Hi!

I'm just curious what equipment you use for black metal?
I'm interested in the pick (soft/medium/hard), the distortion pedal,
the guitar and the amp.
Also, if you record some riffs to the computer, do you use your
amplifier's headphone output or just the pedal's line out.

Thanks!
ChronIQ

I play in a black metal band called Mordor and when we play i usually use my Starforce guitar (very unheard of guitar make) which has EMG's on and only cost £40. I use it with a Boss MetalZone and it creates kick ass riffs using any kind of half decent amp. I borrowed a DOD death metal and it was alright but had shitloads of feedback and i wouldnt say it would last to long. So don't buy one. I don't have a gig amp, just a marshall reverb 12 practice amp. I play with hard picks because when i shred with thin or medium picks, they just snap or don't last very long. But thin picks are pretty good but not as good as hard ones. I hope this is of help.

You want hard picks for the shit load of tremolo picking and turn up the distortion and get your amp to sound thin (emg pickups would help. You want to avoid the warm/fat sound so use the bridge pickup. No reverb also, it makes trem picking sound like shit.

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Thanks.

Mordor: what did you find the best sounding setting on the MetalZone?

I use a metalzone also for black metal so I might be able to help out...I set the Low about 1 o'clock, the High to about 11 o'clock, the Mid Freq to 1 o'clock and the Middle to 11 o'clock. The distortion is turned up a little past 1/2 way.

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Live, I use a 150 watt three channel marshal cab with the low at 1 'o'clock, the mid at 8
'o'clock, and treb at 3 'o'clock, depending on how much I feed back that night. Keep in mind your other guitarists sound as well, if you have one. His is more bassy, that's why I have more high end in my sound. The gain is about 3 'o'clock. No reverb though. Just rehearsing I use a Peavey practice amp, with a Boss Metal Zone, everyone's favorite pedal apparently. Basically just use a mid scooped thrash sound with a bit more grit and less bass.

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Well, I'm a death/ black metal guitarist and lead vocalist.
I use an Ibanez GSA60 and and a Jackson CG-37BC
(I'm gettting it by next week).For pedals I use a BoSS
Metal Zone, Digitech Flanger and Delay,
Crybaby wah and an Ibanez CHorus/ Flanger 7.
For amps all I got is a gay ass 15 watt crate...
(Soon I'm upgrading to a CRATE GLX212). And then
I'll buy a cab for my GLX212 combo.
And is it possible to power a cab with the GLX212?
If you know about this, please tell me by PMing me.

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wow, it seems everyone has a boss metalzone.
well, i don't, i have the Boss ME-30(blue and black)
and my guitar is a jackson concept JSX-94
and my amp is a classic VT series peavey.
it sounds killer together.

@ metal=life
i like a little reverb, it adds a soft touch to tremelo picking,
makes it sound dare i say...beautiful. like the settings on Old
Mans Child's Ill-natured cd. i sound best with my equip. when
the treb is at 2, mid is 0, and bass is 7. and of course the petal
itself has its own bass treb and mid.

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Too much of any effect makes the playing sound muddy. A touch of Delay is all I need...

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depends what sort of bm sound you want.

either you go for the nu-blakk-symphonic-death shit, or you can stick to the raw bm sound.

i only play raw so ill give my settings and equipment list.

marshall jcm800,
bass- 4~5
mid- 1~3
treble- 5~7
prescence- umm, less than 5
gain- 10
volume- as loud as you can have it

2 marshall cabs

esp V with EMG 89 bridge

tune to D~E, i prefer Eb, although D is the "in" tuning for raw bm at the moment

picks, i use blue dunlop tortex 1.0mm picks and 9-42 d'addario strings. these seem to have the rawest sound. other strings are a little bit too warm sounding.

you can piss off the pedal, you shouldnt need it with a good amp, like an 800. second hand theyre affordable.

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Jackson Stealth EX
200 Watt SX Fender
Metal Zone distortion pedal in combination with a Korg 300 multi-effect pedal.

bass (between -5 and 2)
middle (between -2.5 and 2.5)
Treble (between 2.5 and 9)
trimgain (between 2.5 and 9)

I never record stuff on computer.

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Hard pick if your triming alot. Medium if your strum more. Guitar well a good guitar player can make just about every guitar sound good. Amp mmmmmmmmmmmm Crate?

