There was a short discussion amongst some SH members on sculpting guitar tone to sound like the band using whatever guitar/effects/amp they have. I thought it'd be a great idea to start a thread where SH members who play guitar/bass to share what they do to recreate the girls' sounds in their own covers.

We all know tone is very subjective, so I do hope this thread will be used for sharing as opposed to telling people they got it wrong etc. Even if they have, please be constructive and do provide suggestions for improvement. I, for one, would love to learn from others.

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I'll kick off with mine. I don't have a set MAMI/HARU tone (I play guitar mainly and suck at bass heh), and over the past few covers I've attempted I felt I kinda 'got' what I felt to be MAMI's tone in a generic sense, but probably for just this song.

On Rainy - MAMI's tone sounded like it was mainly her Marshall. I did experiment with pedals but all it did was colour the tone too much, so I went back to basics with just the amp. This was my amp setting on Rainy using an old Marshall VS100R, a solid state 100W 1x12" combo with a single 12AX7 valve in its preamp.



As you can see, this is obviously not the same as the photo of MAMI's Marshall (https://www.scandal-heaven.com/t8880-mami-s-gear#561664). I'd like to add, I guess with high gain, odd tweaks to the left or right doesn't make much of a difference. Hehe.

Channel - OVERDRIVE 2 (kinda equivalent to the Ultra Gain channel of her JCM2000)
Power dimension - ON (this emulates, especially at lower volumes, the extra saturated tone you get when you play with the transformer and valve power stage cranked to the limit)

It's just the above setting in the photo - no reverb, no nothing. Guitar --> cable --> amp. To emulate MAMI's tone as best as I could, I used a guitar with the pickup selector at the humbucker on the bridge position. Obviously, the guitar is the most important factor in tone sculpting, but you don't really need a Strat with a humbucker - any guitar with a humbucker would do.

This is what it sounds like:

The first song I heard from Scandal was Awanai Tsumori No, Genki De Ne.  Mami playing lead is what got me back into playing the guitar after a 10 year break.  As I listened to more songs, I realized that she used the same signal chain settings (whatever they are, who knows...) on quite a few songs.  So, when I started playing around with distorted tones again, I wanted to get something close to that tone.  I played around a lot with my rig's settings and this is what I came up with:

Fender Standard Stratocaster HH (Bridge HB, Volume 5-6, Tone 10) --> Boss DS-1 (Tone 3:00, Distortion 9:00, Level 12:00) --> EHX Little Big Muff Pi (Volume 10:30, Tone 3:00, Sustain 10:30) --> Orange Crush 12 Amp (Volume & EQ 12:00, Overdrive OFF, Gain 9:00)

I also played around to get Haruna's rhythm tones.  For her lighter, overdriven tone (e.g. Departure verse riffs) I use these rig settings:

Fender Standard Stratocaster HH (Bridge HB, Volume 5-6, Tone 10) --> Boss DS-1 (Tone 3:00, Distortion 9:00, Level 12:00) --> Orange Crush 12 Amp (Volume & EQ 12:00, Overdrive OFF, Gain 9:00)

For Haruna's heavier distortion (e.g. Awanai Tsumori No, Genki De Ne), this is what I came up with:

Fender Standard Stratocaster HH (Bridge HB, Volume 5-6, Tone 5-6) --> Boss MT-2 (Level 10:30, High 10:30, Low 3:00, Mid 10:30, Mid-Freq Max, Level 1:30) --> Orange Crush 12 Amp (Volume & EQ 12:00, Overdrive OFF, Gain 9:00)

From what I can tell, Haruna's distortion tends to be heavier than Mami's, with the mids & highs dialed back a fair amount to allow Mami's playing to cut through the mix.

Anyways, you can probably tell that I leave my amp settings the same.  I kind of set it and left it because that's how I personally prefer to play it when playing clean.  I just adjust my pedals and guitar to get the tone I'm looking for.

Just my $0.02.  I'm 100% positive that everyone who posts here will have different rigs (guitars, effects, amps) with completely different settings.

