How Do I Set My Amp for Heavy Metal Distortion?
Distortion is synonymous with the heavy metal guitar. A clean guitar tone simply doesn't work if you are playing heavy metal music unless the band is playing a slow ballad. Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix pioneered the aesthetics of guitar distortion. Clapton set the standard on the "Beano" album with John Mayall a year before he left Mayall to form Cream. Clapton and Hendrix achieved their sound by simply turning up the volume on their Marshall amplifiers as high as it would go. Modern amplifiers and distortion pedals offer a wide range of distortion sounds, and it is no longer necessary to turn an amp all the way up to get a nice distorted sound.
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Instructions
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Turn the gain control all the way up on the amplifier. A distortion pedal may be used if the amp doesn't have a gain channel. Turn the gain or distortion knob all the way up on the pedal.
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Turn the bass control knob on the amplifier to eight, nine or ten. Turn the mid-range control knob to three or four. Amplifier knobs are marked one to ten. When the knob is on one, it is turned all the way to the left. When the knob is on ten, it is turned all the way to the right. When the bass knob is set to one, the amp has very little low end. Heavy metal guitar players use a lot of low end to thicken up the tone and add more crunch to the distortion.
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Adjust the volume control on the amplifier as you play the guitar. Distortion pedals also have a "Volume" or "Level" control that adjusts the volume as well. Find the suitable volume for the venue or room that you are playing in.
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Adjust the treble control on the amplifier to taste. Treble controls the high end of the sound register. Heavy metal guitarists tend to turn the bass all the way up to achieve a thick bottom sound, and they usually dial the treble control to about six or seven. The amount of treble that sounds best depends upon your playing style and the type of the guitar as well.
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Tips & Warnings
Distortion and overdrive pedals also have tone controls for adjusting treble, bass and mid-range frequencies.
Some metal guitarists use several distortion pedals to easily switch back and forth between different types of distortion.
Using a distortion pedal with the gain channel on an amplifier can produce a thick, full distorted sound.
References
- Photo Credit Thomas Northcut/Lifesize/Getty Images
