Mark IV studio tone help

[factorevif]

Hey guys, my band is in the studio recording right now and I wanted to get some advice on my tone on the record. I will mainly be using my Mark IV on an oversized recto 4x12 cab. We play in drop C and I wanted to get a really defined, raw rhythm sound on the album, much like Chevelle, Lamb of God, or Sevendust/Dark New Day. I run the amp on full power/pentode/mid-gain and I can't decide what to do with my presence knob on the lead channel. Do you guys leave the lead presence knob pushed in or pulled out? Also, would boosting the low mid and high mid frequences (240 and 2200 i think) while cutting the other sliders a bit give me the kind of tone I'm looking for. I have looked at the grailtone settings page and haven't really found anything I like. Please help!!

 

[bryan_kilco]

I have a Mark IV and I'd say to cut down some bass and run a bit more treble and presence than you would normally think.

gotta figure....the bass guitar is what normally fills the low frequencies....

but, its all up to you and your ears. have you tried recording with the amp setup different ways, with different mic positions?

you can always go the re-amp route, and record the clean D.I. signal, then have endless tweaking options afterwards...if you have the dough and studio time.

 

[factorevif]

I usually run the bass on the lead channel at about 1.5 and use the graphic eq to dial in a touch of 80 hz. I just want to get some chevelle/sevendust type tones that really stick out and catch your attention. Anyone else have any ideas?

 

[bryan_kilco]

why dont you just set it up, record, then listen and see how you feel about the tone?

or like I said, record all DI takes. just clean guitar signal, that way you can take the "perfect" take, and run it back thru your Mark IV and tweak your amp from there.

 

[factorevif]

I'll see if we can reamp the guitars when we get to that point, we start on drums then bass this week so it might be the week after we do guitars. Thanks for your help

 

[factorevif]

We didn't have the time/money to reamp in the studio, but I managed to get a pretty good tone for the record, still not exactly what i'm looking for just yet. Can anyone give me any eq'ing advice?

 

[mrd]

Try running your gain lower than you might expect, and layer your guitars. If your rhythm track is pretty static (meaning that you can play the rhythm with one guitar all the way through, like a classic Metallica song, etc), then try doing 3 takes, one hard-left, one hard-right, and one dead-center.

I like my presence pushed in, at 0. Gives it a nice beefy, punchy sound. How loud are you playing?

 

[Elpelotero]

had I seen this thread earlier I could've given you chevelle and 7dust settings! I can't think of anything for post eq tho

 

[bryan_kilco]

when i tracked for our demo, I ran my gain a bit lower than normal, but then realized after i tracked everything that it was still a bit too fizzy. oh well. been considering re-recording using Revalver.....

 

[tony777]

Bring the CD's to the studio and compare your sound with the already recorded sound, it's the easiest way IMO

 

[fretout]

For Sevendust and Dark New Day tones, you need to approximate some Recto-ish type tones (they used Marshalls/Mesas/Randalls/ect.).

Try setting the bass at 3, mids at 9, treble at 9, gain at 8, the GEQ to adjust you tones. Boost The low and low-mid, cut the mids pretty severly (but not AJFA severly) and tune the top end to get the appropriate sizzle. This usually gets me fairly close. You may also want to try some EL34s in the outer sockets...

 

[factorevif]

Thanks for the suggestions, i'll try to mess around with those settings tonight and tomorrow at the rehearsal space

 

[factorevif]

you can check out the recording at:

www.myspace.com/rosesunreadband

We used a Mark IV and Peavey 5150 for dirty stuff, and the Mark IV and a Fender Twin Reverb for the cleans, let me know what you guys think!!!