Toxicity

The recording

Toxicity was recorded in 2001 at Cello Studios in Los Angeles with engineer Dave Schiffman. Daron Malakian tracked his rhythm parts on a drop‑C tuned Ibanez Iceman, routing the bridge pickup through a Boss MT‑2 Metal Zone into a Marshall JCM800 2203 head and a 4×12 Celestion V30 cabinet. The amp was miked with a Shure SM57 and an AKG D112, summed through a Neve 8068 console before tape compression, giving the riff its tight, percussive attack.

Tuning Drop C (C G C F A D)

Original gear

Ibanez Iceman IC520

Guitar

Daron Malakian used his Ibanez Iceman IC520, equipped with a high‑output bridge humbucker, for the main riff of “Toxicity”. The guitar’s aggressive single‑coil character helped cut through the heavy rhythm section.

Boss MT-2 Metal Zone

Pedal

A Boss MT‑2 Metal Zone was placed in front of the amp as a boost and tone‑shaping unit, tightening the low‑end chug on the song’s distorted sections.

Marshall JCM800 2203

Amp

The signal was fed into a Marshall JCM800 2203 head, cranked to high gain to produce the razor‑sharp, aggressive tone heard on “Toxicity”.

Marshall 1960 4x12 Cabinet (Celestion V30)

Cabinet

The JCM800 was paired with a Marshall 1960 4×12 cabinet loaded with Celestion V30 speakers, delivering the tight low‑end punch and pronounced mids that define the track’s rhythm tone.

Alternatives

Practical playing approach

Recreation guidance, not a claim about undocumented studio control positions.

1. 1.Drop the guitar to Drop C (C G C F A D) before playing.
2. 2.Select the bridge pickup and roll the tone knob back for a tighter attack.
3. 3.Use a slight boost with a Metal Zone pedal to tighten the low‑end chug.
4. 4.Palm‑mute the low strings and attack the strings aggressively to capture the percussive rhythm.