Riff Tone
Vicinity Of Obscenity
System Of A Down
Guitarmetal2000s
Original Gear
GuitarGibson SG (likely 1961 Reissue or Standard, as used by Daron Malakian during 'Hypnotize' era studio sessions)
AmpMarshall JCM800 (modded, as referenced for 'Mesmerize/Hypnotize' era studio recordings)
PickupsGibson humbuckers (stock SG pickups, likely 490R/498T or similar)
Amp Settings
gain8
bass5.5
mid6
treble7
reverb0
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 2005 ('Hypnotize' album). Daron Malakian is known to use a Gibson SG into a modded Marshall JCM800 for this era. No evidence of additional pedals for the riff section; distortion is from amp gain. No evidence of effects loop or time-based/modulation effects in the riff.
Tone Character(10)
tight and percussiveaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationfocused midrange puncharticulate attackminimal ambiencedry, immediate soundclear note separationclassic Marshall crunch with extra gainslightly scooped but present mids
Difficulty
The riff requires fast, accurate picking and palm muting at a high tempo, with tight rhythmic precision and stamina, making it challenging for most players.
Sources
Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear
Create Free AccountGuitarmetal2000s
Original Gear
GuitarGibson SG (likely 1961 Reissue or Standard, as used by Daron Malakian during 'Hypnotize' era studio sessions)
AmpMarshall JCM800 (modded, as referenced for 'Mesmerize/Hypnotize' era studio recordings)
PickupsGibson humbuckers (stock SG pickups, likely 490R/498T or similar)
Amp Settings
gain8
bass5.5
mid6
treble7
reverb0
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 2005 ('Hypnotize' album). Daron Malakian is known to use a Gibson SG into a modded Marshall JCM800 for this era. No evidence of additional pedals for the riff section; distortion is from amp gain. No evidence of effects loop or time-based/modulation effects in the riff.
Tone Character(10)
tight and percussiveaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationfocused midrange puncharticulate attackminimal ambiencedry, immediate soundclear note separationclassic Marshall crunch with extra gainslightly scooped but present mids
Difficulty
The riff requires fast, accurate picking and palm muting at a high tempo, with tight rhythmic precision and stamina, making it challenging for most players.
More System Of A Down tones
- Aerials · riff
- Toxicity · riff
- Chop Suey! · riff
- Aerials · riff
- Lonely Day · riff
- Sugar (Clean Version) · riff
- Revenga · riff
- Attack · riff
- Deer Dance · riff
- Chop Suey! · distorted