Sober amp settings — Vox Vt40+
The Tool guitar tone for “Sober”, dialed in for a Vox Vt40+ with a Dean Ml select fluence. Studio version, Undertow (1993)
1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst (Seymour Duncan JB) into blended 1976 Marshall Super Bass and Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (pre-Diezel era)
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 2 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Mid | 5 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 5 |
01Ksr Ceres one
Lead/Rhythm high-gain preamp mode; acts as the primary gain engine
02Suapouen Vintage overdrive
Tight boost in front of the Ceres to clamp low-end flub
03Jim Dunlop Cry Baby GCB95
Bypassed for main riffs; engage for vocal sweeps and solo textures
The KSR Ceres preamp pedal serves as your primary distortion engine to recreate Adam Jones's blended Marshall/Mesa Undertow crunch, so the VT40+ is set to its cleanest transparent channel with amp gain kept low to prevent muddy double-gain staging. The Vintage Overdrive runs as a clean boost (Drive 0, Level 8) into the Ceres to tighten low-end tracking for fast Drop D palm muting. Because active Fishman Fluence pickups have higher output and sharper treble than Adam's passive JB, guitar tone is pulled slightly back to 8 to avoid harshness.
Get this tone on your amp
These settings are for a Vox Vt40+. 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.