Heavy Heart T

Metal © 2020 Axesrus Limited

Lead Drive Pedal : Ibanez® TS808 (Modified)

Lead Amp: Mesa Boogie® Triple Rectifier (Orange Channel)

Cab: Mesa Boogie® Rectifier Slant 4x12

Rhythm Drive Pedal : Boss® OD1

Rhythm Amp: Mesa Boogie® Triple Rectifier (Red Channel)

Rhythm Cab: Mesa Boogie® Rectifier Slant 4x12

Guitar: Fender® Telecaster® Custom (w/Gotoh GT202)

Electronics: 500k CTS Pots, 0.022 caps, Switchcraft Mono and switch

This track begins and ends with a really powerful, groovy riff that uses a mixture of single notes and chords.

The rhythm guitars and bass are downtuned to drop D. This is both stylistically appropriate for the genre, and gives a clear indication of how a pickup behaves when operating lower down the frequency spectrum. The rhythm guitars that support the solo are designed to test how well a pickup can retain clarity when playing chords under higher gain.

As with the rock track the rhythm guitars are double tracked and panned hard left and hard right.

The use of the Boss OD-1 in front of the amp offers a slight bass cut, and a tiny bit more presence. Its such common practice in metal to use an overdrive pedal before the amp that we didn’t have any qualms whatsoever about using one in this situation. We’ve opted for a TS808 instead of the OD-1 on the lead line. This provides a slight boost to the mids to help it cut through.

The lead channel also uses the “vintage/orange” channel on the rectifier as opposed to the “modern/red” channel. This is less abrasive in the top end and a lot smoother. As you would probably expect, the lead line to the metal track is the most technically complex of all the new Axes 2020 compositions. We’ve not gone crazy by any stretch, but with metal (especially modern metal) the listener expects to hear some “less conventional” scale work in the melodies along with picked runs, and legato runs. This piece tests the power of the pickup, as does incorporating techniques like natural and pinched harmonics. There’s certainly more melody than there is shredding, but it wouldn’t be metal without a couple of quick runs!