Marshall amps... good for tech/death metal?

[Thor Von Clemson]

I noticed a few bands that are using or were using Marshall amps for technical death metal. The most obvious one is Death, and while I do not remember specifically what he used I know it was marshall with little/no fx. I noticed the dudes in Extol use them and the dude from Exivious uses them live.

Is this a personal preferrance thing, i.e they spent some time dialing in tones that they liked, or are certain Marshall amps good for this? I have noticed there is not a ton of gain, seems to be a fair amount of mids present, pinch harmonics come out clear, and the tone in general is warm, articulate, and sounds great.

Is there a specific type of Marshall amp that they are probably all using or can you get that tone from most amps..

I know this is kind of a broad subject, but I do not know a lot about marshalls and amps in general so any input is appreciated.

[HoWheels]

Chuck Schuldiner of Death, amazingly plugged straight into a Marshall Valvestate. How he managed to get decent tone out of it ... I have no idea!

-a

[jgcable]

With no pedal in front you should look at a DSL50/100 or a TSL. The 2210 can do it with no pedal. The 2203/4 can do it with the proper pedal.
I've heard guys playing death with a Fender Super Reverb with the correct pedals.

[thetroy]

I guess all you really need is enough gain and from that point anything with a good EQ section could do it.

[Fragle]

i guess most marshall could do the job (after all, obituary's cause of death was all jcm800 2203 boosted by a ts9), but seriously, just get a 5150....yep, it's not a marshall, but can sound *really* close, AND it can be REALLY brutal, too.

[Thor Von Clemson]

I have heard some pretty good 5150 clips around here...

[skarhead]

5150 for tech death ? dunno , somehow i found 5150 to be great for thrash/modern thrash (think machine head obviously)/swede dm and hardcore but not really for tech/brutal death metal.

but i'd say a jcm 800 with a boost in front could do the job just fine - Erik Rutan (hate eternal) was using jcm 800 2203 with a roccaforte bastard pedal and many more guys - you just need a boost in front to get some sort of compression(and gain) for the tech riffs (think i.e. string skipping alt picked 8'ths at 240 bpm etc )

[toejam]

Chuck Schuldiner of Death, amazingly plugged straight into a Marshall Valvestate. How he managed to get decent tone out of it ... I have no idea!

-a

He used a very hot pickup... a DiMarzio X2N. And he used a little chorus to enhance his tone. The old Valvestate amps do sound very good. I've still got a first generation Valvestate 2x12 combo, the 8240 stereo chorus model, and it's still going strong.
I believe Chuck also turned James Murphy onto the Valvestates, and he also used one on his Disincarnate album Dreams of the Carrion Kind.

[Fragle]

bah....8100 amps suck. they're ok in a one guitar band, or at low volumes, but at gigging volumes they just don't cut it, esp when put up against an all tube amp. been there, done that

[Sanctuary]

Main reason Chuck used them is because they are damn reliable when lugging them from venue to venue. No chance of damaging tubes if they get dropped off a truck...

[Inearthed]

Digitech 2101 or the other one that has a metallic purple front... That will get you the California brutal death metal / technical death metal sound.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Chuck got great tones out of the 8100's on albums. but when i saw them live at Jaxx in VA the guitar sound was weak and parts were inaudible.

cannible corpse always used solid state Crate and aways sounded great live and in studio.

[Inearthed]

cannible corpse always used solid state Crate and aways sounded great live and in studio.

Some members did... Pat has been using the Triple Recto + BOSS MT2 as a para-EQ for a while now and his tone is heavy and very brutal sounding. Last time I saw Jack Owen he was running a 2101 into the Crate head.

[horns666]

I used my Marshall with My Uber on my demo..the marshall's solos "sing" more...I love mine..

All I do is play death/thrash..and some black metal speed picking riffage.

so yeah, sure!