Riff Tone

Shimmy

System Of A Down

Guitarmetal2000s

Original Gear

GuitarIbanez Iceman IC300

AmpMesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

PickupsStock Ibanez humbuckers (likely ceramic, high output)

Amp Settings

gain8.5

bass6

mid5

treble7

reverb0

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, Toxicity album (2001). Gear inferred from era, band interviews, and known studio setups for Daron Malakian. No direct source confirms exact pedal use for 'Shimmy' riff; no evidence of additional effects beyond amp distortion.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussiveaggressive palm mutingscooped midschunky low endrazor-sharp treblearticulate note separationdry, in-your-face soundmodern metal saturationminimal ambiencefast attack

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, tight alternate picking and palm muting at a high tempo, demanding precision and stamina, but does not involve advanced lead techniques.

Sources

Listening to which riff made you a metalhead? - Reddit Easiest SOAD song to learn on guitar? : r/systemofadown

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