My Sound Clinic

Most drum programs are self explanatory, enabling easy use and creative freedom. But getting them to sound right, or real, is whole other story. Below are a couple of settings that work brilliantly. They work equally as well for real drum setups when recording a live acoustic kit too. Note that these settings are pretty universal for metal and hard-rock sounds, but you may want to adjust to your preference.

Provided you have access to the EQ management try something that looks a little like this for your kick drum.

Notice the deep ‘V’ shape. This is not too dissimilar to the way most metallers have their guitar tone in the sense that the mids are heavily scooped out. On a guitar this helps accent the percussiveness of the playing, forming an aggressive chug. On a kick drum however it reduces the “boxiness” from the mix, taking away the sound which, to me, sounds like a huge balloon being burst in a concert hall!

Scoop out quite a lot from 125-500hz, but leave in a few more DB’s of the 125hz end, which helps deliver the punch of the bass frequencies.

Around the 50hz mark are your bass frequencies, which, seeing as it’s the bass drum you’re modelling, should be slightly boosted. If you raise them too much however they can boom a bit more than required, so just play with it until you find a nice balance.

Taking your 1k back just a tiny bit, the rest of the EQ should raise in an upwards slope, peaking at 4k to get the attack. These are your highs and provided you’re trying to get the thrash metal “click” then these must be boosted. Depending on how much attack you want of course, it’s all to taste, but if, like me, you’re a huge metal-head then the more click you’ve got the better! Listen to drummers such as Jason Bittner of Shadows Fall or Chris Adler from Lamb of God and you’ll hear an abundance of click in their kick pedal EQ, which aides greatly when cutting through the mix of thunderous guitars, and helps develop the overall aggressive sound.

As I mentioned, it’s not for everyone, and if you’re more partial to a typical rock sound then just roll back the highs and dial in a touch more of the mid frequencies.

Now, for the snare I’ve noticed there are no real rules. As with the kick it very much depends what the sample is like. I’m only basing mine on the fact that my samples are real drum hits recorded with a mic, or at least “real sounding”. Snares tend to be a bit trickier and what works with one snare might not work with another where as kicks tend to be a bit more universal.

These are the EQ settings I use for the snare that I have and it gives a nice heavy rock style crack, with plenty of oomph to cut through the mix of the heavy bass pedals. Now, it does take some playing around, but if you use this model as a blueprint for your snare then just adjust to taste depending on what sounds best for your sample. It’s good to find a snare that you like the sound of by listening to the bands that you like, then listen along to a song and try to emulate it. I’ve based mine on the very sort after Abe Cunningham (Deftones) sound.

Reverb is a great way to make a snare sing out and sound great. Over-use it though and it will sound out of place in context to the rest of the mix. Dial it in until it sounds reasonable, and then roll it back a touch (you always over-use to begin with).

Happy programming!

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Ty, thank you for taking a break from your busy schedule,
Firstly, how did you get into music, and more specifically the guitar?
Well before I actually got my hands on an instrument, I wanted to play drums. One of my friends had just got a Bass, and I remember picking it up having so much fun just making noise with it. I then got the opportunity to sit behind a drum kit at school one day a couple months later and that was it, I knew I needed to get my own set and get myself involved in music. Several weeks later, I got my first kit and started jamming with friends after school. Guitar came later. People would leave their guitars at my house after we’d jam and I’d fool around on them at night. After a couple years of that I could play ok, and decided I wanted to pursue it more. I traded in my drums for a guitar rig. I switched back and forth between drums and guitar for a few years until settling on Guitar exclusively in 2000.

There’s clearly an 80’s instrumental rock influence in your music, Vai and Satriani are two names that certainly spring to mind. Would you say these are big influences of yours, and what other artists do you look to for inspiration?
Oh yeah absolutely. The “Healed Through Time” CD is basically a direct reflection of my influences at that time (the newest track on there is from 2003, the oldest from 2001) I was a total hairband fanatic, as well as a Satch/Vai fanatic. Nowadays, honestly it’s a different story. Satch and Vai are still a huge inspiration, but I’m definitely listening to and being influenced by some different artists. The Goo Goo Dolls, Lifehouse, Matchbox Twenty, stuff like that. The new material I’ve been working on for the next CD will move a bit more towards those influences and away from the whole 80’s thing. It’ll be more true to where my head and heart are at now, than when I wrote and recorded my first CD. It’ll still be very much a from the heart melodic rock guitar CD, but just a bit more modern sounding.

