Mesh
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AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
I'm interested in getting that guitar tone (especially Malcolm's) from that particular AC/DC album. I do have Amplitube 3 (including Slash, Fender, & Orange), but not sure exactly how to dial in/emulate that sound. There isn't much on the preset exchange section at IK on this either. (Sorry, I know I'm a bit lazy when it comes to setting it up from scratch and have to rely on looking for it).
Another tone I like is Dave Mustane's rig and got some good pre-sets from IK. I'm about to get some of Joe Bonamassa's tones as well. :)
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batsbrew
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/20 13:29:03
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☄ Helpfulby bluzdog 2015/01/22 11:40:31
get a real amp.
you want a plexi Marshalls JTM45 or clone.....
if you can get LOW WATTS for recording, go for it.
in fact, the one watt marshall JMP-1h will get you there, in a low volume recording environ...
but so much of THAT SOUND is the visceral impact of volume out of 4x12 cabs with vintage 30s.....
Loud, and somewhat clean.
you will never get those tones from a sim.
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TheStringMaster
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/20 14:21:28
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I have to agree. There is nothing that can touch the sound coming out of a 4x12 cab driven by a Marshall head. It's very hard to match.
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jamesg1213
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/20 14:30:36
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Bats is right. I was reading about the Young bros tones a while back, and they both play VERY LOUD, not so much overdriven or distorted, just a lot of air moving 
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batsbrew
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/20 14:50:46
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if you just want to attempt it with sims,
i'd find the best JMP Plexi model you can find..
then find the best impulse cabinets sims, for a 4x12 half stack, with a sm57 and a ribbon on it
you are looking for low end whoomph, that you cannot get with just EQ
that's the tangible part of the 'power' sound
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Mesh
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/20 15:53:29
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Thanks guys......unfortunately, I have to stick with sims (for many reasons). I know it's a very tough thing to match, but was hoping something close as possible with the sims. I'll check out the JMP Plexi, 4x12 1/2 stack, sm57 and see what comes out of it (I think all of these are available on Amplitube 3).
Yes, I want that "power" sound!!! :)
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batsbrew
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/20 16:06:53
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just not going to happen with a sim.
have not heard it happen, to date.
would love to hear it, tho
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Beepster
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/20 16:31:21
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☄ Helpfulby Mesh 2015/01/21 08:44:35
You'll definitely want the Marshall sims. I used to be able to get a really good AC/DC rhtyhm tone out of a (real) JCM 800 but I guess that's more the Bon Era guitar tone. Still their tone hasn't changed THAT much. It just got fatter/thicker and that's more likley due to more quality production.
In TH2 I've been able to get those types of tones pretty easily but I didn't full on try to dial it in because it's not much use for my current work which is more high gain. I'd say if you are going for Malcom you're definitely gonna want to double your rhythm tracks (as in record it twice as accurately as possible so practice up) then poke around any Marshall presets to see what comes close... then study the preset, SCRAP IT and rebuild it starting with just the head and cabinet. I find a lot of those presets are okay for getting ideas on how to build up a sound but inevitable they never quite fit right the way you want in a mix and tweaking them just screws everything up.
Since you are going for such a simple tone just using the right head and cab sim will get you a long way. Then really spend some time working with whatever room and mic settings the sim has to get it sounding "live" (and by live I don't mean on stage... I mean like a proper sound room, closet, whatever). TH2 does this very well (the full version has a ton more stuff than the Sonar version) but any good sim will have similar options and I've hear that IK stuff is pretty quality. Even Guitar Rig can be coaxed into a passable Marshall tone if you are will to put in some effort but I find their "room" setting to be kind of limited.
Also I've been having REALLY good success using my amps line outs with sims instead of plugging straight into the interface. I go from the amp to my mixer and then into my interface so I can keep the signals under control and even do some light EQing on input. The most valuable part of this method though is you are plugging into a proper guitar preamp which most interface's Hi-Z/Inst inputs simply cannot compete with (even if they claim they do).
Still you aren't going to get the exact sound of a cranked and glowing 100w head going into a 4x12 cab in a nice room with nice mics but really... who aside from dudes in actual studios or who own their own house can really get away with that kind of mayhem.
Cheers.
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Beepster
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/20 16:36:28
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☄ Helpfulby Mesh 2015/01/21 08:45:31
Oh and another thing about Malcolm's tone is his right hand technique. I think a lot of guys assume that it's all about the amps and getting things dialed in but a LOT of tone comes simply from how the player is attacking the strings. Malcom is a very sharp and aggressive player who makes heavy use of fast palm mutes and/or left hand string dampening to deaden the strings quickly between chords. Kind of like a stabbing/slapping action. Stab the strings with your pick then slap down quickly to stop the chord, rinse, repeat. You can really hear this on a tune like Jailbreak and it's part of what gives ac/dc that nice punchiness.
