No. 0942001·alternative-metal·4 blocks
Chop Suey!
System of a Down's signature dynamic shift — a clean, fast drop-C arpeggio intro that detonates into a full-distortion chorus. Same rig as the rest of Toxicity: Daron Malakian's Ibanez Iceman in drop C (C-G-C-F-A-D) through a Mesa/Boogie Rectifier blended with a Marshall Plexi-type — Mesa for the teeth, Marshall for the body — no pedals. The trick is dynamics: roll the guitar volume back and pick lightly for the clean intro, then dig in and let the amp blend bite. Recorded dry at Cello Studios under Rick Rubin, mixed by Andy Wallace.
ToxicitySignal path · input → output · 7 blocksLive values · Line 6 Helix
Guitar
Ibanez Iceman (IC300)
Pickups
HH
Tuning
neck
Strings
drop C
Noise Gate
Deluxe Comp
Cali Rectifire
4x12 Cali V30
Room
Tilt
Noise Gate
← FRFR gate (tightness)
Threshold
-52dB
Decay
0.2s
Level
0
Deluxe Comp
← UREI 1176 (paired, tracking)
Threshold
-32dB
Ratio
3:1
Knee
4dB
Attack
60s
Release
300s
Mix
50
Level
0dB
Cali Rectifire
← Mesa/Boogie Rectifier (+ Marshall body)
Drive
7
Bass
5
Mid
5
Treble
6
Presence
6
ChVol
5
Master
9
Bias
5
BiasX
5
Sag
4.5
Hum
5
Ripple
5
4x12 Cali V30
← Mesa + Marshall 4x12s
LowCut90Hz
HighCut9500Hz
Resonance
0.5
Level
0dB
Pan
0.5
Delay
0
Room
← Studio ambience (dry mix)
LowCut200Hz
HighCut6500Hz
Mix
12
Decay
0.3s
Predelay
10ms
Level
0
Tilt
← Tilt EQ (global brightness)
Tilt
0.5
CenterFreq
1000Hz
Level
0
Engineer's note
File 094
System of a Down's signature dynamic shift — a clean, fast drop-C arpeggio intro that detonates into a full-distortion chorus. Same rig as the rest of Toxicity: Daron Malakian's Ibanez Iceman in drop C (C-G-C-F-A-D) through a Mesa/Boogie Rectifier blended with a Marshall Plexi-type — Mesa for the teeth, Marshall for the body — no pedals. The trick is dynamics: roll the guitar volume back and pick lightly for the clean intro, then dig in and let the amp blend bite. Recorded dry at Cello Studios under Rick Rubin, mixed by Andy Wallace.
— Daron Malakian
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