What do you Consider High Gain ?

[Stone]

Like is there a threshold ?
What really constitues high gain ?
Like what player ? What bands ? What songs ?

Discuss

 

[Frodebro]

I’m an eighties guy, so in my world that would be a JCM800 goosed by an SD-1. It was much more gain than what came before, but nothing like what happened in the 90s and later.

 

[0XI0]

past the point where palm muting doesn't mute anymore

 

[Stone]

Is most modern high gain really high gain or is it due to all the drop tunings?

 

[Frodebro]

Is most modern high gain really high gain or is it due to all the drop tunings?

A bit of both.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I'd say high gain is in the realm where if you don't keep every string you're not playing, quiet, they will sound. Either from the slightest brush against them, or the string sounding a sympathetic harmonic from the note you're playing.

And when going from one string to another, if the 2 notes overlap, even for a millisecond, you will hear it as dissonance.

 

[AlbertA]

This sounds like a question for Ola.

 

[TSJMajesty]

High gain, from here on out:

 

[TSJMajesty]

And a little EOB, for comparison: (at least in the beginning)

 

[newholland]

my thought's always been high gain is MORE than a jcm800- but thats basically anything now like a 6505 is perverse amounts of gain. if theres more than that, its into special fx territory.

i kinda feel like my 1981 mark ii is high gain.. compared to modern high gain, its like a fender twin.

 

[mk5]

The OG 5150

 

[FuzzyAce]

Twin Reverb.

 

[mbenigni]

Twin Reverb.

…with a Metal Zone in front.

 

[sleewell]

Gain knob that just took a bong rip

 

[Blix]

I thought I knew hi gain, then a friend told my to try the JVM in the Axe. I'm at like 2.37 on the gain pot and it's almost too much!

 

[la szum]

 

[newpedals]

I am kinda naive. Initially I only played clean on my electric, I didn't listen to much music. High gain was Metallica, Iron Maiden, stuff like that.

Now I know that it is all relative and in reality they play with much less gain than we think they do. Skills in their fingers/ vocals and studio processing makes it sound more gainier than it actually is.

 

[DrewJD82]

In my head, I view it as the thing the boosted JCM800 created. Everything after that boosted JCM800 tone is high gain, while a stock JCM800 with no boost and all the amps that came before it are mid/low gain.

 

[Orvillain]

Anything that would offend spunkinjecta.

 

[metropolis_4]

High gain for me is one of these two, I don’t really do higher gain than this:

1. JCM800 + boost

2. Big Muff + ac30