James' tone

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zodiac272

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i know it's a crappy vid, but not really liking his tone from this show... new JH pups? and the bit at the end of blackened... not so great. sounds kind of thin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNsRtvwweKM

scott
 
His guitar is EQ'd to have a bassist below him and to leave room for Kirk's guitar. It's going to sound a lot thinner when heard by itself.

It's also possible that he thinned it out even further by switching down to a single amp as sort of a special effect... it'll make the band sound that much bigger when the next song kicks off.
 
Thin? Have you ever been to a Metallica concert? It's been said a bazillion times, don't judge tone based on youtube. :lol:
 
i have seen metallica live about 15 times. first time was Faith no more, Guns n Roses, Metallica. Saw pretty much every time they came around, except for S&M. Saw Garage Days, The free show in the parking lot in philly, Live **** twice, load twice, St. anger in 2003, death magnetic three times, probably going to yankee stadium in september.

i have a pretty good idea what his live guitar sounds like, It just sounded different is what I was trying to say.

scott
 
Definitely not what I'm used to :?

But I agree with screamingdaisy, his tone is fit for the mix.
Hell even in our band my tone is a bit more open and brighter and the lead guitarist's tone is more saturated and darker - on my own, I'm a bit bright, and he's a bit muddy... together it's awesome.
 
I read an interview with James about his tone. He said he has learned to compromise a guitar sound that sounds great with one that will make the band sound great.
His live sounds has been like this for a couple years now. I just think this video really accentuated it. I wish I cut through the band like that. :cry:
 
I don't know if this is a valid point or not, but its just something I have noticed a bit.

The two times I have seen them live this tour it seemed like James was for the most part trying to keep his tone balanced, in the sense that he was using a tone that kind of worked for all of their material, but more or less still geared towards Death Magnetic.

I don't know if its always been like that, but it seems like James kind of locks down on one sound and he kind of lets Kirk float around more between tones as needed. I assume that's what most bands would do, kind of let the lead in and out as needed, but it just seems more noticeable now.

I guess what I am saying is that it seems like James kind of lets Kirk fill in the gaps (both Rhythm and Lead) a bit more then he use to, instead of trying to dominate the mix guitar wise like he may have in the past.
 
When I listen to the tones off "The Big 4" DVD it sounds like his tonality shifts a couple of times. Death Magnetic being a bit thinner and more balanced with the tone getting more scooped into AJFA era and more raw and slightly muddy for KEA era.

I agree that it sounds like James isn't trying to dominate the mix. It actually sounds like Kirk has more bottom end with the more scooped rhythm sound while James sits more in the mids.... until the leads where Kirk suddenly jumps into the middle and cuts like a knife.
 
I think you guys nailed on the head. I've noticed the same last few years regarding his tone taking up a particular frequency slot to allow room for the band. I recall some older live stuff where he was low in the mix and it was mostly Kirk, perhaps to cover for small mistakes while singing ?
It always seemed he was quieter when it was just him playing and this would bring it to my attention then Kirk would come back in.

Maybe this vid was just a quick Youtube quality mix ? It does seem very 'toppy' and 'trebly' at the end. I was more impressed to hear some new Hetfield riffery ? or is it from something I don't know of ?

:?:
 
The Metallica concert I recently went to sounded pretty good, James cut through well and so did Kirk, but they sill had the thick tone from the black album. They had a lot more mids in their sound, but I still like their live tone, But I liked the tone off S&M way more, it was so thick, and a little more scopped like their MOP-BA
 
Roadifier said:
The Metallica concert I recently went to sounded pretty good, James cut through well and so did Kirk, but they sill had the thick tone from the black album. /quote]

While I have never seen Metallica live, I have been told by a few professional sound engineers that Metallica have one of the best live sounds around.

Don't believe what you hear on Youtube.
 
There is also one thing I am not sure of. I Read some places that say james only uses iso cabs right to the PA under the stage, and the cabs on stage are just dummies. Can anyone confirm this?
 
fluff191 said:
Roadifier said:
The Metallica concert I recently went to sounded pretty good, James cut through well and so did Kirk, but they sill had the thick tone from the black album. /quote]

While I have never seen Metallica live, I have been told by a few professional sound engineers that Metallica have one of the best live sounds around.

