# John Petrucci song tone help



## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

Tone I want to mimick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0WKeCGD4h0


Equipment I have currently:

Jackson JS series guitar with Sduncan buckers in it
Stratocaster with GFS vintages

Marshall JCM2000 dsl50 (50 watt) all tube head played through a 1960a cab.

Visual sound Jekyll and Hyde dual overdrive


so...what else do I need to get that tone?
or can I get it already...and if so...what do I need to do. I cant seem to get that kind of sound. and if I turn up the gain a lot, I get a LOT of noise, so whats the problem?

thanks!!!!!


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## violation (Aug 20, 2006)

Bass: 8... around there.
Mids: 4... work from there... probably go higher.
Treble: 6 or 7... around there.
Gain: 6... somewhere 'round there.
Volume: Don't be a sissy, crank it!
Reverb: Add it as you please... atleast add SOME. 

That's what I'd use as a starting point, to atleast get somethin' similar rollin'. Maybe throw an EQ pedal in there and shape it up. Chances are you won't get something exact, but everythin' is worth a shot. 

Normally he plays through a Mesa and tons of rack gear doesn't he? If that's what he was using in that video, have fun, lol.

That's where I'd start, anyway... good luck!


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

Violation from Jamsession? 

The world is a small place lol


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## violation (Aug 20, 2006)

That would be me, which one are you? Hah, I know TDU is here too. I don't know 'bout Keith, Scott and all the other ones.


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

T
E
L
E


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## EL34POWER (Jan 16, 2007)

You should be able to get that hands down. But He IS JP. don't lose sleep over it. He is one of the top right now:food-smiley-004:


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## violation (Aug 20, 2006)

GuitaristZ said:


> T
> E
> L
> E


Didn't know you were Canadian as well, hah, nice.


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

Turn the volume knob on your guitar down - if you watch the video you'll see him adjust it several times. You should find a sweet spot where your sitting on the verge of too much preamp tube compression. You shouldn't need a tonne of gain, or any thing but your Marshall to get this sort of tone.

If you have too much level comming into the first stage of your amp, you may find that the rig may appear to get louder as you start to turn the guitar down as it is easing off the compression. The tone should open up and the amp should come to life. The controls on the amp (bass, mid and trebble) will suddenly 'work better' as well. 

He is using a delay and there are backing trax with harmonies that you can hear every now and then, but I don't think that's what you're after.

There is alot you can do with the volume and tone controll on your guitar and a tube amp plugged straight in.


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## Warren (Mar 2, 2007)

GuitaristZ said:


> Tone I want to mimick:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0WKeCGD4h0
> 
> 
> ...


Check this out http://www.g2d.co.nz/sounds.php?Action=Play&MediaID=5


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

That's great stuff. I like the little squeeky parts in the middle.

I've always been of the opinion that you should make the best with what you have, and that more gear is not the solution to getting a great tone.


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## Warren (Mar 2, 2007)

Hamm Guitars said:


> That's great stuff. I like the little squeeky parts in the middle.
> 
> I've always been of the opinion that you should make the best with what you have, and that more gear is not the solution to getting a great tone.


Granted, especially if you're trying to get your own sound.

Here's what I found a few years back that approximated JP's sound without blowing the $$$$$ (I already owned the gear listed).

I have no experience with that Marshall specifically, but I do own a triaxis and a 50/50, and a Marshall 76' - 2203. I was into Dream Theater for while and if you play around I found there were 7 main components to approximating Petrucci's sound. 

With what I was using, Boss CS1, Triaxis, Lexicon MPX-1, Mesa 50/50, 2 x MESA 1x12 wide bodies.

1. The big bassy cabinets, 4x12's
2. Scooped mids/crunch sound for rhythm, not huge gain
3. "Mesa" midrangy (still scooped but not as much, gainy)
4. Good reverb -- thick like lexicon or eventide but used close to dry
5. Compression
6. Small Detune (Detune not chorus)
7. Pickup selection and as you mentioned, volume and tone control on the 
guitar

Reverb all the time,

For rhythm Crunch scooped sound, no compression, slight detune, bridge pickup, or both.

For leads, "Mesa Midrange added" sound, compression + slightly more gain, no detune, majority neck pickup or both, on some leads you have to change your pickup selection depending on your left hand position, close to the nut = bridge, close to the body = neck. On some solos like in Train of Thought (Stream of Consiousness) lower the tone on the guitar on the bridge pickup. Increasing the volume and compression on the compressor and lowering the volume on the guitar slightly will accentuate the pick attack for really speedy stuff.

For the more bluesy riffs (like at the begginning of scarred), I used the Marshall, vary the volume & tone & pickup selection on the guitar to suit. 

Maybe my experience will help you find the right combination of gear or just settings on the gear you already have to come close to JP's sound.


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

Well I must say that turning down the volume to about 2-3 and lowering the tone control did a LOT. It gave me a lot closer to the tone I am looking for. I will be sure to try those things you posted warren, Thanks!!!!


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