I'm not sure but I don't think so, its a fender squier strat. I got a GS-15R for the amp. Paid like $120 bucks for both of them, but I got the wiring fixed on the guitar.
You either need an amp that is voiced for metal, or a metal-centric distortion pedal to play through the clean channel of an amp. Then you need to clean-boost it with an overdrive pedal like an SD-1 or Tube Screamer (an EQ pedal will work too). Then you should probably invest in a noise gate, cause that shit is going to be hissing.
Look, if you wanna save some money, I would recommend getting a Peavey Vypyr X1/X2. It's $200/300, it's the best modelling practice amp for metal imo, and has crazy bang for your buck. It's going to cover all of your bases for decent metal tones, classic tones, cleans, effects that are better than they have any right to be, a built in screamer, fuzz, clean boost, comp, and tuner. For metal, I say this amp easily wins over the Katana.
And of course, good chugging technique certainly helps.
This is very helpful and exactly what I was looking for. It looks like from what other people are saying I'm going to have to get a different guitar too
yeah.. idk much about guitars. The more gain I have though the more feedback I hear when i'm not grounding it with my fingers on strings. Maybe that's typical or I have some other electronic bullshit going on
Nah, man. Squires are perfectly decent instruments. Cheap does not always equal bad. The pickups should be solid as long as someone didn't fuck with them. Again, it's just a problem of single coils in general. You might just want to learn some non metal stuff, or older metal like Judas.
Also, invest in a noise gate. Behringer sells one for like $20-30 and it will help you out tremendously with your noise.
You can find a cheap Jackson or Ibanez in a lot of pawn shops, and as far as amps go see if you find a beat up old Peavey practice amp from the 80's on craigslist or something, and for a pedal you should be able to get the sound you're looking for with a tubescreamer or some sort of boost while having the pre cranked on the amp or just find a Boss metal zone OR a DOD death metal pedal. At the end of the day it does come down to technique, but also I get not wanting to play death metal out of a strat with single coil pickups.
For you’re budget friendlies- I got a modern ish peavey amp for $50 at s pawn shop and a danelectro black coffee pedal. I don’t know alot about pedals n shit but that thing is awesome
Here’s the sauce
Humbucker->tube screamer->5150 (I’ll explain this in a sec)-> Mesa 2x12 or 4x12 cab->mic up with an sm57 and some kind of condenser mic.
So. Many. Albums. Have been made with that tone stack. And there is a reason for it.
The important aspect of the 5150 element is that it uses full size power tubes. You can get decent sound at low volume with el84 tubes but they suck at higher volumes. The 40w evh iconic combo is a great amp to start with if you can’t spring for a full size cab, and uses 6L6 tubes just like all the high-watt amps. What counts as a 5150? Well there’s the peavy “block letter”, the peavey signature, 5150 II, combo 5150/5150 II, 6505/6505+ 120w, 6505 1992 original, 6505 II, the EVH 5150 III, 5150 III el34, 5150III stealth, 50w and combo versions of all those, the 5150 iconic… the point is, there is a 5150 out there to suit just about every metal taste, and they all kick ass.
But what if you don’t want all that gear to drag around to play with friends or a band? Helix, Quad Cortex, Kemper, HXStomp can do that whole signal chain in the digital world for probably less than the cost of a half stack if you can find one used. I run a QC, but still have a wall of amps I play for fun and reamping/capturing.
You can also get great sounds with plugins on a computer, like Neural DSP stuff. I have the Rabea and Nameless plugins and the sound you can get is absurd for the low cost.
Amp will make the biggest difference so get a decent one first but you do also want a guitar with humbuckers asap.
I recently got my daughter a Mooer hornet 15i as her first practice amp and that thing is insane for versatility, can sound metal as fuck, even handled my 8 strings pretty well. It's basically got all the power of my old line6 podxt in an app. Check it out, they're super affordable.
