Chop Suey
System of a Down
Frantic, layered metal verses that break into a melodic chorus.
What is the Chop Suey guitar tone?
The Chop Suey guitar tone is frantic, layered metal verses that break into a melodic chorus, 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 engineer Dave Schiffman 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', playing a song about 50 times until each layer was right, and stacked several acoustic guitars on the soft parts; which guitar he played on this song is not documented; most of Toxicity is in drop C, and it was recorded at Cello Studios in Hollywood, a room Malakian chose because the Cramps had made their biggest-sounding record there, with Rick Rubin and Malakian producing; the song was first called Suicide, or Self-Righteous Suicide by Rubin's account, until the title changed in response to pushback from Columbia, and most pressings keep Serj Tankian saying 'we're rolling Suicide' over the count-in; it was the album's first single, released as Chop Suey! on 13 August 2001. 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.
Chop Suey 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
- The control that matters most
- Layers and the low end. Malakian stacked a muddy, a rock and a heavy metal guitar on each part, so one amp setting is only part of the record; on a single amp, aim for the blend, a tight, saturated sound with the mids kept in so fast single-note picking stays clear. Most of Toxicity is in drop C, so turn the bass down further than feels right, or the low strings turn to mud.
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 Chop Suey?
Daron Malakian's rig for Toxicity as engineer Dave Schiffman 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', playing a song about 50 times until each layer was right, and stacked several acoustic guitars on the soft parts; which guitar he played on this song is not documented; most of Toxicity is in drop C, and it was recorded at Cello Studios in Hollywood, a room Malakian chose because the Cramps had made their biggest-sounding record there, with Rick Rubin and Malakian producing; the song was first called Suicide, or Self-Righteous Suicide by Rubin's account, until the title changed in response to pushback from Columbia, and most pressings keep Serj Tankian saying 'we're rolling Suicide' over the count-in; it was the album's first single, released as Chop Suey! on 13 August 2001.
Sources: Mix: System of a Down's Toxicity, with Dave Schiffman and Rick Rubin, Wikipedia: Chop Suey!, 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 Chop Suey tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Chop Suey
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Chop Suey tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Chop Suey?
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 frantic, layered metal verses that break into a melodic chorus from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Chop Suey tone?
Layers and the low end. Malakian stacked a muddy, a rock and a heavy metal guitar on each part, so one amp setting is only part of the record; on a single amp, aim for the blend, a tight, saturated sound with the mids kept in so fast single-note picking stays clear. Most of Toxicity is in drop C, so turn the bass down further than feels right, or the low strings turn to mud.
Can you get the Chop Suey tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Daron Malakian's rig for Toxicity as engineer Dave Schiffman 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', playing a song about 50 times until each layer was right, and stacked several acoustic guitars on the soft parts; which guitar he played on this song is not documented; most of Toxicity is in drop C, and it was recorded at Cello Studios in Hollywood, a room Malakian chose because the Cramps had made their biggest-sounding record there, with Rick Rubin and Malakian producing; the song was first called Suicide, or Self-Righteous Suicide by Rubin's account, until the title changed in response to pushback from Columbia, and most pressings keep Serj Tankian saying 'we're rolling Suicide' over the count-in; it was the album's first single, released as Chop Suey! on 13 August 2001, 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 Chop Suey 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.
