Sober
A heavy, dissonant riff that builds tension through contrasting dynamics.
What is the Sober guitar tone?
The Sober guitar tone is a heavy, dissonant riff that builds tension through contrasting dynamics, heard on Tool's 1990s alt metal recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Tool reportedly tracked it with a modified mid-1970s Marshall Super Bass 100 head with its two channels wired together for a more saturated sound, which Andertons' Sound Like feature says Adam Jones used extensively on Undertow, the multi-amp rig of his later records only arriving with the second album; Rolling Stone, citing a Guitar School interview, says a vintage 1976 Marshall non-master volume bass head was one of the main keys to his sound and that he kept it in his fridge on days he was not recording, to preserve its components; Mixdown says Jones has favoured a Gibson Les Paul Custom in the Silverburst finish since the band began, though no source read here places a guitar on this song; Andertons hears Sober as an example of the band using dissonance and contrasting dynamics to build tension, and Wikipedia says it is one of Maynard James Keenan's earliest songs, first recorded by Tool on the 1991 demo 72826, with a chord progression similar to Led Zeppelin's Kashmir; Jones has said it is about a friend of the band whose artistic expression only comes out when he is under the influence; Undertow was recorded in the fall of 1992 at Sound City in Van Nuys and Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood, co-produced by the band and Sylvia Massy, and Sober, its second single, became an MTV fixture with a stop-motion video whose models Jones designed. Here the weight comes from a Marshall bass head with its channels linked, and the song builds tension through dissonance and dynamics, so the quiet passages matter as much as the heavy riff.
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.
Sober 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
- Marshall bass head with its two channels linked (the album's sound)
- The control that matters most
- Dynamics, not more gain. Andertons hears Sober building tension through dissonance and contrasting dynamics, and Jones told Guitar Player that for a softer tone he just turns down or plays with a lighter touch, so set one heavy sound and get the quiet sections from your hands and the guitar's volume knob.
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. A first plan starts with 7 days free, $0 today.
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 Sober 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 Tool use on Sober?
A modified mid-1970s Marshall Super Bass 100 head with its two channels wired together for a more saturated sound, which Andertons' Sound Like feature says Adam Jones used extensively on Undertow, the multi-amp rig of his later records only arriving with the second album; Rolling Stone, citing a Guitar School interview, says a vintage 1976 Marshall non-master volume bass head was one of the main keys to his sound and that he kept it in his fridge on days he was not recording, to preserve its components; Mixdown says Jones has favoured a Gibson Les Paul Custom in the Silverburst finish since the band began, though no source read here places a guitar on this song; Andertons hears Sober as an example of the band using dissonance and contrasting dynamics to build tension, and Wikipedia says it is one of Maynard James Keenan's earliest songs, first recorded by Tool on the 1991 demo 72826, with a chord progression similar to Led Zeppelin's Kashmir; Jones has said it is about a friend of the band whose artistic expression only comes out when he is under the influence; Undertow was recorded in the fall of 1992 at Sound City in Van Nuys and Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood, co-produced by the band and Sylvia Massy, and Sober, its second single, became an MTV fixture with a stop-motion video whose models Jones designed.
Sources: Rolling Stone: Tool's Undertow, 10 things you didn't know, Andertons: Sound Like Tool, Mixdown: rig rundown, Adam Jones of Tool, Guitar Player: Adam Jones on Lateralus (June 2001), Wikipedia: Sober (Tool song)
Tonelify's tone matcher 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 Sober tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Sober
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Sober tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Sober?
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 heavy, dissonant riff that builds tension through contrasting dynamics from different positions.
What amp did Adam Jones use on Sober?
Amp: Album rig (a modified mid-1970s Marshall Super Bass head, its two channels wired together). Guitar: Not placed on the song (his main guitar since the band began: a Gibson Les Paul Custom in Silverburst). Sources: Rolling Stone, Andertons, Mixdown, Guitar Player and Wikipedia.
What were Adam Jones' amp settings on Sober?
None of the sources cited on this page gives Adam Jones' full amp settings on Sober. The numbers here are a starting point for that kind of part, not the settings from the session, and Tonelify rewrites them for the amp and guitar you own.
How do you get Adam Jones' tone on Sober?
Dynamics, not more gain. Andertons hears Sober building tension through dissonance and contrasting dynamics, and Jones told Guitar Player that for a softer tone he just turns down or plays with a lighter touch, so set one heavy sound and get the quiet sections from your hands and the guitar's volume knob. Play it with the bridge pickup.
Can you get the Sober tone without the original gear?
Yes. The parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order, and those translate to other equipment. Tonelify's adaptation step works them out for the amp and guitar you own.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
A match for your own gear takes a plan, and a first plan starts with 7 days free with nothing charged that day: 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.