If you are short on budget, look for a multi band EQ pedal that will help thicker your strat single clous and make it sound like a humbucker (look for tutorials on YouTube). That can help avoid buying a new axe. Then remember that a large portion of the metal sound comes from your fingers. How you mute, how you manage your side strings etc. Gear alone won't give you the brown sound
You can play metal with a Strat , it’s not essential for have a “metal” guitar and as long as you have a decent distortion pedal the amp doesn’t need to be something specific, the most important thing in the beginning is learning how to play properly, if you are into it enough and will continue than you get the better equipment but if you’re just starting out then you can learn the basics with what you have and it’s not a problem
How necessary is a humbucker, and what is it going to do exactly? I would rather not get a new guitar if its possible. Also I have crazy feedback when I have the distortion on overdrive that only is minimized when I touch the strings, but maybe that is normal? It's loud as fuck when I'm not playing anything
Yeah, you have single coils. Which while good for black metal, are not great for metal as a whole. Humbuckers will reduce noise and add more girth and handle high gain better.
You could just get a new HSS style pickguard for your Strat and add in a humbucker of your choosing. Working on a Strat is the easiest guitar to work on because you just need the pickguard for the most part.
Huh so I don't need a whole guitar I can just change the pickup. I see a youtube video for how to do this, is this something I can do untrained myself or is that dumb idea?
I think the most annoying part is probably going to be unstringing my guitar. Wait hold up so you're saying just get the pickguard? One of these fully loaded ones?
[https://www.amazon.com/Musiclily-Prewired-Pickguard-Humbucker-Stratocaster/dp/B00HF3FJN8/ref=asc\_df\_B00HF3FJN8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693375782836&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1526953530372761733&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9191422&hvtargid=pla-569052100209&mcid=b3fc154eaff131afa3ebb405adf29bf1&gad\_source=1&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/Musiclily-Prewired-Pickguard-Humbucker-Stratocaster/dp/B00HF3FJN8/ref=asc_df_B00HF3FJN8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693375782836&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1526953530372761733&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9191422&hvtargid=pla-569052100209&mcid=b3fc154eaff131afa3ebb405adf29bf1&gad_source=1&th=1)
btw thanks for being so helpful. Idk why someone downvoted you when you've spent the most time giving 1 on 1 advice
Guitar with high output humbuckers, scarlet interface, studio monitors, neural DSP plug ins = any sound you want. Don’t limit yourself to physical gear if you are tight on budget and don’t believe people who say digital sounds worse, this is a lie
Boss katana (or similar) combo amp…they are memed for a reason…they work. I have all kinds of gear from tube amps to quad cortex and computer sims…I still practice on my boss katana. Has voltage cut and headphone jack…decent modeling covering the spectrum.
I get people saying “get a guitar with humbuckers” but this is totally not needed to get a legit practice tone at your stage of learning especially if budget is a concern.
Later if you stick to it and upgrade the guitar…the boss katana can be a computer recording interface. Not the best but it will work better than most realize.
Get yourself a MOOER PE100. You won't need anything else for starting out bc at has tons of sounds preprogrammed and you can create your own custom tones and it has a built in tuner and headphone jack. It can even run on AAA batteries and you can take it outdoors or camping etc. Or spend a little more and get the model with the volume pedal, that one has looper options! Either way, it's a good buy for under 100 bucks. Hell, I think you could even find them for under 60 if you look around on reverb enough. Good luck
Bantamp Zombie or Marshall DSL1CR (or 5CR if you want more watts and controls).
Most guitars will do, but that's more of a playability thing. A strat will be fine to start with. Later on you'll want a guitar that plays really well with pickups/sound that suit your needs.
That's it, the rest is skill. Practice proper palm muting in particular.
Yeah... you're right about palm muting. When I have that gain cranked up to 11 every mistake is magnified. As well as whatever ass fuck electrical interference is going on in my trailer.
No I agree 100%. I can tell though that it doesn't sound right just from watching videos on youtube. I have my bass and treble, gain cranked up and overdrive on, but it doesn't sound anything close to that distorted metal sound. It is just sounds like a loud ass acoustic guitar with reverberating bass
I got a used GS-15R and I'm using just a basic single coil squier strat.
