best profile for djent?

    Quote from whippinpost91850

    Sam, thanks that was very informative :thumbup:


    Yes thanks from most members of the KPA old farts club :D

    New talent management advice to Laura Cox -


    “Laura want to break the internet? let’s shoot another video of you covering the Nightrain solo in the blue singlet, but this time we’ll crank up the air conditioning”.

    I don't play djönt, but anything tuned low and with the green screamer up front gets that meshuggah type sound.


    Here's some studio eq settings that would accentutate that even more:


    Low gain -14dB, Low fr 40
    High gain +10dB, High fr 3000
    Mid gain -4dB, Mid fr 800, Mid Q 3.0


    ymmv, I'm using these with the Mak4 Dorado profile of FRPC and SD Blackouts.

    i like my splawn nitro profile i play djent mostly and it works great for me its the g nitro 2 profile on the rig exchange

    [Blocked Image: http://i39.tinypic.com/f05540.jpg]
    Pro Tools HDX HD i/o 8x8x8
    SSL Nucleus
    vintech
    2 573
    2 x81
    1 609ca
    classic api 4 vp312
    Neumann kh120's
    Presonus digimax
    Furman hds-6
    splawn nitro
    gmajor 2
    kemper
    agile 727s
    yes i work at Vintech


    Use gain as much as needed. I talked with Meshuggahs guitar tech for over 10 years, and he said that meshuggah uses hell of a lot gain. So, find out what fits you.

    I like compounding effects to get nice tightness. For example I have a 4:1 compressor locked in and play some of sinmix metal profiles (I think the Hector with mxr) and also put a Misha protone overdrive in front of the kpa. (the od adds a layer of tightness and the tone control makes for a nice easy eq to find the sweet spot). I know we like to get away from pedals with the kpa but that pedal up front, adds enough to get a double track fatness without needing to double track or post eq so it is good for live play and practice.


    And before you give up on a profile, try it with the gain lowered. It makes a big difference in tightness. Made a huge difference when dialing the gain on that sinmix one back to 7.

    On profiles: my favorite is The Amp Factory's ENGL Invader Lead 7 at the moment. But anything by sinmix, Ic4man, Lasse Lammert, Ola Englund, or Keith Merrow will work. Really any high gain amp can get the djent sound if boosted properly. Even a boosted JCM800 can "djent".


    On Gain: you can use a lot of gain, but you may lose clarity. You NEED compression, or your chugging sounds thin. You can get it from lots of gain, but I prefer a cleaner sound, so I use a compressor in front the amp and slightly lower gain than I would otherwise need to chug.


    On boosting: you must "boost". Most "boosting" isn't really a complete volume boost, but just a treble boost. This can be done with a Distortion pedal as an overdrive (typical Tube Screamer thing), EQ, or a Treble Booster. I prefer EQ because you have the most control, but sometimes I like the Tube Screamer, because it adds some of its own color. Sometimes too much top end works for the very low notes/chords, but sounds like arse on single notes, especially as you go higher up the fretboard. But typically it's a balancing act between a sick rhythm tone and a singing lead tone. If you're doing the 7/8 string down-tuned thing, you want a STRONG treble boost. This will tighten up the bass and make the treble sound more raucous and aggressive.


    On WTF Djent means: Djent as a genre is a meaningless fad. There's no "djent" bands. I don't use the term and advise you don't either. In 2 years, djent will mean the same thing it did 10 years ago - the sound of a heavily boost, high-gain, muted power chord. It can be one octave or two. It can even be a single note, as far as I'm concerned. All the "djent" genre is right now is it means you use a 7 string and occasionally play an off-time mute. If you look up the most popular djent bands, few of them sound the same. One of the more famous is Periphery, but they occasionally use 6 strings, so are they outside of "djent" then. It's an ambiguous fad.


    That said, I understand what people mean when they talk about djent playing styles. It's more about incorporating funk into metal and metal riffing. Which means accents are everything. You actually have silence, muted notes (left hand mutes while picking), palm mutes, and regular notes. Plus upstrokes/downstrokes, playing dynamics, pick position, mute technique. So a single note can have lots of variety.


    On Noise Gates: a lot of modern metal involves as much silence as it does playing. As high-gain produces noise, you get more contrast with a gate, and it really helps bring out funky riffing. But it's as much about your left hand muting technique as your gate settings. Put the 4:1 gate somewhere before your amp and set it just high enough to kill unwanted noise when you're muting correctly. If you want to go crazy, use multiple gates throughout the chain.


    On post EQ: there's absolutely no standard here, but as mentioned you won't hear the djent sound to mutes without some treble. the tone stack is post-distortion, and thus post-EQ, by default.


    On layering: always double-track rhythms if you want a nice wide sound, which makes the mix sound fuller. quad tracking is overrated in my opinion and will sound like crap if you don't have excellent rhythm. even then, it can make things a bit mushy. your attack will never line up absolutely perfectly, so you lose a bit of attack to the sound, but you gain thickness - that wall of distortion.


    On Amp Profile Params: I find cranking up the Bias parameter in the Amp Profile can get a "hotter", edgier sound to the amp distortion. Also mess with Tube Shape a little towards the same goal. Definition IS a treble boost, but again, you have little control over how it works and I prefer to keep this off of 10 usually, then use a Screamer or EQ for a boost. Clarity can clean up the distortion and I find it gets a nice djent tone, but I find it sounds more natural to use less gain + compressor, so I keep this at 0.


    On technique: test out lots of different ways to mute. move your palm a bit more off the bridge (closer to the neck). apply more pressure on your palm to the strings and less. pick harder and softer. you'll hear the difference and find the sweet spots. Also, try upstrokes and downstrokes. Also, try putting a little bend or vibrato on notes, or get creative with how you hammer-on/pull-off. Tosin is so big because he not only makes conscious choices whether he's going to tap or pick a note, but which finger of his right hand he uses to do it. He can slap, thump, pop, tap, pick...