Before I Forget
A pounding metal riff with the gain held back for a cleaner record.
What is the Before I Forget guitar tone?
The Before I Forget guitar tone is a pounding metal riff with the gain held back for a cleaner record, heard on Slipknot's 2000s alt metal recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Slipknot reportedly tracked it with Mick Thomson's VHT Pitbull head and Carvin 4x12, which he says he used on Iowa and Vol. 3, and Jim Root's Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC, which appeared on Vol. 3, both accounts of the album rather than of this song, with the guitars on the take not documented; Thomson says Vol. 3 was a much cleaner recording than Iowa and the band's first on Pro Tools, and that he dropped the gain a bit and added more mids on the same amp; in the video Root plays a black Charvel Custom San Dimas and Thomson a blood red Ibanez MTM1; the song borrows from Carve, a much older Slipknot song first recorded in 1996 with Anders Colsefni singing and then for the band's 1997 demo; Corey Taylor says it is about standing your ground and deciding to be a good person, and that Rick Rubin was convinced the chorus would not work; Rubin produced Vol. 3 at The Mansion in Los Angeles in 2003, the album came out on 25 May 2004, and this, its third single, won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2006. 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.
Before I Forget 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
- Noise gate → Amp distortion → Chorus on clean passages
- The control that matters most
- Bass, pulled back. The album's two guitarists used different amps, Thomson a VHT Pitbull and Root a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC, so one amp on its own has to keep a tight low end or the pounding riff blurs. Keep the gain short of full saturation too: Thomson calls Vol. 3 a much cleaner recording than Iowa.
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.
Does the Before I Forget tone sound off on your amp?
Pick what you hear. You get the knobs to turn from the starting point above, and how far.
What gear did Slipknot use on Before I Forget?
Mick Thomson's VHT Pitbull head and Carvin 4x12, which he says he used on Iowa and Vol. 3, and Jim Root's Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC, which appeared on Vol. 3, both accounts of the album rather than of this song, with the guitars on the take not documented; Thomson says Vol. 3 was a much cleaner recording than Iowa and the band's first on Pro Tools, and that he dropped the gain a bit and added more mids on the same amp; in the video Root plays a black Charvel Custom San Dimas and Thomson a blood red Ibanez MTM1; the song borrows from Carve, a much older Slipknot song first recorded in 1996 with Anders Colsefni singing and then for the band's 1997 demo; Corey Taylor says it is about standing your ground and deciding to be a good person, and that Rick Rubin was convinced the chorus would not work; Rubin produced Vol. 3 at The Mansion in Los Angeles in 2003, the album came out on 25 May 2004, and this, its third single, won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2006.
Sources: Wikipedia: Before I Forget (song), MusicRadar: Mick Thomson's guitars and gear, Wikipedia: Jim Root, Wikipedia: Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
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 Before I Forget tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Before I Forget
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Before I Forget tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Before I Forget?
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 pounding metal riff with the gain held back for a cleaner record from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Before I Forget tone?
Bass, pulled back. The album's two guitarists used different amps, Thomson a VHT Pitbull and Root a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC, so one amp on its own has to keep a tight low end or the pounding riff blurs. Keep the gain short of full saturation too: Thomson calls Vol. 3 a much cleaner recording than Iowa.
Can you get the Before I Forget tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Mick Thomson's VHT Pitbull head and Carvin 4x12, which he says he used on Iowa and Vol. 3, and Jim Root's Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC, which appeared on Vol. 3, both accounts of the album rather than of this song, with the guitars on the take not documented; Thomson says Vol. 3 was a much cleaner recording than Iowa and the band's first on Pro Tools, and that he dropped the gain a bit and added more mids on the same amp; in the video Root plays a black Charvel Custom San Dimas and Thomson a blood red Ibanez MTM1; the song borrows from Carve, a much older Slipknot song first recorded in 1996 with Anders Colsefni singing and then for the band's 1997 demo; Corey Taylor says it is about standing your ground and deciding to be a good person, and that Rick Rubin was convinced the chorus would not work; Rubin produced Vol. 3 at The Mansion in Los Angeles in 2003, the album came out on 25 May 2004, and this, its third single, won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2006, 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 Before I Forget a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Slipknot'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 it takes a plan, charged when you subscribe: 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.