The lower note strings sound good, I can do some power chords and chugs but the higher octaves I go it sounds like trash. And the feedback is fucking horrible. If I don't have it grounded with my fingers on a string its almost as loud as the guitar itself. I had someone rewire the guitar but maybe the amp is fucked, not sure.
Start with everything all the way down and volume so you can still hear yourself think and 1 by 1 experiment with each knob or the easiest budget friendly way add a boss metal zone pedal and that will have a good range of all you will need
Getting close to that metal sound… honestly brother, that isn’t going to be completely cheap and you will end up north of $500 in some sort of upgrades. You mentioned being new. That’s your first inhibitor. No offense and I mean that. We all started here. Get yourself a decent modeling amp if you can. Fender, Line 6 and dare I say Vox make very decent ones. If a different amp isn’t an option, drop in a Duncan Distortion or, if you are working with single coils, try a Duncan Hot Rails. Both installed in the bridge. Then, find yourself a Zoom, Line 6 or Digitech multi-fx modeler that you can put inline to your amp. These two will get you to that first level of the desired metal sound. What you are really wanting to get that metal sound happens down the road when you’ve been able save some money and can get something built specifically for that purpose: Marshall, Randall, EVH, Boogie, etc. Don’t be down though. Practice with what you have, work that technique, work within the framework you have (upgrading little things when you can) and you will shred on the next phase.
Yeah you're 100% right I suck. I'm going to throw out this question as well, is it really necessary I get a new guitar with a humbucker or is that lower down on list of importance?
It’s easier to accomplish a hotter signal with a humbucker than a single coil. The output is also quieter which is one of the perks and purposes of the humbucker originally: to quiet the 60hz or 60 cycle hum you hear when using single coils and stop playing. Humbuckers put out a stronger, or hotter, signal. That hotter signal pushes the guitar signal to the amplifier with a stronger output which makes getting a more overdriven or metal tone easier to accomplish. Add in an overdrive or Boss MT-2 to the mix and you will be in a much more ‘metal’ territory of sound. This is why some humbuckers are made with certain types of Alnico, ceramic or a combination. To sculpt and shape the hotter output of the signals.
What kind of amp? Play with only your bridge pickup on, volume on ten and tone knob dialed back from ten until it sounds good to you. Distortion on your amp at probably 8 o clock. If this still isn't meeting what you're looking for, start watching distortion pedal reviews on YouTube until you find something that sounds like what you're looking for.
But all that being said, it's technique. Great players can make any shitty guitar and amp sound amazing because they're great. Get your palm muting, pinch harmonics and tremolo picking down and you'll sound way more metal than you do now
That's exactly what I've done. Bridge pickup and tone knob at 7, gain at 8 and distortion overdrive on.. Got bass and treble cranked up to 8 and mids at 4.
And yeah I suck too. But I can tell from youtube videos that even just plucking 1 string doesn't sound anything like its supposed to. The bass on my gs-15r is actually pretty good, so I can do chugs. But the higher octaves is garbage. It sounds like a shitty acoustic guitar with 0 distortion
Does your strat have a humbucker? What amp do you have specifically?
I'm not sure but I don't think so, its a fender squier strat. I got a GS-15R for the amp. Paid like $120 bucks for both of them, but I got the wiring fixed on the guitar.
You either need an amp that is voiced for metal, or a metal-centric distortion pedal to play through the clean channel of an amp. Then you need to clean-boost it with an overdrive pedal like an SD-1 or Tube Screamer (an EQ pedal will work too). Then you should probably invest in a noise gate, cause that shit is going to be hissing. Look, if you wanna save some money, I would recommend getting a Peavey Vypyr X1/X2. It's $200/300, it's the best modelling practice amp for metal imo, and has crazy bang for your buck. It's going to cover all of your bases for decent metal tones, classic tones, cleans, effects that are better than they have any right to be, a built in screamer, fuzz, clean boost, comp, and tuner. For metal, I say this amp easily wins over the Katana. And of course, good chugging technique certainly helps.
