Change (In the House of Flies)
A mournful riff that builds slowly to an intense, climactic chorus.
What is the Change (In the House of Flies) guitar tone?
The Change (In the House of Flies) guitar tone is a mournful riff that builds slowly to an intense, climactic chorus, heard on Deftones' 2000s alt metal recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Deftones reportedly tracked it with Stephen Carpenter's ESP with EMG 81 pickups through his rack of Marshall JMP-1 and ADA MP-1 preamps into a Marshall 9200 valve power amp, with a Line 6 POD in the rack too, the rig Guitar.com describes for the bulk of White Pony rather than for this song, and Chino Moreno on a Gibson SG Standard for some of the album's guitar parts; the song began with Moreno and Carpenter on guitar and Frank Delgado on keyboards, with the rest of the band joining in, and with no synthesizer to hand Delgado ran samples through Carpenter's guitar pedals and changed their pitch on a turntable to make lines that sounded like a synth; Moreno says both guitarists were pleased with the interplay between their guitars and the way producer Terry Date captured the sound, and Chi Cheng insisted on a dub-reggae bassline that Carpenter and Date had questioned; it opens with a mournful guitar riff over eerie ambient noise and breathy vocals and builds gradually until it erupts into a climactic chorus; it came out on 16 May 2000 as the first single from White Pony and became the band's most successful US single, reaching number three on the Alternative Airplay chart and number nine on Mainstream Rock. 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.
Change (In the House of Flies) 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 for the loud choruses, with the bridge pickup. There is a second setting for the quiet verses below.
- 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
- Two sounds and the bass control. The verses are a quiet, mournful riff and the chorus erupts, so set a clean sound for the verses and a heavy one for the chorus, and on the heavy one pull the bass back so the chords stay clear. Moreno's and Carpenter's guitars interlock on the record, so one guitar sounds sparser.
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.
Second sound
Change (In the House of Flies) amp settings for the quiet verses
For the quiet verses, start at Gain 2, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3, with the neck or middle position.
- Gain 2
- Bass 4
- Middle 5
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 3
- Signal chain
- Straight into the amp
- Where the song switches
- The song opens with a mournful guitar riff layered with eerie ambient noise and breathy vocals, and the arrangement builds gradually until it erupts into a climactic chorus.
- Pickup
- Neck or middle position
The same reference as the panel above: positions on a generic five-knob amp, a starting point rather than the settings on the record.
Does the Change (In the House of Flies) tone sound off on your amp?
Pick what you hear. You get the knobs to turn from the starting point above, and how far. It works from the setting for the loud choruses.
What gear did Deftones use on Change (In the House of Flies)?
Stephen Carpenter's ESP with EMG 81 pickups through his rack of Marshall JMP-1 and ADA MP-1 preamps into a Marshall 9200 valve power amp, with a Line 6 POD in the rack too, the rig Guitar.com describes for the bulk of White Pony rather than for this song, and Chino Moreno on a Gibson SG Standard for some of the album's guitar parts; the song began with Moreno and Carpenter on guitar and Frank Delgado on keyboards, with the rest of the band joining in, and with no synthesizer to hand Delgado ran samples through Carpenter's guitar pedals and changed their pitch on a turntable to make lines that sounded like a synth; Moreno says both guitarists were pleased with the interplay between their guitars and the way producer Terry Date captured the sound, and Chi Cheng insisted on a dub-reggae bassline that Carpenter and Date had questioned; it opens with a mournful guitar riff over eerie ambient noise and breathy vocals and builds gradually until it erupts into a climactic chorus; it came out on 16 May 2000 as the first single from White Pony and became the band's most successful US single, reaching number three on the Alternative Airplay chart and number nine on Mainstream Rock.
Sources: Wikipedia: Change (In the House of Flies), Guitar.com: the genius of White Pony by Deftones
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 Change (In the House of Flies) tone on your own amp?
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AI researches the original tone of Change (In the House of Flies)
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Change (In the House of Flies) tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Change (In the House of Flies)?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2 for the loud choruses, with the bridge pickup, and at Gain 2, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3 for the quiet verses, with the neck or middle position. 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 mournful riff that builds slowly to an intense, climactic chorus from different positions.
Does Change (In the House of Flies) use one amp setting or two?
Two. The song opens with a mournful guitar riff layered with eerie ambient noise and breathy vocals, and the arrangement builds gradually until it erupts into a climactic chorus. On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2 for the loud choruses, and at Gain 2, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3 for the quiet verses.
What is the most important control for the Change (In the House of Flies) tone?
Two sounds and the bass control. The verses are a quiet, mournful riff and the chorus erupts, so set a clean sound for the verses and a heavy one for the chorus, and on the heavy one pull the bass back so the chords stay clear. Moreno's and Carpenter's guitars interlock on the record, so one guitar sounds sparser.
Can you get the Change (In the House of Flies) tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Stephen Carpenter's ESP with EMG 81 pickups through his rack of Marshall JMP-1 and ADA MP-1 preamps into a Marshall 9200 valve power amp, with a Line 6 POD in the rack too, the rig Guitar.com describes for the bulk of White Pony rather than for this song, and Chino Moreno on a Gibson SG Standard for some of the album's guitar parts; the song began with Moreno and Carpenter on guitar and Frank Delgado on keyboards, with the rest of the band joining in, and with no synthesizer to hand Delgado ran samples through Carpenter's guitar pedals and changed their pitch on a turntable to make lines that sounded like a synth; Moreno says both guitarists were pleased with the interplay between their guitars and the way producer Terry Date captured the sound, and Chi Cheng insisted on a dub-reggae bassline that Carpenter and Date had questioned; it opens with a mournful guitar riff over eerie ambient noise and breathy vocals and builds gradually until it erupts into a climactic chorus; it came out on 16 May 2000 as the first single from White Pony and became the band's most successful US single, reaching number three on the Alternative Airplay chart and number nine on Mainstream Rock, 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 Change (In the House of Flies) a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Deftones' 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.
