# Six directions for Tone Assist

Researched 8 September 2026. These are original, artist-inspired presets, not
artist endorsements, signature products or exact album recreations. A capture
records one device setting; input drive and downstream EQ do not turn it into a
fully adjustable model of every knob on the original amp.

## ten56 — Industrial Weight

Vola's own artist material describes Quentin Godet's contrast between technical
playing and ten56's low-tuned, stacked-gain sound. Luka Rozaka's signature guitar
uses a 28.5-inch scale and P90 bridge pickup. The band's industrial arrangement
language matters as much as the amp. We use Fortin, 5150, Bogner and a captured
Swollen Pickle full rig as authored alternatives: short gates, clamped lows,
abrasive layers and darker supporting bass. We do not assert these are the
band's recording amps. [Godet's artist page](https://volaguitars.com/blogs/artists/quentin-godet),
[Rozaka's artist page](https://volaguitars.com/blogs/artists/luka-rozaka),
[Vola's IO feature](https://volaguitars.com/blogs/news/french-juggernauts-ten56-go-global-with-io).

## Sleep Token — Ritual & Bloom

Guitar tech Billy's 2024 rig demonstration identified a captured Revv Generator
with a Mesa cabinet inside a Quad Cortex live rig. That supports a Revv-based
heavy starting point, rather than unverified claims about album plug-ins. The
pack contrasts firm low-register rhythms with restrained leads, intimate cleans
and large clean ambience. Jazz Chorus, Fender and Hiwatt captures are our
complementary choices, not a claimed artist signal chain. [Rig demonstration
reported by Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/sleep-token-iv-rig-reveal).

## Meshuggah — Mechanical Pulse

Mårten Hagström's interview describes custom 50-watt Fortin rhythm heads and
Axe-Fx for leads and cleans. We prioritize dry attack, controlled bass and
audible picking over simply maximizing distortion. Four rhythm voices vary
body, midrange and gating; lead and texture voices introduce movement and
echo. This is based on a documented historical rig, not a claim that every
2026 performance uses that setup. [Hagström interview](https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/meshuggahs-marten-hagstrom-a-higher-standard?page=1).

## Periphery — Progressive Detail

The 2023 Rig Rundown documents Invective 120 heads, Axe-Fx systems and Invective
cabinets mixing Vintage 30 and Creamback speakers. The selected capture includes
the Invective's onboard boost and that speaker combination, so the core presets
avoid adding another unnecessary boost. Clean articulation, melodic gain and
layered ambience supply the other half of the pack. Pickup response still
matters: Split Glass suggests a split coil but does not synthesize one.
[Periphery Rig Rundown](https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/periphery-2023).

## Knocked Loose — Hardcore Pressure

The 2024 rundown identifies captured EVH 5150 III rigs, including an EL34
variant. Isaac Hale separately describes densely layered recordings and an
abrasive supporting "hell tone" involving a Bogner Überschall Max and fuzz.
The pack therefore separates the main rhythm from thinner, hostile layers.
Our Bogner capture is an Überschall MKII, not the Max; the Swollen Pickle full
rig is a practical captured alternative. One preset cannot reproduce ten or
more separately played tracks. [Rig Rundown](https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/knocked-loose-2024),
[Isaac Hale interview](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/isaac-hale-knocked-loose-wont-go-before-youre-supposed-to).

## Loathe — Concrete & Haze

Erik Bickerstaffe's 2024 rundown traces Hiwatt and Marshall use to a modded
JCM800 model in an Axe-Fx III, alongside baritone guitars and experimental
effects. The pack keeps British midrange, darker highs and clean/heavy contrast.
Reverb before drive makes Bloom Into Brick respond differently from a normal
post-amp ambient chain. The July 2026 interview about A Stranger to You also
emphasizes DI-based recording and experimentation. Our presets do not claim
the album's exact chain. [Rig Rundown](https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/loathe),
[2026 artist interview](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/loathe-a-stranger-to-you-erik-bickerstaffe).

## What the packs actually implement

Each pack contains four rhythm, two lead, two clean, two texture and two bass
presets. The twelve bass sounds are original companion choices using B7K,
Alpha, Ampeg and Orange captures; they are not claims about the artists' bass
gear. All processing uses Tone Assist's native NAM A2 Full engine and native
gate, drive, EQ, compressor, chorus, delay and reverb. There is no substitute
pitch shifter, octave generator, freeze or feedback simulator hidden behind
those names. Delay settings are fixed, not host-tempo-synchronized.

All guitar and bass capture selections are full rigs. Cab and captured pedal
stages are already present; no second cabinet is appended. Every recipe retains
the original TONE3000 creator, model ID, source link and license. The complete
machine-readable inventory is in `website/assets/preset-packs/recipes.json`.

## Capture license and delivery

TONE3000's terms permit rendered audio demos while restricting redistribution
of model files. Native Tone Assist presets embed those files for offline use.
Consequently the loadable presets and ZIPs are private, installed for the
authenticated requesting user; the public website publishes audio and our
authored recipes only. A recipe JSON is not a one-click native preset installer.
[API terms](https://www.tone3000.com/api/terms),
[example capture license](https://www.tone3000.com/tones/full-rig-29798).

## Verification and listening method

The exporter renders each authored chain, sets a conservative output trim,
saves a `.t3kpreset`, reloads it into a fresh native processor and compares the
complete output. Accepted relative RMS error is below 0.001. Website audio comes
from this reloaded preset. Reference inputs peak at -12 dBFS; output targets
-22 dBFS RMS where peak headroom allows, with a -6 dBFS peak ceiling. This is
reference-clip calibration, not perceptual loudness matching or a guarantee for
every player's input level.

The preset library uses all three complete exported arrangements: CHUG.0.1
(54 seconds), CHUG.0.2 (123 seconds), and WAR.0.1 (204.669 seconds). Each of the
72 presets has an audition on every song: 216 full-song versions. Guitar presets
reamp every recorded, MIDI, clean and lead guitar take independently; bass
presets reamp the exported dry virtual-instrument bass. A/B uses the same song,
performance and stereo positions. The rest of the arrangement forms one shared
backing, with a switch to isolate the processed guitars or bass.

The preset-library release originally used unrelated isolated DI excerpts. Those
public previews were replaced after the user's correction; the full arrangements
are the authoritative demos. No notes are repeated to extend the duration. The
existing strict Tone Assist source preparation reconstructs lead/clean DI edits
from the Cubase archive and preserves rhythm/MIDI exports. One POD-only clean
overlay without a matching DI is omitted, as in the session room. Stem-level
static mix trims retain the reference balance; they are not additional amp
processing. Lower your interface input if a hot pickup drives a preset harder
than the demonstration.

## Gear dossiers (0.2.1)

`website/assets/preset-packs/gear-notes.json` is the editorial source for 22
hardware records and 72 preset-specific artist relationships. Each record
includes a history, authored sonic role, capture identity limits and direct
manufacturer/interview sources checked on 8 September 2026. Family matches,
variant matches, changed versions and companion bass tones are separate labels.
Album evidence is distinguished from touring gear. These labels are not sound
similarity scores. Every preset's details and recipe download include the notes.