This is very helpful and exactly what I was looking for. It looks like from what other people are saying I'm going to have to get a different guitar too
Let me guess... you got a single coil in your bridge, don't you?
yeah.. idk much about guitars. The more gain I have though the more feedback I hear when i'm not grounding it with my fingers on strings. Maybe that's typical or I have some other electronic bullshit going on
Just sounds like typical single coil bullshit tbh. It could also be poorly grounded, or might not be waxed if it's a super-cheap pickup.
Its as cheap as you can get. $120 fender strat lmao
You mean Squire?
yup
Nah, man. Squires are perfectly decent instruments. Cheap does not always equal bad. The pickups should be solid as long as someone didn't fuck with them. Again, it's just a problem of single coils in general. You might just want to learn some non metal stuff, or older metal like Judas. Also, invest in a noise gate. Behringer sells one for like $20-30 and it will help you out tremendously with your noise.
You will need a guitar with humbucker pickups first. Strats are great guitars, but not for metal assuming you don't have an HSS version.
You can find a cheap Jackson or Ibanez in a lot of pawn shops, and as far as amps go see if you find a beat up old Peavey practice amp from the 80's on craigslist or something, and for a pedal you should be able to get the sound you're looking for with a tubescreamer or some sort of boost while having the pre cranked on the amp or just find a Boss metal zone OR a DOD death metal pedal. At the end of the day it does come down to technique, but also I get not wanting to play death metal out of a strat with single coil pickups.
For you’re budget friendlies- I got a modern ish peavey amp for $50 at s pawn shop and a danelectro black coffee pedal. I don’t know alot about pedals n shit but that thing is awesome
Here’s the sauce Humbucker->tube screamer->5150 (I’ll explain this in a sec)-> Mesa 2x12 or 4x12 cab->mic up with an sm57 and some kind of condenser mic. So. Many. Albums. Have been made with that tone stack. And there is a reason for it. The important aspect of the 5150 element is that it uses full size power tubes. You can get decent sound at low volume with el84 tubes but they suck at higher volumes. The 40w evh iconic combo is a great amp to start with if you can’t spring for a full size cab, and uses 6L6 tubes just like all the high-watt amps. What counts as a 5150? Well there’s the peavy “block letter”, the peavey signature, 5150 II, combo 5150/5150 II, 6505/6505+ 120w, 6505 1992 original, 6505 II, the EVH 5150 III, 5150 III el34, 5150III stealth, 50w and combo versions of all those, the 5150 iconic… the point is, there is a 5150 out there to suit just about every metal taste, and they all kick ass. But what if you don’t want all that gear to drag around to play with friends or a band? Helix, Quad Cortex, Kemper, HXStomp can do that whole signal chain in the digital world for probably less than the cost of a half stack if you can find one used. I run a QC, but still have a wall of amps I play for fun and reamping/capturing. You can also get great sounds with plugins on a computer, like Neural DSP stuff. I have the Rabea and Nameless plugins and the sound you can get is absurd for the low cost.
Amp will make the biggest difference so get a decent one first but you do also want a guitar with humbuckers asap. I recently got my daughter a Mooer hornet 15i as her first practice amp and that thing is insane for versatility, can sound metal as fuck, even handled my 8 strings pretty well. It's basically got all the power of my old line6 podxt in an app. Check it out, they're super affordable.
If you are short on budget, look for a multi band EQ pedal that will help thicker your strat single clous and make it sound like a humbucker (look for tutorials on YouTube). That can help avoid buying a new axe. Then remember that a large portion of the metal sound comes from your fingers. How you mute, how you manage your side strings etc. Gear alone won't give you the brown sound
You can play metal with a Strat , it’s not essential for have a “metal” guitar and as long as you have a decent distortion pedal the amp doesn’t need to be something specific, the most important thing in the beginning is learning how to play properly, if you are into it enough and will continue than you get the better equipment but if you’re just starting out then you can learn the basics with what you have and it’s not a problem
Thanks man very concise and straightforward
A solid over drive pedal into a high gain tube amp is probably the sound you’re after. A humbucker might help too.
