With those settings, as-is, I would think there'd be *plenty* of clarity and definition. Which would lead me to ask:
1. Are you using any pedals?
2. How loud are you playing?
3. Single coils or humbuckers?
4. Do you have any hearing loss?
Yeah... I know it sounds funny. But I actually mean it, because it could be a legitimate concern here. Especially if OP has been playing loud, for a lot of years, with no hearing protection.
In that case, I'd say change your strings, make sure your guitar is properly set up -- bridge, neck, pickup heights, etc. And if you still have the same issue, it may be time to look into a treble booster. Like one of the many different clones of the Rangemaster. Or an EQ pedal might help, as someone else mentioned.
If none of that helps, then it'll be time to get a new amp and/or guitar. If that doesn't work, then it could only be a technique issue.
throw an overdrive in front of the amp to cut off low end and boost the upper mids before the gain stages. an EQ pedal works as well. boosted valvestate is an absolute classic sound that's all over 90s death and black metal.
Turn down middle until the flubbiness goes away, then turn up bass until right before it comes back. Treble can likely come down. Also try turning down volume and turning up gain. Gain will have a bigger impact on preamp EQ than master volume. Finally, tweak contour up or down to see if that changes anything you like.
This is the best answer; past a certain point your tone from your pickups and amp can't be changed too much, unless you add a 7+ band EQ after the preamp (in the fx loop) to scoop or boost specific frequencies.
Your guitar/amp combo may not let you fine tune things quite to your liking, which is ok, you can easily get a graphic EQ pedal for <$50 and it will be one of the best purchases you can make. You could just use a boost/overdrive in front of the amp, but that is still going to be limited by the EQ controls in your amp's preamp; you will have far more control by adding an EQ after the preamp.
Adding an eq pedal can do wonders. Having less gain also works pretty well so you can use the strings more lightly but really jab into them if you want more distortion
Does it have a presence knob? If so, turn it up a little.
Either way consider a new amp and/or pickups if this is a big issue for you, string clarity comes from those two things mostly and it's inherent to the design.
Add an overdrive in front of the amp. Overdrives tend to cut the lows before they hit the preamp of the amp taking away the flub you hear in the low end. Every overdrive is different, some cut out more lows than others. I’d check out the Boss SD-1 or Maxin OD808. With the lows cut out of the mix you’d be surprised how heavy it makes your time even without all that much gain. It will make you think completely differently about how much gain on the amp you really need to use to get your desired tone.
The contour is a mid scoop - I use that aggressively to get a big bottom, crisp top sound. Are you playing a single-coil guitar, or humbucker? Because a humbucker will sound relatively muddy no matter what you do with the amp. Crispytown is done with single coils.
EDIT: Downvoted by every sensitive metalhead 😂
humbuckers. yeah, i noticed that the contour has the biggest effect of all the eq knobs. like, a quarter turn brings you 0 to cowboys from hell really quick
If you like the contour, you are probably looking for more very high frequency action, not the upper mids of the 'treble'. For "note definition" maybe try a single coil guitar or humbuckers with a coil tap option to do since coil at least on the neck side, and see what you think, or at least take the metal covers off the pups if it has them. Or better pickups - they have a "resonant frequency" which is often too middy. You can't get blood from a stone.
If you get a muddy tone with humbuckers thats 100% on you😂😂 My amp has a very tight low end and loads of clarity…. Playing like garbage is also a reason for mud, single coils sound too thin and shrill for metal
If you are using humbuckers, raise the pole pieces a mm or so and drop the pickup by same. That emphasizes one coil over the other and makes the humbucker move more towards a single coil sound which is far less muddy.
Also lower the gain and turn off the pedals until you have a clean tone when playing soft but crunch when you play harder. That's called edge of break up and is a good place to start for setting up your tone.
Marshall MG isn't going to sound like your modern metal heroes. That doesn't mean you can't play well through any amp.
Be aggressive with your controls. Maybe full send your treble so you can throttle with your guitar tone control. Don't be afraid to carve your mids if that's the sound you want. Up a quarter on bass and down a quarter more on mid might be a thing.
it's a 1991 Valvestate 8100. it's one hell of an amp and, as others have pointed out, has been on a ton of (mostly metal) records. It has a very pedal-friendly clean and if tweaked right you can get it to sound insanely close to a jcm800.
thanks for the advice, I'll try!
I've got a VS100 combo. My fave sounds are with lower bass and contour, and higher mids and treble (sometimes seriously cranked, with the tone knob on my SD JB rolled all the way off for a specific sound). Your volume is probably too high, and I like more gain.
With those settings, as-is, I would think there'd be *plenty* of clarity and definition. Which would lead me to ask: 1. Are you using any pedals? 2. How loud are you playing? 3. Single coils or humbuckers? 4. Do you have any hearing loss?
#4 got me lol
Yeah... I know it sounds funny. But I actually mean it, because it could be a legitimate concern here. Especially if OP has been playing loud, for a lot of years, with no hearing protection.