Don't believe what you hear on Youtube.


I'm not a professional, but after seeing them so many times, I would agree that their live sound is really good... and has to be one of the best sounding shows out there

scott
 
Roadifier said:
There is also one thing I am not sure of. I Read some places that say james only uses iso cabs right to the PA under the stage, and the cabs on stage are just dummies. Can anyone confirm this?

This is correct.

You'll notice the band all use IEMs (In Ear Monitors), so the sound is pumped through those. They have a couple of monitor wedges on stage but I think they're there as backup in case the IEMs fail during a performance... and so they can generate feedback at the appropriate time.
 
I dont know if anyone has seen this already but it might help clear up some things....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOdzgteeNcA

Its an interview with Metallicas FOH guy and is in a few parts. Really informative though.
 
Exactly! The In ears are Front of House Mix from their ISO cabs, as well as the selective monitor wedges. I watched the above posted hour long interview with Big Mick Hughes on you tube, he mentioned some cool little tidbits about the mix. One being, even though the In-ear monitors are great for keeping a consistent mix for the band, the band still prefer the feeling of pumping cabs on stage. So Mick says each instrument has its own onstage mix also provided by onstage wedges.

Here's a small list of tidbits from the interview... as well as a few tidbits from an interview I read in Mix Magazine, i believe.

Mick quotes James, "it's hard when doing a solo, to get the sustain of the guitar to come through on the in ear monitors"

So Mick runs monitor wedges as well as actual Speaker cabs onstage.

For James, 2, 4x12 Mesa Boogie cabs. One on each side of the stage. (In a non in the round situation)
and 4, 4x12 Mesa Boogie cabs, 2 back to back on each side facing the opposite direction. (In an in the round situation)

The same goes for Kirk and Rob, However Kirk uses Marshall cabs on stage, and rob uses Ampeg cabs.

Big Mick then talks about the front of house sound for the Guitar and Bass...

James Mics
x2: Roland JC-120 combo mic'd in stereo (ISO enclosure) (Speakers powered by a JC-120H head not the combo preamp)
*DI: Line 6 Variax for Acoustic, also used is a Line 6 POD X3 Pro to simulate the JC-120 clean tone (Since 2009, replacing the JC-120H)
x1: Mesa Boogie 4x12 cab (ISO chamber) (Used with Mesa Boogie Triaxis/2:90)
x1: Mesa Boogie 4x12 cab (ISO chamber) (Used with Diezel VH4)

*(Note: I believe the Line 6 Pod X3 replaced the Roland JC-120H simulating the tone. The POD X3 speaker outs power the JC-120 combo speakers. I find it weird James doesn't just use the combo itself, like he does otherwise in a non-live situation. Perhaps it sounds different?)

Kirks Mics
x1: Mesa Boogie 4x12 cab (ISO chamber) (Used with Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier)
x1: Randall 4x12 cab (ISO chamber) (Used with Randall RM100KH)

Rob
x1: Mesa Boogie 4x12 cab (ISO chamber) (Used with Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier) (for dirty sounds)
x1: Ampeg cab (ISO chamber) (Used with Ampeg SVT-2)

All cabs housed in ATA flight cases and mic'd with ATM 2500 dual capsule condensor dynamic microphones,
positioned directly in the center of the speaker to obtain the high-end required for the chunky metal sound.

Mick then speaks about James vocal mics...

There's roughly 10 vocal mics spread across the stage. How do you EQ 10 vocals for one guy?
Well, you turn off the EQ on the desk, you bus all the vocals to one pair of sub groups,
and you EQ the sub group. Once I've EQ'd one sub group I've EQ'd them all.

Pretty cool! I've always loved watching or reading anything with Big Mick, he seems so humble and down to earth. 8)
 
myownself26 said:
*(Note: I believe the Line 6 Pod X3 replaced the Roland JC-120H simulating the tone. The POD X3 speaker outs power the JC-120 combo speakers. I find it weird James doesn't just use the combo itself, like he does otherwise in a non-live situation. Perhaps it sounds different?)

I've seen footage of where James is playing an acoustic on a stand while his electric is on a strap. I'm guessing this setup makes it impossible to use the JC120 for both since both rigs are active at the same time.
 

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