Also, like I said in the other thread...replicating a tone is cool, but it's so awesome to find your own tone.  I'm not sure if anybody here is familiar with the Pillows, but they have this really great song "Funny Bunny."  The band Ellegarden did a cover with their own unique, more distorted and energetic tone (vs the more mellow original tone) and it was almost as popular as the original.  I think that's what's so great about being a musician, even if you're just an amateur or hobbyist...creativity is what it's all about.

I actually could try your set up as I have those pedals (although mine's the regular Big Muff pi). I've a small Orange AD-5 5W valve amp. Looking forward to try it later this evening.

I'm also interested in how you have your guitar volume at 5-6, which is something I should do, I guess, to use the guitar to control how overdriven its tone is.

kudo_maharizu wrote:I actually could try your set up as I have those pedals (although mine's the regular Big Muff pi). I've a small Orange AD-5 5W valve amp. Looking forward to try it later this evening.

I'm also interested in how you have your guitar volume at 5-6, which is something I should do, I guess, to use the guitar to control how overdriven its tone is.

IIRC, the regular Big Muff Pi has a bit more volume and drive (contrary to EHX's claim that they're exactly the same), so you might need to back those two settings off a bit.  You'll probably get a bit more crunch from your amp, even with the same settings as mine.  So I'd say use my setup as a starting point and fine tune to your rig.  I think it'll be pretty close, but who knows.

I used to have my guitar volume dimed all the time, but it always pushed any dirt pedal so hard that I had to turn down any gain/distortion settings.  IMHO, keeping guitar volume anywhere between 5 and 7 allows you to (1) increase the grit when you increase the volume, and (2) clean up your tone when you roll back the volume below 5.  The only caveat about defaulting to the middle range for volume is that if you turn off all your overdrive/distortion pedals and play clean, you have to dime the volume (or use a clean boost) to hear anything really...

I find it really interesting how the two members who posted before me in this chat happen to have these pedals as well (Boss DS-1 and EHX Little BMP). :O

Because I normally play with a band that covers Japanese songs, including some SCANDAL songs, I don't really adjust my pedal settings for each song that we play, but my signal chain for SCANDAL songs goes something like this:

Epiphone Les Paul Special II (bridge/treble pickup, volume 7, tone max) → DOD Overdrive Preamp 250 (gain 8:00, level 14:30) → Boss DS-1 (tone 13:30, dist MIN, level 13:30) → EHX Little Big Muff Pi (volume 12:30, tone 14:00, sustain 13:30) → Marshall MG15CF (clean channel, volume 14:00, EQ bass 6 middle 6 treble 4)

I've got to say I didn't choose these gear specifically for SCANDAL as I started listening to SCANDAL after I began guitar, though.

I don't use both the DS-1 and Big Muff Pi at the same time. I use the Muff for most of SCANDAL songs, and the settings as they are work great to me for songs like Syunkan Sentimental, Your song (especially the sustain during the verse when lead goes up to the 21st fret) and DOLL.

I use the DS-1 for more "crunch" than "distortion" songs, such as Departure, but I do roll back my volume to clean it up a bit since there's still quite some distortion.

Also, fishmcdippers, regarding the problem with clean volume, can't you set the level/volume of your dirt pedals down so they correspond nicely to your rolled back clean volume? That's just the way I normally do it haha.

EDIT: After experimenting a while more with using the overdrive pedal I had as a booster (who needs overdrive, right? Ahhh, stop throwing things at me), I've updated the new settings I use. It gives me a nice balance between the high sustain I need for songs like Your song and the cleaner chords of, say Syojo S.

gt.ch wrote:Also, fishmcdippers, regarding the problem with clean volume, can't you set the level/volume of your dirt pedals down so they correspond nicely to your rolled back clean volume? That's just the way I normally do it haha.

That's kinda how it started out.  I had level/volume set around unity, but I wasn't getting the sounds I wanted at that level.  So I played around with settings on everything to get the spectrum of tones I was looking for.  Diming the guitar volume when playing clean is a small price to pay.

It's all subjective anyways, right?

I've been wanting to ask this question for awhile so I'm glad you created this thread..

