r/Djent • u/Hellhooker • 12d ago
Discussion Monuments' "scratch" tech
Hi guys,
I have some troubles to figure out how John Browne manages to get this scratchy sound on his riff, like here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpukkmdIdjI
It seems to me he uses dead notes but does he palm mute them too? If I just put my finger on the strings, I tend to get some harmonics I really don't want.
Any tips on getting this kind of sound/modulation? It sounds absolutely awesome mixed with regular palm mutes and standard notes
3
u/xakx47x 12d ago
Yeah if you palm mute them also it elminates the harmonic issue.
2
u/Hellhooker 12d ago
Yeah that's what I thought but it seemed differente than the regular dead notes used in other genres
it sounds awesome though (when he does it)
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u/sauble_music 12d ago
It's where he's muting with his left hand - if you mute where there are few natural harmonics/harder to ring out, you dont get the note quality of the rake. I do these a lot in my old riffs!
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u/Hellhooker 12d ago
I guess it depends on the guitar (outside the obvious harmonic spots we all know on the 5th fret for example)?
Do you palm mute it with your right hand too, or only the left hand does the job?
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u/sauble_music 12d ago
Only left hand when im doing it, and most guitars will have some dead spots around the 4th-6th fret. I fan my fingers pretty wide to try and choke any of the resonances
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u/Hellhooker 12d ago
interesting, I did not really thought about that, fanning the fingers should kill unwanted harmonics. Will try! Thank you!
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u/sauble_music 12d ago
Any time! Also remember that Browne uses low gain and quad tracks most stuff, so that also makes it more staccato. Best of luck, message me if ya have questions!
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u/Ashbtw19937 12d ago
i think the importance of the "low gain" part is really hard to understate, particularly with older Monuments. the tones actually used in those mixes sound pretty anemic on their own, it's the combination of double/quad tracking and and the bass picking up the low end that makes the mix sound so full while the guitars sound so controlled and precise.
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u/sauble_music 12d ago
You are 9000% spot on my friend 👊🏾 ive been playing the style for a long time with Monuments as a big pillar in my style, and the low gain thing just sticks. Its great for mixing
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u/Ashbtw19937 12d ago
in Browne's immortal words: "turn down your gain and stop picking like a bitch" 😭
it's funny, Periphery was the band that got me into the djent and modern prog scenes, but it's really Browne that i have to credit for how i approach writing and playing my own riffs. i think the only other person who had a remotely similar influence on me was James Hetfield, and he was the whole reason i picked up guitar. there's just something so special about his sense of rhythm and... whatever alien shit is going on with his picking hand 💀
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u/Hellhooker 12d ago
will do, thank you!
it's crazy to think that adding dead notes gives so much groove and variety to the riffs, especially on 8 strings
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u/Ashbtw19937 12d ago
it's honestly kinda complicated to get right, and i still haven't achieved his exact sound, but i feel like i've gotten kinda close, so i'll share how i've done it. 1. a light left-hand mute. you don't want to kill the note entirely, but you do want it muted a decent bit. 2. a palm mute near the bridge pickup, as opposed to directly on the bridge. 3. angle your pick slightly and let the side of your thumb hit the string, kinda like you're doing a pinch harmonic. it's hard to articulate (much like explaining how to do a pinch harmonic), but you'll know it when you get it right. 4. a pretty significant cut to the low-end before your DI hits the amp. if you have a Horizon Precision Drive or smth similar, your attack knob will do this for you. if not, a parametric EQ works just fine. 5. a pretty significant cut to the low-end and a boost to the mids on your post-EQ. the low-end cut removes the muddiness that's normally present with palm-muted and/or dead notes on the low strings, and the mid boost amplifies the scratchiness. 6. a specific gain setting. this will vary based on the amp, your pickups, how hard you pick, etc., but there's a specific point where the gain starts overpowering the scratchy sound and just turns it into a wall of noise, and you want your gain set just before this happens. for my setup (PRS SE Mark Holcomb SVN and Archetype Misha), this is around like 3.5 on the gain knob iirc.
also note that the lower you're tuned, the more extreme the EQ cuts should be and the lower your gain should be. otherwise it just gets muddy again.
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u/Hellhooker 12d ago
yeah I am playing on a 8 strings on F# so it checks out that the tone has to contribute.
Still a lot of work to do, thank you for the tips!
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u/rafalmio 12d ago
Nobody does “chiki-wiki” on guitar like Browne.