There are few things more exciting than walking into a studio knowing you are about to make something gloriously filthy.
I was out in beautiful California, where the sun was shining even in January, however I had not come looking for sunshine. I had come looking for dirty, ugly, nasty guitar and bass tones. The kind of tones that do not politely sit in a mix, they snarl, grind, push back, and make the whole track feel dangerous.
In the video, we visit Taylor Young at The Pit Recording Studio in California and dive into his approach to creating filthy, raw, aggressive guitar and bass tones, using unusual amps, cabinets, microphones, pedals, and a fearless amount of experimentation.
That search brought me to The Pit Recording Studio, just outside Los Angeles, where producer, engineer, drummer, and tone obsessive Taylor Young has built a room dedicated to raw, uncompromising heavy music. Taylor is known for working with some ferociously heavy bands, and what struck me immediately was that his approach is anything except generic. The amps, cabinets, microphones, pedals, and techniques were full of choices I had either never seen used this way before, or had never heard on guitars and bass at all.
The Pit, A New Room Built for Heavy Music
The Pit is a relatively new studio, about a year and a half old at the time of the visit, and Taylor built it with the help of friends and friends of friends. It still has that fresh, woody feeling of a room that has not been beaten into submission yet, however it has already seen plenty of records come through its doors.
For Taylor, the new space is a huge step up from his previous room. Anyone who had worked with him before knew how compact that old place was. The Pit gives him far more room to track full bands, drums, vocals, keys, percussion, screaming, and, of course, the absolutely filthy guitars and bass tones that he is known for.
The live room is not enormous, however that is part of the charm. It is practical, focused, and built for getting sounds quickly. Taylor tracks drums there, he tracks guitars there, and he uses the room in a way that suits the kind of music he makes. It is not about creating a pristine, polished, sterile environment. It is about capturing energy.
And for heavy music, that is everything.
Taylor Young’s Philosophy, Every Record Needs Its Own Stamp
One of the most refreshing things about Taylor’s approach is that he does not want to repeat himself. He has plenty of classic gear, however he also goes out of his way to find unusual amps, strange cabinets, oddball pedals, and microphones that are not the obvious first choice.
As he explained, he likes to have a few things everybody has, and a few things nobody has. That gives him a familiar foundation, however it also allows him to create a unique sonic identity for every record.
That is a huge part of great production. It is not just about getting “a good guitar sound.” It is about getting the guitar sound that belongs to that band, that tuning, that tempo, that arrangement, and that emotional world.
Taylor is not chasing pretty tones here. He is chasing character. If a band is tuned low, playing fast, and wants to sound massive, the choices have to serve that. If the band wants fuzz, then the tone has to behave differently from an overdrive sound. If the guitars are dense, the bass has to find a way to support them without turning into a cloud of mud.
That is where the fun starts.
The Amp Wall, Marshalls, 5150s, Ampegs, Orange, and Pure Violence
Taylor’s amp collection is a wonderful blend of the known and the obscure.
There are modded Marshall JMPs, including a couple of 1976 models modified by his friend Michael Klein. One is a 50-watt head with custom voicing and clipping options, while another has an extra gain stage and runs on 6550s, giving it a darker, meaner sound.
There is also a block letter Peavey 5150, one of the great modern heavy guitar amps, as well as a Marshall Jubilee, dressed in custom camo because, in Taylor’s words, it looks badass.
Then there is the Ampeg VT40, an amp Taylor has had since before he was born. Originally intended more for keyboards, it has been converted into a head and used for guitar. As the volume comes up, the gain comes up in a way that Taylor compares to a Sunn Model T type of behaviour. It is not about using its built-in distortion, which he describes rather brutally, it is about the way the amp starts to thicken and push when driven.
There is an Orange Thunderverb, which is dark, powerful, and capable of a really useful bite when the shape control is used right.
And then there is the Dean Costello Heavy Metal Warfare.