Our band is covering some Scandal songs and I'm the Rhythm guitarist so I really want to know how I can get Haruna's tone..I'm using a Multi effect zoom's G1xon .. For now, my current patches is Overdrive, Room Reverb and Marshial 1959 amp (all normal set up).. Do you have any suggestions on how I can improve the patches so I can get close to Haruna's tone (with this cheap multi effects-LOL)

Currently, we are practicing Scandal Baby, Shunkan, Harukaze and Shoujo S..

I've always liked Haruna's live tone better than anything on the albums and also better than Mami's, but I don't really like Gibson-style humbuckers (which is what's in her Fenders). So I've got a Fender Twin Reverb amp (the amp she used before her Shinos), a Fulltone OCD and then I usually just play one of my Jazzmasters, which with that OD and amp still sounds reasonably like her.

Her live tone is very simple, just a lot of volume and overdrive and not much else that's obvious, and with a pretty flat frequency response to my ears, maybe a little extra low end. Actually in the more recent vids I've seen it sounds like they've dialed her guitar back quite a bit, which might just be the way it's mixed but it seems consistent from one vid to another so I'll bet it's real. That'd be kind of disappointing if true; whenever I play one of their songs I try to sound like the way I remember from when I've seen them, with just this thunderous but cutting overdrive.

Anyway, so I've tried setting up my OCD the way she has it in that one issue of GiGS magazine, although I don't think she says there if she uses the high or low drive mode. To me the high drive mode sounds more like her live sound, while the low drive mode sounds more like her sound on the older albums (though I doubt she's really using an OCD on any album). I don't have the magazine in front of me right now but IIRC the knobs are all basically around the 12 o'clock position. High drive with those settings also sounds basically like her tone on the "Awanai" recording, although that's also got a ton of reverb and she's pretty quiet in the mix.

I keep my amp set up with the bass, mids and trebles also in the middle, with the reverb around 2 or 3, just enough to add a little depth but not enough to obscure anything. The Fender Twin is a pretty bassy amp at reasonable household volumes, so keeping the EQ knobs at 12 o'clock sounds right to me - it'll pound you in your chest the way her sound does. With a smaller or less powerful amp, you might not even be able to get enough bass. I've got a couple of practice amps (a Marshall MG10 and a Yamaha THR10) that just can't really do it.

I keep my guitar on around 7 for volume and 5 for tone. I normally have my tone up around 7 or 8 but dialing it back a little bit helps approximate the tone of a humbucker, which have a naturally muddy sound compared to any single coil.

When I did have her signature Tele, I thought this setup with that guitar sounded pretty much exactly like her. Though that could have just been something like confirmation bias, I guess.

MamiXHaruna wrote:Our band is covering some Scandal songs and I'm the Rhythm guitarist so I really want to know how I can get Haruna's tone..I'm using a Multi effect zoom's G1xon .. For now, my current patches is Overdrive, Room Reverb and Marshial 1959 amp (all normal set up).. Do you have any suggestions on how I can improve the patches so I can get close to Haruna's tone (with this cheap multi effects-LOL)

Herein lies the problem - everyone has different set ups and speaking for myself, I find it difficult to answer your question as I don't possess the ZOOM multieffects that you have. And please don't apologise if it's cheap.

I know this sounds like a cop out answer - use your ears. Firstly, please bear in mind you may want to set up your sound on an amp that you will be using when you play with your bandmates, or something similar. I find that when I set up using a smaller amp - playing the same setup on the multifx later on a bigger amp, I usually find that the tone sounds different. I don't know if anyone else has this problem, or it's just me. Heh.

The overdrive is fine. Even though HARU doesn't use a Marshall, if your ZOOM's amp simulator had the Marshall sounding good enough as what HARU sounds like for you - then use it. When HARU performs live outside of Japan, she usually plays a Fender (usually a Twin Reverb) - try that one if the G1Xon has it, and adjust your overdrive's gain accordingly. Failing all that, though - don't lose heart. With that list of songs your band is covering, a generic overdriven sound shouldn't go far wrong.

