This is going to kick up some dust, because honestly there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to black metal guitar tones.
However, in my opinion, there are some common characteristics that you just have to get right.
In this post, we'll cover some of the more frustrating aspects of creating a great black metal guitar tone, as well as some basic mixing concepts and I'll walk you through the absolute basics of developing your own tone.
All that being said, if you simply want to side-step all of that and get ready-made, kickass sounding black metal tones that you can use right now to write music, you can find those here.
Characteristics of a "Mix-Ready" Black Metal Tone
When we think about black metal, we are confronted with many different eras. We've got that decidedly "tr00 kvlt",
In the more modern era, we still have a "raw" style of tone, but it's decidedly more hi-fi, with more gain and a high treble, "chainsaw" style aspect as times.
That said, there are also examples of more "mid-focused" tones, but there are some common aspects that make things "black metal."
First and foremost, black metal guitar tones are sharp and are meant to cut through, especially in cases of tremolo riffs.
When it comes to chord strumming, we get this type of high-presence texture that makes things sound very aggressive, but not necessarily fuzzy.
One thing is generally similar regardless of era: lack of low end in the guitar. This is somewhat of a problem, compounded by the lack of bass guitar in black metal at times.
A mix-ready black metal guitar tone needs to be full-bodied, with enough low end and midrange information for notes to be heard in a mix, but still having that high end aggressive nature that makes it sound... you know... black metal.
Why Neural DSP Fortin Nameless Suite X Delivers for Black Metal
I've talked about this already previously, but in my opinion, the Fortin Nameless Suite X delivers perfect black metal guitar tones.
It has extreme amounts of gain on tap with surgical tightness and that classic treble/presence high end.
Additionally, the Fortin Nameless Suite X is heavily modded, and it gives that "Marshall Sound" that metalheads are expecting to hear.
It has flexible gain stages and so you can go from rather low gain and "plexi" in style, to super high gain, so it's ideal for layering rhythm and lead parts.
As an example of what the Nameless Suite can do, check out my Early 2000's Black Metal preset pack.
The Most Overlooked Step: Picking the Right IR
It seems the message is finally getting out there and that's a good thing. The IR is the most important choice you can make for your guitar tone and it's not even close.
The IR has characteristics that you can't change or alter with EQ, so learning the type of sound you like is important.
Whether that is a Greenback, a T-75, a DV-77, a V30, or whatever, learning the type of speaker you're attracted to will go a long way in you developing tones that you want to hear.
Everything here is subjective, so it almost doesn't matter what I say, but if you're going to focus on any part of this process, I highly recommend you study speakers and their sounds because you'll be locked into that tonal characteristic and, again, there is no amount of EQ that will make a V30 sound like a Greenback and vice versa.
How to Choose IRs That Stand Out in a Full Mix
This is where the rubber meets the road. You've got a speaker that you like, now what?
The biggest mistake you can make is to try and create guitar tones in a vacuum without any context, so having drums and bass playing at the same time as you cycle through different speakers and IRs is a great way to find something that naturally pokes out.
Open Fortin Nameless Suite X for example, record a riff and loop it. Then as you're going through different speakers, IRs, and microphone positions, pay attention to what happens with the guitar tone in relation to the bass and drums. There will be a microphone, microphone position, and speaker that just naturally pokes out and says, "Hey, I'm the one!"
Again, what speaker and IR you decide upon is entirely up to you and your tonal tastes, I can't tell you WHICH speaker to choose, but this is the exact process I use to create my guitar tones.
I'm not going to lie, this process will take a few years to get down, and it'll take time before you'll be able to consistently and reliably create guitar tones quickly that sound great. This is normal.
Part of learning a new skill is sucking at it for a while, that's just part of the deal.
Which, again, is why I've already build kickass sounding Neural DSP guitar presets. If all you care about is having great sounding tones at the ready so you can focus on writing music, then these guitar presets will be amazing tools for you.
Basic EQ Tips for Black Metal Guitar Tone
I have an in-depth post about this with a YouTube demonstration video included, but for the sake of this blog, let me give you the quick 1-2-3.
When you EQ guitar, you should understand that you are bringing out what already exists in the guitar tone, you are not meant to try to "change" the sound of the guitar tone, nor should you try. What you have is what you have, and EQ will only bring that out.
Here are my four steps that I always do:
- High and low pass filters. I typically filter up to 100Hz on the lows, and I'll go as keep as 7kHz in the highs. As always, it depends on your guitar tone.
- Low Mids. This is where I use my "Secret EQ" move. It's not a secret, but that's what I call it.
- Upper Mids. Here you can already start cleaning out the boxiness and honkiness that is making the tone sound cloudy.
- Nasty Frequency Reduction. You're familiar with this step, most likely, and this is where you'll want to take care of 2-3 of the most atrocious frequency whistles.
Again, I've got a full-on blog post about this process, as well as a demonstration video guide. You can read that here.
Common Tone Problems & Fixes
As you get started with this process, you'll run into common issues. There is no way around this and it's just part of learning how to develop guitar tones. The only advice I can give you is to keep practicing. In time, your ears will hear these problems and as time goes on, you'll know how to avoid them altogether.
Guitars Sound Great Alone, But Disappear in the Mix
This is a classic case and it's often because you developed a tone in solo chugging on your guitar. There is a big difference from a guitar tone sounding awesome by itself verses sounding awesome in a mix. Most likely you don't have enough midrange in your guitar tone, so it's getting drowned out by bass guitar, snare, and kick drum.
I'd recommend that you have DI files recorded as you're developing your tone. So play your song and see what kind of speaker and settings work where your tone already pops out.
Harsh Highs or Fizz
Another classic example, especially when it comes to developing black metal guitar tones. This one can be two fold: selecting a very bright speaker like a G12 Greenback and then cranking the treble/presence at the same time... often done in solo, without context of the mix.
You can mitigate this a little bit with an aggressive low pass to 7kHz, but the true answer is: pick a different IR that is darker and doesn't have a lot of high end energy in the 3kHz to 6kHz region, or drastically reduce the treble/presence settings on your tone stack.
Sounds Too Thin or Boxy
This is an interesting situation, and in my experience a thin guitar tone is typically due to the bass guitar being eviscerated in a mix. Part of what makes a guitar tone sound fat and wide in a mix is the bass guitar coming into the low mids of the guitar and blending together, creating that 3D effect.
If you find that your bass guitar is thin or weak, this will have the compounded effect of your guitar tone also sounding weak. The irony now is that even if you crank the lows on your guitar tone, it's not going to help. You'll just make your mix and tone sound muddy.
I know this probably isn't the answer you wanted to hear, but it is the truth. Check what your bass guitar is doing and make sure it's blending well with your guitar.
In terms of a guitar sounding boxy, this is typically an easier fix: check the 400Hz to 900Hz region of your guitar to see if you can reduce that energy, which will often fix that boxy sound, and "open" up your guitar tone.
Conclusion
As I've been saying for years, and now many others are as well, your guitar tone has very little to do with your pickups, guitar strings, what wood your guitar is made out of... and has almost everything to do with the speaker and microphone combination you've decided upon.
This is, of course, speaking primarily about black metal guitar tone, death metal guitar tone, and metal guitar tones in general... so let's not have an "ackshually" moment and try to talk to me about acoustic guitars. That's not what we're doing here.
You need to experiment with different speakers, IRs, microphones, and microphone positions. In fact, I demonstrate all of this step-by-step in my Metal Guitar Tone Workshop and it's a great way to see everything I'm talking about in action.
Of course, if you'd rather just drop killer black metal tones into your mix and get started writing music, just download my Neural DSP presets instead. No tweaking needed!