Gojira is perhaps one of the biggest modern metal bands. They are known for their somewhat progressive style and the environmental message present in many of their songs.
But they are also known for their extremely heavy sound, particularly their heavy guitar tone.
Let us take a look at how frontman and guitarist, Joe Duplantier, creates the signature Gojira sound.
Table of Contents
Guitars
Duplantier uses a few different guitars, but his main guitar is his Charvel Signature. Charvel is a fairly popular brand in metal, with quite a few players sporting their guitars.
Duplantier’s Charvel is a Tele-style guitar. It has a similarly twangy sound, but the mahogany neck and ebony fretboard give it some added warmth and depth.
There is also a more affordable version of his signature model. This version is also made from mahogany and ebony but has a bit less of a Tele look and uses Seymour Duncan humbuckers instead of DiMarzio.
Since Duplantiers Signature is similar to a Tele, and he plays Teles, the Fender Player Telecaster is also a great choice. This is a great choice for those bright chords that can be found in songs like Silvera.
He has also played Jackson guitars. This makes the Jackson Dinky JS32 a great budget option that will still be able to give you a good Gojira tone.
Amps
For amps, Duplantier uses both an EVH head and a cab, specifically the EVH 5150III Head and the EVH 5150III Cab.
These are great amps for metal. They have a heavy, aggressive tone and more than enough power to fill a stadium.
There is a combo version of the 5150III that isn’t as expensive as a full stack. There is also the 5150 Iconic that is more affordable.
Of course, if you are on a budget, you good combo amp like the Marshall MG50GFX will also do fine. Or a good modeling amp like the Marshall CODE 50.
Effects
Joe doesn’t use too many effects. Most of his tone comes straight from his guitar and amp.
He does use a few effects during certain sections of songs, as well as some post-processing.
You can definitely hear him use whammy from time to time. But since his guitars don’t have whammy bars, he likely uses a pedal like the Digitech Whammy 5.
For extra overdrive, he recently started using KHDK pedals like the No1 and the Ghoul Screamer. The JHS PackRat and Bonsai are two great alternatives with a wide variety of tones.
For delay, Duplantier uses a classic, the MXR Carbon Copy. This is a great analog delay used by many guitarists.
To help keep all of that sound under control, he uses either an MXR Noise Gate or a Boss NS-2.
Gojira Amp Settings
Now that we know what gear to use, let us look at the settings used on his amps.
Joe’s tone is fairly midrange-y. The EQ on his amp is mostly set just past the halfway point.
Round 6 or 7 seems to be where he likes to keep all his EQ for the most part. The lows are dialed back slightly, sometimes to around 4.
The gain varies a bit depending on the song and different parts of songs. He uses very little gain at times. And sometimes, the gain is just below half, and sometimes it is cranked up.
As for volume, that is kept really low. The presence is then turned up quite high.
Your amp settings should then look something like this:
- Bass – 6
- Mids – 6
- Highs – 6
- Volume – 2/3
- Presence – 7/8
Or alternatively:
- Bass – 4
- Mids – 6
- Highs – 6
- Volume – 2/3
- Presence – 7/8
The three settings for gain are 2/3, 6, and 8. The gain setting will depend on how heavy a certain song or part needs to be.
Extras
You can also put Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Slinky strings on your guitar. This will help you get those beefy, crunchy riffs and chords while keeping solos and open chords bright.
Conclusion
And there you go. That should be all you need to know to get Gojira’s signature sound.
But if you have any doubts, just remember to aim for a mid-focused, crunchy, crushing sound.
