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 · 4 blocksLive values · Boss Katana
Guitar
Ibanez Iceman (IC300)
Pickups
HH
Tuning
neck
Strings
drop C
Noise Gate
Lead
Reverb
Noise Gate
← FRFR gate (tightness)
Threshold
48dB
Release
20s
Level
0
Lead
← Mesa/Boogie Rectifier (+ Marshall body)
Gain
72
Volume
60
Bass
50
Middle
50
Treble
62
Presence
60
Master
60
Reverb
← Studio ambience (dry mix)
Time
6ms
PreDelay
10ms
Tone
52
EffectLevel
10
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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