Down with the Sickness by Disturbed (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

The Down with the Sickness by Disturbed guitar tone is built on a Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier, dialed in at gain 8/10, bass 6, mid 3, treble 6.5, presence 6 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

Amp settings (0–10)

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 284 metal tones in our researched catalog: Gain 8 sits right around the metal average (7.3); mids at 3 are well below average (5.2) — a real scoop; it sounds huge alone but can vanish in a band mix.

Guitar controls

Original gear

Amp: Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier (scooped, high gain)

Dan Donegan tuned to Drop C# (C# G# C# F# A# D#) and played a Gibson Les Paul Standard into a Mesa Triple Rectifier — the classic scooped early-2000s nu-metal tone: lots of gain, mids pulled way down, tight low end. A BBE Sonic Maximizer and a Cry Baby wah were in the chain. Use a noise gate for the tight stops.

Gear used on this tone

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

Pickups

bridge (humbucker, tight)

Effects / signal chain

distortion, wah

Tone character

scooped high gain, tight & chuggy, drop-tuned, percussive

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

scooped high-gain nu-metal distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Down with the Sickness sound.

Difficulty

3/5 · Riff

The chugs are rhythmically tricky but use simple shapes in Drop C#; the tone is a scooped high-gain Recto with a noise gate.

Level: Beginner-friendly — see more easy guitar songs to play →

Worth knowing

• Down with the Sickness is in DROP C# (C# G# C# F# A# D#) with a scooped, high-gain Mesa Recto tone — gain high, MIDS WAY DOWN (~3), bass up, tight. Use a noise gate for the staccato stops.
• Tune to Drop C#, scoop the mids, push the gain, keep the low end tight, and gate it. Bridge humbucker.
• Settings are community-researched starting points, not official recall sheets.

Down with the Sickness guitar tone — FAQ

Share this tone

Sources

• Disturbed / Dan Donegan Guitar Tone — MusicStrive
• Down with the Sickness Amp Settings — Guitar Chalk
• Dan Donegan on The Sickness — Guitar World

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More like this

🎸 How to get Disturbed’s guitar tone →  ·  🎸 more Metal guitar tones →  ·  🎚️ Mesa Dual Rectifier settings →  ·  🎛️ best metal amp settings →  ·  🎸 more iconic guitar riffs →  ·  🎚️ Wah tone guide →  ·  🎚️ Distortion tone guide →  ·  🎯 more scooped mids tones →  ·  📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

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