what is up with all the "nu metal" bands using digital amps

justinhedrick · February 21, 2011, 12:01:48 PM

any ideas? do they think they sound good? i have yet to hear one that doesn't sound fake.

Jake · February 21, 2011, 12:15:46 PM

Did you write this post in 2001 and forget to hit "Post"...?

rayinreverse · February 21, 2011, 12:17:46 PM

I believe the topic should have been

Whats up with all these "nu metal" bands?

justinhedrick · February 21, 2011, 12:21:37 PM

no. i'm just getting really fed up with it. with the $ they are spending on a line 6 they could get a used marshall, a used cab and a tube screamer and be done with it.

what i mean is the bands that sound like 2001. "guitar line, blast beat blast beat scream chug chug".

Jor el · February 21, 2011, 12:24:21 PM

Who was the band that was opening for Monster Magnet (years aago) that didn't have any amps on stage?

peyotepeddler · February 21, 2011, 01:51:16 PM

last i saw meshuggah was plugging into pods, which were routed directly to the pa

look at it this way, leaves more tube amps for you to find on the cheap

Instant Dan · February 21, 2011, 03:14:13 PM

I think Cynic does PODS to the FOH. The only positive I see about that is no having to lug around cabs, heads, pedal boards, etc. Just guitars, drum kit, pods and done.

hayseed · February 21, 2011, 04:40:24 PM

I posted an ad on CL a few months back looking for a guitar player for a Stooges kind of rock band i was trying to assemble and in my description of what i was looking for i said "real amps, no LIne 6 bullshit." A dude from my area responded back, "Line 6 is not bullshit but your ad is!" I laughed my ass off on that one. I actually offended this douchebag!

I don't so much mind a few pedals in front of an amp but this over processed sound is terrible. 2 words for these folks....Angus Young.

black_out · February 21, 2011, 05:39:49 PM

I imagine that right now, somewhere else on the internet, in a nu-metal forum, some dude is making a post that says "what's up with all these fucking stoners and there stupid vintage tube amps? Those things sound like shit and they don't even have built in effects!".

VOLVO))) · February 21, 2011, 05:45:53 PM

Those noobs are still using STOMP BOXES, can you BELIEVE it? Fucking clownshoes.

NoSleepTilSleep · February 21, 2011, 06:38:25 PM

Someone's a little late to the relevancy party. I, thankfully, haven't read anything about nu-metal era bands in years. But when you see their retarded offspring, I'm not even going to attempt a genre ID here, they're always using Bogner, ENGL, Soldano's.... yada, yada, high gain, yada.... And also Orange... look at their artist roster sometime, it's fucking depressing.

Instant Dan · February 21, 2011, 06:51:30 PM

Back from 2002-2006 it seemed like all I saw was 5150's in Marshall's.

Now I see a few trying to use vintage gear, branch out into the sunn, ampeg, matamp, and using them all wrong.

These type of people ruin everything.

NoSleepTilSleep · February 21, 2011, 07:38:45 PM

That would be the hipster contingent aping all of our shit. That's the very upsetting thing. Those asshats tend to gravitate to the most extreme forms of genres, black metal and doom being very prevalent when it comes to the harder stuff. I'm all for for a bit of self-deprecating humor but a lot of these newer bands (in the doom/stoner vein) obviously are just taking the piss (and driving up the cost of proper gear while they're at it).

hayseed · February 21, 2011, 07:39:54 PM

Unfortunately, Orange is quickly becoming the "nu" metal amp of choice. Ampeg is kind of the standard across board with every genre.

Instant Dan · February 21, 2011, 07:58:02 PM

No, they're using Ampeg V4's and VT's, guitarists who wear tight pants. I remember I wanted to punch the shit out of this guy I saw opening for my friends band. Kid was using a Sunn Model T original slamming it with a tubescreamer and trying to get his dance on. I went to talk with him and thought maybe he was just doing this because it does good money. Nope he was serious about this shit and was gonna mod it to sound more a like modern metal amp.

If I had the cash at the moment, I would have bought it to save that amp from the unnecessary torture it is going through right now.

hayseed · February 21, 2011, 09:10:39 PM

Quote from: Instant Dan on February 21, 2011, 07:58:02 PM
No, they're using Ampeg V4's and VT's, guitarists who wear tight pants. I remember I wanted to punch the shit out of this guy I saw opening for my friends band. Kid was using a Sunn Model T original slamming it with a tubescreamer and trying to get his dance on. I went to talk with him and thought maybe he was just doing this because it does good money. Nope he was serious about this shit and was gonna mod it to sound more a like modern metal amp.

If I had the cash at the moment, I would have bought it to save that amp from the unnecessary torture it is going through right now.

You should have taken that amp and ran! Its not considered stealing, its considered an act of liberation!
I meant that the Ampeg 8x10 is a standard bass rig btw. Every band i see has one. Christ I unloaded a Kiss show in Pittsburgh 2 yrs ago and Gene used one!

