If you use any Line 6 gear you can download these .l6t files to get the exact same sounds that I use in my videos. Below you’ll find the links to the various sounds with a short description. In case you do not own any Line 6 gear here’s an explanation of how I create my sound and which effects I use.
Clean
I basically use two different clean sounds for my YouTube videos: a bright, shimmering sounding clean and a more jazz-like tone.
For the bright tone I dial in a lot of treble and presence on an acoustic amp model, set it to around 2-3 ‘o clock. Try not to overdo it though, because that really hurts your ears… I keep the bass around 12 ‘o clock to get nice lows while not interfering too much with the bass. I set the mids at around 12 ‘o clock also to cut through the mix nicely. After that I add compression and chorus. With some EQ I try to get rid of those boomy and shrill frequencies. Finally I add a bit of reverb with quite a long decay to make it sound more spacious.
To create the jazz-like sound I use a JC-120 model, which is basically a very standard clean amp. I set the gain a little higher than with the bright tone, but you shouldn’t notice any clipping. I use the same settings for the bass and the mid frequencies and I keep the treble and presence around 11-12 ‘o clock. For this sound I just use some compression and a little reverb.
Distorted Rhythm
For my distorted rhythm sound I use various amp models like the ones based on the Mesa Rectifier and the Marshall JCM-800. I always keep the gain fairly low and use a booster like the Ibanez Tubescreamer in front of the amp. I found that the lower I set my gain, the heavier it sounds. Using extremely high gain might sound good if you hear the guitar on its own, but once you mix it in with the other instruments it usually sounds like a broken vacuum cleaner and without any definition at all. Again I set the bass around 12 ‘o clock to prevent it from interfering with the bass. One of the most important parts of my sound are the mid tones. A lot of metal guitarists cut the mid frequencies, but I think that the mids are a really important part of a guitar sound. The mid tones give your sound more body, make your guitar sound heavier and let it cut through the mix way better than when you cut the mids entirely.
With the treble and presence I always try to create a nice crunch with a good bite, but prevent the sound from getting too sharp and shrill. You really have to do this by ear because the point where it gets too sharp is different with every amp. I generally set the treble and presence between 2 and 4 ‘o clock.When I’m done adjusting the amp it’s time to add some effects. I always start by adding a
noise gate and a compressor. As I mentioned earlier on I also use a booster to
amplify the sound from my guitar before it goes into the amp. After that I add a little EQ to filter out the frequencies I don’t like and boost the highs and lows a little and finally I apply some reverb with a short decay.
Distorted Lead
For my lead sound I basically use the same effects as I do with my rhythm sound, except I don’t use a booster and I add more reverb and some delay. The amp model that I use is the Line 6 version of the Mesa Rectifier. I turn the gain up a little higher, around 1 ‘o clock, to get more sustain. I also dial in some more mids, approximately 3 ‘o clock, to cut through the mix a little better.
Presets
Here are the .l6t files that I made with a short description of the sound. You can download the file by clicking on the name of the preset.
Jazz Clean
This is a very basic clean tone based on the Roland JC-120 model. It’s a nice smooth rhythm sound that you can use for mellow parts. If you add more gain, reverb and delay, you can also use it as a solo sound.
Piezo Electric
I based this model on the Line 6 Piezacoustic model, which is an acoustic amp. This tone gives you a very bright clean tone that sounds nice with chords or arpeggios. If you use humbuckers or very high output pickups you might want to decrease the gain a little because of clipping issues.
Rectumfrier
This is my basic distorted rhythm sound and it is based on the Mesa Dual Rectifier. This tone works very well with heavy, downtuned riffs and chords.
Rectumfrier Boosted
This is another version of my Rectumfrier preset. I used a Tube Screamer in front of the amp to give it more crunch and a heavier sound with more gain and bass.
JCM Hardrock HG
This tone is my second rhythm sound that I usually blend in with the Rectifier model. It has more gain, treble and presence than the Rectifier model and it gives the overall sound a nice punch. If you lower the gain a little you can also use this tone for classic metal and hard rock.
Spinal Puppet
It’s another rhythm tone that I have used on various covers on YouTube. It’s a crunchy, heavy rhythm sound that works quite well with my seven-string . I haven’t used it a lot lately because I really like the combination of the rhythm tones above.
Treadplate Heavy
This is the tone that I have been using as my secondary rhythm tone in my latest videos. It has a little more gain and treble than the other rhythm sounds and goes really well with the Rectumfrier Boosted preset that I use as my main rhythm tone.
Full Mid Solo
As the name suggests this is a full sounding solo sound with lots of mid tones. I use this preset for pretty much all the lead parts that I play on my videos.
Smooth Solo
This is one of my favorite new tones that I’ve made. It’s a low-gain, mellow solo tone that works really well with both humbuckers and single coil pickups.
Jazz Solo
I really like to use this preset as my lead tone for soft, mellow or acoustic sections. It has less gain than the Smooth Solo preset and has more of an ambient sound because of the amount of reverb and delay. Turn up the gain for a more fluid lead sound.
Lo-Fi Lead
I find this preset to be quite handy if you want to achieve a really thin, telephone quality like sound. I use this in mellow sections of songs sometimes and it creates a very nice feel.
Metal Bass
This is the bass sound that I have used for most of my recordings. It’s a nice and heavy bass sound that blends in really well with the guitars.
Heavy Bass
This is another bass preset that I have been using a lot lately. It’s a fuller and heavier sound than the Metal Bass preset and it cuts through the mix a little better. This is the bass sound that you hear in pretty much all of my newer videos.
Sub Bass
I really like this preset for both really heavy and acoustic stuff actually. In acoustic sections the really bass create a nice tight low end without dominating the acoustic guitars and in heavy parts it gives you huge amounts of bass and makes the overall guitar sound heavier.
