I'm having a hard time getting the palm mutes to sound the way I'd like. It seems like the mute articulation has too short of a decay, but the palm mute articulation has too long of a decay. I tried a couple of different presets but it didn't seem to affect the sound of the mutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khKrGMbj_YM
This video shows the mutes and palm mutes from two different EEG presets as well as Shreddage, which has the kind of sound I'm trying to achieve. (All are playing the same sequence, save for a few changes to trigger the proper articulations, and are being run through the exact same amp sim.) Obviously this makes Shreddage a viable alternative for rhythm, but Shreddage isn't a lead guitar library and simply lacks the control needed for good lead lines.

Any tips for getting the kind of sound I'm looking for with EEG?

Shreddage is really purpose-built for rhythm guitar. There's nothing wrong in using Shreddage for rhythm and EEG for leads. Even in studios, some bands would play rhythms on a Les Paul because it sounds really wide and fat and punchy, and then play leads on their axe of choice, because of the thinner neck and faster fretboard...

I tried using Kontakt's "time machine" to stretch the palm mute samples, shortening them, which works to some extent. I guess I really need to sample a metal specific guitar, though. Have you tried using very short palm muted notes--ending them so the entire sample does not get played?

@EvilDragon - Sorry, I guess I didn't explain my problem well enough.

I do use Shreddage for rhythm and EEG for leads. My problem is that I want a heavier palm mute like what Shreddage has that I can use in a lead line.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxfH4qcbtZ4&t=3m13s
This should give a better example of what I'm looking for. At 3:13 It starts playing the melody completely palm muted, then it picks back up and alternates between a few notes muted and the rest sustained.


@Greg - I tried shortening the notes and decreasing the decay time with Time Machine II. Time Machine helped a little, but I found something that helps even more. I found some "chug" samples while digging through the samples folder, and when I layered those over the top of the palm mutes, it sounded really close to what I'm looking for. I think all we need are some longer pre-roll samples to get some more of that pick scraping against the string when notes are triggered. Being able to shorten the decay would help, but that extra pick scrape seems to be the key element.

Ahhh, I think I can do that--I'll try it out with the update to see if that's something that can be added in. Like the higher velocity, the more chug sample that gets added in.

That sounds good for a quick fix. The only issue I see in the long run is that the chug samples were recorded hitting multiple strings and it sounds a bit out of place when played along with single notes. (Maybe I should start using crappier headphones so I stop noticing these things...)

If it's the same chug articulation, it's basically the first 2-3 strings hit. While that will probably sound fine for lower notes, it won't be for leads. Maybe instead I could mix in the strum muted articulation? That way I can get the attack sound of individual strings hit aggressively.

Is that the same strum mute that's triggered by E-1 in the All Keyswitches patch? That sounds like it's hitting multiple strings, too.

No, it's actually a single-string strummed mute that's used in the rhythm patch. In any case, I'll have to try it out to see if I can use it in the scripting for palm mutes.

Ok, I found the ones you're talking about. That does sound pretty good mixing those in. It hadn't even occurred to me that the samples for the rhythm patches could be so different from the lead patches.