Favorite Crunch Tones

GravityWell

GravityWell

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I am looking for inspiration by living vicariously through everyone else's favorite crunch tones. To apply for this position, please state your modeler of choice, favorite crunch amp(s) and any tricks you use to get there. Not looking for face melting gain sounds, but edge of breakup where your guitar volume knob rolled back a bit will clean it up some and all the way up will let it rip a bit. I am sure that this has probably been discussed to death elsewhere, but it is Monday morning and I am bored.

I will kick it off with my current favorite:
Fractal FM3
Plexi 50W 6CA7: Gain 6 Bass 4 Mid 9 Treble 8.5 Presence 8
I am using a couple of 4x12 IRs to shape it up, but it isn't really important which ones because everyone has their favorites.

I haven't listed any of the pedals I use in the preset, but if they are critical to your vibe, list it. I also have a HX Stomp XL I use with the Litigator amp, but that is currently at a friends house for rehearsals, so I am not clear on my settings there. I mostly use the FM3 for guitar sounds these days, and I haven't played with the more recent Helix update and the new models there. The modeler is less important to me anyway, they all sound good, I am more interested in the models and what y'all are doing to make them crunchy.

Reveal your secrets, Gear Forum!
 
I've been experimenting with Tweed-ish tones lately. Just a bit of grit that is a great starting point for adding pedals to it. Use a single coil guitar.

With the Strymon Iridium:
  • Round model.
  • Gain 5-7.
  • Bass 4-5.
  • Mids between 6-10.
  • Treble 5-7.
  • York Audio Bassman 4x10 IR.
With Fractal you could use the Deluxe Tweed model for similar results. The cab choice is key here really.
 
Helix,

For humbuckers:
Placater Dirty (Friedman BE100)
Drive at 3, Bass at 4, Mids at 6.5, Treble at 6.3, Presence at 5.5, Master at 3.6, HBE switch off, Fat switch off, C45 switch on, Saturation off, Bias a little hotter (7.5).

For single coils:
Essex A30 (Vox AC30)
Drive at 6, Bass at 0.7, Cut at 3.6, Treble at 5, Pres at 5, Master at 9.4, Biased a little colder colder with the excursion up.

Running into an open back 1x12 Celestion Creamback cab/IR or closed back 2x12 Greenback cab/IR
 
laxu said:
I've been experimenting with Tweed-ish tones lately. Just a bit of grit that is a great starting point for adding pedals to it. Use a single coil guitar.

With the Strymon Iridium:
  • Round model.
  • Gain 5-7.
  • Bass 4-5.
  • Mids between 6-10.
  • Treble 5-7.
  • York Audio Bassman 4x10 IR.
With Fractal you could use the Deluxe Tweed model for similar results. The cab choice is key here really.
Click to expand...
Cab choice is always key. I am convinced that most people have a specific one they are usually searching for (which is why IR fights always seem to start). I have a few that I tend to always use, so when someone recommends a speaker config of some sort, I stick with the ones I have already used a lot. That doesn't mean that anyone else would like them necessarily, but they usually work for me. I do not currently have a decent 4x10, so I will definitely consider the York. I will also try out a bunch of the ones that come with the Fractal.
 
Alex Kenivel said:
Helix,

For humbuckers:
Placater Dirty (Friedman BE100)
Drive at 3, Bass at 4, Mids at 6.5, Treble at 6.3, Presence at 5.5, Master at 3.6, HBE switch off, Fat switch off, C45 switch on, Saturation off, Bias a little hotter (7.5).

For single coils:
Essex A30 (Vox AC30)
Drive at 6, Bass at 0.7, Cut at 3.6, Treble at 5, Pres at 5, Master at 9.4, Biased a little colder colder with the excursion up.

Running into an open back 1x12 Celestion Creamback cab/IR or closed back 2x12 Greenback cab/IR
Click to expand...
I keep shooting for some sort of AC30 sound, but I never stick with them. I will definitely try this.
 
GravityWell said:
Cab choice is always key. I am convinced that most people have a specific one they are usually searching for (which is why IR fights always seem to start). I have a few that I tend to always use, so when someone recommends a speaker config of some sort, I stick with the ones I have already used a lot. That doesn't mean that anyone else would like them necessarily, but they usually work for me. I do not currently have a decent 4x10, so I will definitely consider the York. I will also try out a bunch of the ones that come with the Fractal.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I think the new style cab sims with movable mics do make it much easier to get the most out of the cabs on offer though as it's easy to change it just by moving the mic a bit.

A lot of people still rely on e.g York Audio's mixes because they sound great with minimal effort.
 
Helix LT Park 75 BRT is my favorite for edge of breakup and the settings vary from guitar to guitar. I stopped using IR's with the 3.5 update. I prefer the Blackback 30's 4x12. SM57 4.0 pos, 1.5" and 45 degree angle. Cuts vary also but generally 75 and 5.5
 
Bob Zaod said:
Helix LT Park 75 BRT is my favorite for edge of breakup and the settings vary from guitar to guitar. I stopped using IR's with the 3.5 update. I prefer the Blackback 30's 4x12. SM57 4.0 pos, 1.5" and 45 degree angle. Cuts vary also but generally 75 and 5.5
Click to expand...

Interesting that you cut the highs so much, BUT, this past weekend, I asked our sound engineer to give me a high cut on my monitor feed to my IEMs. I said, "you can cut it at around 8 or 10, I just wanted the ultra high fizz out, but as soon as I asked, he said, "I'll cut it at 6", and it sounded great.
 
High Cut on digital modelers = more than you think you need. Way more. :LOL:
 
la szum said:
High Cut on digital modelers = more than you think you need. Way more. :LOL:
Click to expand...

No one turns it up puts their ear down on the cap like a sm57 … they stand way above the beam …



Season 3 Guitar GIF by The Simpsons


Shocked Bart Simpson GIF
 
Bob Zaod said:
Helix LT Park 75 BRT is my favorite for edge of breakup and the settings vary from guitar to guitar. I stopped using IR's with the 3.5 update. I prefer the Blackback 30's 4x12. SM57 4.0 pos, 1.5" and 45 degree angle. Cuts vary also but generally 75 and 5.5
Click to expand...
I haven't spent much time with this one on Helix. I will be sure to play with it this week.
 
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