I've started jamming with my little brother playing the drums. He's only 16 and can play practically anything he hears. Anyway, we've been doing some Tool songs lately to practice, and I'm trying to assemble a good Adam Jones sound without spending obsene amounts of money for pedals, amps, etc. I've got it down pretty good so far, but I thought I'd see if any of you guys had any suggestions; including effects, tones, amp settings etc.

I really don't listen to Tool all that much, but there's great tone in what I've heard. If you haven't already, just google "Adam Jones Guitar Rig." The first handfull of links alone will offer diagrams and posts from other forums with lists of what he's been using lately. Pretty cool stuff.

A friend of mine, and great guitarist, John Z. was asked by Adam Jones to help create a certain sound for a song on 10,000 Days. After the session, Jones said to John, "So I guess you're gonna be my new guitar tech, how's $10 an hour sound?" John, who has a master's degree in music theory, politely declined.

If you really want to emulate his sound you'll need a Les Paul Custom Silverburst and a small collection of Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier and Diezel heads .

Truthfully though, the meat and potoatoes of his sound really lies in the high gain distortion found in Mesa and Diezel amps. Unfortunately there isn't really a distortion pedal that will give you that kind of sound (trust me, i've got a closet FULL of them). Unless your amp has a good distortion channel, your best bet would be something like a Boss Metalzone which you can get for about $100 new and you'll get a serviceable sound to work with. Then get yourself a Delay and a Chorus and you'll be able to emulate 95% of his stuff. If you can only get one, get a delay. You can get a used Boss DD-3 or DD-5 Delay for under $100 nowadays. The DD-6 will be a little pricier though.

So the real answer is good, thick distortion + delay + chorus.

What kind of amp and guitar are you using?

Thanks for the response. Right now, I'm using an Epiphone Les Paul Standard, but I just ordered the Epiphone version of the Silverburst Custom....so I'll have that in a matter of days. For amps, I'm actually using a Line 6 Spider 212 combo, just because it's loud and small enough to lug around. I also have a late 70's Hiwatt Lead 100 with a Marshall cab. For effects, I've got a Morley Bad Horsie Wah, a Boss DS-1 (though I use the distortion from the amp primarily), some sort of Boss Delay pedal, and I just ordered a Boss BF-3 Flanger. The sound I have going works so far, but I'm always open to suggestions.

Yeah that sounds like it could work well as long as you're able to tweak the right distorted sound out of your amp. You've got all the essential pieces there (i didn't mention a wah cause it wasn't essential but he does employ a lot of sweeping wah usage, especially on Aenima), and a chorus wouldn't make a huge difference, but it will enhance your sound on the clean passages. Btw, how is the Bad Horsie? I've been using a Crybaby for 10 years now and i was thinking of trying something new.

what a douche. i've heard the guys in tool are pretty arrogant nowadays. a buddy of mine saw them in greensboro (i think) for the 10,000 days tour and maynard came out and ordered a black sheet be put up in front of the stage because the audience "wasn't good enough to see us tonight" or some bullshit like that

Crybabys sound great, I might end up getting one myself. I like the Morley pedals because they're switchless. You just step on and the Wah is engaged, and step off and it's instantly in bypass. I remember getting one probably 10 years ago and just got used to playing that way. As for the tone, it's a really good "middle of the road" sound. Not too fat, or not too nasily. I actually think most Crybabys sound much better, so if I find out they have a switchless model, I'd be all over that. I used to use a Boss Chorus pedal for a lot of clean stuff, but it crapped out on me and I haven't replaced it. For the Tool sound, I know Adam Jones doesn't use a chorus...but rather a flanger to get most of the same sounds. It's all in the rate, you can get a Flanger to sound like a Chorus pedal and vise versa.

The real thing I think I'm missing right now is how to get that huge "controlled feedback" sound, like the beginning of Stinkfist. I'm thinking of getting a overdrive pedal, but I really have no idea but would work best at this point.

I'm not surprised, Maynard can be a jackass sometimes, ha ha.

I had no idea he was usinging a flanger.

I've got the Boss CE-5 and i'm pretty fond of it.

Danny used to be pretty cool, having people over to his house after his gigs with Volto. I went a few times because I knew John and the bartender at the club (La Va Lee in Studio City). Adam Jones was at the club one night to check out the band, I thought he was kinda nerdy and anti-social. His girlfriend was a typical LA blonde narcissistic bitch. I went to see Tool in Vegas at the Hard Rock and ran into Danny's entourage. They acknowledged me, but at a Tool concert, I was just another fan. I have little desire to go see them again.