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Its hard to beleive nobody mentioned two things. What your need is. And TUBE AMPS. Are you a beginner? or a trainspotter, or a die hard practicing fool. I figure youre having growing pains of shedding the beginner gear but just in case, I will mention it first. Don't buy a full stack if you can't play. Nobody will want to hear it and you won't practice or learn to play unless you have a lot of time alone, with no neighbors. Its overkill. If you can crank the metal already, I adressed that second. So another opinion for you to readers as this orig post is old.
My suggestions are more fact than giving you the name of the band I play in.
If you haven't ever played guitar... Before someones money is spent and you drop 2k on a full stack I would get one of those (name brand) all in one box kits from musicians friend or sam ash online that cost 199.99 and come with a cheap but playable guitar (that is tunable and stays tune for the most part), a tiny practice amp (10-15watts) and strings/strap/picks/tuner etc... any kit from Ibanez, Gibson ESP/LTD would be good. You may find the amp has no gain, distortion, crunch, whatever, it may sound wimpy. If you didn't check one in a store first (you can buy anywhere) you may need a distortion pedal later and you can research what kind online. Other than that its all in the box. Now the fun part. Learn to tune the guitar properly. Learn to ALTERNATE pick properly without hitting other strings and making mistakes over and over. And 3rd, learn to read tablature.

If you already play and are are in the 'gotta have' a half stack or full stack and a million dollar guitar I would think carefully. What you get for free or spend hard worked for money on will be with you for at least a few months if not years (If on your own budget). I can't stress strong enough how important a really nice tube amp is. Yes they cost 4 or 5 times the price of a solid state or 'hybrid' (like a valvetronix amp, thats tube preamp and solid state power section, not a TUBE amp). You can get a really nice Marshall JCM800 (like mentioned before), a mesa dual rectifier or a new ENGL Fireball HEAD for less than 1500.00 usd. Having the right head from the start is crucial if you are going to really play in a band or do shows. You can get by with a half ass 4x12 or 2x12 cab for a while if you don't have 600-1000 for a respected brand (respected for a reason). A ENGL Fireball and a 2x12 cabinet NEW will cost you around 1500 to 1600 bucks and will do any gig anywhere that you will play unless your video is on rotation at MTV or in the top ten online. I speak from experience. I dont care if you know the name of my band, its not my band to start with. Your equipment and the way you sound in a band will be rated and comprimise or add to the bands sound. If you want to record get the above cab and head (don't get a combo if you plan to play in a band you will hate it, get a head and cab) buy a shure sm57 mic and you can record guitar all day long on your computer. You will need a decent interface by EMU or M-Audio (for cheap) or get a Digidesign system if you have the money to drop. Download some double basss drum loops and get wappy. Learn to keep up and be tight, record yourself and be judgemental. Work on what you suck at. To say computers are not crucial to recording in the year 2008-9 is ignorant. Digidesign Pro-Tools is the STANDARD software and hardware systems in million dollar studios all the way to small home studios. You can get a small system set up with a laptop for 1000.00 just don't waste time with your soundblaster (stock) soundcard you will go crazy f-ing with that. Whatever you buy have the talent to go along with your investments/equipment otherwise you will look like a fool. Guitars... Jackson, ESP/LTD and Dean all make guitars in the 500 to 1200 usd range that are spot on for metal, death metal or whatever you play.They are used by 'professionals' all day long. Most pro's are exceoptional guitar players who spent time to learn to play very very well. They are fortunate enough to be with equally talented (usually well talented) peers/people and have taken the time to write and perform very well thought out and composed music. They sign their ass away for pennies on the dollar and get their image plastered all over the mags and internet. Then they have to tour to make real money. But, they do get laid by good looking girls and guys, sex and drugs. That is when its time to party. So when is the time to practice? Most of all practicing is the key. Not trainspotting which guitarist uses which brand and size pluctrum (pick). Dont sweat small stuff, don't worry, you will figure out what you like. It will not matter if you use a ukelele so long as you can rip out death metal that kicks it right. Only trainspotters worry over too much detail. And they are at home trainspotting, not on stage. When you see guy or young lady who can rip a face pealing lead on a 6,000 axe, remember, it wouldn't matter if it was a 100 dollar axe, he/she has paid their practicing dues hardcore.

fatcat88

jesus christ he posted that 5 years ago. You think hes EVER going to see this thread?

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Not only that, but the information is far too over-exorbiant for what he was initially asking.

You sound like someone giving a sales pitch, give a few pointers and let him come back if he wants more.

I stopped reading that mammoth peice of (almost) propaganda about 1/3 of the way through. It's not a matter of "can you tell me what I SHOULD get?" It's "what recomendations do you have?".

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But having said that and reading the rest of the post... the last few sentences are very true...

small stuff like picks dont matter, it's what you're comfortable with.

however, "pro" artists don't sign thier life away for "pennies to the dollar" on gear endorsements... They get paid absolute SHITloads to play brand X... Most Dean guitars for instance are shit unless they are U.S. made, in which case they are upwards of $7000 Aus - not worth it, but you see all kinds of "big" names using them. A brand will go to player x when their band gets recognised and throws money at them and gives them a few guitars... then they get bigger and another brand comes along and says "here, have twice what thier paying you and play this guitar instead" - Hell, I'd play a fucking James Burton Signature Tele if fender paid me enough, I'd put a humbucker in it of course... but thats a given. It's all corporate whore-ing.

*sighs* that's better, I've had my rant...

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