Good luck!

kudo_maharizu wrote:

MamiXHaruna wrote:Our band is covering some Scandal songs and I'm the Rhythm guitarist so I really want to know how I can get Haruna's tone..I'm using a Multi effect zoom's G1xon .. For now, my current patches is Overdrive, Room Reverb and Marshial 1959 amp (all normal set up).. Do you have any suggestions on how I can improve the patches so I can get close to Haruna's tone (with this cheap multi effects-LOL)

Herein lies the problem - everyone has different set ups and speaking for myself, I find it difficult to answer your question as I don't possess the ZOOM multieffects that you have. And please don't apologise if it's cheap.

I know this sounds like a cop out answer - use your ears. Firstly, please bear in mind you may want to set up your sound on an amp that you will be using when you play with your bandmates, or something similar. I find that when I set up using a smaller amp - playing the same setup on the multifx later on a bigger amp, I usually find that the tone sounds different. I don't know if anyone else has this problem, or it's just me. Heh.

The overdrive is fine. Even though HARU doesn't use a Marshall, if your ZOOM's amp simulator had the Marshall sounding good enough as what HARU sounds like for you - then use it. When HARU performs live outside of Japan, she usually plays a Fender (usually a Twin Reverb) - try that one if the G1Xon has it, and adjust your overdrive's gain accordingly. Failing all that, though - don't lose heart. With that list of songs your band is covering, a generic overdriven sound shouldn't go far wrong.

Good luck!

Thank you... .happy.

I use the fender twin reverb simulator and it sounds better.. I will try to compare it in Haruna's tone on weekend.. My only usual reference for Haruna's tone are the songs with parts that only her are strumming (Scandal baby and Namida Yo Hikare)...

Not trying to sound like a salesman, but has anyone tried using an app called BIAS by Positive Grid? One thing about this though, it's available only for the iPhone or the iPad. It costs USD19.99 and for this price, you can get yourself a great amp simulator. There is a desktop version but that one's like USD79 (USD179 for the pro version).



I tried creating my own SHINOS amp based on the specs I could gather online (https://www.scandal-heaven.com/t8879p40-haruna-s-gear#668790), and seeing how HARU had used either a VOX or Matchless as backup/alternative backline at overseas gigs (I know she uses the Fender Twin more than these two makes) - I took the liberty of modding a Matchless and changed the valves (or tubes as they call them in the USA) accordingly.





Then I chose a cab (this time I just picked and choose the tone I felt was most appropriate) and mic-ed it:



I dunno about you but I like what I hear. Especially when you have a whole range of amps to play with, and modifiable to boot.

Samples:

1. 「Stamp!」- on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/maharizm/stamptest-cover

2. LIFE IS A JOURNEY - on Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x38j5sl_life-is-a-journey-scandal-3-guitar-cover_music

You can use this for quiet practice/covers (a good pair of monitoring headphones should do the trick) or even plug this straight into the PA if you are rehearsing/performing live.

Positive Grid also does pedals (BIAS FX) but that's another story.

I like the tone that comes out of my Charvel Pro-Mod, the main thing being the split-coil. With single coil, the JHS Angry Bird, running into my SP ross styled compression than into the front of my Bugera V55. It gets pretty close to nailing her tone but more creamy. With the humbucker mode, I feel it's too heavy, but works well. Also have a Custom Made Canadian Stratocaster with same split-coil system, but with Di-Marzio which does the same thing, more jazzy/bluesy I guess. I guess I like my own sound though. I try not to copy a particular tone, but have something I can enjoy as well. 

I used to have a Marshall DSL100 (same year's as Mami) but sold it (big regret here), but I started looking into the EVH amp that I saw Haruna work with on some concerts. I want to keep the Bugera as my working amp for outside gigs ect ect. and the EVH as my special amp for larger gigs or recordings. 

For that phasing effect that Mami sometimes uses I like the Small Stone from EHX. Doesn't muddy my tone that bad, but has its characteristics. I also use the Memory Toy mixed with a Dispatch Master to get that transparent delay in she sometimes uses, more so in Take Me Out. For Wah I use the EVH one from Dunlop, which has a very edgy sound with big bottom when scooped without killing the mids. 

