Line6 PodHD Tone Demo
by MeAmBobbo

Description: NOW... YOU'VE... GOT... TONE... TO DIE FOR. Basically another Mark IV attempt, but dialed in a little differently to get LoG's more crunchy tone.

Distortion: I use the Uber amp model and use most of the same tricks as the Petrucci Mark IV. I pre-EQ the signal before the amp to suck out all the mud, and I boost some treble by using a > 55% Q value on the Mid-Focus EQ's low pass.

DEP's: I boost Master to push the amp, Bias to make the tone more edgy and have an upper mids focus, and Bias X to get more bloom to sustained notes. I reduce Sag to get a tighter response.

Cab/Mic and EQ: Hiway off axis/XXL on axis. This just gets a nice Vintage 30 tone. I go easy on the bass and boost the highs a little. On the EQ effects, I reduce the mids and warmth, and add more presence and treble. I also roll off some highs and lows.

Effects: None

Description: Going for the Opeth Deliverance tone. Opeth's rig is surprising: a Boss GT-6 into a Laney clean channel, with the EQ knobs set to 0, except mids which is set to 10. I tried to replicate that here.

Distortion: I used a Parametric EQ to boost mids into the Tube Drive Distortion effect, which is set to output a bright tone. I run this into the Park 75, with clean settings. It definitely has more of a stomp-box distortion tone, but it's not far from the album.

DEP's: Just lowered Master a lot to make sure the amp model stayed very clean.

Cab/Mic and EQ: Hiway on axis/XXL off axis. I do like Opeth and dime the mids, then fill in the other frequencies until the sound seems full. I use an EQ effect to boost the warmth a tad. Part of what makes modelers and solid state distortion seem so "fake" is how well they can reproduce very high and low-end sound. That's what's going on here, so I roll off the lows and highs to make the tone more natural.

Effects: None

Description: Trying to get that awesome tone from The Powerless Rise.

Distortion: Their rig is a Tube Screamer into a Peavey 5150, I believe. I tried to approximate that here. The Screamer uses very high tone settings - you can hear how they're pumping those screamer mids. I use the Uber as my 5150 substitute, which works well with the right pre-EQ and DEP settings.

DEP's: Reduce Sag to get tighter response. I lower Bias X as I want the notes to "stay put" rather than sound too organic.

Cab/Mic and EQ: Hiway/57 off axis and XXL/409 Dynamic. The XXL/409 gives a great punchy metalcore tone with big mids. The Hiway puts the crunchy highs on top. My EQ settings are pretty basic. Everything is near 50 on the XXL. The Hiway has everything turned up to around 70 but no bass - I let the XXL fill that in. With EQ effects, I just cut a little mids, lower the bass while adding back in some punch, and roll off the highs/lows.

Effects: Just a noise gate in front.

Description: This tone will force you to turn to the 14 year old girl next to you and mosh her training bra off. It's the End of Heartache! This tone seems to be two things at once. It's got a kind of rumbly, buzzy distortion, almost like Boston but on steroids. But it's also really saturated and crunchy. That's what makes me love it.

Distortion: I think this album uses a mix of Dual Rectifier and 5150. I didn't bother trying to get that and just did my own thing. I wanted to get a very filtered tone, so I use a Classic Distortion as well as an EQ in front the amp. The EQ helps put some punch back in that the Classic Distortion takes out, and boosts even more mids. This gets a super-saturated tone in the Uber amp, where I use a ton of gain.

DEP's: I just turn up Hum to get a more edgy tone, but I turn down Bias, which I mostly do for EQ purposes. This makes it lose a little midrange, getting a more scooped tone. It also makes the tone a little rounder and less crunchy.

Cab/Mic and EQ: Hiway/57 on axis and XXL/409 Dynamic. The on axis here provides that huge crispy top-end, but the XXL/409 fills in the thick, punchy metalcore tone. I scoop some mids and a little top end and roll off the low end. I boost punch.

Effects: Just a noise gate in front.

Description: As far as I know, this tone is just Maxon 808 into a 5150, but it has a very unique tone compared to most metalcore recordings, even later ones by God Forbid.

Distortion: I'm doing mostly the same thing as the As I Lay Dying tone. Just Screamer with tone cranked into an Uber.

DEP's: I reduce Sag for slightly tighter response, and I reduce Bias and Bias X to get a spongier tone.

Cab/Mic and EQ: Hiway/57 on axis and XXL/57 off axis. This get the mid-focused spongy tone. I give the Hiway side a decent high-end boost, but I use the Mid-Focus EQ to give the tone a nice mids hump.

Effects: Just a noise gate in front.

Description: This tone is sick. It really defined all metalcore tone to come. 80's mainstream metal had "honky" mids while thrash was scooping them. The 90's were just confused. Meshuggah demonstrated on Chaosphere that you could get the coldest sound ever heard, but still use plenty mids.

Distortion: I run a Screamer as a filter into the Dual Rectifier model. The Screamer is very light on bass but has its tone and treble turned up. I use a little Drive here to get a bit of compression before the amp. The amp uses plenty of gain.

