For metal I use a Gibson SG special faded (or sometimes a Kramer Striker FR424CM for shred), its strings are 10s just because of personal preference.
I only use Dunlop Jazz III picks, either the black of red depending on the song.
I go through an Ibanez Screaming Demon wah pedal to a boss volume, which goes to a pedalboard that goes: DS1 Distortion-MT2 Metal Zone-An Old Flanger-DD3 Digital Delay.
For an amp I use a mic'd Crate 60 Watt 1x12.

I prefer more mid tone-wise, with a slightly dialed back bass and a little bit more treble.
That's just because I get tired of the whole tons of bass tons of high thing that I hearr all the time. Always better to sound different

::EDIT:: I also use an Ibanez AF95 Artcore for acoustic and bluesy parts of songs. I DO NOT reccomend it for metal.

has anyone heard/played "emperor" cabs?
i need some information about the sound and especially about the price

All you need is computer and multitracker - it ain't cost very much (from 500 to 1200 euro). And then you can record your stuff with a good quality.

Written by [user id=29088] on 26.02.2008 at 11:22

has anyone heard/played "emperor" cabs?
i need some information about the sound and especially about the price

Check this out http://www.emperorcabs.com/HOME2007.html

I got a couple more things, more than likely the last I'll be getting for a long time.

My wife went halfers with me on a new guitar for my birthday, so I got an '06 Schecter Hellraiser Tempest in a black cherry finish. It's mahogany with through body neck, through body strings, active EMG humbucker pick-ups, and rosewood fretboard.

Since I finally got a nice guitar I know that I couldn't stand to play it with my old crappy 25watt Fender amp, so after much looking and trying out differant amps and combos, I settled for a Line 6 Spider II, 1x12 75watt amp. After playing on the new and better Line 6 amps/stacks, I saw this older model sitting in the pre-owned section and the guitar tech knocked $10 off, so I picked it up for $172 after taxes. A good price I feel since the Spider III with the same speaker set-up was $300, and this slightly older (maybe a yearish?) amp does the job for recording and just playing alone.

I looked at Hellraisers for a while, and I almost picked one up instead of my Ibanez.
They're pretty nice guitars, and a great deal for the price.

Woah this thread has been dead for a while. i'm here to resurrect it since i just got 2 second hand marshall pedals(Guv'nor and Jackhammer) almost for free, at the equivalent of 40% of their value! they're in perfect condition of course and i'm really pleased with them. fuck, with the money i would have paid for these babies brand new i would have spent like 2.5 times more.

*gently caressing my babies pedals*

Yeah, I had a Metal Master, but it shorted on me. Now I have a Digitech TL-2 series and it pisses me off. I think though, the problem may actually hold roots in my guitar's wiring. In either case, I need to get that problem checked out. Does anyone else own that model? If so, feedback please.

I use an Ibanez Guitar with a Peavy Amp. I used to use a Mexican Strat but it is limited as to how heavy you can play. With a strat you will never get a proper metal sound. The Ibanez however allows a better metal sound but is also decent for softer stuff like grunge and punk. I also use a Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal every now and again. I own a Crybaby but don't often use it as I lack in jacks and plug adaptors, I need to get some when I can.

Anything that is cheap works for me....Its no mahers what you have,but how do you use it!!!

Im extremely happy because soon i'll be getting a Schecter Hellraiser Deluxe. No one can ruin this excitment for me...

Written by Got Mayhem? on 17.06.2009 at 19:41

Im extremely happy because soon i'll be getting a Schecter Hellraiser Deluxe. No one can ruin this excitment for me...

Oh, I know how you feel. When I first got my Ibanez RG2EX1 I was very excited myself....now I really want a Saber.

