin sounds markedly different from a Marshall amplifier for example and a Session highly different from a Peavey.

Cornford amps have a great series of versatile amps, some specifically for club playing or recording.

Most of your overdrive and distortion can be achieved through your choice of amplifier. Look for an amp with both a clean and an overdriven channel – then you can switch between the channels or combine them with a footswitch. At the end of the day a good guitar and a decent amp will deliver a huge range of tonal and sound possibilities and characteristics.

Try clean sounds first with all combinations of pick up and tone control possibilities on the guitar and then play with the controls on the amplifier as well. Roll all your tone on and off across each pick up and do the same with the EQ section of the amp.

Then do the same thing with the dirty channel and a distorted sound. The combine the two and listen to the results. Spend as long as you can and concentrate on what your hear. It may take you an hour, a day or a even week. I used different Marshalls, combined with Fender Twins and a few others before I settled upon SESSION AMPLIFIERS.

Then if you really want to kick out the jams try some distortion boxes.

Cheers,

Jake Edwards

ABOUT LACE SENSORS
Lace Sensors are true single-coil pickups; however, internally they are different from classic single coils. The chief difference is that the coil is surrounded by metal barriers which blocks electro-magnetic interference such as power line hum. These barriers also help concentrate the magnetic field, allowing weaker magnets to be used, which results in less string pull. Less string pull, in turn, means truer pitch and intonation, and superior sustain. There are three main types gold red and blue:

GOLD: A classic 50′s Style single coil sound with a classy bell.
BLUE: Slightly increased output with the warmer 50′s humbucking sound in a single coil configuration
RED: The hottest output of our Sensor Series. Perfect for the bridge position when fat, punch humbucking output is required.

Back in the late seventies, prior to the arrival of PUNK ROCK, with its garland of spit, safety pins, anarchy, rebellion and anti-authoritarian posturing, Steve Hillage took the psychedelia of the late 60`s and infused it with the kind of prodcution techniques it really deserved.

Towards the end of the 70′s Hillage’s progressive guitar-rock and psychedelic fusion leanings helped build a reputation that became synonymous with spacey, ambient soundscapes and “excursions”.

1978′s Green, co-produced by Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason is an exemplary and  landmark recording in this respect that, with both power and sensitivity focuses upon a pantheistic ecological message

HIllages “hippie” music was eclipsed by the D.I.Y. madness of anarchy, punk rock and “dissent” at the end of the decade.

The Hillage sound remained immortalised in the consciousness of a whole new generation by the UK “Festival” band The Ozric Tentacles. Ten years after Hillage released “Green” the Ozrics pioneered a new wave of trippy, techno space rock into the 90`s acid scene updated with hard pounding beats, shifting time signatures, the use of eastern and exotic modes and instruments.

After the collapse of Thatcherite ethics in the 80`s the British music underground, fuelled by political unrest and  drug fuelled madness exploded across the media and across the country in revolutionary fervour.

Pedals never replace playing ability, groove, talent, technique, vision and expression but can really help having the brain of Hendrix sitting in a little box on the floor. At the end of the day its all in your hands and head.

If this has whetted your appetite for guitar signal destruction then head over here to try out some virtual BOSS pedals!!