Adam Jones

[gambit]

Easily one of my favorite guitarists of all time, his tone is what I'm after. I've read just about everything on the net about how to get it. Yup, I know about the three heads. Yup, I know that he only uses Mesa's live now... my question is about a conflict in posts on the net on his EQ. I know he has a BOSS 7 band eq going at all times but some people say he is boosting mids (frown) and some people say he boosts treble and a little bass (smile.)

To let everyone know what I'm playing;

Amps:
MESA BOOGIE Trem O Verb
MARSHALL JCM 2000

Guitars:
Epiphone LP
fit with Seymour Duncan JB-4 in Bridge
Jazz in Neck

Effects:
Ernie Ball Volume
Crybaby Wah
Boss EQ
Boss Flanger
Boss Tuner
Boss Delay
Boss Compressor
MXR Micro Amp
MXR Phaser
Big Muff
Chandler Tube Driver
Bixonix Expandora



Any tips on getting closer to his sound... I play through both amps at the same time btw.

Thanks guys!

 

[Elpelotero]

I don't think it'll help much, but I have pics of his Diezel settings. The mids are boosted way up high and is gain is not very high.

 

[b0nkersx]

Easily one of my favorite guitarists of all time, his tone is what I'm after. I've read just about everything on the net about how to get it. Yup, I know about the three heads. Yup, I know that he only uses Mesa's live now... my question is about a conflict in posts on the net on his EQ. I know he has a BOSS 7 band eq going at all times but some people say he is boosting mids (frown) and some people say he boosts treble and a little bass (smile.)

To let everyone know what I'm playing;

Amps:
MESA BOOGIE Trem O Verb
MARSHALL JCM 2000

Guitars:
Epiphone LP
fit with Seymour Duncan JB-4 in Bridge
Jazz in Neck

Effects:
Ernie Ball Volume
Crybaby Wah
Boss EQ
Boss Flanger
Boss Tuner
Boss Delay
Boss Compressor
MXR Micro Amp
MXR Phaser
Big Muff
Chandler Tube Driver
Bixonix Expandora



Any tips on getting closer to his sound... I play through both amps at the same time btw.

Thanks guys!

He only uses Mesas live now? Are you talking about cabinets? I saw him in July and he was using two Diezel VH4s and his old Marshall.

Anyway, for the TOV, try Vintage, bass just around noon, mids dimed, treble between 12-2, presence off, diodes. Gain between 12 and 1. Bring in presence slowly if you need to. You kind of have to turn this up loud for it to sound really great, too. I've never played a JCM 2000 but I would start at the same settings and tweak from there.

On his GEQ, he boosts high mids and some of the lower treble bands a little bit.

 

[gambit]

Hmmm, im hearing so many different things about his EQ.

Yeah, if you can post the diezel pics that would be great!

 

[b0nkersx]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYUIlPZ5dQY

That guy knows a lot about Adam Jones and his gear. The GEQ shouldn't be a big deal either.

 

[gambit]

I'm playing through the trem-o-verb... what power settings should I be using and what tubes should I be using (6l6's or el4s?)

 

[phyrexia]

AFAIK he has removed the Boogie from the live shows.

 

[stephen sawall]

The thing about getting his sound is mixing a amp that is mostly preamp distortion (DR, Diezel, etc) with a amp that is mostly poweramp distortion (his non master volume Super Bass).

I have always felt most of his sound comes from the non master volume Marshall.

His sound has changed a lot over the years. Live and recorded sounds

I have a Tremoverb. See if this helps ....

Everything in o'clock ....

EL34
Vintage
spongy
tube rectifier

Master - 10~1
Presence - 11~1
Bass - 11~1
Mid - 2~3
Treble - 11~1
Gain - 10~2:30

One thing is for sure .... there is a lot of dynamics in his playing. Truth is if you played thru his rig with his setting, playing his riffs ... you are not going to sound like him. You are going to sound like you. It's really that simple. But feel free to chase the dragons tail.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Agreed...I've been on these 'tone of the stars' hunts before...no matter how much and what gear you buy, it never sounds like them. You'll always sound like you.

