Schism by Tool (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

The Schism by Tool guitar tone is built on a Diezel VH4, dialed in at gain 6/10, bass 3.5, mid 8.5, treble 7, presence 7.5 (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 6 sits below the metal average (7.3) — cleaner and more dynamic than typical metal; mids at 8.5 are well above average (5.2) — mid-forward, built to cut through a mix.

Guitar controls

Original gear

Amp: Diezel VH4 (channel 3) into Mesa Boogie 4x12; studio also modified 1976 Marshall Super Bass + Bogner Uberschall

1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst, Seymour Duncan JB (bridge, flipped), MXR M-133 Micro Amp boost.

Gear used on this tone

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

Pickups

bridge humbucker (Seymour Duncan JB)

Effects / signal chain

distortion, delay, boost

Tone character

tight low end, cranked mids, dry/in-your-face, articulate high-gain

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

high-gain, tight, mid-forward distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Schism sound.

Difficulty

7/10 · Riff

The notes are achievable but the tone hinges on cranked mids and tight right-hand muting rather than piling on gain.

Level: Expert-level — see more the hardest guitar songs →

Worth knowing

• Schism’s clean-to-heavy dynamics rely on the boost and pick attack more than gain — keep gain moderate and let the mids carry the riff.
• Adam Jones famously runs ONE consistent rig across Tool's catalog: a Diezel VH4 on channel 3 (never switched live) into Mesa 4x12 cabs, with a 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst (Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge, flipped) and an MXR M-133 Micro Amp as a clean boost into saturation.
• These knob values are a community-researched translation of the documented VH4 channel-3 settings (mids cranked to 8+, bass kept under half, treble & presence ~2-3 o'clock, gain moderate because the boost does the work) to a generic 0-10 amp. They are an honest STARTING POINT, not the official studio recall sheet — Tool's mixes layer multiple amps (modified 1976 Marshall Super Bass + Bogner Uberschall in the studio), so dial by ear.
• The single most important move for the Tool sound is HIGH mids (8+) and lower bass — the opposite of a typical scooped metal tone.

🎸 All Schism guitar tones — every part & section →

Schism guitar tone — FAQ

Share this tone

Sources

• Adam Jones Amp Settings — MusicStrive
• Amp Settings for Adam Jones of Tool — Guitar Chalk
• Gear Rundown: Adam Jones of Tool — Mixdown
• Adam Jones VH4 Channel 3 settings — Rig-Talk

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More like this

🎸 How to get Tool’s guitar tone →  ·  🎸 more Metal guitar tones →  ·  🎚️ Diezel settings →  ·  🎛️ best metal amp settings →  ·  🎸 more iconic guitar riffs →  ·  🎚️ Delay tone guide →  ·  🎚️ Distortion tone guide →  ·  🎚️ Boost tone guide →  ·  🎯 more high gain tones →  ·  📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

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