Neural DSP is probably the best company developing amp simulators right now. They have gone down the rabbit-hole of providing options for many genres and styles... and with a bit of work, you can get great results for black metal guitar tone.
You've got Neural DSP amp sims for modern metal, djent, progressive, leads, cleans... so how can we use them to craft killer, authentic sounding black metal tones?
Let's walk through that step-by-step.
Choose the Right Neural DSP Plugin for the Job
Black metal is a strange beast in that not every plugin is suited for it. In the case of Neural DSP, there are ones better than others. I'd personally recommend:
- Fortin Nameless Suite X
- Gojira X
- Nolly X
- Plini X
- Omega Ampworks Granophyre
These particular Neural DSP amp sims feature the high-gain and speaker combinations you'd typically want to start with.
In the case of Nolly X, you've got both a Marshall and a Peavey option, along with the biggest assortment of cabinets and speakers to pick from.
Gojira X is just a gain monster, based on, also, a Peavey, which for better or worse, is a staple in the black metal world.
With Fortin Nameless Suite X, this has that "Marshall sound" people expect to hear but are often disappointed with when they try out a normal JCM800 style amp simulator. The Fortin Nameless Suite X has been modded and souped up for modern sounds, and works great for black metal guitar tones.
Omega Ampworks Granophyre flies under the radar for some reason. This one has tons of gain and capability, but just doesn't get the love it deserves.
Plini X is a fantastic option for atmospheric leads and chords, for example.
So take stock in the type of project you're working with and whether you decide to use Gojira X, Fortin Nameless Suite, or any Neural DSP plugin, just make sure it's a good choice for what you're writing.
Lead the Neural DSP Plugin Into Your DAW
Every DAW handles plugins differently, but for the most part, when I say to insert the plugin, this should cover all the bases.
There are two ways that you can do this, and I'll explain both.
Placing the Amp Sim on The Group/Bus/Folder Track
All of the Neural DSP plugins support stereo processing. This means that you can route two guitar tracks into a single instance of the amp sim and pan them 100% left and right, and the plugin can process them at the same time, making for that big, double-tracked sound.
The main key to know here is that the tracks must be 100% panned left and right. In other words, you have a rhythm guitar track 100% panned left, and then your second rhythm guitar track 100% panned right. This is important.
If you try to send two signals into a single amp simulator and try to pan them at 80% left and right for example, you will get a very washy, phasey type of a sound. This is not what you want.
If you know you want a single amp simulator for the rhythm guitars, putting it on the group/bus/folder track is a great idea because it's one less plugin to manage and can save on CPU.
Placing the Amp Sim on Single Tracks
In any case where you want to pan the guitar track less than 100% left or right, you need to insert an amp simulator on that track.
Most often, this will be for solos, solo harmonies, or doubled lead/melody tracks. And obviously, if you are quad tracking where you have one pair of guitars 100% panned left and right, and then you want your second pair of rhythm guitars to be 80% or 70% panned left and right, that second pair of rhythm guitars will need to have an amp sim on each track in order to get the proper result.
So to make this simple, think of it like this:
- Place an amp simulator on every single guitar track for instances like solos and if you're double tracking guitars at less than 100% panning.
- Place an amp simulator on the group/bus/folder track if you plan to record and double track with your tracks 100% panned left/right.
Adjust the Cabinet & Microphone Position FIRST
In another one of my blog posts about how to EQ black metal guitar tones, I made it very clear that you can't EQ a bad guitar tone into a good guitar tone.
It bears repeating again that the speaker and microphone are basically 95% of your guitar tone. Any EQ or post-processing you do will be to bring out the tone. You won't be able to change it.
Since your cabinet and microphone have the biggest role to play with your guitar tone, you need to start here.
With the music playing (drums and bass at least), create a loop and do the following:
- Open the Cabinet section of whichever Neural DSP Plugin you're using
- Start with just one microphone, an SM57 for example.
- Move the microphone around.
You will notice that, when you do this, there will be a position where the guitar tone simply jumps out and naturally cuts through the drums and bass.
Clarity, note definition, and a balance of brightness and body should be made during this step.
Again, this is 95% of your guitar tone.
In the real world, you can transform your guitar tone significantly by moving the microphone as little as 1 centimeter, it's pretty crazy.
This is why pros spend most of their time here and it's often why you hear them say, "Yeah, so, I didn't have to do much EQ on the guitar tone. THIS is why.
If you'd like to see this in action, my Metal Guitar Tone Workshop demonstrates this perfectly.
As usual, I can't tell you what settings or positions to use, because it's always dependent on what you're doing... you just have to practice!
Adjust the Tone Stack (Amp Controls)
After you've found a position and microphone combination that is naturally gelling with your music, you can start to refine it. My workflow looks like this:
- Adjust the presence and treble knobs (if they have both)
- Adjust the gain. You don't need as much as you think.
- Work on the midrange. You do need midrange, but there is enough room for personal taste here.
- Adjust the bass. You only need just enough to make sure the guitar tone isn't thin.
Always adjust your guitar tone to fit into the mix. Remember, if you try to slam a round peg into a square hole, you're working against yourself. Take what the music gives you.
At this point it's about sculpting and shaping the tone you already have for yourself. If you don't like it, you should go back to the speaker/microphone section and readjust.
Use the EQ Module to Fine-Tune the Tone Further
Most Neural DSP plugins have a built-in EQ module. This is where you can clean up the tone further with fine-tuning.
I'd consider this to be more boardband shaping because you won't have the same control with bandwidths and shapes as you would a parametric EQ, but these EQ modules can help get your tone as close as you need it before you do anything surgical in the DAW.
You can check out my blog post here about how to specifically EQ guitar tones.
Chug. Test. Adjust. Repeat.
And this is the "fun part."
How does your tone sound in context of everything? Does it stay clear? Are tremolo lines sharp? Do chords turn to mud or are they clear? Is anything too harsh?
If you don't like your guitar tone, 9 times out of 10 it's not the EQ or the tonestack adjustments you made: it's the IR and microphone position... so, you guessed it. Go back and try again.
That's tonecrafting in a nutshell and how to use Neural DSP plugins for black metal guitar tone... not glamorous, no tricks, no hacks, it's just about practicing and putting the work in.
Optional: Skip All That and Use Presets as a Starting Point
What I've outlined above is the exact process that I use and many pros around the world use. The caveat is that it'll take a couple of years in order to really dial in your own workflow and ability to hear and achieve what you want...
Sooo if you'd just like to get some instant, awesome results so that you can start writing some songs this weekend, I'd highly recommend checking out my Neural DSP preset packs. (You can even reverse-engineer the tones I made and use it as a learning tool.)
These tones are mix-ready, crafted specifically for the Neural DSP plugin of choice, and cover black metal, doom metal, death metal, atmospheric/post-black... the whole bit!
They're perfect for learning how to use Neural DSP plugins as well as for getting started writing songs fast.