What effect combo is this? SRR + ???

[goroth]

The first few seconds in this tune:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCVbb0b5nvU[/youtube]

Ignore the panning. You have some bit crushing and SRR, but what is giving it that droney undertone? Just the wet output of a largish reverb? I dunno. There is something giving that noise a sense of size and movement (beyond the panning) and I love it. Any ideas?

FWIW - new Megadeth seems fun. Shitty modern production job, terrible Dave lyrics, but some decent stuff on there. This was one of the less decent tracks.

[Pete]

Don't know what the effect is, but I thought it was a cool intro as well. Wasn't expecting to come across a Megadeth post on this message board, but I'm really liking the new album.

[Tristan]

It's two different tracks, one is a distorted wind like sample (the low drone) and the other might be some reverbed ring mod / sample rate reduction or it might be a synth of some kind (the melody).

[Chankgeez]

Ignore the panning?

I just threw on headphones to listen to that. Pretty difficult to ignore the panning.

OK, panning aside, I think you could get a sound like that by running white noise through a flanger.

[lordgalvar]

I think it is all software stuff...Flanger might work like Chank said (as I hear slight resonance too, but that could be in the VST SRR/Bit Crust filter too). It is a square or step modulation

And like Tristan said it is two tracks (or more, mixed down). I think it is multiple levels of bit crushing and/or SRR modulated by step or sample and hold (though it sounds less random and more sequenced steps that vary slightly). The underlying drone could be anything but white noise is probably a good place to start. Could just be an ambient noise sampled (anything really as a place to start mangling). I think the movement is the slightly offset modulation speeds between the low warble, the panning, the resonance, and the SRR/Bit Crush (and the swell).

Something like
White Noise (copilot/LAL)//guitar feedback w/ reverb or something -> volume pedal -> stereo split Chan A-> Adrenalinn (flange/sequenced filter) (alternative: bitquest! + broadcast) -> mix (mixed lower at lower frequencies)
stereo split Chan B -> Modulated SRR and resonant low pass -> mix (more prominent in mix)

mix-> amp

Wait until they all get close (modulation sweeps line up) then a/b switch to normal effects...something like that

The SRR and Bit Crush sound a lot like the old Frostwave Sonic Alienator to me (and also an old VST I had).

[fcknoise]

I'm thinking along the lines if a chain like this: OD > bad old pitch shifter (PS-2/3? timebender? old whammy?) fully wet tryna process multiple notes > reverb > SRR > panner. I think the pitch shifter thing is key though

[goroth]

Thanks guys!
Fantastic suggestions all round!

@pete and anyone else who's heard the album: do Dave's vocals at times remind you of Testament? Massive amount of layering, but still, reminds me of Chuck Billy.

[Pete]

Thanks guys!
Fantastic suggestions all round!

@pete and anyone else who's heard the album: do Dave's vocals at times remind you of Testament? Massive amount of layering, but still, reminds me of Chuck Billy.

Hmmm, I hadn't thought of that, but I do think his vocals are an improvement from the last album! Well, everything is a big improvement from the last album, ha. There are some songs where I was surprised how good he sounded, especially Foreign Policy.

[chrisdermo]

Part of that intro sounds like my mini kaoss pad doing the 'mix grain' or 'beat grain' effects, which is pretty similar to vidret and bransmannen's suggestions