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Slayer guitar sounds


metal571

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Posted
for any metalheads who like this particular band, i am wondering if anyone knows how to get that raw, grinding tone on Hell Awaits. thanks. as of now my equipment is a B.C. Rich Rave 2 Warlock, a Marshall MG15CD, and i also own a Digitech rp50 multieffects pedal and a DOD Death Metal distortion stompbox.
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Posted

I'm fairly sure the guitarists were using either late 1970's master volume Marshalls (probably 2203 100 watt heads), or JCM 800's. Also, this was a few years before they started using EMG active pickups on their guitars; DiMarzio Super Distortions were on their axes then.

 

With the stuff you have, the distortion could come straight from the amp itself. But if you wanted to throw in some lead tones, you'd have to play the amp clean, and find a distortion sound in the rp50 that's similar to a JCM 800's. Unlike most thrash bands, Slayer actually has plenty of midrange in their sound.

 

Their typical signal path is something like this:

 

guitar > 10 band MXR eq (scooped V formation, this is where the midrange is scooped out) > wah > amp input

 

I'm not sure exactly as to how the amp's EQ is set up. I think it's something like bass on 5, mids on about 7, treble on 5, and presence on 5 or 6.

 

These days, Slayer also uses Marshall JMP-1 preamp s live (mated to some Eventide H3000 processors and Jim Dunlop rack wah units), along with a few Mode Four heads. Still, the tones have remained more or less consistent throughout the band's career. It hasn't changed much, though adding the 10 band EQ and the EMG's has made things edgier and meaner.

Posted
Shucks, you can get the same sound as Slayer by revving up a chainsaw, and it costs a lot less.

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

 

 

 

 

Posted
thanks for the info Dr. Taz. yeah im well aware they were using jcm 800s, i like using the sort of classic marshall settings of bass 0-3, mids 10 and treble 10. seems to make very rough and gritty tone with definition in the midrange area, and as you crank the volume the bass becomes tighter and makes the amp roar more. any ideas on cabs they might have used? i would think the 1960B but i dont know about the kinda speakers in them. v30s? or just g12-75s?
Posted

Great post Dr. Taz, I couldn't have said it better myself!

 

metal571,

 

I use a B.C. Rich Rave 2 Warlock as well. In fact I've never talked to anyone else that own's one!

Here's a pic of mine...

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g30/scmcfaul/000_0258.jpg

 

I've heavily modified it over the years! This was my first guitar, and it's been with me for 12 years now. It had a successful carrer in a metal band during the 80's and early nineties before it met me. Pretty cheaply made, but very nicely proportioned, unlike the new Warlocks. I find the newer bodies to be too big.

 

Anyway, I use a Boss Metal Zone [Level:50% Low:60% High:40% Middle:60% Mid Freq:40% Dist:75%] amd a boss ge-7 in a soft 'V' pattern to scoop the mids.

My amp is a Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120H Head with a Marshall 4x12 cab, with the amp set like [High Treble:6 Treble:6 Middle:7.5 Bass:6.5 Reverb Off.

It's a pretty good tone for playing Slayer, but it is lacking in a little of the Marshall mid bite from using a solidstate amp.

What a horrible night to have a curse.
Posted
hey Xplorer, niiice. mine is custom painted, here: http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g62/xhxc57x/P5090130.jpg mine is okay, i have a maple neck on it and the humbuckers are still stock, as is the bridge. B.C. Rich told me that they were made in somewhere around the early 90s by a company called Class Axe at the time. The only annoying thing about mine is that it takes a nose dive every time you let go of the neck while standing up since it is neck heavy. other than that, its good. my first guitar too, same as it was when i got it 2 years ago from a friend.
Posted
Originally posted by metal571:

thanks for the info Dr. Taz. yeah im well aware they were using jcm 800s, i like using the sort of classic marshall settings of bass 0-3, mids 10 and treble 10. seems to make very rough and gritty tone with definition in the midrange area, and as you crank the volume the bass becomes tighter and makes the amp roar more. any ideas on cabs they might have used? i would think the 1960B but i dont know about the kinda speakers in them. v30s? or just g12-75s?

No problem. :)

 

Probably the g12-75's... or even the 100's. I don't think Slayer's tone would hold up under the v30's; it would sound too bass heavy, and break up too much at high volume. The v30's are better for creamy overdriven tones, and not-so-icepicky clean tones. I think Yngwie Malmsteen uses those in his cabs.

Posted
dr. taz, ive heard of metallica's james hetfield almost exclusively using vintage 30 loaded marshall 4x12 cabs, so i figured the metal guys like them. probably better for that biting mesa tone than a smoother marshall roar i would think.
Posted

metal571,

 

My guitar used to have the same bridge as yours. I installed the recessed floyd with a dremel and made the fret locks by hand. I'm actually suppried it stays in tune! I was jamming on it last night and the low 'E' was a little out, but I hadn't tuned the guitar about 2 weeks.

What a horrible night to have a curse.
Posted
Originally posted by rotosound45:

Originally posted by Sleaze_Disease:

Man, my dad has a Death Metal pedal...

I thought we had a few years left before somebody said that. :)
hahahahahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.....

 

 

A student of mine has one of those (he's 15-yrs-old, w/ no children). It should be called "Dead Metal".... not sure why. Well, that wasn't funny, was it? Anyhow, I think that pedal's not very good.

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

--from 'Beyond Good and Evil', by Friedrich Nietzsche

 

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Posted

I found the death metal pedal sounds like crap. I'd take my Danelectro Beyond Metal anyday.

If you're going to buy a dist pedal specifically for metal, go with Boss or MXR.

What a horrible night to have a curse.

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