Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

[Van Noord]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

Drop the mids? From what? Adam's JB humbuckers or Vintage 30s lol!
Lots of gain? What album? 10,000 Days? Maybe...but Lateralus & Aenima are average amount by modern rock standards of the era. Even less for metal standards.
Undertow and Opiate are quite low gain. More of a heavy crunch than distortion. Half of time Adam's guitar volume dial is pulled back too.

 

[6stringerguy]

Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

Adam Used JB/Jazz as far as I’m aware through a 78(?) Les Paul Custom Silverburst.
For Effects the main one I remember is the Boss DD5 and DD3
He used Mesa Dual Rectifiers, Marshall Super Bass heads and the blueface VH4 as far as I know.
So for a cheaper rig I’d advise an Ibanez SZ320 which is Mahogany Body and a Set Maple Neck as well as Duncan Design pickups with a TOM Bridge and 22 frets
For Amps I’d advise either Blackstar or Engl and a V30 speaker
Then for pedal get a used DD3/DD5.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

I’m not sure what the scooped mids/Uber gain talk is about, either. There are times when he’s used an overly saturated sound, but his main tone is pretty crisp and crunchy. Certainly nothing mid scooped about it.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

You have like.. heard the amps, right? Not joking about the plasticky-cheap sound.

Also when I think of the band Tool and the 'tone' of their guitar - it is like somebody else said... what more do you need other than drop the mids, add more gain, and then take drugs before playing the guitar.

:alcoholic

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

Don't see a lot of "drop the mids" happening here:

 

[Cynical]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

:alcoholic

Haven't you heard? When you're a dad-rocking blues-lawyer, the way to sound like any band that isn't just playing basic pentatonic licks while making funny faces to show that you've got teh bl00z is to just scoop all the mids and dime the gain because those bands don't have feeling and sooooouuul and it's all just talentless noise anyways.

 

[Sun King]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

Um, Masta'c what the heck? Did you post the wrong video or something? :O

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

Trollin' hard today... ↑↑↑

It's not my fault dude uses thousands of dollars worth of amps to get a tone you can achieve on a Spider IV and then plays boring drop-D riffs for frat dudes on shrooms

 

[Van Noord]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

It's not my fault dude uses thousands of dollars worth of amps to get a tone you can achieve on a Spider IV and then plays boring drop-D riffs for frat dudes on shrooms

A Spider is a pretty crappy entry level amp, surely you own a much better amp, so achieving his tone must be really easy if you were to try...

So let's hear you do so. Post a clip...

 

[6stringerguy]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

It's not my fault dude uses thousands of dollars worth of amps to get a tone you can achieve on a Spider IV and then plays boring drop-D riffs for frat dudes on shrooms

I love his tone.

 

[Nacho8807]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

Clearly some people here haven't actually listened to Tool...

Back on topic, you'll definitely need a used amp if your budget is truly $500. I think your best bet at that price point is a nice pedal platform amp and then a really nice preamp or distortion pedal to get the type of tone you want. If you want 10,000 Days you will want something capable of a lot of gain and compression like a Suhr Riot or something. It's really up to your preference there, but its probably your best bet if you can't actually get a real high wattage amp like a Dual Rec or JVM to crank, because that's really the only way to get his sound the proper way. Good luck!

 

[bearded madman]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/the-secrets-behind-adam-jones-guitar-tone-on-tools-jambi

Here's what guitar world says he used on Jambi and their budget recommendation.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

I saw them at a very small club in Akron after they recorded Opiate and just before they hit it big. Adam was a very nice guy, his tone was good but did not blow me away. He used one Les Paul (not a silverburst, I think it was black) and one Marshall bass head into one Marshall 4x12 cabinet. His tone was thick and full of mids and not particularly high gain. He maybe had the treble and/or presence turned down lower than most Marshall players. I would say lots of bass & mids, nit so much treble & presence. He was plugged straight into his amp, no effects at all. I bought "Opiate" not long after that show and it sounded roughly like his live tone.
One thing I gotta say is, it was the BASS player who had the monster tone. When the two of them locked together it made for a massive sound. Some of that "guitar" tone is the bass guitar.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

One thing I gotta say is, it was the BASS player who had the monster tone. When the two of them locked together it made for a massive sound. Some of that "guitar" tone is the bass guitar.

YESSS!!! One thing I love about TOOL is how prominent the bass is...truly part of the sound rather than an undercurrent of simple groove support that no one notices!

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

The first time I saw them live I was surprised how much I thought was guitar was actually bass and vice versa. Especially in the more ambient songs.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

YESSS!!! One thing I love about TOOL is how prominent the bass is...truly part of the sound rather than an undercurrent of simple groove support that no one notices!

Dude was really great, and his sound was just massive, punchy, and clear as a bell. He was working his a$$ off.

 

[Diego]

Re: Need some help how to get Adam Jones' (TOOL) tone

Anderton's had two videos on how to get his tone, one in a budget and another one by stealing a bank.

I'd refer to those first. Adam's tone is thick as hell.