Optimal amp set up for death / black metal

[jgcable]

5150 with oversized Mesa 4 x 12 cabs.

[delt]

And don't forget to boost the mids before the preamp/distortion for that choppy picking definition!!

[RR05xx]

Triaxis plus good stereo rack mounted eq (prefer at least 15 band - 31 band is cool but can be overkill) plus 2/90 plus decent cabs (I prefer Mashall 1960 Lead, but Mesa Recto etc. will do fine) = true death!

Set pre-amp for:

Mark IV or recto channel voicing (your preference)
gain 8-10
treble around 6-7
mid around 0-2
bass 6-8

set eq for a scooped "V" - drop them mids all the way
also, a good eq should have an octive control - set it for the greater of the octive controls - if you get it set right - you can have it so when you switch to the lower octive setting you will get a really nice hard rock/metal sound and when you switch to the higher one - total fukin' death.

BTW - This is my rig, but you can use this type of set up with any amp - the eq is the key.

[6077dino]

I give my vote for VHT UL too. Add a nice guitar with good pu´s and your done.

[El_Kabong]

The secret is to dip your guitar cord jack in ram's blood before insertion and have a virgin, bitch child, urinate on your output transformer simultaniosly.

[sandbag]

My current rig is a 5150 II with a sonic maximizer in the effects loop. All this runs through a randall 412CXM. I get a badass tone ranging from pantera to the more mid type tone like death. I have emg's in one of my guitars and i usually have to give a little more treble when playing that guitar as opposed to my guitar with a dimebucker in it. In my opinion passive pickups sound better for black metal tone.

[Robert Burns]

For me, tight brutal death metal always means about 75% gain, 0 mids, 100% treble and 100% bass. Messing with the Contour will help get a scooped sound, so mess around with that and tweak the EQ to find a sound you like. Just remember that more gain does not equal better distortion. I find that the sweet spot on gain occurs between 50% and 80% so you have to experiment.

Oh, and if you can't get the sound you hear in your head from the Valvestate, it's time for a new amp

****************************************
Man, are you right on! Turning down my Gain to about 4 on my DSL 2000 has brought out much more sustain, and better clarity. I always
thought "More" is better, but lately my best tone ever has been full on
Bass, Treble at 3, Mids at 4 , Presence at 3. Im always surprised to
look at my Marshalls knobs, as they seem to be turned way down too much! But im slowly getting smarter as i get older!

[Ace]

There are a couple of "gems" on the used market that gave me unexpectedly good results in terms of death metal tones.

Peavey Supreme: I had the old pre-TransTube 1x12 combo that was something ridiculous like 130 watts. I sold it to a guy who was playing in Anal Blast at the time, because he loved the tone. He actually gutted the amp, put the "head" in a rack, and ran it with some other rack gear (Aphex Aural Exciter, Behringer effects unit) into a Vader 4x12. He gigged with that for a long, long time. I'm not sure how the current TransTube version would compare, but the typical Peavey midrange spike lends itself to death metal.

YOU sold Ben that Peavey?! HAHA!! I helped him set that thing up to use the Marshall cabs at a festival I was working at a few years ago! It was still a 1X12 then and he would run it into other people's 4X12's. I remember how happy he was with the tone from it! I personally don't remember how it sounded...

[Phantom Hawk]

The secret is to dip your guitar cord jack in ram's blood before insertion and have a virgin, bitch child, urinate on your output transformer simultaniosly.

Well we ALL know that ! C'mon, tell us something new.