10,000 Days (2006): Tool's fourth studio record, decoded
Tool's 2006 record, the strings, gauges, tunings, and rhythm-prog rig spec behind Adam Jones, Justin Chancellor, and Danny Carey. With citations.
Tool · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·
10,000 Days (Tool, 2006) is the band's fourth studio record. Adam Jones tracked rhythm and lead on Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottom (.010-.052) on his 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst (the canonical Tool instrument). Justin Chancellor tracked bass on his Wal MKII with Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky Bass strings. Danny Carey tracked drums on his Pearl Masterworks kit with Vic Firth Danny Carey signature sticks. Tunings primarily Drop D, with selected tracks in Drop D tuned a half step down. Co-produced by the band with Joe Barresi at Big Empty Space and The Lodge in North Hollywood. Reached #1 on the Billboard 200.
At a glance
Role
Active
Affiliations
- Tool, Joe Barresi (producer)
The album
10,000 Days, released May 2, 2006 on Volcano Entertainment, is Tool's fourth studio record. 11 tracks across 76 minutes, co-produced by the band with Joe Barresi at Big Empty Space and The Lodge in North Hollywood, California. The album represents the transition from David Bottrill (Lateralus, 2001) to the Barresi era of Tool production, a partnership that continued through Fear Inoculum (2019).
Who played on it
Adam Jones (lead guitar), Justin Chancellor (bass), Danny Carey (drums), Maynard James Keenan (vocals, songwriting). The classic Tool lineup, in place since Chancellor replaced Paul D'Amour in 1995, has been Tool's only studio-recording lineup across the post-Undertow catalog.
What they played
Jones tracked rhythm and lead on his 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst (the canonical Tool instrument across the catalog), with Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottom (.010-.052) strings, the set he named himself in a 2014 Guitar World interview. The heavy .052 low string sits at workable tension across Tool's Drop D tuning territory; for the half-step-down variant on selected tracks, the additional drop further reduces tension but the gauge stays manageable, and the light .010 top keeps his lead lines unchanged. Norlin-era Gibson humbucker pickup spec.
Chancellor on his Wal MKII bass with Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky Bass strings (.045-.105, swapped to a heavier .110 low string for the record's Drop D tuning), per Premier Guitar's Rig Rundown. The mid-forward, harmonically dense tone cuts through the Tool mix's heavy rhythm-guitar saturation. Carey's drum kit was a Pearl Masterworks setup with Vic Firth Danny Carey signature sticks (released by Vic Firth in collaboration with Carey).
Diezel VH4 + Marshall Super Bass tube amplification across the rhythm-guitar tracks. The Diezel + Marshall blend is the canonical Tool-era saturation formula, multiple amplifiers in parallel produce the layered, harmonically-rich rhythm tone that suits the band's polyrhythmic compositions.
The cultural moment
10,000 Days debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 in May 2006, the band's second consecutive #1 album after Lateralus. The album has been certified 2x platinum (RIAA, US). The 13-year gap between 10,000 Days and Fear Inoculum (2019) is the longest between consecutive Tool studio records and one of the most-discussed delays in modern rock-album release history. The Wings for Marie (Pt. 1) and 10,000 Days (Wings Pt. 2) two-track piece dedicated to Maynard's mother became the emotional centerpiece of the band's live shows for a decade.
If you want this rig
Skinny Top Heavy Bottom (.010-.052)
Why this one: The gauge Adam Jones named himself in a 2014 Guitar World interview. Heavier-gauge nickel-wound low strings for tension stability in Drop D, light top for unchanged lead feel. Same set on 10,000 Days as on Fear Inoculum (2019) and the Tool catalog more broadly.