Riff Tone
Intolerance
TOOL
Guitarmetal1990s
Original Gear
GuitarGibson Les Paul Standard (Adam Jones's silverburst, 1979)
AmpMesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (early 1990s revision, rackmount)
PickupsSeymour Duncan SH-4 JB (bridge humbucker), original neck humbucker
Amp Settings
gain7
bass6
mid6
treble6.5
reverb1
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
noise_gateUnknown Noise Gate (model unknown)
Notes
Studio recording, Undertow album (1992-1993). Adam Jones is known for using his 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst with the bridge pickup for heavy riff sections. The amp for the album was primarily a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier. No evidence found for live or alternate gear for this specific song/section.
Tone Character(10)
tight and percussivesaturated distortionarticulate attackfocused low endslightly scooped midsaggressive metallic edgeminimal ambiencecrushing power chordsclear note separationdynamic to picking attack
Difficulty
The riff requires tight, percussive palm muting and precise rhythm timing, with dynamic picking to maintain note clarity under high-gain settings. Syncopated patterns and muting add to the technical challenge.
Sources
Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear
Create Free AccountGuitarmetal1990s
Original Gear
GuitarGibson Les Paul Standard (Adam Jones's silverburst, 1979)
AmpMesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (early 1990s revision, rackmount)
PickupsSeymour Duncan SH-4 JB (bridge humbucker), original neck humbucker
Amp Settings
gain7
bass6
mid6
treble6.5
reverb1
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
noise_gateUnknown Noise Gate (model unknown)
Sources
Notes
Studio recording, Undertow album (1992-1993). Adam Jones is known for using his 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst with the bridge pickup for heavy riff sections. The amp for the album was primarily a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier. No evidence found for live or alternate gear for this specific song/section.
Tone Character(10)
tight and percussivesaturated distortionarticulate attackfocused low endslightly scooped midsaggressive metallic edgeminimal ambiencecrushing power chordsclear note separationdynamic to picking attack
Difficulty
The riff requires tight, percussive palm muting and precise rhythm timing, with dynamic picking to maintain note clarity under high-gain settings. Syncopated patterns and muting add to the technical challenge.
More TOOL tones
- Pneuma · riff
- Forty Six & 2 · riff
- Stinkfist · riff
- Vicarious · riff
- Jambi · riff
- Schism · riff
- Lateralus · riff
- Parabola · riff
- Lateralus · riff
- Right In Two · riff