That name is not subtle, and neither is the amp. Taylor describes it as built for extremely low tunings, used by bands like Primitive Man and Full of Hell, and sitting somewhere between a Sunn Model T and a 5150 being smashed together. Deep, nasty, articulate, midrangey, and completely unhinged in the best possible way.
That is exactly the kind of language you want to hear when someone is trying to create truly heavy tones.
The Cabinets, Where the Real Personality Lives
The cabinets are just as important as the heads, and Taylor’s approach to speakers is wonderfully practical. He does not believe every cab has to be “pure” with the same speakers throughout. Instead, he treats them almost like Swiss Army knives.
There is a bootleg Omega-style cab that Taylor bought cheaply and constantly changes. It is a workhorse, a cabinet he can reload with different speakers depending on what he needs.
There is an old Mesa metal-grille cab loaded with EV Force speakers. Taylor did not know much about them when he bought it, however he ended up loving it, and it now appears on a lot of his work. That is a great reminder that some of the best studio choices come from trying things, not from reading spec sheets.
Then there are the Omega 6×12 cabinets. These are massive, flexible, and loaded with different speaker combinations. One cab has DV77s, Celestion 75s, and V30s available in different sections. Another has a similar setup with Greenbacks on top that can be separated.
For this session, the DV77s and EV Forces were going to play a major role.
That alone is already interesting. Most heavy guitar conversations quickly become about V30s, Mesa cabs, 5150s, and SM57s. All of those things are classic for a reason, however Taylor is clearly interested in going somewhere else.
The Control Room, Digital Performer and a Neotek Console
Taylor is also proudly one of the few people still using Digital Performer. He jokes that there are only about seven of them left, however he likes it because it functions like a tape machine with no sound. It is a tool. It captures the performance and stays out of the way.
One feature he particularly likes is its built-in tuning workflow, which works directly with the waveform, avoiding the usual dance of moving audio in and out of separate tuning software.
The centrepiece of the control room is a Neotek Élan II tabletop console. Neotek consoles may not be as famous as SSLs or Neves, however they have a strong reputation, and Steve Albini was famously associated with them. Taylor likes the clean mic pres and EQs. They are not trying to be an SSL, even if someone once tried to call them an “SSL killer.” They are their own thing.
For outboard, Taylor reaches frequently for Avedis MA5 preamps when he wants something rounder, smoother, and more transformer-based than the console pres. He also uses a DBX 160 constantly, often on a trash mic or centre overhead. His BG1 is a favourite for bass amps, adding harmonics and crunch while slightly controlling the low end.
There is also a Bricasti M7, used less as a vocal reverb and more to make a small drum room feel bigger. That is another wonderfully practical use of high-end ambience, not as a glossy effect, however as a way of making the room feel more expansive.
Taylor also has a Custom Audio Germany EQ, a Soundtech-style unit with custom transformer options, mid-side capability, and fully notched controls for easy recall. In a world where recall can be a nightmare, especially when you are doing heavy analogue tone shaping, that sort of detail matters.
Dialling in Heavy Guitar Tones
When it came time to talk about guitar tones, Taylor made it clear that there is no one-stop solution.
The tuning matters. The speed of the songs matters. The band’s existing identity matters. Are they fuzzy? Are they tight and overdriven? Are they going for pure filth, or does the tone need more articulation?
For the main heavy guitar setup, Taylor had a Marshall JVM 410 HJS, the Joe Satriani version of the JVM. Instead of reverb, it has a gate, which is extremely useful for heavy rhythm work. Taylor describes it as one of the chuggiest Marshalls ever made, and also something people often overlook.
He also had a Dual Rectifier modded by Michael Klein, with the diode side of the gain pushed in a way that made it smoother, tighter, and more disgusting. Taylor said he did not even need pedals with it, however, of course, pedals are fun.
And in Taylor’s world, pedals are not just decoration. They are tools for tightening, sculpting, and mangling the front end of an amp.
