Metal1991Human

Flattening of Emotions Amp Settings

by Death

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Original Recording Settings

partially-sourcedResearched tone data for "Flattening of Emotions" by Death

Original Gear

Guitar: B.C. Rich Stealth (custom shop, single-pickup, fixed wrap-around bridge, black)
Pickups: DiMarzio X2N (high-output ceramic humbucker) (bridge)
Amplifier: Randall RG100ES (120-watt solid-state head)
Channel: High-gain/distortion channel into a Randall 4x12 cabinet
Tuning: E standard (no capo)
Pickup Selector: bridge
Strings: 0.010-0.046 (GHS Boomers, per the Guitar Geek rig diagram for Chuck Schuldiner cited on Equipboard: 'This rig diagram shows that Chuck used 10-46 GHS Boomers.')

Recorded at Morrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida by producer/engineer Scott Burns (April 1991 sessions; co-produced by Chuck Schuldiner). Schuldiner plugged essentially straight into the amp's distortion channel; he switched to the Marshall Valvestate 8100 from Individual Thought Patterns (1993) onward. MusicRadar's '5 songs guitar players need to hear by… Death' explicitly states he 'used a 120-watt Randall RG100ES head' before gravitating to the Valvestate, and the Fractal Audio forum thread 'Good amp model to emulate Chuck Schuldiner's tone?' attributes Human specifically to the Randall RG100.

Amp Settings

Gain

8.0

Bass

6.0

Mid

4.0

Treble

7.0

Presence

6.0

Master Volume

5.0

Volume

7.0

Settings inferred from the recording itself (mid-scooped, bright, tight, high-gain death metal tone) and Schuldiner's documented preference for a simple, plug-in-and-go approach. No interview documents exact knob positions for the Human sessions; Schuldiner told Pit Magazine in 1999, 'When we're in the studio it takes no more than about 20 minutes to get a good guitar sound.'

Effects Chain

→

Unspecified chorus (used sparingly on leads only)

chorus

→

1.Unspecified chorus (used sparingly on leads only) — Schuldiner stated in a Pit Magazine interview (June 1999, republished by the Empty Words Project): 'My amp is a Marshall Valvestate head and cabinet, that's about it. I don't use effects except for a little chorus on my leads, I really like a basic setup.' Some listeners hear chorus or light flanging on Human leads such as the intro to 'Lack of Comprehension'; 'Flattening of Emotions' rhythm tone is essentially dry.

Playing Technique

Picked with a standard plectrum (Chuck favored medium-heavy picks), aggressive alternate picking, palm-muted galloping riffs locked to double-bass drums, harmonized lead lines traded with Paul Masvidal. Tempo is 210 BPM in 4/4 (per GetSongBPM: 'The song Flattening Of Emotions by Death has a tempo of 210 beats per minute (BPM) on Human'), with rhythmic displacement and brief odd-meter inserts. Solo features fast legato runs, harmonic-minor phrasing and pinch harmonics.

Sources+

Wikipedia — 'Chuck Schuldiner' and 'Human (Death album)' entries (gear list and recording credits)
MusicRadar — '5 songs guitar players need to hear by… Death' (Randall RG100ES, BC Rich Stealth, X2N attribution)
Guitar.com — 'Rig Diagram: Chuck Schuldiner, Death (1993)' (1 Sept 2020)
Equipboard — Chuck Schuldiner artist profile, citing the Guitar Geek rig diagram (10-46 GHS Boomers)
Empty Words Project — Pit Magazine interview, June 1999 (Schuldiner direct quote on amp and effects)
Fractal Audio Systems forum — 'Good amp model to emulate Chuck Schuldiner's tone?' (attribution of Randall RG100 to Human)
Discogs — Death 'Human' (Relativity, 1991) release credits (Scott Burns producer; recorded/mixed at Morrisound Recording)
GetSongBPM — tempo data for 'Flattening of Emotions' (210 BPM)