I like talking of this stuff, kinda a gear head I guess.

It's been quiet here, so I thought of sharing another tone tweak I tried out for the last SH Cover Band project I was involved which was about a year ago now - Take Me Out.



I played the MAMI part on this cover, and used an LTD ST-213 (my own lil' "MAMIcaster"), which is essentially a Strat-styled guitar with a HSS pickup config.

For this post, it'll be an abstract of my blog post on my own solo cover of the song, it is an identical set up anyway - https://mamisguitarhardcase.wordpress.com/2017/02/17/345/

Effects: Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer, BOSS DD-3 digital delay, Digitech Whammy (5th gen)


Amplifier: Marshall DSL15H 15W head and MX212 2 x 12″ cab

I used the neck pup (which is a Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro APS-2) on the guitar throughout the song, and the Marshall head was set on the clean channel with the gain at 12 o’clock, cranked a tad by the Ibanez TS-9 overdrive.

Marshall:


TS-9:


Dials (from L to R) - DRIVE, TONE and LEVEL.

I use a delay pedal every time I create a reverb effect (just a quirk of mine), and for the delayed effect in this song's intro and solo, I kick in the DD-3 digital delay:


Please note that the MODE is not on HOLD, but on L 800 ms. In Take Me Out, MAMI’s “five”-note riff was actually played four with the fifth note being a note produced by the delay, and as I correctly suspected, the notes accompanying the official band score described the usage of a delay for the fifth note. And with every note played, the delay will play the preceding note you played simultaneously - giving the riff layers and harmony like the actual song. The DELAY TIME is tweaked to ensure the delayed note follows the song's tempo, and the FEEDBACK is tweaked to a level that you get only one note repeated. Of course you may wish to play the 5th note without a delay, but the constant ringing of this 5th note has a better feel to it. You'll know it when you play it.

For the solo, I kept the same config dialled up on the DD-3, and the end note is upped an octave higher with the Whammy for the u-WEEEEEEEEEE pitch shifting effect.

Now, you may wonder why I didn't mention about the wah pedal on the board. I use a bog standard Dunlop GCB95 Cry Baby and I originally wanted to use it for the riff just before the chorus (eg 1:20-1:23 in the video above), but I decided to play it without the wah as I thought the wah was subtle on the original recording anyway.

Once again - you don't need MAMI's set up or mine, as long as there is an overdrive, a delay, a pitch shifter with an expression pedal (you'll have it if you are a multifx user with an expression pedal) and any amp. Enjoy.

kudo_maharizu wrote:It's been quiet here, so I thought of sharing another tone tweak I tried out for the last SH Cover Band project I was involved which was about a year ago now - Take Me Out.



I played the MAMI part on this cover, and used an LTD ST-213 (my own lil' "MAMIcaster"), which is essentially a Strat-styled guitar with a HSS pickup config.

For this post, it'll be an abstract of my blog post on my own solo cover of the song, it is an identical set up anyway - https://mamisguitarhardcase.wordpress.com/2017/02/17/345/

Effects: Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer, BOSS DD-3 digital delay, Digitech Whammy (5th gen)


Amplifier: Marshall DSL15H 15W head and MX212 2 x 12″ cab

I used the neck pup (which is a Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro APS-2) on the guitar throughout the song, and the Marshall head was set on the clean channel with the gain at 12 o’clock, cranked a tad by the Ibanez TS-9 overdrive.

Marshall:


TS-9:


Dials (from L to R) - DRIVE, TONE and LEVEL.

I use a delay pedal every time I create a reverb effect (just a quirk of mine), and for the delayed effect in this song's intro and solo, I kick in the DD-3 digital delay:


Please note that the MODE is not on HOLD, but on L 800 ms. In Take Me Out, MAMI’s “five”-note riff was actually played four with the fifth note being a note produced by the delay, and as I correctly suspected, the notes accompanying the official band score described the usage of a delay for the fifth note. And with every note played, the delay will play the preceding note you played simultaneously - giving the riff layers and harmony like the actual song. The DELAY TIME is tweaked to ensure the delayed note follows the song's tempo, and the FEEDBACK is tweaked to a level that you get only one note repeated. Of course you may wish to play the 5th note without a delay, but the constant ringing of this 5th note has a better feel to it. You'll know it when you play it.

