What's the "growl" frequency?

  • Thread starter Thread starter petejt
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petejt

petejt

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I know this might look silly, and as of this moment I'm researching phonetics...


But what frequency band or range would you consider to produce a a growling sound? Like an angry dog. Throaty & cutting, but deep. A bit lower-sounding than a snarl. I know it's somewhere near the low mids but not too low where it gets muddy and tubby, but up a bit just before things start sounding honky.

Help me out here if you can, thanks. I want a mean growly guitar sound and I'm struggling to get it. Tomorrow I'll start playing around with the parametric EQ, but I need some pointers please, especially some particular EQ settings.



And for reference- here's a real dog growling in the dark.... It's pretty close to what I'm aiming for.
 
To get the growl you also need some lower lows, ot you lose it. Maybe that's why you're struggling. Try 80-100hz and 300-400hz, and a little bump at 800hz.
 
I did some bandpass tests on the dog clip, and it looks like the growl is still there when removing below 80hz, and the important range is 80-100hz. If you don't have enough oomph there it won't work.
 
graph.jpg
 
Filter500":2saqcwx4 said:
To get the growl you also need some lower lows, ot you lose it. Maybe that's why you're struggling. Try 80-100hz and 300-400hz, and a little bump at 800hz.
Click to expand...

I'll give those frequencies a go through the parametric EQ tomorrow. Thanks.

Any particular Q/bandwidth settings?



Here, I'll explain what I'm working with.


I've got my Mesa/Boogie MarkIV, on the Lead channel.

The MarkIV's lead channel is set with the Mids cranked (10), Treble cranked (9), Bass really low (2), both gain and drive are set high (7 & 7 I think), and the Lead Fat is engaged to boost the low mids.

The preamp signal is fed out via a "Satellite Send" output, which can be used to feed another amp. I'm using it to push the front end of my old Marshall, which is set really really clean. I know I've got the Marshall's own EQ knobs to further control the sound. Gain-wise it's working good, but it's not "growling" like I want.




Here's a more guitar-like reference. It's almost got the growl sound I want. The dog growl though is closer!
 
Filter500":3g18dpya said:
I did some bandpass tests on the dog clip, and it looks like the growl is still there when removing below 80hz, and the important range is 80-100hz. If you don't have enough oomph there it won't work.

graph.jpg
Click to expand...

Hey thanks very much for that! :thumbsup:


So basically I'd have to boost around 90Hz? I thought it would be a lot higher than that? Oh well, I'll try it, and some slight boosts at 300Hz and 800Hz.
 
petejt":wo3ed9oy said:
Filter500":wo3ed9oy said:
I did some bandpass tests on the dog clip, and it looks like the growl is still there when removing below 80hz, and the important range is 80-100hz. If you don't have enough oomph there it won't work.

graph.jpg
Click to expand...

Hey thanks very much for that!


So basically I'd have to boost around 90Hz? I thought it would be a lot higher than that? Oh well, I'll try it, and some slight boosts at 300Hz and 800Hz.
Click to expand...

Yup. If you go higher, say around 200hz you'll get the flub and tub that you don't want.
 
Marshall Law":352jxo7h said:
800 is the growl :thumbsup:
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Yep, lower mids... This is the burbling, bubbling, chewing, growling frequency.

Mo :thumbsup:
 
The trick to "growl" is to get your speakers moving slow enough. For instance, you hear the growl in the dogs throat cycling at a certain speed... that's the trick.

To get that kind of slow movement you need the right mix of bottom end and horsepower combined with a speaker that will do it. If I remember correctly I could get something like that out of G12T-75s when I drove the piss out of them. Big, chunky bottom end with a break up that would come off in slabs. V30s won't chunk... they're too fast/punchy.
 
Very slightly use the side of your thumb while you are picking chords as well.
 
I always heard that 125 Hz was the "magic frequency."

However, I've always relied on my good old friend the ART SGX2000 Express... it has a five-band global parametric EQ on the front, but there are no frequencies listed. Instead, each has an adjective attached to it, that in the block diagram you can associate to a frequency. So...

Thrust: Centered at 80 Hz this controls your bottom-end sound

GROWL: at 160Hz. Control the upper end of your lows and lower mids to add some depth to the signal.

Warmth: 500Hz--Use to color and fill (FYI, this is the "ROCKMAN" frequency)

Crunch: 2.2 KHz controls upper mid-range

Edge: 5 KHz -- just like it says (kind of like a presence control)

There's a more fine-tuned breakdown out there--if I can find it I'll post it, but this is a good place to start...
 
I'm curious, do you hear any "growl" at any point in this clip?



Or this clip?



Or this one?



And I equate a "growl" with audible cycling or pulsing of a chord. It's that guttural cycling sound, not a specific frequency. You can growl with your own voice with a low or high pitch. But it requires multiple notes being played at the same time to create a sort of doppler effect.
 
some dude":1y8hmpn5 said:
The trick to "growl" is to get your speakers moving slow enough. For instance, you hear the growl in the dogs throat cycling at a certain speed... that's the trick.

To get that kind of slow movement you need the right mix of bottom end and horsepower combined with a speaker that will do it. If I remember correctly I could get something like that out of G12T-75s when I drove the piss out of them. Big, chunky bottom end with a break up that would come off in slabs. V30s won't chunk... they're too fast/punchy.
Click to expand...
That is what I did with my 50 caliber, I had the 80Hz up high, and I was using a Marshall cab with 75's. I had the master and lead master both up at 7 or 8, and I got a really good growl out of my amp. If I still had a Marshall cab, I would make a clip of it. I'll see if I can borrow my friends Marshall cab, then I'll make a clip.
 
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