Electric Guitars: B.C. Rich NJ Series Warlock w/ Floyd Rose locking tremolo, EMG 81 & 85 pickups... Epiphone Les Paul, standard... .10 gauge Dean Markley strings for both
Acoustic Guitars: Art & Lutherie 6 String w/ medium Elixir strings... Martin D12x 12 string w/ light Elixir strings
Pedals: Boss MT-2 Metal Zone Distortion, Boss CH-1 Super Chorus
Head: Randall RH200 solid state
Cab: 4x12 Randall Colossus (used to be owned by Misery Index... kinda cool)
Monster guitar cables
Dunlop .80 mm & 1.0 mm guitar picks

With the pedals and head set up the way I do, I have a very old school Slayer and Iced Earth sound through the Warlock, which always stays in E flat. The Epiphone is a much warmer guitar and usually stays dropped in various tunings, better for In Flames, Kataklysm, Amon Amarth, Black Label Society.

Hi guys i'm in need of some guitar advice. Would have started a new topic but seems you cant till you reach 100 posts so thought this was the best place to ask!

I mainly play Blues and Metal. Just recently Brought a Fender Stratocaster USA Standard and yes I was more into playing blues then metal at the time. I'd heard that they werent amazing for metal but figured it'd still be good and I always have my old Ibanez RG270DX If I fancy a shred. I've since discovered that its not and to make it worse I prefer playing my Ibanez! Does anyone know of a way to squeezea half deacent Metal tone out of a strat or is it just not gong to happen? Spent a thew hours kanoodling this afternoon but just couldnt get it right. I use BOSS Metal Zone and 7 band EQ pedals.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. At the moment im leaning towards trading it in for something else but ofcourse this will mean I loose money somewhere along the line! IDIOT! lol

Written by [user id=41635] on 19.06.2009 at 22:53

Hi guys i'm in need of some guitar advice. Would have started a new topic but seems you cant till you reach 100 posts so thought this was the best place to ask!

I mainly play Blues and Metal. Just recently Brought a Fender Stratocaster USA Standard and yes I was more into playing blues then metal at the time. I'd heard that they werent amazing for metal but figured it'd still be good and I always have my old Ibanez RG270DX If I fancy a shred. I've since discovered that its not and to make it worse I prefer playing my Ibanez! Does anyone know of a way to squeezea half deacent Metal tone out of a strat or is it just not gong to happen? Spent a thew hours kanoodling this afternoon but just couldnt get it right. I use BOSS Metal Zone and 7 band EQ pedals.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. At the moment im leaning towards trading it in for something else but ofcourse this will mean I loose money somewhere along the line! IDIOT! lol

Hi, like I said in my post above, I had a mexican strat, it was hopeless for metal. I sold it to my brother, who is into blues, he loves it and gets the most out of it. I bought an Ibanez straight after and I'm fully satisfied with that. I really don't know how you could get an excellent metal sound out of the Fender, I had a mate who had a mexican strat and he added a few mics on the guitar to give it a fuller sound, it seems to be better but he generally uses his Gibson for metal and the Fender for rock.

Written by Haddonfield on 20.06.2009 at 00:50

Hi, like I said in my post above, I had a mexican strat, it was hopeless for metal. I sold it to my brother, who is into blues, he loves it and gets the most out of it. I bought an Ibanez straight after and I'm fully satisfied with that. I really don't know how you could get an excellent metal sound out of the Fender, I had a mate who had a mexican strat and he added a few mics on the guitar to give it a fuller sound, it seems to be better but he generally uses his Gibson for metal and the Fender for rock.

depends on what type of metal you want to play with the strat thingy. death metal? nah. but the humbucker version is ridiculously good for 80s style metal(the mexican strat is also imo the most comfortable guitar i've ever played, the neck is a dream and it's not heavy at all), with a few good effects settings you can even crank up the distortion quite a bit, though i don't expect someone to play Disgorge covers with a strat. still, you can even modify a 3 single coil strat and put a mini-humbucker in the bridge.

Yeah, this seems to be the best place to ask but:

Has anyone tried plugging a wah in backwards? if so how does it sound?

About the Mexican made Strat. My lead guitarist/music college, usually plays on Ibanez RG, a handful of Jacksons, ESP and the like but, some what recently picked up a Mex. Strat and he doesn't seem to have any problems making it do what ever he wants, he can use it for pretty much any style of music but, I guess it helps when his style is a bit all over the place..seems like a solid guitar, very nice action and I detest Strats.

