Tse 50x metal test. Why so harsh?

I've been tinkering with getting a good metal sound forever. Even when I find something I like, I realize it really doesn't sound good later on, especially at louder volumes. I really am at the end of my rope here. I know I'm not very good at playing, not tight, not so good timing, but I've turned down the gain considerably and have tried everything. Every plugin I've tried sounds good or fair at low to normal volumes, but turn it up and it's harsh and grainy, not smooth at all. Not only that, but I know others who have same gear as I do and theirs sounds way more pleasant on the ears and not so "scratchy" and like a cat caught in a blender. Below is a link to a test I did using tse 50x. Low gain, cab impulse, kh602 electric guitar with emg pups. I played this twice, left and right. No bass. At low volumes, it's all right, but at mid to high volumes it's pain to the ears. Any idea what I can do to lessen the "audio graininess?" Thanks

You could Eq it to lessen the harshness your hearing BUT you do know the harshness you describe could be a number of things Your room / mic placement / how you recorded / how it was rendered Anything I would experiment more with your amp sound & mic placement & work through the rest Also this link may be of interest

Buy a Kemper :D

Have you tried turning the volume on your guitar down, or lowering the gain in the sim itself? Digital doesn't always like getting hit with a hard signal, it doesn't always cope well, and it sounds like you're losing some of your clarity and adding more noise than necessary by having your input signal/amp sim gain too high. +1 to the suggestion to EQ sweep, and +1 to the advice about guitar tone on its own sounding completely different than in the mix. The two really are different, and it can be shocking to hear a guitar that sounds good in the mix solo'd.

Am I the only one who can't listen to the clip? It just loads... forever.

Maybe some big media corporation has assumed control over soundcloud and we're on the wrong side of the demarcation line. "This clip is not available in your country".

Youtube link to same sound clip: Thanks, everybody :)

Assuming that you're using ReaEQ - the Gain (dB) slider, second one down. Slide it from +6 dB to -6 dB.

It's an EQ, it boosts or cuts certain frequencies, not ALL of them.

Listened to the clip. It DOES have a fair bit of top end, but not crazily, ear-piercingly much. Dumb question perhaps but... what happens if you simply roll back the Treble knob in X50 a bit?