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Toxicity coverChop Suey! · System of a Down

Chop Suey!

Tone for HOTONE Pulze Mini · by @faldy · Humbuckers · Drop C · updated 11 October 2026 · Made with AI

Crushing, raw nu-metal distortion built around a searing Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier tone tailored for Drop C riffs.

Plays it on your Pulze Mini without changing your saved presets.

On the Pulze Mini

Every block in the order the signal goes through it. Dial these in by hand, or play it on your Pulze Mini above to send them all at once.

DYN

Gate 1

Threshold
38
PRE

TS Drv

Based on Ibanez® TS-808®

Gain
10
Tone
65
Volume
75
AMP

Rector Dual M

Based on Mesa/Boogie® Dual Rectifier® amp

Gain
72
Presence
55
Master
50
Bass
46
Middle
58
Treble
62
CAB

Rector 4x12A

Based on Mesa/Boogie® Rectifier® 4x12" cabinet

Volume
50
Low Cut
85
High Cut
8000
EQ

Guitar EQ 1

Off
FX1

Digi Dly

Off
FX2

Room

Mix
14
Pre Dly
0 ms
Decay
35
Low Damp
50
Hi Damp
50
Mod
50

How it works

  • CABDaron Malakian tracked the iconic rhythm riffs using a high-gain Mesa/Boogie Rectifier into a 4x12 cab.
  • PREA clean overdrive boost upfront tightens the low end, keeping down-tuned Drop C chugs punchy rather than boomy.
  • DYNThe noise gate clamps down hard between rapid stop-start staccato chords, recreating the razor-sharp production of the Toxicity album.
  • ToneYour medium-output bridge humbucker has focused mids that cut right through this thick wall of high gain without getting muddy.

Tuning

CGCFAD

The record is in Drop C, low to high: C G C F A D.

Tune your guitar the same way. Or make your version above, say how yours is tuned, and your Pulze Mini shifts it to match.

On the guitar

Made for a humbucker guitar (Les Paul / SG style).

Heavy Riffs & Chorus

NeckBridge123
  1. 1Pickup Bridge
  2. 2Volume 10
  3. 3Tone 10

Full volume and tone on the bridge humbucker deliver maximum bite and tight low-end tracking.

Intro & Quiet Verses

NeckBridge123
  1. 1Pickup Neck
  2. 2Volume 6
  3. 3Tone 8

Roll volume back to soften the crunch; note that the studio track used an acoustic guitar for the very start.

The original rig

Daron Malakian achieved the massive, cutting tone on Chop Suey! by running an Ibanez Iceman or Gibson guitar straight into high-gain Mesa/Boogie and Marshall tube amplifiers without distortion pedals. The aggressive wall of sound relies on bridge humbuckers, saturated tube gain, and tightly layered multi-tracked performances.

Daron Malakian (Rhythm and solo): Ibanez Iceman, Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier, Marshall Plexi, Mesa/Boogie and Marshall 4x12 Cabinets, Multi-Track Layering

See the full original rig, with every setting and its sources

Playing it

  • Plant the meat of your picking palm right over the bridge saddles for dead-silent, punchy chugs on the low C string.
  • Hit aggressive downstrokes on the staccato verse chords and let the noise gate choke the ringing instantly.
  • Keep your picking hand relaxed during the rapid tremolo picking sections in the chorus to maintain even dynamics.

More tones

Browse the songs

Shared by @faldy under CC BY 4.0: use it, share it and change it, crediting @faldy. Version 1, updated 11 October 2026.