How does Deftones get the atmospheric clean tone?

The clean tone uses reverb and likely a chorus or modulation effect, creating a spacious, dreamy quality. The amp is set completely clean for maximum dynamics.

How to get the Change heavy tone?

High-gain amp with thick, fuzzy saturation. The distortion should be loose and textural, not tight. Layer with reverb for atmosphere. The contrast with the clean sections is what makes it powerful.

Grunge & Alternative2000White Pony

Change (In the House of Flies) Amp Settings

by Deftones

Change features Deftones at their most atmospheric — whispered clean passages that erupt into massive, textural heaviness. The guitar tone floats between delicate cleans and overwhelming distortion, perfectly mirroring the song's emotional arc.

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What Makes This Tone Iconic

Change is the blueprint for Deftones' atmospheric approach. The clean sections are spacious and reverb-drenched, while the heavy sections are a wall of textured distortion that envelops rather than attacks. The transition between the two is what gives the song its emotional power. It influenced a generation of atmospheric metal and post-rock.

Key Tone Elements

Clean tone with reverb and chorus for atmospheric verses
Heavy, fuzzy distortion for chorus/climax sections
Dynamic contrast — extreme quiet-to-loud shifts
Marshall JMP-1 and ADA MP-1 preamps layered
Lower tuning for darker, heavier sound

Original Recording Settings

Well-SourcedResearched tone data for "Change (In the House of Flies)" by Deftones

Original Gear

Guitar: ESP Custom Horizon (turquoise, same as ATF) / ESP SC-600 series
Pickups: EMG 81 (bridge and middle positions) (bridge)
Amplifier: Marshall JMP-1 MIDI tube preamp + ADA MP-1 tube preamp into Marshall 9200 power amp
Channel: Clean preset (verse) / High gain preset (chorus)
Tuning: Drop C (C-G-C-F-A-D)
Pickup Selector: bridge
Strings: 0.011-0.050 (Ernie Ball)

Dual preamps confirmed by Guitar.com. Added Line 6 POD for digital processing. Through Marshall 1960B 4x12 cabs. Produced by Terry Date at Larrabee Sound (West Hollywood) and The Plant (Sausalito).

Amp Settings

Gain

3.0

Bass

4.0

Mid

6.0

Treble

7.0

Presence

6.0

Volume

6.0

Verse clean settings estimated. Song has dramatic clean-to-heavy dynamic. Chorus sections use gain ~6-7 with fuller bass and mids. No published settings exist.

Effects Chain

→

Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble (or Rocktron Intellifex)

chorus

→

Boss DD-5 Digital Delay (or Rocktron unit)

delay

→

Boss FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz

fuzz

→

1.Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble (or Rocktron Intellifex) — Shimmering clean verse tone relies heavily on chorus effect. Forum user noted: 'I was amazed when I got an Intellifex how much the presets pretty much made everything sound like ATF and WP.'

2.Boss DD-5 Digital Delay (or Rocktron unit) — Adds spaciousness to verse clean tone.

3.Boss FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz — Available for heavy sections. Key pedal in Carpenter's rig.

Playing Technique

Verse: gentle arpeggiated clean voicings with open strings ringing—atmospheric, shimmering texture. Chorus: transition to heavier power chords. Note: Chino Moreno contributed rhythm guitar on White Pony (Gibson SG Standard)—intro atmospheric tone may be played by Chino.

Sources+

Guitar.com: 'The Genius of White Pony' - confirms EMG 81 pickups, JMP-1, Marshall 9200, Line 6 POD
Guitar World: Christie's article confirms ATF guitar also used on White Pony
Wikipedia: White Pony production details
Premier Guitar: 'Deftones: A Little Darkness' interview
SevenString.org: Deftones tone discussion with Intellifex reference
Equipboard.com - Stephen Carpenter