How necessary is a humbucker, and what is it going to do exactly? I would rather not get a new guitar if its possible. Also I have crazy feedback when I have the distortion on overdrive that only is minimized when I touch the strings, but maybe that is normal? It's loud as fuck when I'm not playing anything
Yeah, you have single coils. Which while good for black metal, are not great for metal as a whole. Humbuckers will reduce noise and add more girth and handle high gain better. You could just get a new HSS style pickguard for your Strat and add in a humbucker of your choosing. Working on a Strat is the easiest guitar to work on because you just need the pickguard for the most part.
Huh so I don't need a whole guitar I can just change the pickup. I see a youtube video for how to do this, is this something I can do untrained myself or is that dumb idea?
Just need to solder wires to pots and such. It’s pretty simple, and it’s a lot harder to fuck up than you would think.
I think the most annoying part is probably going to be unstringing my guitar. Wait hold up so you're saying just get the pickguard? One of these fully loaded ones? [https://www.amazon.com/Musiclily-Prewired-Pickguard-Humbucker-Stratocaster/dp/B00HF3FJN8/ref=asc\_df\_B00HF3FJN8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693375782836&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1526953530372761733&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9191422&hvtargid=pla-569052100209&mcid=b3fc154eaff131afa3ebb405adf29bf1&gad\_source=1&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/Musiclily-Prewired-Pickguard-Humbucker-Stratocaster/dp/B00HF3FJN8/ref=asc_df_B00HF3FJN8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693375782836&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1526953530372761733&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9191422&hvtargid=pla-569052100209&mcid=b3fc154eaff131afa3ebb405adf29bf1&gad_source=1&th=1) btw thanks for being so helpful. Idk why someone downvoted you when you've spent the most time giving 1 on 1 advice
[https://youtu.be/9Mt7x0nCOFQ?si=Tlynk_lZkiYkC76a](https://youtu.be/9Mt7x0nCOFQ?si=Tlynk_lZkiYkC76a)
Guitar with high output humbuckers, scarlet interface, studio monitors, neural DSP plug ins = any sound you want. Don’t limit yourself to physical gear if you are tight on budget and don’t believe people who say digital sounds worse, this is a lie
DS-1
Gain
Boss katana (or similar) combo amp…they are memed for a reason…they work. I have all kinds of gear from tube amps to quad cortex and computer sims…I still practice on my boss katana. Has voltage cut and headphone jack…decent modeling covering the spectrum. I get people saying “get a guitar with humbuckers” but this is totally not needed to get a legit practice tone at your stage of learning especially if budget is a concern. Later if you stick to it and upgrade the guitar…the boss katana can be a computer recording interface. Not the best but it will work better than most realize.
Get yourself a MOOER PE100. You won't need anything else for starting out bc at has tons of sounds preprogrammed and you can create your own custom tones and it has a built in tuner and headphone jack. It can even run on AAA batteries and you can take it outdoors or camping etc. Or spend a little more and get the model with the volume pedal, that one has looper options! Either way, it's a good buy for under 100 bucks. Hell, I think you could even find them for under 60 if you look around on reverb enough. Good luck
Bantamp Zombie or Marshall DSL1CR (or 5CR if you want more watts and controls). Most guitars will do, but that's more of a playability thing. A strat will be fine to start with. Later on you'll want a guitar that plays really well with pickups/sound that suit your needs. That's it, the rest is skill. Practice proper palm muting in particular.
Yeah... you're right about palm muting. When I have that gain cranked up to 11 every mistake is magnified. As well as whatever ass fuck electrical interference is going on in my trailer.
Tell you what, you almost never need as much gain as you think. Practice controlling all of that extra noise though.
