Aerials
A clean, picked opening and arpeggiated verses that build to a heavy, layered main riff.
What is the Aerials guitar tone?
The Aerials guitar tone is a clean, picked opening and arpeggiated verses that build to a heavy, layered main riff, heard on System of a Down's 2000s alt metal recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and System of a Down reportedly tracked it with Daron Malakian's rig for Toxicity as Dave Schiffman, who engineered the song, describes it: no effects pedals, since Malakian does not like playing through them, and a blend of Marshall and Mesa/Boogie heads and cabinets, the Mesa giving 'the teeth' and the Marshall 'the body', each cabinet miked with a Shure SM57 and a Neumann 87 into a pair of black-faced 1176 compressors; Malakian layered his parts heavily, 'a muddy guitar over a rock guitar over a real heavy metal guitar', and says he wanted softer guitars mixed in between the really heavy parts on this album, and the album credits list him on sitar on this song as well as guitar; which guitar he played on it is not documented, and most of Toxicity is in drop C; the album was recorded at Cello Studios in Hollywood with Rick Rubin and Malakian producing, and Aerials, released as a single in 2002, went to number one on both the Mainstream Rock and Alternative Songs charts, the band's first number one, and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance; Loudwire later counted its main riff among the best metal riffs of the 2000s. Detuned parts need the bass control pulled back further than feels right, or the low strings turn to mud as soon as the gain rises.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a high-gain head and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
Aerials amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup.
- Gain 7
- Bass 4
- Middle 5
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- No pedals: Marshall and Mesa/Boogie amps blended (album rig)
- The control that matters most
- The low end and the contrast. The song moves from a clean, picked opening to a heavy riff, so keep a clean sound with headroom for the start and a tight, saturated one for the riff with the bass pulled back: most of Toxicity is in drop C, and the low strings turn to mud quickly. Malakian layered several guitars on each part, so one amp will always sound thinner than the record.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own. Your first match is free with an account, and needs no card.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Bridge pickup
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
What gear did System of a Down use on Aerials?
Daron Malakian's rig for Toxicity as Dave Schiffman, who engineered the song, describes it: no effects pedals, since Malakian does not like playing through them, and a blend of Marshall and Mesa/Boogie heads and cabinets, the Mesa giving 'the teeth' and the Marshall 'the body', each cabinet miked with a Shure SM57 and a Neumann 87 into a pair of black-faced 1176 compressors; Malakian layered his parts heavily, 'a muddy guitar over a rock guitar over a real heavy metal guitar', and says he wanted softer guitars mixed in between the really heavy parts on this album, and the album credits list him on sitar on this song as well as guitar; which guitar he played on it is not documented, and most of Toxicity is in drop C; the album was recorded at Cello Studios in Hollywood with Rick Rubin and Malakian producing, and Aerials, released as a single in 2002, went to number one on both the Mainstream Rock and Alternative Songs charts, the band's first number one, and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance; Loudwire later counted its main riff among the best metal riffs of the 2000s.
Sources: Mix: System of a Down's Toxicity, with Dave Schiffman and Rick Rubin, Wikipedia: Aerials (song), Wikipedia: Toxicity (album)
Tonelify reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the Aerials tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Aerials
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Aerials tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Aerials?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same clean, picked opening and arpeggiated verses that build to a heavy, layered main riff from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Aerials tone?
The low end and the contrast. The song moves from a clean, picked opening to a heavy riff, so keep a clean sound with headroom for the start and a tight, saturated one for the riff with the bass pulled back: most of Toxicity is in drop C, and the low strings turn to mud quickly. Malakian layered several guitars on each part, so one amp will always sound thinner than the record.
Can you get the Aerials tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Daron Malakian's rig for Toxicity as Dave Schiffman, who engineered the song, describes it: no effects pedals, since Malakian does not like playing through them, and a blend of Marshall and Mesa/Boogie heads and cabinets, the Mesa giving 'the teeth' and the Marshall 'the body', each cabinet miked with a Shure SM57 and a Neumann 87 into a pair of black-faced 1176 compressors; Malakian layered his parts heavily, 'a muddy guitar over a rock guitar over a real heavy metal guitar', and says he wanted softer guitars mixed in between the really heavy parts on this album, and the album credits list him on sitar on this song as well as guitar; which guitar he played on it is not documented, and most of Toxicity is in drop C; the album was recorded at Cello Studios in Hollywood with Rick Rubin and Malakian producing, and Aerials, released as a single in 2002, went to number one on both the Mainstream Rock and Alternative Songs charts, the band's first number one, and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance; Loudwire later counted its main riff among the best metal riffs of the 2000s, but the parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order. Those translate to other equipment, which is what the adaptation step does.
Is Aerials a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from System of a Down's 2000s alt metal catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
Your first match for your own gear is free with an account, and needs no card. After that both plans start with a 7-day free trial: Stage is $6.99 a month for 20 matches, Headliner is $10.99 a month for unlimited matching within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.