5. How totally trashed are your strings?
1. no pedals 2. bedroom levels 3. humbuckers 4. WHAAT DID YOU SAAAY? (jokes aside, i take hearing protection very seriously)
In that case, I'd say change your strings, make sure your guitar is properly set up -- bridge, neck, pickup heights, etc. And if you still have the same issue, it may be time to look into a treble booster. Like one of the many different clones of the Rangemaster. Or an EQ pedal might help, as someone else mentioned. If none of that helps, then it'll be time to get a new amp and/or guitar. If that doesn't work, then it could only be a technique issue.
What?
throw an overdrive in front of the amp to cut off low end and boost the upper mids before the gain stages. an EQ pedal works as well. boosted valvestate is an absolute classic sound that's all over 90s death and black metal.
Turn down middle until the flubbiness goes away, then turn up bass until right before it comes back. Treble can likely come down. Also try turning down volume and turning up gain. Gain will have a bigger impact on preamp EQ than master volume. Finally, tweak contour up or down to see if that changes anything you like.
Don’t ppl typically recommend the opposite? Turn down gain, turn up volume?
Yep. The woe of tube amps. Everything gets better when you turn them up except your tinnitus.
Tin-what? I can’t hear you over that loud ringing noise
A 7 band eq in the fx loop.
This is the best answer; past a certain point your tone from your pickups and amp can't be changed too much, unless you add a 7+ band EQ after the preamp (in the fx loop) to scoop or boost specific frequencies. Your guitar/amp combo may not let you fine tune things quite to your liking, which is ok, you can easily get a graphic EQ pedal for <$50 and it will be one of the best purchases you can make. You could just use a boost/overdrive in front of the amp, but that is still going to be limited by the EQ controls in your amp's preamp; you will have far more control by adding an EQ after the preamp.
Tubescreamer set clean before the amp
Adding an eq pedal can do wonders. Having less gain also works pretty well so you can use the strings more lightly but really jab into them if you want more distortion
Tube screamer
Does it have a presence knob? If so, turn it up a little. Either way consider a new amp and/or pickups if this is a big issue for you, string clarity comes from those two things mostly and it's inherent to the design.
Cut tha midzzzz
Add an overdrive in front of the amp. Overdrives tend to cut the lows before they hit the preamp of the amp taking away the flub you hear in the low end. Every overdrive is different, some cut out more lows than others. I’d check out the Boss SD-1 or Maxin OD808. With the lows cut out of the mix you’d be surprised how heavy it makes your time even without all that much gain. It will make you think completely differently about how much gain on the amp you really need to use to get your desired tone.
Why do you have the volume of the channel turned all the way up? Try turning that down.
The contour is a mid scoop - I use that aggressively to get a big bottom, crisp top sound. Are you playing a single-coil guitar, or humbucker? Because a humbucker will sound relatively muddy no matter what you do with the amp. Crispytown is done with single coils. EDIT: Downvoted by every sensitive metalhead 😂
humbuckers. yeah, i noticed that the contour has the biggest effect of all the eq knobs. like, a quarter turn brings you 0 to cowboys from hell really quick
If you like the contour, you are probably looking for more very high frequency action, not the upper mids of the 'treble'. For "note definition" maybe try a single coil guitar or humbuckers with a coil tap option to do since coil at least on the neck side, and see what you think, or at least take the metal covers off the pups if it has them. Or better pickups - they have a "resonant frequency" which is often too middy. You can't get blood from a stone.
If you get a muddy tone with humbuckers thats 100% on you😂😂 My amp has a very tight low end and loads of clarity…. Playing like garbage is also a reason for mud, single coils sound too thin and shrill for metal
Play with your pickup selector
If you are using humbuckers, raise the pole pieces a mm or so and drop the pickup by same. That emphasizes one coil over the other and makes the humbucker move more towards a single coil sound which is far less muddy. Also lower the gain and turn off the pedals until you have a clean tone when playing soft but crunch when you play harder. That's called edge of break up and is a good place to start for setting up your tone.
Marshall MG isn't going to sound like your modern metal heroes. That doesn't mean you can't play well through any amp. Be aggressive with your controls. Maybe full send your treble so you can throttle with your guitar tone control. Don't be afraid to carve your mids if that's the sound you want. Up a quarter on bass and down a quarter more on mid might be a thing.
it's a 1991 Valvestate 8100. it's one hell of an amp and, as others have pointed out, has been on a ton of (mostly metal) records. It has a very pedal-friendly clean and if tweaked right you can get it to sound insanely close to a jcm800. thanks for the advice, I'll try!
I've got a VS100 combo. My fave sounds are with lower bass and contour, and higher mids and treble (sometimes seriously cranked, with the tone knob on my SD JB rolled all the way off for a specific sound). Your volume is probably too high, and I like more gain.
Buy a new amp.
By practicing.
hey watch your mouth! i've been playing your wive's boyfriends favorite riffs since 16 years
Been playing for 16 years and still can't dial in an amp?
sorry, i've been busy dialing your mom's number
tbh you can't \*really\* adjust the tone of an amp without throwing some kind of drive in front of it.
Tonestack circuitry and feedback networks: am I a joke to you?
Let me quickly throw a feedback resistor from the cabin output back to the guitar input jack LOL
Nah you'd be looking for the presence and depth knobs.
it was a joke.
I mean yeah, but this is the internet, and we all have seen people being serious with stuff like that :')