The Heavier End of the Mesa Tonal Spectrum!

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Hey guys!

I stumbled upon a very nice heavy tone today, and was curious whether a recto is capable of it.

The song is Death Bloom by Mudvayne. You can find the song at this link, alphabetically under M.

http://music.aol.com/archive/main

I'm not a fan of mudvayne, so I know nothing of them, but I really really like this "metal" tone. From what I know, the guitarist uses EMG equipt guitars with VHT amps.....correct?

So far, I have found very good hard rock tones, ala Mark Tremonti, Breaking Benjamin in my recto, and this is my primary tone.

At times, I do get the urge to use heavier tones, and if I could get this sort of a tone, I would be very happy!

So, can a recto pull this off? I assume EMGs would be a must.....

Thanks for the help!

 

[moore5150]

Hey man, you are correct. Greg, the guitar player for Mudvayne does currently use VHT amps. However, if I am not mistaken, L.D. 50 (The album that Death Blooms is on) was recorded using EMG equipped Gibson guitars (Les Paul & Flying V) run through a Mesa Triple Rectifier. I believe he even used that rig on the subsequent tour. Even though the album sounds huge he claims he was not completely satisfied with his tone on that record, prompting his switch to VHT amps for the "End of All Things to Come" album.

So, with all that being said, I would imagine that a recto is capable of nailing that tone pretty spot on. Good luck!!

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Alright! That's definitely good news. Any other help/opinions?

 

[siggy14]

correct, on the first album he used triple rec's then switched to VHT which is also a killer amp.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

So, an EMG equipt guitar through my mesa should get me pretty close?

 

[jbird]

So, an EMG equipt guitar through my mesa should get me pretty close?

And a gazillion dollar studio/producer! :shock:

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

True...of course!

But I'm curious to try EMGs with a recto anyway! Many praise it greatly!

I've always been a passive guy, but I have never given EMGs a proper run...we'll see.

 

[MesaENGR412]

I love my EMG's with the Triple Rectifier. But, let me caution you, if you're thinking about the 81, to me, they have alot of Mids in them, and you may find that you'll need a graphic eq in between to scoop the sound, especially if that's what you into. I love my tone, and some would probably say i have some crazy settings, but, to me, it sounds great. Razor sharp attack and huge bottom end, with high end bite, and just enough mids to know they're a present haha. In the end it sounds absolutely thunderous, and it slays beside my other guitarists Stilleto and the lead singer's Krank.

-AJH

 

[trendkill1168]

That's the tone I go for. I have one guitar with the EMG Zakk Wylde set - 81/85 and the other with a Dimebucker. I find the 81 to be a little mid-heavy but IMO these amps are more mid scooped then most other amps anyway and I usually find myself adding more mids rather than dialing them out. My mids are usually set right around 11:00. They are powerful pickups and have a nice tight attack. I think they sound killer with the rectifier amps especially with a downtuned guitar. I thought the dude from Mudvayne was being endorsed by Randall now with the MTS RM100 line. At least they have a picture of him on their website.

 

[Reese Bobby]

i was a pretty big mudvayne fan a while back and i really analyzed his tone on that record. i saw them twice on that tour and saw his rig in a mag. not all his gibsons at that time were loaded with emg's. he also multitracks with like five different guitars. contrary to the way it sounds, his tone really isn't all that bass laden...ryan the bass player just makes it seem that way especially on that record. you can really notice this on the l.d. 50 live dvd. in addition to his rectos he also used some kind of roland 2X12 combo amps to even out some of the recto mud in the studio and live...i saw a few guys at that time ('00-'01) use those rolands wes borland being one of them...pretty sure they were tube amps at that.

 

[siggy14]

The roland is used for cleans, it was the big craze in the late 90's and early 2000's before the 3 channel recto came out. Basically they would use a recto for dirty and a roland for clean since the two channel clean was not that great.

When the 3 channel came out the clean was improved and you started to see less rolands for cleans as people knew they could get by with the clean on the recto.

As to the bass player of Mud, he is really good, one of the better ones out there these days.

i was a pretty big mudvayne fan a while back and i really analyzed his tone on that record. i saw them twice on that tour and saw his rig in a mag. not all his gibsons at that time were loaded with emg's. he also multitracks with like five different guitars. contrary to the way it sounds, his tone really isn't all that bass laden...ryan the bass player just makes it seem that way especially on that record. you can really notice this on the l.d. 50 live dvd. in addition to his rectos he also used some kind of roland 2X12 combo amps to even out some of the recto mud in the studio and live...i saw a few guys at that time ('00-'01) use those rolands wes borland being one of them...pretty sure they were tube amps at that.

 

[siggy14]

The roland is used for cleans, it was the big craze in the late 90's and early 2000's before the 3 channel recto came out. Basically they would use a recto for dirty and a roland for clean since the two channel clean was not that great.

When the 3 channel came out the clean was improved and you started to see less rolands for cleans as people knew they could get by with the clean on the recto.

As to the bass player of Mud, he is really good, one of the better ones out there these days.

i was a pretty big mudvayne fan a while back and i really analyzed his tone on that record. i saw them twice on that tour and saw his rig in a mag. not all his gibsons at that time were loaded with emg's. he also multitracks with like five different guitars. contrary to the way it sounds, his tone really isn't all that bass laden...ryan the bass player just makes it seem that way especially on that record. you can really notice this on the l.d. 50 live dvd. in addition to his rectos he also used some kind of roland 2X12 combo amps to even out some of the recto mud in the studio and live...i saw a few guys at that time ('00-'01) use those rolands wes borland being one of them...pretty sure they were tube amps at that.

 

[nickyboy]

Live rigs and techniques in recording are often times very different. For instance a small 1 speaker cab in the studio can create a huge sound. i read that Korn put one of those ciggaret pack amps in a junk drawer with a mik to get tone on one of their albums.

Maybe this is not helpful on your tone journey but may give some situational awareness. They may be getting that tone in the studio with a Line6 for all we know.

Also the bands you mentioned may be using techniques in guitar choice. Drop tunings, thick strings, baritone guitars and when you are down in those low tunings the type of pick up you are using can have as much to do with the amp they are playing. This all my be obvious to you.

My understanding is that most of your tone comes from your hands so if your guitar is in the proper tuning and you are emulating a style in pick stroke, feel and technique...you will be able to bag it with many different types of amp

 

[CudBucket]

So, an EMG equipt guitar through my mesa should get me pretty close?

And a gazillion dollar studio/producer! :shock:

Exactly.

 

[BENNY]

this again is all true, but in my findings my EMG's tighten up the Recto a bit, but i am a fan of the 85's in the Bridge. Mudvayne guy will "so call use" whatever amp he can get a cool endorsement on. cabinets and speakers also will have different effect on overall sound.

emg85 + triple rectum fryer + roadking 4x12 with c90 = tight punchy death machine.

VHT is probably the best boogie rip off machine.

 

[smashingchicago]

I can get that tone pretty nailed down with my EMG equipped SZ720. I did have to EQ it properly, but it just takes some playing around.

 

[jackieTHEjokeman]

True...of course!

But I'm curious to try EMGs with a recto anyway! Many praise it greatly!

I've always been a passive guy, but I have never given EMGs a proper run...we'll see.

Do it. I love all my pickups with my Roadster, especially my EMG's!!

 

[Storm]

I love my EMG 81/85 combo with the Roadster. Nice and tight sounding.
I'd prefer to swap the 85 for a 60 as I use these in the neck position.

Ciao ...