Time for a bit of an update on this thread I suppose...

I no longer have the Tama drumkit, Schecter Hellraiser-Tempest, Spider II, Fender 25R etc. I'm down to my old Ibanez EX3700 (still a great guitar, got the original finish back on it), modded Ibanez RG with Dimarzios, a late 80's early 90's St.Louis made Crate 2x12 solid state (say what you will but, old US made solid states are good), and I recently replaced my Boss MT-2 which I am very happy to have back! Over time, I'll hopefully replace the Hellraiser, get a new mixer and a few decent mics, then even further down the road, get a new drumkit...and a new bass lol. Being poor sucks!

Well, I use a jackson king v and a dean mustaine v. I run through a Boss ME-20 processor pedal, which I switched to after using the Line 6 floor pod. The pedal allows for better, quicker volume adjustments, and leaning back on the pedal for in between points. It has an easy to access tuner, and it's easy to switch between patches when necessary. I also switched because the Boss pedal provides a numerical value when applying amounts of effects, instead of having to draw on your equipment with a marker or something. I was also more impressed with the tonal range than that of the Line 6 pedal. I run from the pedal into a Line 6 Spider 2 head, through the Line 6 cab. All in all, the only thing I might change is a more powerful head... but mine still does the job just fine so it's not really a necessity either.

I am also a guitarist, and I'm in a metal band. We're about to play only our second show and I'm looking for someone to recommend some gear for me. First, I'm looking for a good microphone that would be good for micing my Marshall cab for our live shows. And then I'm looking into compressors, too, but I'm not even sure if I need a compressor or not. Someone told me it would be good to have one, but I'm trying to learn more about them before I go and buy one and put it into my rig. I appreciate the help!

Written by Nitrohippie on 17.12.2009 at 22:42

I am also a guitarist, and I'm in a metal band. We're about to play only our second show and I'm looking for someone to recommend some gear for me. First, I'm looking for a good microphone that would be good for micing my Marshall cab for our live shows. And then I'm looking into compressors, too, but I'm not even sure if I need a compressor or not. Someone told me it would be good to have one, but I'm trying to learn more about them before I go and buy one and put it into my rig. I appreciate the help!

Well man, when it comes to mics you can't go wrong with a Shure SM57, it's kind of a prerequisite for owning any set of mics, they are just that damn good.

Picked up a new weapon for my arsenal today, just bought a Yamaha Stage Custom drum kit (mahogany & birch shells), it came with some shitty gear but, I'll very soon upgrade a few things and be back to recording every thing the way it should be - all natural, and analog!

Edit: 01/07/10 - Found out the hats that came with the kit were old 70's Alco Zilcos, it was a Zildjian plant in Canada that made these and some of the old Zildjian K cymbals. Picked up a set of 13" Sabian AAX Stage hats today though, which are definitely worlds better than the Zilcos and much better than the standard Sabian B8 hats I had on my old Tama kit. Going for all AAX cymbals this time around, with a couple Neil Peart Paragon ones thrown in for good measure as, they're bloody top notch.

Written by Bitter Dawn on 18.12.2009 at 13:55

Well man, when it comes to mics you can't go wrong with a Shure SM57, it's kind of a prerequisite for owning any set of mics, they are just that damn good.

Do you attest that they can also be used for singing? That's what they say on the Shure website but there must be some drawbacks compared to a real vocal mic. I would need a polyvalent microphone, but its main use would be to record the guitar.

Written by wrathchild on 08.01.2010 at 12:13

Written by Bitter Dawn on 18.12.2009 at 13:55

Well man, when it comes to mics you can't go wrong with a Shure SM57, it's kind of a prerequisite for owning any set of mics, they are just that damn good.

Do you attest that they can also be used for singing? That's what they say on the Shure website but there must be some drawbacks compared to a real vocal mic. I would need a polyvalent microphone, but its main use would be to record the guitar.

