Deep Dive into Adam Jones's Tones

[dronerstone]

Listening to more Tool again lately. It's always been kinda interesting to me that Adam always uses the delay(s) in from of his amps. But he very rarely uses the delay with high gain. It's almost always with a cleaner tone.

I do hear delay in some of his solos, but yup, the heavier/gainier parts are usually pretty dry.

I've been fond of "dirt after delay" ever since discovering it when starting to learn about Josh Homme's gear - a geeky deep dive that's been going on for over 20 years now.

 

[Orvillain]

Listening to more Tool again lately. It's always been kinda interesting to me that Adam always uses the delay(s) in from of his amps. But he very rarely uses the delay with high gain. It's almost always with a cleaner tone.

He uses delay with high gain quite frequently.

 

[dronerstone]

He uses delay with high gain quite frequently.

Hmm, maybe the 3 parallel amps help against mushiness then?

What do we know about his wet/dry signal routing?

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Hmm, maybe the 3 parallel amps help against mushiness then?

What do we know about his wet/dry signal routing?

None of the amps are set clean, IIRC all the pedals hit all the amps (when live). It’s just using the guitar volume and pedals to adjust how hard the signal hits the amp, he cleans up by not hitting the amps so hard.

On recordings it’s not so much that the amps are all playing at the same level all the time, the balance is constantly changing and for any one riff, it might be mostly one amp driving the sound. The next riff could have a totally different balance

 

[EOengineer]

Part of the key to Adam’s delay usage is that he seems to use a static setting on the delay pedal and the songs are literally written to make the delay work. He’s also playing the delay in a lot of cases, meaning they aren’t just echos - he’s using them rhythmically to complete the riff. In that context I actually prefer the delay out front because it can sound like the guy has a second picking hand.

 

[Orvillain]

Part of the key to Adam’s delay usage is that he seems to use a static setting on the delay pedal and the songs are literally written to make the delay work. He’s also playing the delay in a lot of cases, meaning they aren’t just echos - he’s using them rhythmically to complete the riff. In that context I actually prefer the delay out front because it can sound like the guy has a second picking hand.

Yeah, this is exactly why I do it the way I do it as well. I find it less "effecty" going all up front, and it makes it sound more like part of the instrument.

There are loads of songs where Adam is playing rhythm, with his volume pedal rolled back, with his delay on. He'll often roll the volume up to create a sort of pre-chorus gain swell, and then on the downbeat he'll kick in one of his Boss loop switcher pedals to take all of his spatial effects off as the big heavy rhythms hit.

He'll kick them back on (sometimes with a flanger too) for leads and single note melodies.

On Facebook there is a group called the Adam Jones Guitar Collectors group. I'm a member, I think @MirrorProfiles is too. One of their long time members (sadly passed away now) started a PDF called the 'Adam Jones Tone Chasers Handbook' which gets a revision every now and then. There's some nice photos of his board in there.

This is the classic board, but he added some extras since Fear Inoculum:

Honestly, if you want to nerd out about Joanz Toanz... that Facebook group is THE place to go. They've figured out mostly everything at this point, and I truly don't think Adam Jones's tones are all that mysterious these days.

I did love in the early to mid 2000's when it was though, trying to figure out each intricate part of the rig and how I could apply it to my own.

 

[deadpool_25]

He uses delay with high gain quite frequently.

I should've said "relatively" rarely. But still. Seems like he uses it on cleanish parts parts far more often? Hmm. I gotta think about some of those gainier parts.

I guess it's also that he uses a lower amount of feedback. Like 3 or 4 repeats (though I'm not sure that's "low" lol). Or maybe the DD-3 is a bit better suited for those parts?

Hm. Interesting.

 

[EOengineer]

I was so damn annoyed when I discovered most of the effects magic was just the lowly old bf-2 and dd-3. I had the dd-3 and the bf-2 made everything click immediately.

Im embarrassed that I have a Superlead, revision G recto, bf-2, and dd-3 but have not set up in stereo and done the AJ dream rig.

I need to get a Mesa 4x12 to accompany the 1960A.

 

[Orvillain]

I should've said "relatively" rarely. But still. Seems like he uses it on cleanish parts parts far more often? Hmm. I gotta think about some of those gainier parts.

I guess it's also that he uses a lower amount of feedback. Like 3 or 4 repeats (though I'm not sure that's "low" lol). Or maybe the DD-3 is a bit better suited for those parts?

Hm. Interesting.

Yeah lower mix and feedback is kind of essential when you're going straight in front. I have a DD3 and despite the internet wisdom, I can't really hear anything between it and a DD7 or DD8. It is a really good pedal though, for sure.

I think he uses the delay during some of the verses in Stinkfist, although I could be wrong. I can definitely hear delay during the intro riff. Then for the choruses you'll hear the guitar goes kind of mono; the opposite of what you usually hear. It is a very interesting mix actually.