He had a Maxon, the Michael Klein “Dick” pedal made with Sammy from Acid Bath, his own Michael Klein collaboration called the Oni, and the Feral, made by Will Killingsworth from Orchid. The Oni is essentially Taylor’s death metal tone chain in one box, overdrive, RAT-style distortion, and EQ, all combined into a single unit. That is the kind of pedal that tells you a lot about how someone thinks. It is not just “more gain.” It is a repeatable way to hit an amp with a particular shape and attitude.
Moving to Bass, The Omega 8×10 and the SVT
After exploring the guitar side, Taylor switched over to bass. Out went the Mesa cab, and in came an Omega 8×10.
The bass cab was miked with a Sennheiser MD 441 and a Heil PR 48. The 441 is a fascinating choice for bass. Taylor likes it because the snarl sits lower than a 421 or a 57 might. A 421 can sometimes get too close to the guitar zone, and a 57 can do a similar thing. The 441 gives him pick attack and aggression, however in a place that feels more appropriate for bass.
The Heil PR 48, typically thought of more as a kick drum mic, brings the low low end. Together, the two mics create a fuller picture. Taylor made a great point here, two mics are not always just about grabbing different frequencies. Sometimes they give you a more complete image of the source, like moving from black and white into full colour.
The amp was an Ampeg SVT-VR, Taylor’s favourite Ampeg largely because of the versatility of channel jumping. The modern vintage reissue gives him reliability, while still giving him that classic SVT weight and feel.
Building the Bass Tone, Clean Is Already Dirty
One of the most useful parts of the session was hearing how the bass tone began.
Before any extreme pedal choices, the “clean” bass tone already had grit. The pickup and DI chain were contributing snarl and saturation, especially around the pick attack. Taylor suspected they may have hit a preamp hard when tracking the DI, or possibly used a tube preamp. Either way, the result was already aggressive before any extra distortion was added.
That is such an important point. Great heavy bass tones are rarely just clean bass plus a distortion pedal. The source matters. The pickup matters. The player matters. The DI chain matters. The preamp matters. By the time you start adding pedals and blending amp channels, the personality should already be there.
Taylor started with channel one of the SVT, then used a second channel for additional filth. He brought in pedals including the Boss ODB-3, which he likes because it can get that insane bass snarl while still being effective on the instrument. The ODB-3 gave him a more scooped, high-low type of aggression, while the other channel provided more midrange clank and body.
He also tried fuzzes, the Oni, a Brutus, and an MXR, experimenting with how each one controlled or exaggerated the low end. At one point, the MXR helped reel things in without making the tone boxy. That is the art of extreme tone shaping, knowing when something nasty is useful, and when it is simply swallowing the mix.
Context Is Everything
The real test came when Taylor put the bass tone back in context with the guitars.
That is where heavy bass lives or dies.
On its own, a bass tone can sound enormous, disgusting, exciting, and completely unusable. In the track, it either supports the guitars, fills the low end, adds aggression, and gives the whole thing forward motion, or it turns into a mess.
Taylor brought the tone down slightly, aware that the centre image in his room could be misleading. He listened to how the bass sat underneath the guitars, then checked the different amp channels. Channel one gave the natural feed of the Brutus into the MXR. Channel two, with the ODB-3, added more of that scooped grind and extreme low-high texture.
Then he blended them.
That is the key. It is not about one magic pedal, one magic amp, or one magic mic. It is about the blend.
The clean is dirty. The dirty is controlled. The clank is balanced against the low end. The mic choices give different versions of the same cabinet. The amp channels contribute different kinds of aggression. Then everything is judged against the guitars, not in isolation.
The 441 and PR 48 Blend
Taylor eventually soloed the microphones so we could hear what each one was doing.
The 441 had enough low end to be usable on its own, however its real strength was the snarl and pick articulation. It had that focused aggression that lets the bass speak through dense guitars without simply becoming another guitar.
The Heil PR 48 brought the huge bottom. It was rounder, deeper, and more extended.
Together, the two mics created the complete picture. The 441 gave definition, the Heil gave weight, and the blend gave the bass the size and aggression it needed.
