The "How did LP make that sound" Thread - Research

Discussion in 'Linkin Park Chat' started by Arachnids, Apr 19, 2014.

  1. dividebyzero

    dividebyzero Member

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    In case you're interested: After many months of research and trial & error I tried to replicate as many techniques LP used in this track:



    It includes the Synth from Crawling, the bitcrushing from ... well ... everything, tape distortion on the kick drum, stutter and delays and what not.
     
  2. SmallCapybara

    SmallCapybara Member

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    Not sure if this is the best place for this question but I want to know two things about Chester's screams.

    1. [Edit: finally worked this out - it's in Given Up. It's on the word 'misery' near the end of the song. So this is a new question - did Chester do the whole extended scream on 'misery' himself or is it artificially enhanced?] I have a specific scream stuck in my head and I can't remember where it comes from. It starts off as one note and then it shifts suddenly to another lower note. I feel like it might be from a live performance (a famous live performance as it's something I've listened to a lot) or from an early album.

    2. How often are Chester's long screams done solely by Chester and how often are they extended artificially by Joe? For example in the 'Come ooon' at the beginning of Wth>You. (This isn't the scream I have in mind for question 1 - the scream in question one changes more abruptly).

    Thanks to anyone who can answer these, the first one is annoying me as I can't find it!
     
    Last edited: Oct 30, 2017
  3. minuteforce

    minuteforce Danny's not here, Mrs. Torrance. LPA Team

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    I don't think Hahn typically does the vocal production and editing, but, anyway, the screams were all done by Chester. Maybe they weren't necessarily made longer in editing but there's always been plenty of layering and effects to beef up the sound.

    The "Given Up" one is more "real" than most in this respect because it isn't heavily enhanced, and Chester pulled it off live at least once. The vocals on "Midnight" were typically quite raw in terms of mixing, and they didn't sound too different live as a result.
     
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  4. Astat

    Astat LPA Super Member LPA Super Member

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    The only time I can really think of a Chester scream being artificially elongated is at the end of Reanimation APFMH where it kind of fades into that wind sound effect. There's some chopping/scratching of screams on stuff like Blackout and Lost in the Echo but it's always pretty obvious when it happens.
     
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  5. SmallCapybara

    SmallCapybara Member

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    Thanks for those replies - I always assumed some of them were artificially elongated, not sure why! Impressed that they weren't, amazing work from Chester.
     
  6. MS2003

    MS2003 Active Member

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    How to make hip hop beats like in , Papercut , Forgotten , Nobody Listening , Step Up , She Couldn't?
     
  7. SmallCapybara

    SmallCapybara Member

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    Just found somewhere that Chester doesn't do the whole thing - in the Road to Revolution DVD in One Step Closer, Chester sings "Break" and it repeats a few times when he's away from the microphone. There's a lot of screaming and scringing in this gig!

    Edit: realised this is a common thing in live One Step Closer, not just that gig. It might explain why I thought Chester's vocals were extended artificially higher up the thread - got it mixed up with repeats.
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2018
  8. MS2003

    MS2003 Active Member

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    what is the sample from SHE COULDN'T at 1:08 ?
    and what's the noise from the intro of READING MY EYES ? Is a string?
     
  9. HybridT

    HybridT Maik Yinoda

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    When Brad plays the chords of the In The End chorus live. Who plays the harmonics?
     
  10. Sasuke

    Sasuke Modern Prog enjoyer LPA Super Member

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    From Astat tabs description.
     
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  11. dividebyzero

    dividebyzero Member

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    In case you're interested in the Hybrid Theory guitar tone, I did some research and experiments. Here's the results (as heard in the vid above):

    Guitar: Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 (all knobs turned to 10, bridge pickup)
    Tuning: Dropped D
    Pickups: DiMarzio D-Sonic
    Interface: UMC Uphoria HD 204

    Layer 1: Dual track (panned 100/100) - TSE 808 (default settings) -> Amplitube 4 Head: Mesa Dual rectifier (bass 100%, mids 0%, tremble 60%, presence 40%, gain 95%) [Disable Amplitube Cab Sim!] -> LeCab 2 (IR: Critical Cabs Messiah 1)
    Layer 2: Dual track (panned 91/91) - TSE 808 (default settings) -> Head: LeCto (Gain 90%, Bass 100%, Mids 0%, tremble 55%, resonance 0% oversampling 2x) -> LeCab 2 (IR: Critical Cabs Messiah 1)

    EQ:
    • Low Pass filter everything below 80htz
    • high shelf 8khz and higher (-2.5db)
    • Slightly boost low mid area.
    • Boost 3khz area (2db)!
    • Cut any harsh frequencies!
    Mix: 60% Layer 1, 40% Layer 2 ...

    If you find this helpful feel free to subscribe the youtube channel. We're making a full album in the style of HT, don't miss the upcoming vids! I will answer any "how did you make that sound" questions if you shoot me a message here or on youtube.