DEP's: Here's the magic. I pummel the power section by turning up Master. I also boost Hum, which adds saturation and bite, and Bias, which really makes the tone cut. I reduce Sag a little for tighter response, but the Rectifier is already very tight, so I don't cut much. Bias X I keep low to lock-in my Bias setting.

Cab/Mic and EQ: The Hiway/on axis here dials in a very bright, clean top end. I'm not worried about it being too harsh - this tone is designed to be brutal. The XXL fills in everything else - I like the off axis on it because it sounds more full and thick. I use 3 Parametric EQ's to pull out the nasty spots in the tone, which I find are the boomy spots from the Rectifier, and the warm mids below the honk range.

Effects: Two noise gates surrounding the Screamer. The first one is the main filter and captures most of the noise. When it kicks on, it assures that the Screamer's output is very low, so the other noise gate will definitely kick on as well. But I make sure it doesn't close easily, which sometimes lets a little noise through. The second gate picks that up. You can be very punchy, but you also can sustain notes well.

Basically the same as the Chaosphere patch, but I push the power amp much less and dial in a lot more mids and presence. This lets me pay less attention to the low end, which I simply dial down.

This is the Chaosphere patch with some EQ differences so that the lead tone isn't too harsh. I use more Screamer Drive to get more compression, allowing me to get very long sustain without using vibrato. I use a reverb to add space to the tone. And I set the Expression Pedal to control the Screamer output, which controls how saturated the distortion gets. This mimics Thordendal's breath controller.

Description: Very strange tone here. Misha's syncopated drop Ab riffage immediately draws a Meshuggah comparison, but the tone is much more midsy and less distorted. I've worked on this tone for way too long, but I've finally found where it needs to be.

Distortion: Misha's rig is basically compressor > screamer > ENGL. The compressor lets him get a thicker and fuller tone without having to drive the ENGL into much distortion, keeping it at almost crunch levels. The screamer supports this, filtering the bass and treble, leaving a very punchy midrange for the amp to work with. I tried various ways to do this, but they'd all be lacking in one regard or another. I basically had to replicate his rig, dialing in each component just right. I tried pretty much all the compressors. The Blue was too dark and the Treb too bright. The Tube Comp was too thick and boosted the signal too much. I settled on the Red. The Screamer uses very low bass, full tone, and neutral treble - pushing lots of mids. It also has a little Drive, which makes the tone slightly dirty, which mixes well with the Fireball's distortion. I gave the amp a good bit of gain, but the Screamer settings keep it from sounding too distorted and mushy.

DEP's: I reduce Master a little and Bias all the way. This keeps the power section very clear and clean, which can be troublesome otherwise. I reduce Sag to get a tighter response. For the life of me, I don't think Hum does a thing on this amp model.

Cab/Mic and EQ: Hiway/57 on axis to get the crisp, clean high end and XXL/57 off axis to fill in the low end and punch. Nothing too special going on with the EQ here. I try to get most of my mids from the Hiway, where I find they're a little cleaner. And I scoop a little warmth because it tends to stick out otherwise, not necessarily volume-wise but quality-wise.

Effects: Two noise gates surrounding the Screamer. The first one is the main filter and captures most of the noise. When it kicks on, it assures that the Screamer's output is very low, so the other noise gate will definitely kick on as well. But I make sure it doesn't close easily, which sometimes lets a little noise through. The second gate picks that up. You can be very punchy, but you also can sustain notes well.

Misha's has that very midsy, open tone. I wanted the same tone as above, but I needed to fit a reverb. So I basically started from scratch using the Fireball model and the same cab/mics. I changed up the DEP's a little. Here I boost the Master a tad to get some compression and use less Sag to get a biting attack. For EQ I'm just boosting mids. I found the Screamer tone was too harsh, so I just let the amp tone shine by itself. The compressor wasn't necessary and only hurt the dynamics. The noise gates aren't necessary either and could only get in the way.

Description: Going for the Dark Matter Dimensions tone. I think Scar Symmetry uses ENGL amps, but I couldn't find much else about their tone. It seems like a fairly basic ENGL metalcore tone, so that's what I dialed in.

Distortion: Similar to Periphery, I use the Screamer into an ENGL, but I use less extreme Screamer settings here.

DEP's: Low Master and Bias to keep the power section from adding any grit to the tone. Lower Sag for tighter response.

Cab/Mic and EQ: Hiway/57 on Axis, XXL/57 off axis. This is a good metalcore mix - crisp, clean highs from the Hiway, and punchy mids from the XXL. For EQ, some slight mids and warmth boosts, and some high and low boosts. Maybe I'm not really doing anything, since I'm boosting everything - not sure about this one.

Effects: Two noise gates surrounding the Screamer. The first one is the main filter and captures most of the noise. When it kicks on, it assures that the Screamer's output is very low, so the other noise gate will definitely kick on as well. But I make sure it doesn't close easily, which sometimes lets a little noise through. The second gate picks that up. You can be very punchy, but you also can sustain notes well.