Short answer:
The cheap SM57 microphone is the major key to unlocking some of Avenged Sevenfold’s iconic tone.
Hey folks,
I just want to share a quick bit about the awesome album tone A7X manages to achieve. For context, I’ve been researching the band and chasing a sound similar to them since the early internet, before sites like YouTube even existed.
The band’s City of Evil and self-titled guitar tone is incredible. The simple term I would use to describe them is “cut.” Those tones are just so precise and articulate, they cut through the mix perfectly. You could also describe them as sharp, or even a bit harsh if you stretch the idea a bit. How on earth did they achieve that sound using Uberschall amps of all things - an amp known for being extremely dark in tone (they aren’t actually dark amps, but that’s a whole other topic). Among a few other tone shaping tools on their albums ( NOTE their album sound is a lot different than their live tone) the $120 SM57 microphone is the real key.
If you’ve ever used an SM57 on a guitar amp, you know the sound already. It’s a very coloured microphone. It filters a lot of lows out out of the sound and does pretty significant boost in the upper mids. I would call it a vary nasally microphone myself. It’s sharp and cutting, just like the quality I love in A7X tone.
To balance out the harsh tone of the SM57, most studio folks will point the mic on the guitar cab at the space where the speak cone and dust cap meet - the popular mid-tonal point on the speaker between really dark (far edge of the cone) and really bright (dust cap in the centre).
…Not A7X though. Nope. In some of my recent research, I came across an interview with engineer Fred Archambault on working with the band, and he says they placed the SM57 in the dead centre of the speaker, taking the sharp sound of the mic to its extreme.
This is FASCINATING to me. They broke a major recording tradition to achieve their awesome guitar tone, and it really paid off.
I also found out that the iconic snare drum from City of Evil was recorded with an SM57 too. The Rev did use an extremely bright snare to record that album, but the SM57 takes it to the next level.
I hope this knowledge is helpful for people! You don’t have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to achieve a sound, so work with what you have, even a cheap $100 mic! Album vs live tone is very different. Also, A7X use so many different guitar and amp routs to achieve their sounds, it’s hard to nail down just one sound for them, but most all of it is filtered through an SM57.
The cheap SM57 microphone is the major key to unlocking some of Avenged Sevenfold’s iconic tone.
Hey folks,
I just want to share a quick bit about the awesome album tone A7X manages to achieve. For context, I’ve been researching the band and chasing a sound similar to them since the early internet, before sites like YouTube even existed.
The band’s City of Evil and self-titled guitar tone is incredible. The simple term I would use to describe them is “cut.” Those tones are just so precise and articulate, they cut through the mix perfectly. You could also describe them as sharp, or even a bit harsh if you stretch the idea a bit. How on earth did they achieve that sound using Uberschall amps of all things - an amp known for being extremely dark in tone (they aren’t actually dark amps, but that’s a whole other topic). Among a few other tone shaping tools on their albums ( NOTE their album sound is a lot different than their live tone) the $120 SM57 microphone is the real key.
If you’ve ever used an SM57 on a guitar amp, you know the sound already. It’s a very coloured microphone. It filters a lot of lows out out of the sound and does pretty significant boost in the upper mids. I would call it a vary nasally microphone myself. It’s sharp and cutting, just like the quality I love in A7X tone.
To balance out the harsh tone of the SM57, most studio folks will point the mic on the guitar cab at the space where the speak cone and dust cap meet - the popular mid-tonal point on the speaker between really dark (far edge of the cone) and really bright (dust cap in the centre).
…Not A7X though. Nope. In some of my recent research, I came across an interview with engineer Fred Archambault on working with the band, and he says they placed the SM57 in the dead centre of the speaker, taking the sharp sound of the mic to its extreme.
This is FASCINATING to me. They broke a major recording tradition to achieve their awesome guitar tone, and it really paid off.
I also found out that the iconic snare drum from City of Evil was recorded with an SM57 too. The Rev did use an extremely bright snare to record that album, but the SM57 takes it to the next level.
I hope this knowledge is helpful for people! You don’t have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to achieve a sound, so work with what you have, even a cheap $100 mic! Album vs live tone is very different. Also, A7X use so many different guitar and amp routs to achieve their sounds, it’s hard to nail down just one sound for them, but most all of it is filtered through an SM57.
