Adam Jones tone on a budget (not anymore) for Tool cover band

[SFW]

Have you ever tried your modeler through a high quality PA speaker (12-15", $1k+)? Just curious as to how the Laney would compare. I would like to but have never seen one of those Laney cabs in store.

I've played through a pair of very nice QSCs a few times before I got the Laney. What I like about the Laney is that it feels just like having a real guitar cab on stage. It has a thump and a girth to the sound that I haven't gotten out of a PA monitor. I was the first one in my band to get the Laney, and after the first practice with it, the other guitarist and bassist ended up buying them as well. IMHO, it makes the modeler experience much more like playing a real amp. I got mine from Sweetwater.

Not a great picture, but you can see the three Laney cabs in it...

 

[JDs Couch]

Feeling similarly. I think I will also bring the Wizard MTL MKII eventually but at first I would like to have a feeling of the stage, space, security etc.

I hear you man. I regularly gig my 84 Mesa Mark IIC+, always have. And the prices for those have gone insane. Sometimes I think about the possibility of theft but honestly don't worry much. You only live once. Use that shit.

 

[skoora]

I hear you man. I regularly gig my 84 Mesa Mark IIC+, always have. And the prices for those have gone insane. Sometimes I think about the possibility of theft but honestly don't worry much. You only live once. Use that shit.

When I was gigging I was always close to my gear. I had plenty of other nights to socialize. Also, as soon as we finished, it would get loaded in the vehicle, if at all possible and then driven right to the rehearsal space. I owned the vehicle used so I could control it better. I always let the band know that I didn’t mind taking it back and I would meet up later. That way they could mingle if people dug what we did.
Usually at least one would always volunteer to help out.

 

[DrewJD82]

This was very helpful many thanks! I am also feeling closer to Edwards. Or a Maybach Lester.

I was thinking exactly the same thing, how to get all this feedback / noises with a modeller. A simpler version of this rig might be a 2x12 with a couple monitors. But not sure, it may not be cost efficient.

Fuck cost efficient!

As long as you aren’t on any silent stages a 2x12 pointed fairly close, or better yet, on a volume pedal so you can just bring it in as you need it, might go a long way.

 

[mermer]

I hear you man. I regularly gig my 84 Mesa Mark IIC+, always have. And the prices for those have gone insane. Sometimes I think about the possibility of theft but honestly don't worry much. You only live once. Use that shit.

Fuck cost efficient!

As long as you aren’t on any silent stages a 2x12 pointed fairly close, or better yet, on a volume pedal so you can just bring it in as you need it, might go a long way.

Man these are definetely not helping. I would enjoy using MTL MKII because it nails both early and later tones of AJ very well. But it’s rather heavy and carrying a 2x12 cab would also not be efficient. Still, if I would go to a Tool rig and hear a breathing amp from the stage, it would definetely be more exciting.

Building two different rigs might be ideal. For fly rigs, rehearsals, a pedalboard (including VH4 pedal and other necessary effects) + IR-J (or any other tube preamp pedal, let’s say IR-J for now). Then for more common rigs, the IR-J can be replaced by Wizard MTL.

The pedalboard, even including IR-J, would cost less than Quad Cortex. I know that QC have many other functionality but this is what I think right now.

What do you say about that?

 

[DrewJD82]

Man these are definetely not helping. I would enjoy using MTL MKII because it nails both early and later tones of AJ very well. But it’s rather heavy and carrying a 2x12 cab would also not be efficient. Still, if I would go to a Tool rig and hear a breathing amp from the stage, it would definetely be more exciting.

Building two different rigs might be ideal. For fly rigs, rehearsals, a pedalboard (including VH4 pedal and other necessary effects) + IR-J (or any other tube preamp pedal, let’s say IR-J for now). Then for more common rigs, the IR-J can be replaced by Wizard MTL.

The pedalboard, even including IR-J, would cost less than Quad Cortex. I know that QC have many other functionality but this is what I think right now.

What do you say about that?

Just disclosing that I can’t stand NDSP as a company so I’ll pretty much shoot down anything regarding them and suggest any other digital solution before an NDSP product. For a fly rig I’d seriously consider the ToneX stuff, it’s pretty damn legit sounding and you could technically get a capture of a Marshall and a Diezel load on it. That could fit on the same board with the other pedals without taking up much more room.

