My Way
Limp Bizkit — Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (2000)
Tuning: C# Standard (C#-F#-B-E-G#-C#)
Guitar: Six-string guitar with a bridge humbucker, tuned to C# standard across six strings
Playing: Precise clean picking, experimental modulation, heavy palm-muted rhythms and aggressive chord accents
Signal Chain
Build left to rightFLANGERISH
Clean path: warped modulation
TAPE DELAY
Clean path: Echoplex-style echoes
ROL JAZZ CH120
Clean path: bright amp substitute
212 ROL JAZZ '87
Clean path: clean speaker tone
SIMPLE GATE
Heavy path: control unwanted noise
CA DUO CH3 MODERN
Heavy path: Rectifier-style distortion
412 CA STAND OS S V30 90s
Heavy path: powerful 4x12 tone
Follow the chain from left to right. Optional blocks can be bypassed.
My Way combines two dramatically different guitar textures. The quieter sections feature a bright, strangely animated clean sound with unusual modulation and repeating echoes. The guitar can feel almost synthetic, with a metallic movement that contrasts sharply with the rhythm section. The heavy sections introduce a dense, aggressive distorted guitar with a strong low-midrange body, cutting pick attack and controlled low strings. Despite the saturation, the rhythm should retain enough definition for individual chord attacks and muted notes to remain distinct. The contrast between these two sounds is central to Wes Borland's distinctive playing on the track. This recipe aims to capture both personalities while remaining practical to build on the Neural DSP Quad Cortex.
Build the clean sound first. Start with Rol Jazz CH120 and its matching 2x12 cabinet. Keep the amp clean and bright. Add Flangerish before the amp and experiment with a slow-to-moderate rate and a pronounced effect depth. Then add Tape Delay to provide repeating notes and extra movement. Next, create a separate heavy signal path using CA Duo Ch3 Modern and a Mesa-style 4x12 cabinet. Add Simple Gate before the amplifier if needed. Concentrate on tight low notes and clear chords rather than maximum gain. Use Scene A to hear the clean path and Scene B to hear the heavy path. The clean sound should feel strange and spacious. The heavy sound should be immediate, punchy and powerful. Do not worry about reproducing the original Ibanez Wack'd effect perfectly. Start with recognisable flanging and gradually increase the unusual metallic character.
Wes Borland has directly identified a Maestro solid-state Echoplex, an Ibanez flanger using its Wack'd setting, and a vintage Selmer Zodiac Twin 30 as part of the My Way sound. He discussed this combination in a MusicRadar interview concerning his later work on Limp Bizkit's Gold Cobra album. Borland also confirmed in a Guitar World interview that the Selmer was used for the clean sounds on Chocolate Starfish, specifically describing the exceptionally bright breakdown tone in My Way. The Ibanez CF7's Wack'd setting is particularly important. It produces an unconventional, metallic modulation character that Borland has compared to ring modulation. Flangerish is a usable starting point on the Quad Cortex, but it does not reproduce that exact Ibanez circuit or its Wack'd setting. On suitable firmware, experimenting with the separate Ring Modulator device may offer another route to the more synthetic textures. The original Selmer Zodiac Twin 30 is not represented by a dedicated stock Quad Cortex amplifier model. Rol Jazz CH120 is therefore selected for its clean headroom and bright response, not because it models the Selmer. It should be treated as a functional substitute. Mesa/Boogie Rectifier amplification is well documented in Borland's late-1990s equipment history. The CA Duo Ch3 Modern model provides a plausible high-gain starting point, but the precise amplifier and settings used on the recorded heavy parts of My Way have not been independently established here. Borland has described tuning his six-string guitar down one and a half steps to C# standard. Some online transcriptions differ, so the tuning should ultimately be checked against the passage being performed. The original recording may contain multiple guitar takes, layered effects and studio processing. This two-path preset is a practical live-playing approximation, not an exact reconstruction of the recording.
This is an original, ear-led Quad Cortex recipe. It does not claim to reproduce the exact My Way recording chain, and it is not a supplied or downloadable Neural Capture. Tune the guitar to C# standard: C#-F#-B-E-G#-C#, from low to high. Use a suitably set-up guitar with strings heavy enough to maintain stable tension at the lower pitch. Start with a bridge humbucker for the heavy sections. For the clean sound, experiment with pickup selection and guitar volume to find the clearest attack without harshness. This recipe uses two separate signal paths. The clean and distorted amplifier blocks must not be connected in series. Split the input into clean and heavy paths, then route both towards the output. Use Scenes to mute or silence the inactive path. The signal-chain graphic on the website lists the devices for both paths. It is not a literal wiring diagram. Match the perceived output levels of both scenes before increasing volume. Begin with low monitoring levels while setting up the preset.
