🎸 Rock · 2000s

Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

by Three Days Grace · riff

The Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace guitar tone is built on a Diezel VH4, dialed in at gain 7.5/10, bass 4, mid 3.5, treble 8.5, presence 6.5 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

🎛️ These settings are for the original rig — re-dial them for YOUR amp in 10 seconds. Free, no signup →

Amp settings (0–10)

7.5

GAIN

BASS

3.5

MID

8.5

TREBLE

6.5

PRESENCE

0.5

REVERB

Community-researched baseline. Your rig is different — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials every knob for your specific guitar, amp and pickups.

How these settings compare

Measured against the 540 rock tones in our researched catalog: Gain 7.5 sits well above the rock average (4.8) — a hotter, more saturated take than most rock tones; mids at 3.5 are well below average (6.2) — a real scoop; it sounds huge alone but can vanish in a band mix; treble 8.5 is above the 6.5 norm (brighter attack).

Guitar controls

8-9

VOLUME

7-8

TONE

Original gear

Guitar: Ibanez SZ320 · Amp: Diezel VH4 (likely, based on era and artist's known studio/live use)

Studio recording, 2006 album 'One-X'. Guitar and amp inferred from artist's known gear for this era; no explicit studio photo for this song but SZ320 and Diezel VH4 are documented as main rig for Barry Stock during this period.

Gear used on this tone

🎚️ humbucker guitars songs & tones →🎚️ Ibanez RG songs & tones →🎚️ Diezel songs & tones →🎚️ Seymour Duncan pickups songs & tones →

Don’t own this gear? GuitarToneAdapt re-creates the sound on the rig you actually have.

Pickups

Bridge pickup

Signal chain

Ibanez SZ320 → Noise gate (model unknown) → Diezel VH4 (likely, based on era and artist's known studio/live use)

Effects

noise_gate

Tone character

tight palm-muted chugs, aggressive and saturated, scooped mids, razor-sharp attack, chunky low end, bright and cutting treble, percussive and articulate, compressed high-gain, modern nu-metal edge, focused and dry

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

straight, medium tempo, loud dynamics · high-gain distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Animal I Have Become sound.

Difficulty

2.5/5 · Riff

The riff requires tight palm muting and precise rhythm, but uses straightforward power chords and picking patterns, making it accessible to intermediate players.

Worth knowing

Amp settings (bass 2, contour 2, treble 10) are from a forum post and may not be exact for studio recording; contour likely refers to midrange, so mid is set to 2.
No direct studio photo or interview confirms the exact pedal chain for this song; guitar and amp are inferred from artist's main rig for the era.
No explicit mention of pedals or effects for the riff section in sources; effects list is based on audio analysis and typical genre conventions.
Presence and reverb settings are estimated based on typical Diezel VH4 usage and the dry, focused sound on the recording.
Pickup choice is inferred from the aggressive, tight tone characteristic of bridge humbucker use in modern rock/metal.
Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Three Days Grace's 'Animal I Have Become' features a tight, modern hard rock tone with saturated high gain, balanced mids (not scooped), controlled bass for punch without mud, and slightly boosted treble/presence for clarity. The production is dry and focused, with almost no reverb, matching mid-2000s post-grunge/alt-metal conventions.

⚡ Same tone, YOUR gear — re-dials the gain & EQ for your amp and pickups, free →

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Animal I Have Become guitar tone — FAQ

What amp settings do I need for the Animal I Have Become guitar tone?

Set your amp to roughly: gain 7.5, bass 4, mid 3.5, treble 8.5, presence 6.5, reverb 0.5. These are community-researched baselines — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials them for your exact guitar and amp.

What gear was used for the Animal I Have Become tone?

Original gear/effects: Guitar: Ibanez SZ320 · Amp: Diezel VH4 (likely, based on era and artist's known studio/live use); noise_gate.

Can I get the Animal I Have Become tone on a different guitar or amp?

Yes. Different guitars and amps need different knob positions to sound the same. GuitarToneAdapt models pickup output and wood brightness, then compensates so you match the record on your own rig.

How do I sound like Three Days Grace on Animal I Have Become — what gear and pedals?

Start with Bridge pickup, the amp EQ above (gain 7.5, bass 4, mid 3.5, treble 8.5, presence 6.5, reverb 0.5), and noise_gate. Then let GuitarToneAdapt compensate for the guitar, amp and pedals you actually own so it sits like the record.

Share this tone

Sources

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More like this

🎸 How to get Three Days Grace’s guitar tone → · 🎸 more Rock guitar tones → · 🎚️ Diezel settings → · 🎛️ best rock amp settings → · 🎸 more iconic guitar riffs → · 🎯 more scooped mids tones → · 📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

Settings are community-researched estimates, not official. GuitarToneAdapt adapts them to your gear. guitartoneadapt.com