I often get asked about EQ'ing to make guitar sound better and/or more 'djent'.
The simple answer is that there is no EQ that will magically make your guitar tracks sound good. They should sounds good and djent before any EQ is applied.
The actual djent sound comes from the way you play; you should be playing two octave power chords (e.g. 2-4-4-6 low to high), pick heavily and palm mute away from the bridge. Use a decent plectrum such as the Jazz III.
Once your tone is djenty, you can work on EQ'ing to tweak the sound. Most often djent bands like to cut out the lows entirely (< 120Hz), a slight cut to the low mids (120 - 300Hz), boost the high mids (1.5KHz), and a slight boost to the highs ( > 4KHz).
Let the bass handle the lows and the guitars handle the mids, even if they're in the same pitch (ala Meshuggah).
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Monday, 30 August 2010
What is djent?
Djent is used to describe a certain kind of guitar tone characterized by medium-high gain, a quick-release noise gate to emphasize staccato playing, a cut of most bass below 200Hz for a tight low end, a slight boost around 800hz for clarity, and a noticeable boost around 1.6Khz to emphasize pick attack. When a two-octave power chord is palm-muted with this tone, a "djent" sound is created rather than the typical chunkier sound.
Djent also refers to repeated staccato playing of the lowest-pitch string on a detuned 6 string or 7 string guitar with a powerful attack such that the string goes very slightly sharp upon the pick's release from the string. Lower-gauge strings are used to facilitate this.
Djent tone is many times created using a Line 6 amp modeling product such as the Pod series or the Axe-Fx. When possible, an amp model such as the Big Bottom or Modern High Gain on these devices is used in conjunction with a modeled Tube Screamer in front. Engl and Mesa amplifiers are typically used when tube amplification is preferred.
Djent is widely acknowledged to have come first from Meshuggah, but Misha 'Bulb' Mansoor has arguably popularized the sound. Djent's typical uses give rise to a "genre" of djent that is characterized by hi-fi compressed production, polyrhythmic/staccato distorted riffs and ambient clean passages which make liberal use of 9 and other "jazzy" chords. Electronica influences such as glitchy percussion and synthesizers are also incorporated.
Djent also refers to repeated staccato playing of the lowest-pitch string on a detuned 6 string or 7 string guitar with a powerful attack such that the string goes very slightly sharp upon the pick's release from the string. Lower-gauge strings are used to facilitate this.
Djent tone is many times created using a Line 6 amp modeling product such as the Pod series or the Axe-Fx. When possible, an amp model such as the Big Bottom or Modern High Gain on these devices is used in conjunction with a modeled Tube Screamer in front. Engl and Mesa amplifiers are typically used when tube amplification is preferred.
Djent is widely acknowledged to have come first from Meshuggah, but Misha 'Bulb' Mansoor has arguably popularized the sound. Djent's typical uses give rise to a "genre" of djent that is characterized by hi-fi compressed production, polyrhythmic/staccato distorted riffs and ambient clean passages which make liberal use of 9 and other "jazzy" chords. Electronica influences such as glitchy percussion and synthesizers are also incorporated.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)