How to get a great metal toneGreat metal tone starts with the amp and your technique, not a pedal. Here's what the forum's experienced members recommend. Start with the amp Alan Ratcliffe, our Guitar Doctor, says spend serious time with your amp before judging it — learn every control at different volumes, and try your heads with different cabs; the right cab match can be the whole fix 1. A JCM900 into a matching cab is a genuine metal staple, per Eexsanguinator — dial down the treble on brighter heads like the TSL 1. A Peavey 6505+ is another classic metal choice discussed on the forum 2. Pickups matter more than output MikeM, our Valve Wrangler, says you don't need a high-output pickup for brutal tones — most amps have plenty of gain. He rates the Seymour Duncan Distortion for tight, attacky riffing, and suggests the Duncan Custom as a thick, tight, less nasal option 1. Pedals: boost, don't bury If your amp lacks gain, a boost/distortion into the front end helps — a Tech 21 GT2 got a nod for live metal work 1. A Metal Zone can work, but run it carefully rather than stacking endless gain: past a point everything clips to the same square wave, per Alan Ratcliffe 6. TomCat, our Sound Guy, suggests auditioning pedals with your own guitar, board and amp in store — the only true test 7. Technique wins One half-stack, one song, ten players at an audition sounded like ten different rigs — tone is largely in your hands and pick attack 1. No single "best" setting exists in the threads — ask the community for your specific amp and genre. From these forum threadsdeath metal sound? (2013): MikeM's pickup breakdown for tight metal tonesPeavey 6505+ head using Multi-FX headphone jack (2011): 6505+ discussion and silent practice optionsIs there a limit to boosting an amp? (2011): Alan on why stacking gain pedals turns to mushDistortion versus Overdrive (2009): TomCat's store-audition method for choosing pedals