Do what you can with your rig to sound like YOU...you should be able to get a sick tone out of those two amps together.

Eric

 

[mikey383]

One thing is for sure .... there is a lot of dynamics in his playing. Truth is if you played thru his rig with his setting, playing his riffs ... you are not going to sound like him. You are going to sound like you. It's really that simple. But feel free to chase the dragons tail.

Anyone remember when Billy Corgan played through Eddie Van Halen's rig...he sounded like Billy Corgan.


Tone is in how you play. It's not the be-all-end-all, but it definitely has something to do with it.

 

[dmcguitar]

buuuuut....
evh always sound like evh, but there is no denying a change in sound / tone from DLR to sammy, to Carnal Knowledge to balance to VHIII, to the most recent 3 tracks sammy did for the greatest hits.

even the first 6 albums sound different...and if they put out a new album with the 5150iII the guitar will be different again....

so if you wanted an old evh tone, you'd need the 68 SLP, hagar era same thing with rack effects, or the soldano marshall combo, or the 5150 / 5150II...

even Dream theater... big difference in tones over the years...

so he might never nail Adam's tone, since he's not adam but you can get real close with the gear he used... (or a **** load of practice and doing nothing but playing to copy him... look at the guitarist that DLR used to have, Brian Young and Rush Parish, or any other Atomic Punks guitarist.. they nail old evh)

 

[fluff191]

I have always felt most of his sound comes from the non master volume Marshall.

+1

If you look at vids back in the early days when all he was using was his Marshall and compare it with his modern tone, that core sound is still there. Lots of mids and crunch. For my money, his early tone is still the best he ever sounded.

 

[stephen sawall]

I get more of his kind of sound from my JMP than my Tremoverb or a Diezel. ..... But that's me.

 

[dmt]

His marshall is an old 1980 Superbass thats been modded not a JCM2000... and yes he uses a Diezel live... the 2nd one is backup i think... I have been chasing his sound for a while, that thick organic tone of his is not that hard to emulate, however just having his gear is not enough.

What I took from his setup is the idea behind the rig. He uses three amps in unison for his live sound. One is for Treble/topend
(Marshall) another for Mids(Boogie) and the last for Lowend/Bass(Diezel). So even with slightly different amps it is possible to construct a rig that will get you a similar sound or feel. I use a Boogie for Treble/High mids, and an Ampeg Bass amp for Bass/Low Mids. Works very well for live. Balancing the two amps is essential to a good sound, but man does it kick!

 

[gambit]

thats very interesting... both of you guys.

So I'm hearing using the TOV using the vintage gain instead of the modern gain.

I'm hearing using EL34's instead of the 646's.

spongy and tube rectifier.

Can some more people chime in on reasons to use one tube vs. another on the TOV? same thing with the spongy and tube rectifier?

thanks guys!

 

[stephen sawall]

I am pretty sure about the EL34 .... because of the sound. The two power switches set that way the amp well have have better harmonics and dynamics. I would play on all 4 switch combination's for a while .... a few hours each. Then you well know how they effect the sound and feel.

Of course you could just ask Adam ? Who knows .... maybe he well reply to a commit ?

http://www.myspace.com/adamjonestv

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Jones_%28musician%29

 

[b0nkersx]

thats very interesting... both of you guys.

So I'm hearing using the TOV using the vintage gain instead of the modern gain.

I'm hearing using EL34's instead of the 646's.

spongy and tube rectifier.

Can some more people chime in on reasons to use one tube vs. another on the TOV? same thing with the spongy and tube rectifier?

thanks guys!

I would use diode and bold. His tone is pretty punchy.

EL34s are fitting because of how much mid freq he uses in his sound.

 

[gambit]

so the EL34's give more mid-range vs the 646's giving more of a treble or bass?

thx

 

[stephen sawall]

so the EL34's give more mid-range vs the 646's giving more of a treble or bass?

thx

It is 6L6 ... not 646. .... and there is more to it than that.

 

[gambit]

ummm.... ok... more to it...thats an understandable reply.... more to it.... like....?