The Judas Kiss - Mark IV

[SeasonOfPain]

With gibson 5413 posting every other Metallica song , I've been in the mood to record some. This is my favorite track off the new Death Magnetic album, and I wanted to hear it with a Mark tone:

The Judas Kiss

Guitar is double-tracked Schecter Hellraiser 6 > Mark IV EL34 > Recto 2x12 > Audix i5 > ULN2 > Cubase Studio 4

I didn't do the solo parts, (a) because I don't have my wah at home, and (b) Kirk's current style isn't really my thing. I'd love to hear someone else lay a the solo parts over this, though.

 

[mystidream]

Pretty sick tone, man. Judas Kiss is definitely in my top 3 from the album.

 

[dmcguitar]

Totally digging that. Sounds better than the actual album, I like most of the music they did, but his singing / lyrics just don't cut it now (IMO) the mark tone sounds better than the actual album, and its not as compressed to make the whole album distort.

good job.

 

[pixy]

really nice guitar tone! i really like it.

 

[Aart]

It's a bit dark for my taste, it should be a little more aggressive and maybe you should less gain next time (it get's fuzzy).

But it's a nice attempt!

 

[gibson5413]

Sounds really good!

 

[Elpelotero]

WOW!!

 

[odsska]

I agree the tone is better than the one on the album, nice job.

 

[kmanick]

I really like the tone on most of the clips on your page.
Nicely done.

 

[SeasonOfPain]

Thanks for all the positive feedback! I'm hoping to use it as a reference tone, and see how close I can get to it on my new AxeFX.

I'd still be curious to hear someone do the solo parts to it.

 

[Nitrobattery]

Thanks for all the positive feedback! I'm hoping to use it as a reference tone, and see how close I can get to it on my new AxeFX.

I'd still be curious to hear someone do the solo parts to it.

His style isn't really my thing either these days, but I'll lay a solo over it


sounds awesome by the way

 

[NJVenom]

I gotta give you a big thumbs up, not only on the sound, but the performance as well. My only minor criticism on the sound is that (IMHO) it seems a little "soft" It needs a little more edge, more aggresiveness, a little kick in 2.5k region. A great effort on a cool song. "Death Magnetic" is the first Metallica album I've bought since "Justice", and I am not disappointed at all. Back to the heaviness, the 7+ minute songs etc...
If your interested, here are a couple originals I did w/ a Mark IV. Not heavy, btw.

www.myspace.com/ghostandthebigsky

Happy Holidays

Patrick

 

[jdurso]

nice... i've been playing this song non-stop for the past few weeks. I'm digging your tone... i prefer a little more bass but i bet whats coming out of the amp sounds better than what got recorded. You should be able to nail that tone easily with the axe-fx.... BTW what are you pairing yours up with? i've been using the power section of my roadster but i'm thinking about waiting for the new atomic built around the axe instead of going power amp/ cab.

Also, the chorus part with the big open power chords... there are only two notes that match het saying " I head"... actually sounds killer when you sig along with it. Many people may disagree but Hets vocals shine on this song... good stuff man.

 

[SeasonOfPain]

I gotta give you a big thumbs up, not only on the sound, but the performance as well. My only minor criticism on the sound is that (IMHO) it seems a little "soft" It needs a little more edge, more aggresiveness, a little kick in 2.5k region.

Thanks, NJVenom! I agree, the tone is a bit soft. I had the gain dialed down lower, and I tend to underemphasize presence when I record (usually too much). Always something more to tweak (which I love doing, luckily)!

nice... i've been playing this song non-stop for the past few weeks. I'm digging your tone... i prefer a little more bass but i bet whats coming out of the amp sounds better than what got recorded. You should be able to nail that tone easily with the axe-fx.... BTW what are you pairing yours up with? i've been using the power section of my roadster but i'm thinking about waiting for the new atomic built around the axe instead of going power amp/ cab.

Thanks, jdurso! That's the major hurdle I've always had with mic'ing... I always seem to lose treble response. I can spend hours tweaking mic positions. I did get around to re-recording the song using the Axe (link here), but I was actually trying for a mix of the album tone and the Mark tone. The Axe track is recorded direct, but I've been trying to get a live setup working using my F-50 as a power amp with my Trad 4x12. Heh, I also tried with my actual Mark IV as a power amp (which is kind of ironic, considering I got it as a backup for the IV).

 

[Mark Fore]

Wow! Nicely done. Great attention to detail and definitive Mark IV tone.

 

[Sebby123]

Sounds great the bass really made it sound huge... ah bass is so underestimated these days.

 

[Sixstringpsycho]

Solid cover, excellent playing and great Mark tone.

 

[#2121313]

Killer tone, solid cover!

Any chance you'd like to post your settings and EQ for the clip?

 

[SeasonOfPain]

Killer tone, solid cover!

Any chance you'd like to post your settings and EQ for the clip?

Thanks!

It's been months, so I don't have the exact settings, but they would have been similar to the following:

Lead Gain - 7.5 (pulled)
Lead Treble - 6
Lead Bass - 0
Lead Mid - 2
Lead Drive - 8
Presence - 4
Master - 2
EQ (from -10 to +10, 0 is middle line): +3, -2, -5, -2, -1
Mid-shift
Simulclass (6L6 + EL34)
Output - 2

A lot of the perceived bass comes from the actual bass guitar track. For comparison, here's a clip with just the Mark IV by itself: Judas Kiss clip - Mark IV only

 

[tom241]

agreed, def sounds better then the album
really nice sound goin man, well done