And I’d probably go with the IR-J before the VH4; last month I was in a Tool tribute that never got off the ground but when learning the songs and going over the tones I realized there was far more Marshall tones involved than I’d previously thought and ultimately wasn’t missing anything using a boosted Plexi circuit.

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

Just disclosing that I can’t stand NDSP as a company so I’ll pretty much shoot down anything regarding them and suggest any other digital solution before an NDSP product. For a fly rig I’d seriously consider the ToneX stuff, it’s pretty damn legit sounding and you could technically get a capture of a Marshall and a Diezel load on it. That could fit on the same board with the other pedals without taking up much more room.

And I’d probably go with the IR-J before the VH4; last month I was in a Tool tribute that never got off the ground but when learning the songs and going over the tones I realized there was far more Marshall tones involved than I’d previously thought and ultimately wasn’t missing anything using a boosted Plexi circuit.

I’ve always felt like a Marshall covers AJ better than any other single amp. Including diezel

 

[DrewJD82]

I’ve always felt like a Marshall covers AJ better than any other single amp. Including diezel

Especially the pre-Lateralus stuff. I really hadn’t realized how much Aenima was Marshall-dominant!

 

[BeZo]

But it’s rather heavy and carrying a 2x12 cab would also not be efficient.

What do you say about that?

4x12 cabs have castors. You don't have to carry them. They roll right into the club.

Just sayin'.

 

[Sixstringflannel]

I’ve always felt like a Marshall covers AJ better than any other single amp. Including diezel

Agree with this. The closest I have been was with an SV20 I had for a bit. Even with 20 watts it still immediately nailed the tone and most importantly the dynamics. I even have a Helios 100 now and can’t quite get there, even though on paper I should. With the SV20 the guitar/pickups didn’t matter as much.

Also, on the feedback thing, he’s had the frequout on his board when they did some studio stuff on IG videos.

 

[mermer]

Just disclosing that I can’t stand NDSP as a company so I’ll pretty much shoot down anything regarding them and suggest any other digital solution before an NDSP product. For a fly rig I’d seriously consider the ToneX stuff, it’s pretty damn legit sounding and you could technically get a capture of a Marshall and a Diezel load on it. That could fit on the same board with the other pedals without taking up much more room.

And I’d probably go with the IR-J before the VH4; last month I was in a Tool tribute that never got off the ground but when learning the songs and going over the tones I realized there was far more Marshall tones involved than I’d previously thought and ultimately wasn’t missing anything using a boosted Plexi circuit.

I’ve always felt like a Marshall covers AJ better than any other single amp. Including diezel

Especially the pre-Lateralus stuff. I really hadn’t realized how much Aenima was Marshall-dominant!

I also feel the same. Pre-Lateralus era has so much Marshall DNA in the sound. The later stuff has also but it sounds thicker and more saturated. But it’s achivable with a couple boosts.

Agree with this. The closest I have been was with an SV20 I had for a bit. Even with 20 watts it still immediately nailed the tone and most importantly the dynamics. I even have a Helios 100 now and can’t quite get there, even though on paper I should. With the SV20 the guitar/pickups didn’t matter as much.

Also, on the feedback thing, he’s had the frequout on his board when they did some studio stuff on IG videos.

Maybe I can get a 20 watt amp instead of IRJ, will check the used market. I did not try the studio series, SC20 would also work well.

4x12 cabs have castors. You don't have to carry them. They roll right into the club.

Just sayin'.

Yes but I do not own a 4x12. I would like to get a Mesa OS but they are expensive.

 

[gibson5413]

Might be worth looking into

https://www.diezelamplification.com/vh4pedal/

 

[Sixstringflannel]

My inclination is that the Quad Cortex can cover all of the bases mentioned here. Grab some decent 3rd party IR’s and you can run a VH4 & Marshall. The only additional effects for AJ stuff you would need is the wah, and maybe a flanger, and a freqout for feedback. That’s pretty frictionless. It’s not as sexy as a new hog with tubes, but it does work incredibly well. Only reason I sold my QC is because I stopped playing live, otherwise it was fantastic. Plenty of AJ presets on there for templates. My 2 cents after reading most of the recommendations here.

