Descending amp settings — Fender Champion 20

The TOOL guitar tone for “Descending”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 20 with a Gibson Les Paul Classic. Studio version, Fear Inoculum (2019) — main heavy rhythm and solo tone

Original rig

1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst (Seymour Duncan Distortion bridge) -> Diezel VH4 (Channel 3) blended with vintage Marshall Super Bass and Bogner Uberschall

High-gain, punchy, articulate modern-metal crunch with massive low-mid weight and tight top end

Amp settings — Fender Champion 20

CHANNELMetal voice (Voice 10 / '60s Thrift or 11 / Metal)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	6
Treble	6
Reverb	2
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Fender Champion 20 lacks a dedicated mid EQ and presence control, so select the high-gain 'Metal' voice to emulate Adam Jones's Diezel VH4 saturation. Keep the gain around 7 to maintain note separation in dense Drop-D voicings without turning muddy through the 8-inch speaker. Treble and bass are set slightly above flat to compensate for the naturally scooped response of smaller solid-state practice combos.

PRO TIPDrop tune to Drop D (D-A-D-G-B-E) and pick hard right next to the bridge saddles with a heavy pick (1.0mm+) to recreate Adam Jones's signature percussive attack and harmonic bite.

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These settings are for a Fender Champion 20. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Song, 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.