Riff Tone

Chop Suey!

System Of A Down

Guitarmetal2000s

Original Gear

GuitarIbanez Iceman IC300

AmpMarshall JCM800 2203 head

PickupsIbanez stock humbuckers (likely Powersound or V7/V8, ceramic magnet, passive)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5.5

mid5.5

treble7

reverb1

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 2001 (Toxicity album). No direct evidence of pedals or alternate amps for clean section; most sources confirm Daron used the Iceman and Marshall JCM800 for the album. Clean sections likely achieved by rolling back guitar volume and lowering amp gain.

Tone Character(10)

bright and articulatethin, sharp attackclear note separationtight and percussiveminimal breakupslightly scooped midssubtle amp reverbno audible modulationcrisp palm mutingdynamic response to picking

Difficulty

The clean riff requires tight palm muting, precise picking, and rhythmic accuracy, making it moderately challenging for intermediate players.

Sources

What makes Daron Malakian's guitar riffs sound the way they do?25 game-changing Ibanez guitarists - Guitar World

This tone has been researched 2 times by the community

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