For the solo, I kept the same config dialled up on the DD-3, and the end note is upped an octave higher with the Whammy for the u-WEEEEEEEEEE pitch shifting effect.

Now, you may wonder why I didn't mention about the wah pedal on the board. I use a bog standard Dunlop GCB95 Cry Baby and I originally wanted to use it for the riff just before the chorus (eg 1:20-1:23 in the video above), but I decided to play it without the wah as I thought the wah was subtle on the original recording anyway.

Once again - you don't need MAMI's set up or mine, as long as there is an overdrive, a delay, a pitch shifter with an expression pedal (you'll have it if you are a multifx user with an expression pedal) and any amp. Enjoy.

Very nice setup and explanation. I'll give it a try using an MXR Carbon Copy for the delay and overdrive (a Spaceman Effects Aphelion).

I am gonna be lazy here and give links to my SCANDAL blog.

As you may know, SHCB had its latest project out on YouTube recently, where we covered OVER from HONEY.

This video is of my performance (the SHCB band video can be viewed at https://www.scandal-heaven.com/t14224-the-20th-shcb-project-over ):



For the details on how I tweaked my amp (and a handful of effects pedals) for my guitar part, please head over to:

https://mamisguitarhardcase.com/2018/04/23/over-%E3%80%8Cshcb-cover%E3%80%8D/

Whilst preparing for the project, I recorded the cover in what I feel is a novel (more like wrong) way. So much so, I did HARU's part as well. This unpolished/rough version was basically a learning in progress more than anything else, and was recorded using amp/cab simulation via a BIAS plugin on GarageBand.

Please head over to:

https://mamisguitarhardcase.com/2018/05/07/over-%E3%80%8Ctwo-guitar-cover%E3%80%8D/

kudo_maharizu wrote:
For the details on how I tweaked my amp (and a handful of effects pedals) for my guitar part, please head over to:

Whilst preparing for the project, I recorded the cover in what I feel is a novel (more like wrong) way. So much so, I did HARU's part as well. This unpolished/rough version was basically a learning in progress more than anything else, and was recorded using amp/cab simulation via a BIAS plugin on GarageBand.

I meant to comment earlier and say "nice job," with the playing and with dialing in the tone. This is helpful advice for those wishing to play along to the song.

A question about Mami's gear: I've noticed studying the images of her various pedal board configurations from the last 10+ years that the only (nearly) constant pedal is the Little Big Muff Pi, so clearly it's either a pedal she finds integral to her sound, or she just hasn't found anything she likes more for the times she does use it (or both I guess). 

Anyway, I'm curious as to how many songs she actually uses that effect in, because it's definitely not in everything.  I'm looking to start putting together a pedal board and since I like Mami's tone I figured I'd start by going in that direction.

Sanshiro wrote:A question about Mami's gear: I've noticed studying the images of her various pedal board configurations from the last 10+ years that the only (nearly) constant pedal is the Little Big Muff Pi, so clearly it's either a pedal she finds integral to her sound, or she just hasn't found anything she likes more for the times she does use it (or both I guess). 

Anyway, I'm curious as to how many songs she actually uses that effect in, because it's definitely not in everything.  I'm looking to start putting together a pedal board and since I like Mami's tone I figured I'd start by going in that direction.

MAMI had provided information that she used a number of pedals over the years in various magazines, and how its use evolved over time, but I had never seen a clear cut explanation of a song-by-song list of the effect-chain she uses. I hazard a guess the LBMP is mainly for SCANDAL's older songs but newer hard hitting rockers Saishuheiki Kimi may have it in the chain as well.

A lot of conjecture on how she does her sound exactly and speaking for myself,  I just tweak the knobs of the amp and whatever pedals I own, and if it sounds right, I'm happy.

