Publication: Guitar
Date: February, 1994
Transcribed by
Jason Winkler (Zse7en@aol.com)
Jason Winkler (Zse7en@aol.com)
page: 144 title: Sound F/X: Tool's Adam Jones "SOBER" author: Eric Mangum Pedal setup: run GUITAR to DISTORTION. DISTORTION to FLANGER. FLANGER to CHORUS. CHORUS to DELAY. DELAY to AMP Distortion set: LVL: 12 o'clock TONE: 12 o'clock GAIN: 5 o'clock Flanger set: DLY: 12 o'clock SPD: 3 o'clock WDT: 2 o'clock REGN: 10 o'clock Chorus set: SPD: 10 o'clock DLY: 5 o'clock DPTH: 5 o'clock Delay set: DLY: 2 o'clock MIX: 10 o'clock RPT: 10 o'clock The guitar tone from the album Undertow is, I think the only aspect of Tool's sound that is not radical and unusual. Adam Jones uses Gibson Les Paul Guitars because he likes their wide range of tones. The song "Sober" has several effects going on and off. His distortion sound is typical of those heard in the '70s and in the more modern sounds of today. In the verses he's using what sounds like a Leslie or a Leslie simulator. There is a delay used at the begining and a multitap delay at the end. Here's a pedal setup for Adam Jones' tone on "Sober." Start with a distortion pedal set as shown; balance the distortion with the level of your amp so you can get a controlled feedback. You may be surprised at how close you can come to his sound using nothing more than a standard distortion or overdrive pedal. Now the setup will get a bit creative. This is my backyard attempt at a leslie simulator: use a flanger pedal set with the speed fast, medium depth, and just a little regeneration, followed by a chorus pedal set as shown for the slower rotation parts. The simulation actually works better if you have two flangers but I don't know too many players with more than one of any effect so we'll stick with this setup. The last effect is the delay, set for about 250 to 300 milliseconds on your digital dial or about 2 o'clock on an analog delay. The guitar at the begining has the distortion and delay on. Kick off the delay at the 16th bar. At the begining of the verses, lower the volume of your guitar and turn on the flanger and the chorus at the same time. At the middle part of the verse turn off the flanger. When you reach the chorus, turn off the chorus pedal and use just the distortion. Repeat for a second verse and chorus. At the end is the multi-tap delay Adam uses on the first two eighth notes of the ending passage. You'll have to listen closely and turn the delay pedal on and off for each measure.page: 41 title: Perfomance notes: SOBER author: Jon Chappell It's the bass and drums that propel this dirge-like plea for collective psychic sobriety; the guitars provide only atmosphere and color, hanging back unassertively behind the beat. Witness the opening feedback pitches and subsequent octave licks in the intro that lend a modal, almost Eastern feel to the basic D minor tonality. Verse 1 has the guitars playing long tones sotto voce ("under the voice," understated), while the pre-chorus and chorus allow the guitars to get ugly. The lead guitar comes to the front at 1:58 on the four-bar section between the chorus and second verse. Here we see good use of the devices that are evocative and unobtrusive: long, vibratoed notes, moving lines harmonized in 4ths, slow-bent notes, slides, and heavy use of delay and reverb. The fills that begin in bar 9 of verse 2 (again harmonized in 4ths) highlight the D Phrygian (D Eb F G A Bb C) aspect of this progression. Feedback lines, similar to those heard in the intro, appear between the second chorus and third verse. The outro kicks into double time and the gestures in the guitar, heard before over the slow tempo, now take on a surf-like quality.
Posted to t.d.n: 06/20/99 18:05:15