    Further advice:
    • Do not use any distortion pedals. The distortion from the head, cab and TSE are more than enough. If you add additional distortion, your sound will turn muddy.
    • If you write your own songs, please remember the typical Hybrid Theory sound does NOT only come from the tone itself, but from the writing as well. Try playing power chords and then put your pinky on the third string, two frets downwards. HT is full of this.
    • The bass is important. It plays a huge role for the guitar tone. But that's a topic for another day. In general: Use the deepest bass sound you can possibly get and then add chorus. (Yeah, LP uses chorus on the bass. Not that common, but it's part of their signature sound)
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2018
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  12. Modern Guitar God

    Modern Guitar God Nets 2021 LPA Super VIP

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    Interesting, I always thought Brad used a Marshall head too but I guess not.
     
  13. dividebyzero

    dividebyzero Member

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    He does, especially on Meteora. The LeCto head is somewhere in between Marshall and Dual Rectifier. But you can use a Marshall head just as well. I believe Marshall Plexi is the branch you're looking for.
     
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  14. Christøffer

    Christøffer The Cure for Mr. Hahn's Itch LPA Contributor

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    The tone sounds good, but I'd point out a few things if you're going for accuracy, which it seems you are. The mixing on that cover really makes the guitar drown most of everything else out and also that there's not a lot of dynamics to the guitar track like there are in the actual song--namely the verses. The palm muting Brad does on the intro and verse riff seems to either be not there or drowned out by the distortion. But it sounds pretty nice.
     
  15. dividebyzero

    dividebyzero Member

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    Thanks for the answer. Don't mind the mix, it's just every layer on top of each other. I cranked the guitar volume up so you guys can hear the tone better. I possibly should have muted everything else.
     
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  16. Modern Guitar God

    Modern Guitar God Nets 2021 LPA Super VIP

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    I thought he used a JCM800 but I’m probably wrong. I heard that Brad’s main studio amps since 2014 are Orange ones now. MTM was where he experimented the most with guitars and gear iirc

    Anyway you seem to know more than I do lol. I’m just recalling from interviews with Brad and his guitar engineer that I’ve read.
     
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  17. Christøffer

    Christøffer The Cure for Mr. Hahn's Itch LPA Contributor

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    Gotcha. Just wasn't sure if you were going for an accurate full cover or not.
     
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  18. dividebyzero

    dividebyzero Member

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    Yeah, you're right. I tried with a JCM800 and it's much better. Sounds warmer and bigger. Thanks for the hint!

    EDIT: On second thought, I'm not sure if it's actually better. LeCto sounds more precise and less muddy. I think I'll stick with that. May be a matter of taste.
     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2018
  19. Astat

    Astat LPA Super Member LPA Super Member

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    Brad used a 1959SLP reissue Marshall during the Meteora period. It had the "Bradshaw mod" which basically adds a master volume control and more gain (which actually makes it a lot more similar to a JCM800 tone-wise, it's just a much higher-end amp to begin with).

    I believe Ethan's been running most of the guitar tracks on the last two albums through Orange cabs, but there are still several different heads that get used for different things. There's Brad's workhorse Hiwatt Custom 100 that's been used on every record since Minutes to Midnight, a couple more Marshalls (including a JCM 800), a Soldano SLO-100, some kind of Engl head, a Bogner Uberschall, and one of the small-ish Orange heads, which I think is a TH30.

    The HT/Meteora guitar sound is most definitely not the "no mids = nu metal" thing you're kind of describing. This is a mistake a LOT of people make when a guitar track sounds like the mids are scooped - something like that rarely works in the context of a mix because you have to turn the track up so loud to compensate for the lack of mids, it's impossible to get a good blend with anything else.

    The basic rhythm guitar tone from that period starts with four guitar tracks (two stereo tracks like you mentioned will work, but it's still not the same thing as actually recording a part 4 times and layering it). Two tracks are panned hard/left right and have a slight "bump" in the low end frequencies below 1k and a few very narrow "notches" cut out in parts of the midrange (usually one right around 2k and one at around 3.2k). The high end drops off pretty dramatically between 6k and 7k, and gradually slopes downward from there for the most part. The other two tracks have a much "flatter" EQ (no bump in the bass or midrange notches, just a gradual downward slope starting at 5k), are a bit more centered in the mix (I'd say 60-70% panned to either side), and are pulled back in volume relative to the other tracks by maybe 3 or 4 dB. The end result has the overall SOUND of a scooped track because of which guitar tracks are louder and panned wider, but all of that midrange stuff is still there somewhere to fill out the mix so nothing gets lost.

    Maybe sharing this is against my better judgement, but I think it's an opportunity for a good educational study, so here's a small sample of the original guitar track from Forgotten (different song, but they didn't really mess with a ton of different guitar sounds on Hybrid Theory anyway) - check out how surprisingly mid-heavy it is, lots of pick attack and overall clarity. I'd almost think it sounds like a guitar with P90 pickups if I didn't know better: https://dbr.ee/AKMN

    Also, as far as bass goes, there's just an amp track and a DI track for most LP bass tracks, and they tend to be very dry (the DI track is usually more overdriven and less bass-heavy, and they just blend the two together). I can't think of a single instance of an LP bass track having chorus on it...Phoenix has never even had a chorus pedal in his live rig.
     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2018
  20. Hannes

    Hannes New Member

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    Hey, I didn't find any Post about the Burn it down Intro Synth's.
    Do anybody know how they created it?
    Or how I can imitate it with Sylenth1 or another Basic FL Studio Plugins.

    Hannes :)
     

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