That's a bit of an extreme description but it's hard to describe picking technique through text.
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batsbrew
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/20 16:45:58
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i'd love to hear someone's example of a sim doing a ac/dc tone.....
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Beepster
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/20 16:52:36
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hmm... I'm kind of winding down for the day but maybe I'll try to chug out a few chords through TH2 tomorrow.
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Rimshot
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/21 02:29:39
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☄ Helpfulby Mesh 2015/01/21 08:45:57
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Grem
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/21 07:51:41
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☄ Helpfulby Mesh 2015/01/21 08:47:24
A large part of Malcolm's sound is his guitar. It starts there.
And Mesh, do what Beeps is saying. And really the most important part is just sitting with with your choice of sim and working with it.
Pick a setting and play five minutes with it. Tweak the distortion/gain about half of what you have it set to. Up or down doesn't matter. Play again for five minutes. Just start getting to know what the sound is like on that SIM. Then turn the treble up or down and play again for five minutes. See how that affects the distortion/ gain your getting. Do this for all the tone knobs.
Then try the same procedure on another model/amp whatever you want to call it. Try another SIM if you want. But just give yourself the time to become familiar with the sound each setting gives you.
Yes it is work. And it will take some time. But it is the best way to get to a sound your looking for.
Once your happy with the sound your looking for, you are 90% there. Play your part inspired!
Because the bottom line is you will have to tweak it to get it to set properly in the mix.
And the "journey" is the real purpose. Enjoy it!!
Grem
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Mesh
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/21 09:05:27
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Great info guys and I appreciate all the input........(so much for sitting on my lazy behind and looking for a quick fix :)) I forgot I had TH2 as I hardly use it, but will definitely be checking it out now. Thanks Beeps for the details!! It's like trying to get Eddie's "brown sound" on VH's 1st album (his best tone IMO), it's pretty much impossible. He also turned it up to the max/tweaked the voltage etc........and yeah, the playing technique is always tied very closely to getting that "sound". A while back, I had this Curt Mitchell video (VHS) that shows in detail how Eddie got his sound and he did a a really good job of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYzxyPoYHmg (I this I still have this video in the garage somewhere). Anyway, I'll keep tweaking around and see how close I can get to Malcolm's tone.....yes, with the sims!! 
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batsbrew
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/21 11:28:52
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Grem
Yes it is work. And it will take some time. But it is the best way to get to a sound your looking for.
still haven't heard anyone cop that sound from a sim, to date.
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tlw
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/21 14:58:09
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The Sansamp character series "British" gets pretty close to Marshall stack tone and feel, closer than any of the amp sims I've tried anyway.
The most difficult part of trying to emulate someone else's sound is that you not only need their amplification, effects, guitar and studio environment you also need their hands and brain.......
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Grem
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/21 15:11:38
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batsbrew
still haven't heard anyone cop that sound from a sim, to date.
Record a sample of what you can do and post.it.
Grem
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batsbrew
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/21 16:55:29
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i dont use marshalls...
i don't have a sound that is like AC/DC....
i post stuff ALL THE TIME...
i have stuff posted right now......
and if you are really interested, i'll discuss.
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Grem
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/21 18:08:05
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batsbrew
and if you are really interested, i'll discuss.
I think you have already guessed, I'm not interested.
Grem
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batsbrew
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/21 18:26:41
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then why even bother replying? 
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Rain
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/21 19:11:57
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☄ Helpfulby Mesh 2015/01/22 09:36:03
batsbrew
i'd love to hear someone's example of a sim doing a ac/dc tone.....
AmpliTube Rocks on AC/DC’s "Black Ice" Album
AmpliTube 2 used on the new historic multi-million selling album
Malcolm Young, guitarist and founder of AC/DC has been using AmpliTube on his ProTools system since 2003 and moved to AmpliTube 2 in 2006. AmpliTube has been a constant companion in his work over the years. Malcolm is recognised as one of the greatest guitar players of our time.
In October 2008 AC/DC released their massive new album, Black Ice, which went immediately number One in 29 different countries, including Australia, the UK and United States. The American music magazine, Billboard said '"the biggest debut ever by a mainstream hard rock album."
Malcolm recently told us that he used AmpliTube 2 on two tracks of the new album, 'Big Jack' and 'Anything Goes' and he also used it when preparing the demo/rehearsal tracks.