The Little Big Muff is a mystery to me, too. I keep listening out for it, but I've never identified a fuzz tone on any Scandal songs. It always sounds like regular ol' valve amp distortion. Sometimes you can tell there's a bit of a boost going into the amp, but that's it. I've noticed on a fewer of the more recent live shows/streams, the muff doesn't appear to be on Mami's front board any more; it might well be on her back board so her tech can turn it on for certain songs/parts, but I'm still never hearing it myself.

Same can be said for Haruna's 5150 III. Still always sounds like just the Shinos to me. The EVH is clearly there on stage, but it never comes across in the sound.

Anyway.

I wasn't intentionally searching for a Scandal tone, but I've found the Boss/JHS JB-2 Angry Driver, into a clean & flat-EQ amp or amp sim, is perfect for their tone. I've run it through a Fender Princeton with extension cab, a little Roland JC-22, a Caline clone of the Tech 21 Blonde analogue amp sim, as well as direct to a digital sim of a Fender Twin Reverb. In every case, it nails both Haruna's and Mai's rhythm tones. Stick the gain controls to about 40%, blue tone to 40%, red tone to 60%, and use the blue mode to mimic Mami's Bogner clean channel or Haruna's Shinos, and the red mode for Mami's Marshall; run it in the 'B>J' purple mode to get Mami's Bogner distortion channel. For playing their early songs, where Mami and Haruna were playing the same parts, put the Angry Driver into parallel mode and you've got both sounds without affecting each other, just like they had. The parallel mode also doubles up very well for the solo of Ai ni Naranakatta no Sa.
I used to have a JCM2000 DSL100—the earlier UK-made version, exactly as Mami had—and a JVM205H which is very similar in concept to her Bogner (i.e. a slightly more Fender-ish clean and tighter high distortion, but still fundamentally a 'British' tone), and I can say from that first-hand experience with those amps that the Angry Driver replicates that sound 99%. It's a little bit further from the Shinos, but not much; let's call it 90%. As long as the base amp or amp sim is set for a really neutral sound (perhaps slightly warm, if it's a solid state or digital amp), the Angry Driver does the rest of the work. It's basically Scandal-in-a-box.
I've never been much into pedal distortion, and I was about to sell the JB-2 because I wasn't using it a whole lot, but I was messing with it a few weeks ago and when I played a few Scandal riffs through it, everything clicked into place.


 
Now, I don't suppose someone has figured out how to get the swirling, modulated echo tone they have on the 15th anniversary live version of Ao no Naru Yoru no Sukima De? (I hope I got that right; I can't speak or spell a word of Japanese.) About the 1:50 mark on the CD audio, or 1:55 in the version they put on YouTube. It's been bugging me for weeks that I can't nail it. Tried phaser, flanger and chorus, with various settings and in different combinations. Can't get close for the life of me. I think it's a univibe sim (the Line 6 M9 or Boss MD-500, I assume) going into a delay into reverb, with some kind of additional modulation on either the delay or reverb... it's almost like the original tone is a univibe and the echo is a hi-band flanger.

SJM wrote:The Little Big Muff is a mystery to me, too. I keep listening out for it, but I've never identified a fuzz tone on any Scandal songs. 

i just recently realized it but Mami's solo on shunkan sentimental is definitely a muff fuzz. i couldnt tell you which one. but its gotta be a muff or variation of the circuit. 

i recently removed the big muff pi off my board and replaced it with a RAT. not quite the same, but enough to play along. 

as far as my tones, i dont really try to emmulate the same tones as the artists im playing along with. i have 4 overdrives and 2 distortions on my board that i have set to tones i like out of em and just choose the one i think fits to play along. 

on a side note, has anyone noticed that Mami's tone while live is a bit shrill? i mean it doesnt sound bad so im not complaining or anything (what matters is how it fits in the mix). and maybe they do that to help cut through the mix. i just noticed that from recent youtube vids also. or it could be the potatoes that some people are recording on i dunno. 

anyway, i dont own a marshall. all my amps are fenders or based on fender circuits. but ill try out some of these suggestions at least as a starting point to see if i can actually get close.