But yeah, you're right he does use it on a lot of cleanish to mid-gain tones. The solo in 46&2 has delay all over it, as does the solo in The Patient.

 

[Orvillain]

I was so damn annoyed when I discovered most of the effects magic was just the lowly old bf-2 and dd-3. I had the dd-3 and the bf-2 made everything click immediately.

Im embarrassed that I have a Superlead, revision G recto, bf-2, and dd-3 but have not set up in stereo and done the AJ dream rig.

I need to get a Mesa 4x12 to accompany the 1960A.

So, it probably comes as no surprise but Tool was hugely formative for me. So quite often I do get compared to Adam Jones, and I do sound a lot like him I suppose in how I approach the guitar and how I use my effects. When I got a BF-2, I tried it and all of the ways to use it that I liked the most, I sounded even MORE like Adam Jones. So I deliberately stopped using it!!

Actually I think I sold it to @Snags and that was the predominant reason. I just sounded too much like Adam Jones and I was scared of the comparison!

If I had to put my guitar playing down to two influences it would be Tool and ISIS. Hugely important bands to me as a musician.

I've done the stereo rig thing. It's glorious.

 

[deadpool_25]

I was so damn annoyed when I discovered most of the effects magic was just the lowly old bf-2 and dd-3. I had the dd-3 and the bf-2 made everything click immediately.

Im embarrassed that I have a Superlead, revision G recto, bf-2, and dd-3 but have not set up in stereo and done the AJ dream rig.

I need to get a Mesa 4x12 to accompany the 1960A.

I believe an AJ rig is typically a mono thing.

And yeah you're clearly wasting that gear. I'll have to confiscate it. Sorry.

 

[Orvillain]

Oh yeah, one other cool thing about his pedalboard is... everything goes INTO the wah pedal. I don't run my stuff like that, but it can sound very cool.

 

[deadpool_25]

Orv, there are definitely much worse guitarists to be "too much like" lol. But yeah I get that.

There is definitely delay all over the solos. I was thinking more in terms of the riffs and such. Because if you count 7empest....

 

[Orvillain]

Definitely checkout Stinkfist. That's the one that springs to mind right now.

 

[deadpool_25]

Definitely checkout Stinkfist. That's the one that springs to mind right now.

Yup that's definitely one of the ones that uses delay with higher gain parts.

 

[SonVolt]

Yeah, this is exactly why I do it the way I do it as well. I find it less "effecty" going all up front, and it makes it sound more like part of the instrument.

There are loads of songs where Adam is playing rhythm, with his volume pedal rolled back, with his delay on. He'll often roll the volume up to create a sort of pre-chorus gain swell, and then on the downbeat he'll kick in one of his Boss loop switcher pedals to take all of his spatial effects off as the big heavy rhythms hit.

He'll kick them back on (sometimes with a flanger too) for leads and single note melodies.

On Facebook there is a group called the Adam Jones Guitar Collectors group. I'm a member, I think @MirrorProfiles is too. One of their long time members (sadly passed away now) started a PDF called the 'Adam Jones Tone Chasers Handbook' which gets a revision every now and then. There's some nice photos of his board in there.

This is the classic board, but he added some extras since Fear Inoculum:
View attachment 38933

View attachment 38934

Honestly, if you want to nerd out about Joanz Toanz... that Facebook group is THE place to go. They've figured out mostly everything at this point, and I truly don't think Adam Jones's tones are all that mysterious these days.

I did love in the early to mid 2000's when it was though, trying to figure out each intricate part of the rig and how I could apply it to my own.

You got a link to the FB group? I can't find it in the search.

 

[James Freeman]

My attempt at Adan Jones's tone.
Real mics (SM57+SM58) on a real cab (my own 1960BV), no IRs or digital amp modeling, all analog signal.
I think it might be the best heavy tone I have ever recorded.
@MirrorProfiles tagging you as our local studio expert.

 

[James Freeman]

I actually don't think there's as much studio wizardry on the tone as I once did, just the right amp+cab+mics and of course AJ's playing

Probably this.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

My attempt at Adan Jones's tone.
Real mics (SM57+SM58) on a real cab (my own 1960BV), no IRs or digital amp modeling, all analog signal.
I think it might be the best heavy tone I have ever recorded.
@MirrorProfiles tagging you as our local studio expert.



View attachment 39138

View attachment 39141

It's a cool tone in its own right, presuming it's the 5150? It definitely has more of a modern/5150 vibe than I associate with AJ, his tone leans more boomer/classic rock even when using the Recto or VH4. Just from my own experimentation, I think it's quite hard to nail without using a 421. There usually seems to be a solid chunk of 421 in his sound ever since the early days.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Probably this.

Have you tried the 1959? If you go through some older Tool songs and find a section where it has that cranked plexi tone (first 2 albums I think it’s easier to tell what’s Marshall and what’s recto, later on VH4 takes over except for the odd riff), I think it’s quite achievable. Your cab will definitely get you most of the way there, the main stumbling block will be the 421 I think