Definitely man, most dynamic mics are quite versatile, the SM57 and 58 will get the job done. On a differant forum I post at, this one fellow used just one of these (don't recall if it was a 57 or a 58) as an overhead for his drum kit, and it caught every thing really well - I was surprised actually. I didn't expect just one of these to fairly evenly pick up the high notes of the hats and other cymbals, the mid to highish tone of the snare, as well the low end of the bass drum. Typically, dynamic mics are used for guitar, snare, toms, inner bass drum and vocals - although, some people prefer to use a quality condensor mic for vocals, I've found that for harsher vocals, a dynamic gets the job done perfect, problem with let's say harsh vocals on a condensor mic is, the condensor micophone is too sensitive and the sound will distort and, become filled with static since they're set to pick up high frequencies. For vocals I use to use a cheaper (about $40-$50) Shure PG48 as recommended by my sound tech. friend but, I now plan on getting a couple of the SM line for all my instruments.

Great, I was pondering whether I should go for 2 cheaper mics (a PG48 for vocals and a PG57 for instruments) but if the SM57 can cover for both I think I'll go for it. It's a little more expensive than buying the 2 other mics together but since it's expected the SM is of better quality, it seems worth it.

No prob' man. I had at one point used the PG48 to record guitar, one time using an electric through a small Fender Frontman 25R and it came out alright and, then another time recording an acoustic guitar and that turned out like crap. If I recall correctly, the EQ on the acoustic were all over the place and, it almost sounded as though there were bongos in the mix, it was terrible.

Can't go wrong with the SM57/58, let us know how that works out for you man. Recording music is both enjoyable and a pain, it took me months to work with natural reverb and the travel of sound, coupled with mic placement and mixer levels, then doing the mix itself after the recording - a good mic should make that process less stressful.

I have an 82' Gibson Explorer II that I use as my main axe with Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottoms. I only use Dunlop 2.0mm's now. For the longest while I used the 1.0mm nylon's but someone turned me onto heavier pick = better tone and more accurate hits. Makes sense. I have a Jackson Kelly that I'm completely reworking, but more on that when it's done :p there's a Washburn dreadnought somewhere around here. I think it string it up with some standard Martin strings, it's been a while and I don't play my acoustic as much as I should.

I just have one of those Marshall MG100 half stacks. Pedals, ah... Digitech Whammy pedal, Dunlop Crybaby and until I get a tube amp, I'll stick with my BOSS Metal Zone. I did see some guy selling a Framus Cobra half stack on craigslist around here not too long ago...

I have an ESP/ltd AX-400FM, mahogany body and neck with active EMG 81's on Bridge and neck and a TOM Bridge (Fuck Floyd Rose, Kahler, and any other floating Bridges )... sounds AMAZING for metal .. and looks great with the tribal fret inlays and the badass-looking body..i play mostly thrash and death metal .. i use it with a Roland Cube 80x combo amplifier.. it's weird how good it sounds even though its not tube, it's loud enough and i have all of the effects i need in it too (reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, tremolo, phaser, looper, and more).. and alot of emulation varieties, from acoustic to mesa boogie-like ... and the only pedal i have is the Dunlop Crybaby ZW-45 Zakk Wylde signature wah.. gotta love that baby !!

Main equipment:

Electric Guitar: Dean Razorback "Cemetery Gates"
Head: Crate Shockwave 3500 GT
Cab: 4x12 Marshal 1960
Pedals: Line 6. POD X3 live and DIGITECH Death Metal

Others: Jackson Randy Roads RR3, Suzuki EST 1951 (Acoustic Guitar), Ibanez Steve Vai picks and Monster cables.

Whoops. Awhile back I said I was getting a Hellraiser Deluxe. Well, as usual I lied. I ended up getting a Schecter C-1 Classic for the same price ($450 USD w/ Hardcase). Absolutely love it. Metal-blues-cleans everything in between. Highly recommended, especially now that they're discontinued and they pop up on ebay often.