Yeah the only two songs that come to mind that use the muff fuzz are Shunkan Sentimental and maybe Runners High.  Even then I don't think that it's necessarily a crucial component of the song's sound in either case.

HajimemashiteBINOdesu wrote:on a side note, has anyone noticed that Mami's tone while live is a bit shrill? i mean it doesnt sound bad so im not complaining or anything (what matters is how it fits in the mix). and maybe they do that to help cut through the mix. i just noticed that from recent youtube vids also. or it could be the potatoes that some people are recording on i dunno. 

I expect it's mostly the way the sound has been recorded. No phone or on-camera mic is designed to record live audio fully. Those sorts of microphones are optimised for recording human voices at normal speaking volume. A concert totally blows them out, and the ones which have better auto-gain/padding drop the input so low that only the harshest treble and floor-shaking bass gets through.

That said, the very nature of Mami mostly playing on the plain strings means she's never going to get a completely full sound. Her tone on studio recordings is pretty thin, too. It's less obvious on album recordings because Haruna is easier to hear (whereas I struggle to hear her guitar even on the official, well-recorded live blu-rays) and Tomomi's bass also has quite a bright and punchy sound on the albums, so all the middle frequencies are filled out and the lack of low-mids and bass in Mami's sound is harder to spot. Most heavier songs also have Mami double tracked on the studio recordings, which helps make her sound thicker even with the same EQ, which isn't an option live. Lead guitars are always much brighter and thinner than you think they are, once you take away the bass and rhythm supporting them.

In Haruna's gear thread, oneofdfunkyones asked:

oneofdfunkyones wrote:Hi ive been in search of Haru's tone forever. The overdrive tone she used for one night carnival with SHO or with nanase. Is this supposed to be the same as the kagen no tsuki "crunch" tone? I am thinking she might be using the OCD on these clips? Anyone with better knowledge og Haru's tone please help.^^

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEP4_sQj_Vw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9SmU8HhuKc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcXBoYg5aok

Haruna's basic chord-strumming rhythm tone is probably my favourite guitar tone that either she or Mami uses. I can't say I have the definitive answer to how to duplicate her sound, but I think I can give it a good shot.

(...I originally spent nearly three hours writing out a detailed breakdown of her whole signal chain and how each part affects the tone... I'll spare you most of that wall of text and just give you the most critical points!)

Haruna mostly strums over the neck pickup, or even over the last few frets. This produces a much louder, richer, more dynamic and less compressed signal than strumming anywhere else. It's vital to her sound, so don't ignore it.

I don't think she's using the OCD in those clips, but if you want to try it, I recommend the Electro-Harmonix OD Glove, which is a more affordable clone of the OCD.

Her customised Luck6V amp is basically like a hotter, thicker, 'black' or 'silver' Fender amp. It's fairly similar to the Fender Super-Sonic and Hot Rod, but there are differences.
If you're using digital modelling, choose a Fender simulation to start with, and increase the bass and mids. If there is an option to increase power amp saturation separately from preamp gain, turn that up.
If you have a Fender-style valve amp, turn up the mids and bass a little more. Turn up the master volume as much as you can. If it's too loud, you need to buy an attenuator.
If you have any other kind of amp, then, uh... start saving for one of the smaller Fender valve combos, or a copy of one.

Cranking a Fender-style valve amp to breaking point with a healthy boost of mids and lows, and strumming close to the fretboard, is what you want to aim for.

edit: I will add, I still reckon the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver (or the version of it that is in the JB-2 Angry Driver) does a pretty good job of creating the 'cranked Fender' sound (which is what it was designed for), especially the newer 'Waza' version's extra-bassy mode. Several 'Dumble' drive pedals also do this, such as the Caline Enchanted Tone. The only problem with trying to replicate Haruna's tone this way is that A) you still need a very Fender-ish amp to run the pedals into, and B) you really need to stack several of the pedals up together, ideally with a clean blend near the start of the chain, in order to create the multi-stage 'bloom' and feel, and at that point it's more effort and just as much money as simply buying a small valve combo and turning it up.