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 · 6 blocksLive values · Fractal Axe-Fx
Guitar
Ibanez Iceman (IC300)
Pickups
HH
Tuning
neck
Strings
drop C
Studio Comp
Recto1 Modern
4x12 V30
Room
Filter Tilt
Studio Comp
← UREI 1176 (paired, tracking)
Threshold
-32dB
Ratio
3:1
Attack
6s
Release
200s
Mix
0.5
Level
0dB
Recto1 Modern
← Mesa/Boogie Rectifier (+ Marshall body)
Drive
7
Bass
5
Mid
5
Treble
6
Presence
6
MV
5
Cut
4
4x12 V30
← Mesa + Marshall 4x12s
LowCut90Hz
HighCut9500Hz
Level
0dB
Room
← Studio ambience (dry mix)
Mix
0.1
Decay
0.5s
Predelay
0.0ms
Filter 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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