As he told us "I like the way AmpliTube 2 Rock 'n' Rolls!"www.ikmultimedia.com/MainPhp.html?NewsDisplay.php&Id=1994 Personally, I always prefer the real thing, but...
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Rain
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/21 19:14:32
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TCB - Tea, Cats, Books...
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batsbrew
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/21 19:39:01
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NOW THAT IS INTERESTING.....
gonna check those out
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Grem
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/22 07:42:16
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batsbrew
then why even bother replying?
Because that's what I wanted to do. : )
Grem
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Mesh
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/22 09:40:04
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Rain
batsbrew
i'd love to hear someone's example of a sim doing a ac/dc tone.....
AmpliTube Rocks on AC/DC’s "Black Ice" Album
AmpliTube 2 used on the new historic multi-million selling album
Malcolm Young, guitarist and founder of AC/DC has been using AmpliTube on his ProTools system since 2003 and moved to AmpliTube 2 in 2006. AmpliTube has been a constant companion in his work over the years. Malcolm is recognised as one of the greatest guitar players of our time.
In October 2008 AC/DC released their massive new album, Black Ice, which went immediately number One in 29 different countries, including Australia, the UK and United States. The American music magazine, Billboard said '"the biggest debut ever by a mainstream hard rock album."
Malcolm recently told us that he used AmpliTube 2 on two tracks of the new album, 'Big Jack' and 'Anything Goes' and he also used it when preparing the demo/rehearsal tracks.
As he told us "I like the way AmpliTube 2 Rock 'n' Rolls!"
www.ikmultimedia.com/MainPhp.html?NewsDisplay.php&Id=1994
Personally, I always prefer the real thing, but...
Good find Rain!! I'd love to find the settings he actually used in Amplitube......the article was fairly short and didn't have anymore details.
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batsbrew
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/22 10:16:50
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Grem
batsbrew
then why even bother replying?
Because that's what I wanted to do. : )
ok. i can see where you are coming from.
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Beepster
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/22 12:12:47
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Ya gotta admit, bats... it is a little humorous that after saying the Malc's tone was impossible to recreate with sims it turns out he actually uses sims himself.
:-p
and indeed, nice find, Rain. I've heard lots of good things about Amplitude but have never had the opportunity to try it. Still pretty happy with TH2 now that I've figured out some of my input stuff and learning a few tricks with the sim itself.
My new favorite trick is putting a TH2 cab IR on a bus being fed by doubled tracks. Just the cab... no heads or effects in the bus instance.
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batsbrew
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/22 12:28:35
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Beepster
Ya gotta admit, bats... it is a little humorous that after saying the Malc's tone was impossible to recreate with sims it turns out he actually uses sims himself.
well, i have heard the tracks, and honestly, they are not all that. example http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Anything+Goes/2k4yEo?src=5 and i love ac/dc, and really dig those tones. so i cannot say as to how humorous it is... all i know, is that i've heard a lot of attempts at girthy rock tones, using sims, and they all fell short. now, if malcom used that program alone, and you could actually hear a good version of just the tracks using it, that'd be one thing.. and it's common with pro mixes, to blend in the sound of sims with the real tracks, so a lot of times, you never know for sure what you are hearing.. i''m basing my comments SOLELY on my own hearing and experiences in different studios using these programs, and me personally, i always prefer the sound of the real thing. as far as playing tracks that are fully INSPIRED, i can say without a doubt that no sim i've ever tried, has ever FELT right, and i surely can't play my best if the FEEL of what i'm doing is less than where i've set the bar for myself. i'm still waiting to hear something that will knock my socks off.
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batsbrew
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/22 12:29:42
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i know, i'm being tube amp snobby,
sorry.
but the power and the glory of a cranked well made tube amp,
has magic,
not found by pushing buttons on a computer.
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Beepster
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Re: AC/DC Tone from Those About to Rock
2015/01/22 12:38:54
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batsbrew
i know, i'm being tube amp snobby,
sorry.
but the power and the glory of a cranked well made tube amp,
has magic,
not found by pushing buttons on a computer.
Hey, no arguments here. Obviously a real, tuned up amp glowing hot orange, properly mic'd in a good room with a competent producer behind the wheel is gonna be better but Malc's tone really is very simple. It wouldn't be hard to mimic it with a sim compared to other player's tones. It won't be AS good of course but the average music listener wouldn't know the difference in the context of a mix. Now SRV's tone is a tricky bastard to get just right... but that's even difficult with an actual tube amp. I've still built some passable prelim setups.
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