That is a fantastic lesson for anyone recording heavy bass. You do not always need ten tracks, endless plugins, or complicated routing. Sometimes two thoughtfully chosen microphones on the right cabinet, with the right amp and pedal blend, can get you there.
Go Deeper with Taylor Young in Never Enough Gain!
If this kind of filthy, rebellious tone creation gets you excited, Taylor goes even deeper in his Kohle Audio Kult course, Never Enough Gain!
This is not a polite modern metal tone course. It is a deep dive into the vile, aggressive, gloriously nasty sound of Tribal Gaze, one of underground death metal’s most uncompromising bands. Working from the track “Beyond Recognition,” Taylor Young breaks down how he builds guitar and bass tones from scratch, using the same kind of fearless approach we saw at The Pit.
You get to see how Taylor creates chainsaw guitars, suffocating bass filth, bizarre microphone combinations, blended tube and transistor amps, and cabinets miked in ways that many engineers would never even think to try. This is tone creation as sound design. It is not about finding the most polished, acceptable version of heavy music. It is about building something with identity, danger, and impact.
Taylor blends multiple tube amps, including Mesa Boogie and Marshall, through several 4×12 cabinets to create a filthy wall of guitars. Then he layers transistor amp grind on top for extra bite, focus, and brutal precision. He also explores pedal choices, amp settings, microphone positions, speaker combinations, and DAW-based blending techniques, showing how each decision adds another layer to the final sound.
The bass side is just as exciting. Taylor creates a savage dual-channel bass tone, combining low-end weight with chainsaw grit, so the bass does not simply support the guitars, it becomes part of the violence of the track.
Even better, the course includes the original guitar and bass DI tracks, a playback track, and Taylor’s final tones. That means you can download the raw recordings from “Beyond Recognition,” reamp them yourself, experiment with your own chains, and create something genuinely nasty from the same source material Taylor used.
You can buy Never Enough Gain! as an individual course for just $49, or join the Kult and gain access to this course along with many more inside Kohle Audio Kult.
Check out the course here: https://www.kohleaudiokult.com/courses/Guitartonemassacre
There is also a chance to submit your own tones for professional feedback from Kristian Kohle, known for his work with Aborted, Powerwolf, Electric Callboy, Melechesh, and Kanonenfieber. The best guitar and bass tones will win some amazing prizes.
So, if you are ready to move beyond safe, generic metal tones and step into something more extreme, more personal, and far more rebellious, this is a fantastic opportunity to learn directly from Taylor Young.
Grab the course, download the DIs, and start building your own wall of filth.
What We Can Learn from Taylor’s Approach
The biggest takeaway from Taylor Young’s process is that heavy tones are not about simply turning everything up.
They are about decisions.
A different speaker can change the whole shape of the distortion. A different mic can move the attack into a better frequency range. A pedal can tighten the low end, or it can destroy it. A second amp channel can add clank without replacing the body. A fuzz can be exciting, however only if it still works when the full mix comes in.
Taylor’s tones are extreme, however they are not random. There is a method behind the madness. He is constantly asking, “What does this band need? What does this tuning need? What does this song need?”
That is what separates a heavy tone from a loud tone.
Anyone can add gain. Anyone can scoop mids. Anyone can throw a distortion pedal in front of an amp and hope for the best. However, getting a bass tone that snarls, growls, holds down the bottom, and still cuts through a wall of guitars takes taste, patience, and a willingness to try things that might not be obvious.
Taylor Young’s studio is full of those choices. Strange amps. Modified Marshalls. Oversized cabinets. Mixed speakers. Unusual microphones. Pedals that sound like they were designed in a basement by people who love Celtic Frost and bad decisions.
Haha.
And that is exactly why it works.
At The Pit, heavy music is not treated like a preset. It is treated like a living, breathing thing. Every record gets its own stamp. Every tone has to earn its place. And when the bass finally locks in with those filthy guitars, the result is absolutely massive.
Have a marvellous time recording and mixing.
