I have a band that's been trying to get that 90s death metal "Sunlight Studios" sound like Dismember, Entombed, etc. The bassist and I have recently purchased completely redone rigs based around the Boss HM-2, doing everything we could to get the tone right. We got close, and we thought it was spot on, but after months of playing like this we both were having one of those "bad tone days" where nothing sounds right. There was a Sig 5150 laying at our practice space from another band our drummer is in, so I grabbed that amp, slapped on top of my Vader 412 and plugged straight in. Our bassist took his distortion and EQ pedals out of the chain and also went straight in to his Kustom something-or-other. I cranked the presence knob and gain to a hefty amount and we sounded better than ever before, even better than when I had my own 5150, probably because we've changed instruments and cabs lately. It was just so crisp and clear, and the riffs just flew out of our hands after that. So, I think for awhile I'm going to simplify things some more, grab another 5150 (my 5th if you count 6505 models) and just keep the rig for that band down to a guitar, a cab, and an amp... not even a boost.
I was able to get that Entombed/Bloodbath tone with an HM-2 followed by a Fish n Chips EQ all running in front of my Recto. You realize that most of those bands use V30s, right?
I was able to get that Entombed/Bloodbath tone with an HM-2 followed by a Fish n Chips EQ all running in front of my Recto. You realize that most of those bands use V30s, right?
Yep, but the Vaders did a better job when I did comparisons, they seemed to comb out some of the more piercings highs from the Vintage 30 cabinets. Entombed in particular has mostly used Dual Rectifiers and Marshall JCM800s with Vintage 30 cabinets, some of the other bands are difficult to find information on. The Ampeg VH140C boosted with an HM-2 with an EQ in the loop absolutely does the Sunlight sound when played on it's own, but it still lacks clarity and has too much fizz in a band settings. I've been fighting it for awhile but after today I think we're going to keep a more straightforward and clean sound. I have a grind band in the works that might be able to make better use of the HM-2, my main band is a punk/crust band, with some melodic death touches.
Screw punk and grindcore. Just keep on playing brutal death metal! The more bands out there like Hour of Penance, Fleshgod Apocalypse, etc. the better.
Haha, If only I could find a drummer to keep up around here, I've had a bassist and vocalist down and ready to get something started for ages. I've got a buddy who plays drums in Whitechapel and he's taking a break from the band for the remainder of the year, so I've been nudging him around trying to get him to do something local, not stress and serious commitments or anything.
The more bands out there like Hour of Penance, Fleshgod Apocalypse, etc. the better. 
