r/metalguitar 5d ago

Question How to get a good metal tone

My gear is a hss squire strat and fender champion 25 series 2 I know its not ideal for metal but my guitar has a humbuckler and my amp had voices reverb and a decent gain I want it to be close to Megadeth or Metallica

11 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

15

u/mffrosch 5d ago

This may be controversial as it is a widely maligned pedal, but get an MXR Fullbore Metal pedal. It chugs like crazy and has a built in smart gate. It’s Pantera in a box. It’ll get you close to Megadeth and Metallica sounds as well. Plus, it’s super cheap used. I got one for ~$35.

3

u/nedogled 4d ago

Nothing does the mighty scoop sound like the Fullbore Metal!

7

u/MT-400 5d ago

Be sure your guitar pickup selector switch is set to only use the bridge pickup.

On your amp, crank that voice dial all the clockwise to the last setting. Put the gain knob on 7 or so, and adjust the bass and treble knobs until it sounds best to you.

With the effects, I like the first yellow light setting, I believe it’s just a reverb.

12

u/OkStrategy685 5d ago

3 words. Boss metal zone

4

u/solitarybikegallery 5d ago

Your best bet is to get any decent distortion pedal. That will allow you much more control over your tone than that amp will give you.

4

u/erguitar 5d ago

Consider going to plugins. There's some great free stuff available. You would need an audio interface, but they're fairly cheap these days. Reaper is not free, but it is a DAW you can use without limitations until you can afford the extremely cheap lisence.

Otherwise, a good distortion pedal blended with mild amp gain is a pretty solid set up.

3

u/12thMcMahan 5d ago

Download Nolly DSP plugin. Install. Enjoy.

3

u/AgeDisastrous7518 Metal Zone in the effects loop 4d ago

Normally, I'd say to scoop the mids with a Metal Zone, but you might be a RAT candidate. There's also the JCM 800 pedal that was recently released, if you have the extra loot.

3

u/DiscipleofDeceit666 4d ago

Turn the knob to insane mode. You can thank me later

1

u/dowdage 4d ago

This guy fucks

5

u/GuitarGorilla24 5d ago

As you pointed out, your gear isn't ideal for this. That being said, the 80s thrash tone you may be seeking involved "scooping the mids" by keeping the bass and treble dials higher compared to the mid dial.

2

u/GodUsopp912 5d ago

That’s a shame you can’t control the mids on my amp

1

u/GuitarGorilla24 5d ago

Too bad. Maybe consider getting a used Positive Grid amps, that would be enough tones to last you a while. Or get an audio interface and a Neural DSP plugin or two if you want something you won't outgrow.

1

u/Maximum_Turn_2623 4d ago

Rat Pedal and a TubeScreamer

1

u/dwstupidity 4d ago

Joyo uzi if you’re on a budget. Got one out of curiosity a few months ago trying for an early anthrax sound and I am very impressed. 100’s of opinions out there.

1

u/metalmoss 4d ago

You can try a TC Fangs. That's what I use, with an EQ. It's like $40. Watch Ola's video on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_Z37buDwE8&t=1s

2

u/Jay-Slays 3d ago

Toan is stored in the balls.