Hemisaurus · February 21, 2011, 09:19:23 PM

Bassplayers are getting too narrow minded, any bass player who longs for a Fender bass and an Ampeg SVT should be shot

Digital amps are convenient, and you can change tones radically, with one stomp, that might take half a dozen with separate stompboxes. Plus if you can load in and out faster, you are more popular with the places you play, and soundguys love plug and play.

Just saying

Discö Rice · February 21, 2011, 10:11:27 PM

Well if I ever get my army of mk120 clones built, i'll let you know how they stand up to the vaunted svt classic. The only problem is finding (or building) the appropriate number of 4x15 cabs, and being able to afford it all in one lifetime.

giantchris · February 21, 2011, 10:13:16 PM

Quote from: Hemisaurus on February 21, 2011, 09:19:23 PM
Bassplayers are getting too narrow minded, any bass player who longs for a Fender bass and an Ampeg SVT should be shot

Digital amps are convenient, and you can change tones radically, with one stomp, that might take half a dozen with separate stompboxes. Plus if you can load in and out faster, you are more popular with the places you play, and soundguys love plug and play.

Just saying

I agree. I actually rather like the tones I get out of my Toneport UX1 but it takes a LOT and I mean a LOT of experimenting to get useable tones. I also have most of the expansion packs.

Modeling can sound decent if you put in the time on it.

mortlock · February 21, 2011, 11:15:59 PM

are we actually talking about playing live without amps..or did i misunderstand something..?? seriously..wtf.

Ranbat · February 22, 2011, 06:43:32 AM

The thing is, with modeling you can have a whole collection of vintage amps in your gig bag for less than a $1000. Do they really sound like those vintage amps? No, but they are getting better at emulating them. I imagine When the Who and Jimi Hendrix started playing at deafening volume there were plenty of people saying they were too loud and it just made the amps 'distort' at that volume.

zachoff · February 22, 2011, 10:40:38 AM

Quote from: hayseed on February 21, 2011, 09:10:39 PM
You should have taken that amp and ran! Its not considered stealing, its considered an act of liberation!
I meant that the Ampeg 8x10 is a standard bass rig btw. Every band i see has one. Christ I unloaded a Kiss show in Pittsburgh 2 yrs ago and Gene used one!

I've yet to find anything that sounds better in the mix than my SVT -> 810. I'll admit that it's none too special out of the mix and/or by itself but man... Nothing beats it on stage in a band. I don't have a Fender P, but I do have a couple old Yamaha BBs that are my main players and it's pretty much the raddest rig. Ha.

melkore · February 22, 2011, 12:15:24 PM

My lead guitarist has that Line 6/Bogner amp with a tube power section and a digital pre. It sounds pretty good but our new guitarist has a 6505 and you can tell the difference. The 6505 slays it as long as you don't want a clean channel

Discö Rice · February 22, 2011, 12:51:55 PM

I know Lumpy runs his Fender P through and SVT classic, an 8x10, some Earth amp that I don't know the specifics of, and a guitar-voiced 4x12. I think there is also a 1x18 involved.(?) His rig sounds just plain evil.

hayseed · February 22, 2011, 01:57:35 PM

Quote from: zachoff on February 22, 2011, 10:40:38 AM
Quote from: hayseed on February 21, 2011, 09:10:39 PM
You should have taken that amp and ran! Its not considered stealing, its considered an act of liberation!
I meant that the Ampeg 8x10 is a standard bass rig btw. Every band i see has one. Christ I unloaded a Kiss show in Pittsburgh 2 yrs ago and Gene used one!

I've yet to find anything that sounds better in the mix than my SVT -> 810. I'll admit that it's none too special out of the mix and/or by itself but man... Nothing beats it on stage in a band. I don't have a Fender P, but I do have a couple old Yamaha BBs that are my main players and it's pretty much the raddest rig. Ha.

I agree! ^^^ Those 8x10's just do it right. I use 2 2x15 cabs and i still strive to get an Ampeg 8x10. I was just stating that for bass, that set up is used by almost everybody, probably because it does sound great. I had an Ampeg 9x10 years ago that i used for guitar(i was 16 and had NO IDEA what i was doing,...and it was free!) and i regret daily that that thing disappeared. I am not sold on Ampeg heads too much. They are not horrible but i think that there are better ones out there. I am loving my Coliseum 300 right now. Personal preference.

As for guitar players, I have noticed that a lot of companies are putting out smaller tube heads/ cabs and even combos at really good prices and they are cool as shit. Traynor has a small tube head right now that looks like a good investment. I would love to see a swing towards "smaller" gear (as i get older the less i wanna carry stuff around!)

That digital stuff works for today's guitarist though. In my area, its the cover bands that are really utilizing the digital amps because they can get the original sound of the song that they are covering! Whatever, its not for me and I don't have to play it. These guys pass up the good old gear and leave it for guys like us to scarf up...