No. 1251993·progressive-metal·4 blocks
Sober
Tool's breakthrough single, built entirely on dynamics — a brooding, restrained Drop-D verse that detonates into a crushing chorus. On Undertow (1993) Adam Jones cut it on his 1979 Les Paul Custom Silverburst into his modified mid-'70s Marshall Super Bass 100, the two channels jumpered together for an aggressive, saturated voice. This predates his Diezel multi-amp rig (which arrived on the later records). The quiet-to-loud swing is in the right hand and the guitar volume, not a pedal: a Plexi-family Marshall pushed hard, cleaning up when he eases off and roaring when he digs in.
UndertowSignal path · input → output · 7 blocksLive values · Line 6 Helix
Guitar
Gibson Les Paul Custom (1979 Silverburst)
Pickups
HH
Tuning
bridge
Strings
drop_d
Noise Gate
Deluxe Comp
Brit Plexi Jump
4x12 Greenback 25
Spring
Tilt
Noise Gate
← Studio noise gate (FRFR essential)
Threshold
-56dB
Decay
0.3s
Level
0
Deluxe Comp
← Studio compressor (light)
Threshold
-30dB
Ratio
2:1
Knee
6dB
Attack
40s
Release
220s
Mix
30
Level
0dB
Brit Plexi Jump
← Marshall Super Bass 100 (jumpered)
Drive
7
Bass
5
Mid
7
Treble
7
Presence
6
ChVol
6
Master
9
Bias
5
BiasX
5
Sag
5.5
Hum
5
Ripple
5
4x12 Greenback 25
← Marshall 4x12 (Celestion-loaded)
LowCut85Hz
HighCut9500Hz
Resonance
0.5
Level
0dB
Pan
0.5
Delay
0
Spring
← Light studio ambience
LowCut200Hz
HighCut6500Hz
Mix
10
Decay
0.8s
Predelay
15ms
Tilt
← Tilt EQ (global brightness)
Tilt
0.5
CenterFreq
1000Hz
Level
0
Engineer's note
File 125
Tool's breakthrough single, built entirely on dynamics — a brooding, restrained Drop-D verse that detonates into a crushing chorus. On Undertow (1993) Adam Jones cut it on his 1979 Les Paul Custom Silverburst into his modified mid-'70s Marshall Super Bass 100, the two channels jumpered together for an aggressive, saturated voice. This predates his Diezel multi-amp rig (which arrived on the later records). The quiet-to-loud swing is in the right hand and the guitar volume, not a pedal: a Plexi-family Marshall pushed hard, cleaning up when he eases off and roaring when he digs in.
— Adam Jones
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