Why does my rig sound so bad?!

[ScareRaven]

Heys guys, I know this is a very common question, but I'm not much of a gearhead and I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out why my rig sounds so bad.
I've got a D-activator 7 bridge and stock neck pup in my S7. From there, I run it through a Boss Metal Zone and into a Randall RG200...

Everything about it sounds bad... The leads are all fizzy and they hardly ring at all when I play something with soft picking. I mean... I hardly even play with my amp! I just can't! It sounds like shit! It sounds like either the amp is screwed or the pickups are reallllly fucked.

I was looking for some tight low-end with some sinister, singing highs... but I have no clue how to achieve? I'd love to work on some melodic death/doom, but maybe I've just got all of the wrong parts... It sounds soooo horrible. The tone might be good for a horrible black metal album.

Thanks!

 

[Stitch]

Get rid of the Metal Zone. Its 94% of your problem.

You're lack of an Engl is the other 6%

 

[Metal Ken]

I think that the metal zone might be part of the problem there... They're often described as a 'box of bees'. Really trebley and whatnot... tried playing without it?

 

[ScareRaven]

Yeah, the Randall sounds even weaker without the Metal Zone. I get the most disgusting sound from this amp... it sounds extremely busted! Can the Metal Zone sound better with leads when complimenting it with something else?

 

[bobbyretelle]

Get rid of the Metal Zone. Its 94% of your problem.

You're lack of an Engl is the other 6%

+1 haha


i agree though, replace the metal zone with something with some more balls....like anything.... unless you get it modded!

 

[Psychoface]

Try playing without the pedal, see how that works for you...
hopefully you should look like this -->

 

[Groff]

Can the Metal Zone sound better with leads when complimenting it with something else?

No way, the metal zone will sill crap it up.

If you want to 'compliment' it to sound better, get an overdrive pedal and mix the two together, like an ibanez tube screamer.

Or go to Bodenhamer Electronics and get LordOvChaoS to mod your MT-2 so it sounds better.

 

[Leon]

have you played through many other amplifiers? like something that made you go, "THIS is what i need!" ?

 

[TomAwesome]

Unless you want to drop the coin for another amp, I see two options available to you.

The Metal Zone isn't really as bad as people make it out to be. If you take the time to get to know the pedal and how it reacts to your guitar and amp, you can make it work pretty decently. It does, however, have a buzzy high end, and the D-Activators probably don't help with that too much. If you like the overall character of the MT-2 minus the noise, get Joe Bodenhamer to mod it, like TheMissing said.

The other option is, of course, to replace the pedal. Depending on your budget, there are lots of options. For around $100US, you can get a Line 6 Uber Metal. It's the heart of all the heavy patches in my current rig, and I must say it's thoroughly brutal, and I can still hear chords clearly. The built in noise gate is pretty decent, too.

The MT-2 mod will be cheaper, and from what I've heard from the one or two people here that have one, it turns the MT-2 into a fantastic unit. I'm planning to send my MT-2 over to him at some point.

 

[zimbloth]

Metal Zone. Randall. D-Activator. A surefire reciple for a losing guitar tone.

Use a tube screamer variant, will definitely help. The Metal Zone is workable as a clean boost, my bandmate used it for a while, but as soon as he switched to a tube screamer it was a huge improvement.

The D-Activator is a decent pickup but very bland and lacking character or heaviness. Depending on the guitar you're using, I'd recommend something else, such as the DiMarzio Evolution.

Randalls IMO sound very artificial and lame to me also. I'd look into a different amp if I were you...even if it's something inexpensive there's better options I think.

 

[maccayoung]

The Metal Zone isn't that bad. I used to use one with my practice amp all the time. It's very sensitve, and very easy to unleash the bees, but I think it has a nice range of sounds with the whole mid sweep knob. You've just got to be patient with the damn thing.

That said, I haven't touched it in years. Mainly cause I use my pod 2.0 in front of the practice amp. Have you thought about a pocket pod? They cost about the same as a pedal and it's pretty easy to dial in a killer metal sound.

Pocket Pod

Check out the song called 'Change' on this page:
ATWNZ - Band page

Apart from the synth sounds at the start and end all the guitar sounds are from the POD. I apologize in advance for the horrible mix, it was done many years ago.

 

[7 Dying Trees]

If you don't like the rig, then sell it, then get something else, but, you should obey the lwas of gear whoring:

1) Sell secondhand, buy secondhand. Buying new just loses you money in wads. Best to buy at the cut price, don't like it? Sell it on and get your money back

2) Do research before you buy, read reviews and ask questions. Listen to what people on some forums say (ie, this one), and ignore others (ie, harmony central)

Guitar should be fine, the pickup should be as well, although, as zimbloth pointed out you may be better of with an evolution7, but overall mess with that after you sort the amp out.

Sell the metal zone. Just get rid of it. Get an amp that delivers all the gain you need, if you can't do tube, go line6 podxt or along those lines with a power amp.

If you can, get a tube amp. e4xpensive, yes, worth it, yes. Just make sure you play them first, with NO pedals. If you can't get the sound you want with no pedals, then you're in trouble. Pedals are there to enhance it, not to be it.

 

[HamBungler]

Sell the Metal Zone and buy a Rocktron Metal Planet. You'll love yourself forever!

 

[Desecrated]

my of dealing with randalls is this.

bass 4, mid 7, treble 5, presence 6, level 10, gain 6-7. no voicing
OR
Bass 8, mid 0, treble, 9, presence 5, level 10, gain 5,

Depending on what kind of guitr and what kind of room you have something in this area should sound good enough. Remeber to always lower your bass settings if your going to record it.
The second sollution is a bit extreme and that setting on let say an engl would sound crap, but with cheap amps it sometimes work, it sounds very 1990 blackmetal and can be used for leads and dubbing.

 

[stubhead]

You don't say what you're budget is, but IF the Randall has an effects loop or a way to bypass the preamp and get straight into the power section, any of the $100 amp modelers would be a big improvement - the Behringer V-Amp 2, Pocket POD, Digitech RP150, Zoom G2 etc. (These last two are better, IMO). There's a learning curve to modelers, the presets are just a starting point and usually way over-effected. But if your amp's tone section sucks, it just sucks - you can't add something to sucky tone to rescue it, so if you can sneak past it you'll be better off.

(Edit: - as 7 Dying Trees says, go used - what I call a $100 modeler costs $55 on Fleabay, OK? Sell the Metal Zone for $40, pawn the cat and you're all set.)

 

[Leon]

all that stuff, and...

Pedals are there to enhance it, not to be it.

 

[FortePenance]

The other option is, of course, to replace the pedal. Depending on your budget, there are lots of options. For around $100US, you can get a Line 6 Uber Metal. It's the heart of all the heavy patches in my current rig, and I must say it's thoroughly brutal, and I can still hear chords clearly. The built in noise gate is pretty decent, too.

Mmm.... Uber Metal, the tone was djentalicious, my friend/rhythm guitarist has one and I like it a lot, my MD2's a good boost though it is noisy.

OP: I'd say your problem is with the Randall. Throughout my guitarplaying life, I've found that the amp is the biggest factor in tone w/ pickups second. I've never really found a Randall that was voiced how I like meself.
I agree with 7DT, sell 2ndhand, buy 2ndhand.