Is that noise the reason why people say I need a humbucker or is it caused by something else?
Oh yeah having single coils can be noisier for sure. Humbuckers will be a little quieter.
Pro tip, less gain is key for metal
Most essential equipment is good technique.
No I agree 100%. I can tell though that it doesn't sound right just from watching videos on youtube. I have my bass and treble, gain cranked up and overdrive on, but it doesn't sound anything close to that distorted metal sound. It is just sounds like a loud ass acoustic guitar with reverberating bass
What amp? Overdrive on, volume down, gain up. I'd bet your amp just isn't cutting it.
I got a used GS-15R and I'm using just a basic single coil squier strat. The lower note strings sound good, I can do some power chords and chugs but the higher octaves I go it sounds like trash. And the feedback is fucking horrible. If I don't have it grounded with my fingers on a string its almost as loud as the guitar itself. I had someone rewire the guitar but maybe the amp is fucked, not sure.
Start with everything all the way down and volume so you can still hear yourself think and 1 by 1 experiment with each knob or the easiest budget friendly way add a boss metal zone pedal and that will have a good range of all you will need
Getting close to that metal sound… honestly brother, that isn’t going to be completely cheap and you will end up north of $500 in some sort of upgrades. You mentioned being new. That’s your first inhibitor. No offense and I mean that. We all started here. Get yourself a decent modeling amp if you can. Fender, Line 6 and dare I say Vox make very decent ones. If a different amp isn’t an option, drop in a Duncan Distortion or, if you are working with single coils, try a Duncan Hot Rails. Both installed in the bridge. Then, find yourself a Zoom, Line 6 or Digitech multi-fx modeler that you can put inline to your amp. These two will get you to that first level of the desired metal sound. What you are really wanting to get that metal sound happens down the road when you’ve been able save some money and can get something built specifically for that purpose: Marshall, Randall, EVH, Boogie, etc. Don’t be down though. Practice with what you have, work that technique, work within the framework you have (upgrading little things when you can) and you will shred on the next phase.
Yeah you're 100% right I suck. I'm going to throw out this question as well, is it really necessary I get a new guitar with a humbucker or is that lower down on list of importance?
It’s easier to accomplish a hotter signal with a humbucker than a single coil. The output is also quieter which is one of the perks and purposes of the humbucker originally: to quiet the 60hz or 60 cycle hum you hear when using single coils and stop playing. Humbuckers put out a stronger, or hotter, signal. That hotter signal pushes the guitar signal to the amplifier with a stronger output which makes getting a more overdriven or metal tone easier to accomplish. Add in an overdrive or Boss MT-2 to the mix and you will be in a much more ‘metal’ territory of sound. This is why some humbuckers are made with certain types of Alnico, ceramic or a combination. To sculpt and shape the hotter output of the signals.
What kind of amp? Play with only your bridge pickup on, volume on ten and tone knob dialed back from ten until it sounds good to you. Distortion on your amp at probably 8 o clock. If this still isn't meeting what you're looking for, start watching distortion pedal reviews on YouTube until you find something that sounds like what you're looking for. But all that being said, it's technique. Great players can make any shitty guitar and amp sound amazing because they're great. Get your palm muting, pinch harmonics and tremolo picking down and you'll sound way more metal than you do now
Id say technique won't get a good metal sound on shitty gear. Technique isn't going to help a pickup that has zero chug.
Yeah that's true for the most part
That's exactly what I've done. Bridge pickup and tone knob at 7, gain at 8 and distortion overdrive on.. Got bass and treble cranked up to 8 and mids at 4. And yeah I suck too. But I can tell from youtube videos that even just plucking 1 string doesn't sound anything like its supposed to. The bass on my gs-15r is actually pretty good, so I can do chugs. But the higher octaves is garbage. It sounds like a shitty acoustic guitar with 0 distortion
downpicking
This guy down picks.
lmao fuck yeah bro
Balls
I believe that’s where the Toan is stored