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.
Undertow
What we checked
Computed by a program, on this recipe, every time this page is built. How this works
Preset files — 1 of 3 complete
- Helix builds complete — every block in the recipe is in the file
- Quad Cortex 4 blocks replaced with a stand-in model
Which ones
Replaced with a stand-in: Noise Gate, Studio Comp, 4x12 Greenback, Tilt EQ. These load cleanly but are not the model named above — the file will sound wrong here until we map them. Set these blocks by hand.
- Katana 3 blocks replaced with a stand-in model
Which ones
Replaced with a stand-in: Crunch, Noise Gate, Reverb. These load cleanly but are not the model named above — the file will sound wrong here until we map them. Set these blocks by hand.
What we didn't check
- Nobody played this through a real amp. There is no human listening test behind any number on this page.
- The settings are reasoned from the sources below, not measured off the record.
- No audio has been rendered for this recipe yet, so you cannot hear it before you load it.
- 3 platforms on this page (TONEX, Kemper, Fractal) get a model pointer, not a preset file — nothing was built or checked for them.
Affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. The mic is listed because the chain uses it, not because anyone paid for the placement.