Melody plays a huge role in your music and you play with a lot of passion it has to be said. How hard do you find it to write something refreshing every time, and how often do you write and record?
Writing with heart and feeling have been something I’ve strived for since the beginning. That’s a big part of what inspired me in the first place. Songs like “Love Thing” or “Cryin’” from Satch, I love that stuff. Playing with feeling, focusing on big melodies, and strong songwriting I think are a magical combination. It is a challenge to keep it fresh and not repeat myself at times. I write and record more often than ever these days, as I now have a home recording setup. It’s great, whenever I have an idea, bam I can capture it. I’ve got two brand new tracks I’m putting on the next CD that I recorded at home over the last couple of months. It’s great to have the tools to capture inspiration right when it happens.
Writing music rarely comes easy though, and I may be a dry well creatively for months at a time. Then all of sudden I come up with two or three new Ideas over a weekend. I may come up with a good riff, and song structure quickly, but finding the melodies and solo’s I like usually takes a while.

An Ibanez man I see? (Good boy!) Tell us about your guitars.
Oh yeah, Ibanez for life! I love Ibanez Guitars, RG’s in peticular. I currently have 4 Ibanez Electrics, an Ibanez Acoustic, and a Jackson electric as well. My main guitar these days is a Blue Ibanez RGT42DXFM. It’s a neck through loaded with Stan Hinesley Pickups extra hot just the way I like ‘em

You have an absolutely sweet lead tone. Can we have a little insight into how you achieve it? Pickups, amps, strings, anything you use. Your entire rig basically, haha.
Hey thanks! Well for the “Healed” CD, it was very different from what I’m using now. I used to run the following Rig: Carvin Solid state power amp, Digitech GSP 21 Legend, BBE Sonic Maximizer, Elesis Compressor and EQ, Marshall Cab and I had an old Ibanez RG with EMG’s in it. For the sound I was after then, it did fine.

These days I like something more warm and organic, and less saturated with effects. I’ve ditched that old rig entirely and now run the following setup: ENGL 570 SE Tube Preamp, Marshall 9100 Tube Power Amp, and the TC Electronics G-Force effects processor. I’ve also got an Xotic effects BB preamp pedal I use on the floor along with my Digitech Whammy 4, and a VOX Clyde Mcoy Wah. I switch between tones with a Rocktron Midi mate. Like I mentioned above, I use custom wound Stan Hinesley Pickups, which are passive. For strings I use Guitar Force brand “Quantum Extra light gauge” strings. And last but certainly not least, I use twin MILLS Acoustic 4×12 cabs. You’ll hear the new tone all over the new material.

Now, down to a question that makes all guitarists feel guilty at some point – how much do you practice? Did you have much of a strict practice regime as you were learning or were you like me, more of a jammer?
Honestly, I have never had a specific practice routine. I’ve always just focused on working on songs. For me, that’s practice. I play everyday, whether it’s for 20 minutes, or 3 hours or more. It’s consistent, and that’s what I think matters. I don’t read or write music, or know any scales, so sitting and running through scales for hours on end has zero appeal. I used to practice alternate picking to a drum machine for a while. My right hand is definitely my weak point and needs the work. But I can only do that for so long before I lose interest. I’d rather work on a song ya know? I’ll play along to my backing tracks when I’m not rehearsing with the band for practice as well.

So what’s next for you?
Finish the new CD, and play as many shows as possible. I’ve been juggling both for the last year. Had some hang-ups with the new recording and funding for it (got burned by a record label, but that’s another story) but things are finally back on track and moving forward. I am really excited about getting the new CD done and out there for everyone to hear. Trust me, the best is yet to come!

Ty, thanks again for your time, best of luck for the future.
Thank you for the interview, my pleasure!

Check out Ty and his music here!

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In my endless search for that perfect tone I came across another avenue of possibilities. There are so many factors to take into account when approaching tone, depending on how meticulous you are of course, right down to the size of your speakers and the grain of the wood that they are mounted in.

String tension is my newest venture and it’s one of great impact. The gauge of string that you use can vary your sound massively. Because the actual mechanical movement of the string varies with its width you can therefore control the range of tones coming from it. Generally it’s quite self explanatory, the thicker the gauge the bassier and rounder the sound.

I chase a tone that’s chuggy, percussive, responsive, yet clear with a slightly scooped mid. I tend to use very light strings at the treble end and thicker strings at the bass end (9 – 46 with a 50 for the B string on my 7 strings). I like the way they feel, you can bend with ease and if you have a lot of control then you can command a massive range of sounds through them. A lot of people don’t like light strings because of the slack tension which is another factor – tone vs playability. It’s all about finding the optimum medium. For example; fast alternate picking can become clumsy on lighter strings because the string doesn’t return to centre very quickly, which is why mine thicken up as the pitch gets lower to provide a much more even tension.

Lighter strings can be combated of course with a lighter attack with your pick, but a lot of people can’t find the control. At speed your picking tends to become more aggressive as the muscles in your arm contract, so people up the gauge. Opt for a gauge that’s really thick though and you lose all clarity all together. For some people this is the desired consequence (I know people who have a .52 for an E string, and a .65 for B!!) but it’s not for me.

Heavier strings, therefore, do not mean heavier sound. The key is to experiment and find your perfect match taking into account all the factors. I manage to get a massively chuggy and heavy sound out of my strings because of the way they vibrate in context to my picking attack. Try it out for yourself.

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