Soldier Side amp settings — Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV
The System Of A Down guitar tone for “Soldier Side”, dialed in for a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV with a Fender Player Plus Stratocaster. Studio version, Hypnotize album (2005) — the full 'Soldier Side' outro track, not the intro snippet
Gibson SG Standard with humbuckers → Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (modern channel) and 70s Marshall JMP100 modded by Dave Friedman, layered in studio with 1968 ES-335
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 3 |
| Bass | 4 |
| Mid | 7 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Presence | 5 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 5 |
01Tube Screamer style overdrive (TS9 or similar)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. This is essential; the Hot Rod Deluxe cannot produce Rectifier-level saturation alone. The TS pushes the front end and tightens bass response. Keep tone at 4 to avoid Strat ice-pick.
02ProCo RAT or high-gain distortion
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Stacked after the TS for Rectifier-style saturation. RAT's filter rolled back compensates for Strat brightness. Without this, you'll have crunch but not the sustaining gain of the original.
The original uses hot SG humbuckers into a Rectifier's modern high-gain channel. Your Strat's single coils are brighter and lower output, so I've pushed mids +3 vs typical SOAD settings, cut treble -2, and rolled your tone knob to 6 to approximate humbucker warmth. The Hot Rod Deluxe has no high-gain channel — amp gain stays at 3 to keep it as a clean platform while the recommended pedal stack provides all distortion. Without pedals, this tone is unobtainable on your rig.
Get this tone on your amp
These settings are for a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
Get ToneAdapt on Google PlaySong, artist and gear names are used to identify the tone being matched; ToneAdapt is not affiliated with or endorsed by the artists or manufacturers mentioned. Settings are AI-generated starting points — trust your ears.