So, you want to record your black metal guitar parts at home?
The good news is this is easy business and you'll be up and running in no time.
You don't need a wall of tube heads. Recording at home is simple, as long as you follow a few key guidelines which I will cover.
Let's get started, because black metal guitar tones can't wait forever.
What Is an Amp Simulator?
An amp simulator (or amp sim) is software that recreates the sound of a real guitar amp, cabinet, and even the microphone setup sometimes.
This is all in the digital realm through capturing, coding, or machine learning... but that is all technical stuff that really doesn't matter.
The point is a metal guitar amp simulator means all you have to do is plug your guitar instrument cable directly into your audio interface and start recording.
If you're wondering "where to put an amp simulator in the chain," this is what it looks like:
Your guitar --> audio interface --> DAW.
A lot of amp simulators like Neural DSP today are entire suites, so essentially, all you need to do is insert the plugin into the track and that's it.
Some amp simulators are separate and you must load a distortion or overdrive pedal before it and an IR loader after it. In these cases, picture the work flow like it's a real amp, because it works exactly the same in the digital world.
Do I Need an Audio Interface?
Yes, you need an interface if you want to record guitars at home. You will take your instrument cable and plug it into the Hi-Z input of the interface, and that's how you'll be able to record DI files into your DAW.
As for which interface I'd recommend, I personally use Audient audio interfaces.
On my main rig, I use the Audio iD44, but when I'm working on my Kreative Devices Notebook Pro G16, I use the Audient iD4.
The most important aspect of the audio interface is to make sure your Hi-Z input has enough headroom in order to accept the guitar signal.
Very cheap audio interfaces often don't have enough headroom with the Hi-Z input, which means you will digitally clip your guitar signal even with it turned all the way down.
This is VERY BAD and you do not want that. For this reason, I recommend the Audient interfaces... and it's what I use every single day.
What About a Digital Audio Workstation?
The final piece of the puzzle for recording black metal guitars at home is that you will need a Digital Audio Workstation, aka, a DAW.
This is the program that will help you create multitracks that you can then use to mix your music with.
I personally use Steinberg Cubase Pro 15, but this is what I do every day and how I pay my bills.
You can have great success with Reaper, Logic, Studio One, etc., but I'd highly recommend to avoid FL Studio and Ableton... not because they are bad DAWs, but because their workflow is annoying for recording audio and mixing metal songs.
Why Amp Sims Are Perfect for Black Metal
Black metal thrives on sizzling highs and atmosphere, right? Well, you can easily get that in the digital world.
The best guitar amp simulators (like Neural DSP, STL Tones, TONEX, NAM) give you:
- Consistency
- Total control
- Ease of use
- Everything you need in one suite
This is why I create most of my presets using Neural DSP plugins: a lot of people use them, they are high quality, and often have everything you need for black metal in a single plugin, making it a no-brainer purchase.
Plus, with the ability to move microphones and switch out IRs, you can record, tweak, and create a near infinite amount of different tones with just one amp simulator.
How to Get a Black Metal Guitar Tone
Oh boy, this is the big question, right?
When people ask me "how to get black metal guitar tone," they usually expect an easy, 1-2-3 answer.
But my question to you is, "What type of black metal are we talking about here?"
Do you want to sound like Emperor, Dark Funeral, Mgla, Woods of Ypre, Belphegor, Behemoth, Vader, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth?
So you can see how quick that rabbit hole got, right?
I can give you some guidance, however.
The first thing you have to understand is which type of black metal guitar tone you want to create, and then work backwards from there.
So, for example, if you want to make Emperor-style black metal guitar tones, then use that as a reference.
Here's a simple workflow using an amp simulator for black metal:
Choose the right amp sim
This is vitally important. Much like you can't pound a square peg into a round hole, you can make your life a lot easier on yourself if you start from the right place.
This first point is choosing a high-gain, but articulate, metal amp sim.
Neural DSP's Fortin Nameless Suite X, Gojira X, Nolly X, and the Omega Ampworks Granophyre are all excellent choices. (And I have made presets for all of them.)
Pick the Right Impulse Response
It's important to understand that the speaker is responsible for your guitar tone and that the amp in the amp sim will shape the distortion going through the speaker.
There is a lot of noise made about every single aspect of the black metal guitar tone chain and while all of them are important, it's also vital that you understand what is most important: the speaker.
Do your pick ups matter? Probably.
Does your cable matter? Sure.
Does the amp itself matter? Obviously.
But all of that goes through the same thing: the speaker. The speaker is by far the most important part of the black metal guitar tone chain, so pay attention and take it seriously.
A V30 will never sound like a Greenback, nor will a DV-77 sound like a Karnivore, etc. These differences in speaker tones are what you want to achieve, because you can't "EQ" a guitar sound or "match" them to sound like something else. A V30 is a V30 and so on, so figure out what you like and go from there.
Shape the EQ
Once you have the right impulse and speaker that you like, you can go to the tonestack on your amp simulator and shape and tweak as needed.
Dial the Gain
I'd like to point out here, that you don't need as much gain as you think you do. The more gain you add, the more saturation and less note definition you'll actually have, which can spell trouble if you're doing big, open, black metal chords.
I wish I could say there was more to it, but there isn't. It just takes a lot of time and practice to develop tones. If this is something you want to take seriously, check out my Metal Guitar Tone Workshop.
Should I Double Track or Quad Track?
This is a good question and as always, the answer is: it depends.
Double tracking is the act of recording your guitar part twice, and then panning one part 100% to the left, and the other part 100% to the right.
Quad tracking is repeating this process again, and panning the guitars 100% left and right respectively. However, some find that they prefer to pan their second pair of guitars at 80% left and right.
Again, this is typically down to your own preferences. Experiment and see what you like best.
Before we move on, though, you must understand that you have to record the guitar parts twice. You cannot copy and paste them. It doesn't work.
There are technical reasons but it doesn't matter going into all that.
If you don't believe me, record the guitar part once, copy it, and try panning it 100% left and right and see what happens.
Or just take my word for it and record your guitar parts twice, and then pan them 100% left and right.
If you have good skills and can play pretty tight, then you can experiment with quad tracking.
My Favorite Amp Simulators for Black Metal
To be honest, I have developed presets for all of my favorite amp sims. I typically only use Neural DSP because, well... they're easy to use. Bu
These are the ones I reach for constantly:
- Neural DSP Fortin Nameless Suite X
- Neural DSP Omega Ampworks Granophyre
- Neural DSP Archetype Nolly X
- Neural DSP Archetype Plini X
- Neural DSP Archetype Gojira X
Of the list above, I probably use the Fortin Nameless Suite X the most for rhythm guitars, and the Archetype Plini X for lead guitars.
I have tried others, but I pretty much just use what I like, and especially with all the presets I've made for them, I like having the speed at my fingertips.
Make Recording Easier (and Faster)
Maybe you're not very interested in actually crafting your own black metal guitar tone, and that's perfectly fine.
The truth is, when I sit down to write music, I also don't want to do that, so I use presets.
And that's why I've spent time building out mix-ready preset packs: so you can plugin in, feel inspired, and write music instead of pulling your hair out trying to tweak and create black metal guitar tones.
Check Out the Metal Guitar Amp Simulator Preset Packs Here
These are tested in real mixes and crafted for black, death, doom and symphonic metal... so you'll get instant inspiration without endless adjustment.
Have fun!