Monster
Skillet
A heavy modern rock riff under a big chorus.
What is the Monster guitar tone?
The Monster guitar tone is a heavy modern rock riff under a big chorus, heard on Skillet's 2000s alt metal recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Skillet reportedly tracked it with the electric guitars of Ben Kasica, Skillet's lead guitarist and the only guitarist credited on Awake, though no source read here names his guitar or amp on the take; Kasica is credited with the electric and acoustic guitars on the band's seventh studio album, the last of four he made with them before he left in February 2011, after ten years, while Korey Cooper is credited there with keyboards, programming and string arrangements; the band started recording it around October 2008 at Bay7 Studios in Los Angeles with producer Howard Benson, and John Cooper, who sings and plays bass, wrote more than 40 songs for it and said the pressure was intensified because the previous album had been so successful; band members called the album similar to Comatose, with strings and guitars and a harder rock sound, and the band's own description is classic rock riffs, monstrous hooks and touches of classical influence; Monster went to mainstream rock radio on 14 July 2009, ahead of the album's release on 25 August, and became the band's breakthrough single, reaching number four on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart; the deluxe edition added a radio edit without the distorted growl section of the album version, and Kasica and Korey Cooper later remixed the song for the band's podcast. No source documents the rig on this song, so this is a modern hard rock and alternative metal sound in general: a tight, high-gain rhythm with the low end kept under control, sitting under strings and a big chorus.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a high-gain head and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
Monster amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup.
- Gain 7
- Bass 4
- Middle 5
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- Amp distortion, rig not documented
- The control that matters most
- Weight with a tight low end. With no rig documented, start from a modern high-gain sound, then pull the bass back until the low notes stay tight under the chorus, and get the size from a second, doubled rhythm part rather than from more gain.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own. A first plan starts with 7 days free, $0 today.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Bridge pickup
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
Does the Monster tone sound off on your amp?
Pick what you hear. You get the knobs to turn from the starting point above, and how far.
What gear did Skillet use on Monster?
The electric guitars of Ben Kasica, Skillet's lead guitarist and the only guitarist credited on Awake, though no source read here names his guitar or amp on the take; Kasica is credited with the electric and acoustic guitars on the band's seventh studio album, the last of four he made with them before he left in February 2011, after ten years, while Korey Cooper is credited there with keyboards, programming and string arrangements; the band started recording it around October 2008 at Bay7 Studios in Los Angeles with producer Howard Benson, and John Cooper, who sings and plays bass, wrote more than 40 songs for it and said the pressure was intensified because the previous album had been so successful; band members called the album similar to Comatose, with strings and guitars and a harder rock sound, and the band's own description is classic rock riffs, monstrous hooks and touches of classical influence; Monster went to mainstream rock radio on 14 July 2009, ahead of the album's release on 25 August, and became the band's breakthrough single, reaching number four on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart; the deluxe edition added a radio edit without the distorted growl section of the album version, and Kasica and Korey Cooper later remixed the song for the band's podcast.
Sources: Wikipedia: Monster (Skillet song), Wikipedia: Awake (Skillet album), Wikipedia: Skillet (band)
Tonelify's tone matcher reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the Monster tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Monster
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Monster tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Monster?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same heavy modern rock riff under a big chorus from different positions.
What amp did Ben Kasica use on Monster?
Amp: Not documented for this song. Guitar: Not documented for this song. Sources: Wikipedia.
What were Ben Kasica's amp settings on Monster?
None of the sources cited on this page gives Ben Kasica's full amp settings on Monster. The numbers here are a starting point for that kind of part, not the settings from the session, and Tonelify rewrites them for the amp and guitar you own.
How do you get Ben Kasica's tone on Monster?
Weight with a tight low end. With no rig documented, start from a modern high-gain sound, then pull the bass back until the low notes stay tight under the chorus, and get the size from a second, doubled rhythm part rather than from more gain. Play it with the bridge pickup.
Can you get the Monster tone without the original gear?
Yes. The parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order, and those translate to other equipment. Tonelify's adaptation step works them out for the amp and guitar you own.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
A match for your own gear takes a plan, and a first plan starts with 7 days free with nothing charged that day: Stage is $6.99 a month for 20 matches, Headliner is $10.99 a month for unlimited matching within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.