 

[mermer]

My inclination is that the Quad Cortex can cover all of the bases mentioned here. Grab some decent 3rd party IR’s and you can run a VH4 & Marshall. The only additional effects for AJ stuff you would need is the wah, and maybe a flanger, and a freqout for feedback. That’s pretty frictionless. It’s not as sexy as a new hog with tubes, but it does work incredibly well. Only reason I sold my QC is because I stopped playing live, otherwise it was fantastic. Plenty of AJ presets on there for templates. My 2 cents after reading most of the recommendations here.

I’m sure it will nail it. I would like to have some warmth to it as well so maybe a tube poweramp might help.

Which pickups would you suggest? Straight Duncan Distortion / 59 set or any other recommendations? The guitar will be a Les Paul Custom most probably. Worth mentioning, my favourite pickups up-to-date are early TTops. They are very low output, with A5 magnet and just nails all the tones I am looking for. In AJ perspective a bit more powerful might be beneficial, it would be also beneficial to have a different sounding guitar in the arsenal.

I have been curious about Motor City Afwayu pickups but as far as I know the customer service is not so good. I waited for almost 3 months for a couple of pickups from Arcane Inc. in 2024. Maybe I should have ordered directly from Reverb, but do not want to experience something similar.

 

[Sixstringflannel]

I’m sure it will nail it. I would like to have some warmth to it as well so maybe a tube poweramp might help.

Which pickups would you suggest? Straight Duncan Distortion / 59 set or any other recommendations? The guitar will be a Les Paul Custom most probably.

I’d try to get the DDJ. I know that Sweetwater had some replicas made a while under “hand wound by MJ” or something. I’m a bit foggy but I’m a huge AJ fan and I was almost going down that route. I have a Tremonti bridge pickup in essentially a LPC spec McCarty, but I wouldn’t recommend it for AJ tones. Heck I can get them pretty well on my 58 335 RI with MHS pickups. I’d stick to his recipe though. You’re already wanting that warmth from the amps and I don’t think you’d want to compromise again pickup wise.

 

[mermer]

I’d try to get the DDJ. I know that Sweetwater had some replicas made a while under “hand wound by MJ” or something. I’m a bit foggy but I’m a huge AJ fan and I was almost going down that route. I have a Tremonti bridge pickup in essentially a LPC spec McCarty, but I wouldn’t recommend it for AJ tones. Heck I can get them pretty well on my 58 335 RI with MHS pickups. I’d stick to his recipe though. You’re already wanting that warmth from the amps and I don’t think you’d want to compromise again pickup wise.

Yes if I can find a DDJ that would be great though. I will open a thread in the classifieds.

 

[Sixstringflannel]

Yes if I can find a DDJ that would be great though. I will open a thread in the classifieds.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...ncan-distortion-bridge-humbucker-pickup-black

Read the description. Might be what you’re looking for. “Hand wound by MJ”. Now I don’t know if that’s AJ specs but a lot of people have requested it from custom orders over the years from MJ so I’m inclined to think they just put it into production without stepping on Gibsons toes. This is all speculation from me though

 

[mermer]

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...ncan-distortion-bridge-humbucker-pickup-black

Read the description. Might be what you’re looking for. “Hand wound by MJ”. Now I don’t know if that’s AJ specs but a lot of people have requested it from custom orders over the years from MJ so I’m inclined to think they just put it into production without stepping on Gibsons toes. This is all speculation from me though

Yes I saw it but Sweetwater do no ship to EU unfortunately :/.

Arcane Inc. has a pickup called Powerdozer. 16.7k with A8. 13 was a great pickup but it was rather smooth sounding. The specs are similar on paper but I’m not sure how would it sound / fit to the rig which is not yet built (:

 

[Reverend Bow]

Might be worth looking into

https://www.diezelamplification.com/vh4pedal/

I have the clone of that.

2 channels and it rips on the channel 2 high gain side, and the Channel 1 side does a very decent clean - dirty tone. It also takes drive pedals and fuzz well

 

[mermer]

I have the clone of that.

2 channels and it rips on the channel 2 high gain side, and the Channel 1 side does a very decent clean - dirty tone. It also takes drive pedals and fuzz well

I did not decide on the setup yet (real amp vs synergy vs IR-J vs QC) but thank you for mentioning it!