Build it in 9 steps
The following values are practical starting points, not verified recording-session settings. Where a control is described on a 0-10 scale, treat the value as approximate. Actual Quad Cortex controls and parameter ranges can vary between devices and firmware. The main priority is contrast: unusual bright cleans versus tight, saturated rhythm guitar.
Tune and prepare the guitar
Set the guitar to C# standard (C#-F#-B-E-G#-C#), low to high. Check string tension, intonation and pickup height. Start with the bridge humbucker for heavy parts. Use a clear pickup position for clean passages and keep the initial guitar volume high enough for a consistent input signal.
Create two separate signal paths
Split the guitar input into two independent paths on the Quad Cortex. One will handle the warped clean sections and the other the heavy rhythm tone. Both paths should reach the output without one amplifier feeding the other. Arrange the paths so Scenes can silence the inactive one. Check for accidental volume doubling when both paths are active.
Build the clean amplifier sound
On the clean path, add Ros Jazz CH120 followed by 212 Rol Jazz '87. Keep the amplifier clean. As a tonal target, begin with moderate Bass, moderately strong Mids and fairly bright Treble. Try approximate relative settings of Bass 4/10, Mid 5/10 and Treble 6.5/10 where equivalent controls are available. Adjust the amp level without introducing unwanted distortion. This is a substitute for the recorded Selmer, not an identical model.
Add the warped modulation
Place Flangerish before the clean amplifier. Begin with a slow-to- moderate modulation rate, moderate feedback and a fairly noticeable effect level. If the device offers percentage-based controls, an effect blend around 30-40 percent is a reasonable first experiment. Increase feedback gradually to introduce a more metallic edge. The desired character is strange, bright and animated rather than a conventional lush chorus. Stop if the sound becomes piercing or loses note definition.
Add Echoplex-inspired delay
Place Tape Delay after Flangerish and before the clean amplifier. Start at approximately 350 ms, Feedback around 25 percent and Mix around 20 percent, where these controls are available. Aim for several clearly audible repeats that complement the picked phrase without overpowering it. The real Maestro unit was a solid-state Echoplex, so this stock Tape Delay is a tonal approximation rather than an exact circuit model. Adjust the delay time to suit your playing and the recording.
Set up the heavy Rectifier amp
On the separate heavy path, choose CA Duo Ch3 Modern. Start with Gain about 5.5/10, Bass 4.5/10, Mid 4.5/10, Treble 5.5/10 and Presence 4.5/10, where these controls are available. Keep the low strings tight. Avoid completely scooping the mids, as this can make the guitar disappear behind the bass and drums. Adjust the master and output controls to balance the clean scene.
Add the heavy cabinet
Follow the Rectifier-style amp with 412 CA Stand OS S V30 90s. Begin with a dynamic microphone slightly away from the centre of the speaker cone. Try a high-pass target near 80 Hz and a low-pass target near 8 kHz if the cabinet block provides suitable filters. Move the microphone off-axis or reduce Presence if the distortion becomes fizzy. Preserve enough upper-midrange to hear the pick attack.
Control noise on the heavy path
Add Simple Gate before the heavy amplifier. Set the threshold just high enough to quiet pauses between aggressive rhythm figures. Do not use an excessively strong threshold that cuts off the decay of notes. The clean path should remain unaffected by this gate.
Programme and balance the Scenes
Configure Scene A so only the clean path is audible. Configure Scene B so only the heavy path is audible. Use the available per-scene level, mute or routing controls to silence the unwanted branch. Do not rely on bypassing an amp block alone if a dry signal can still pass through it. Match loudness between the scenes using output levels rather than adding unnecessary distortion.
Set up your scenes
Warped Clean
Use the Flangerish, Tape Delay, Rol Jazz CH120 and 212 Rol Jazz '87 path. Silence the heavy amplifier branch. Keep the sound bright and clean, with pronounced metallic movement and moderate echoes. This scene targets the unusual verse and breakdown textures associated with Borland's documented equipment.
Heavy Chorus
Use Simple Gate, CA Duo Ch3 Modern and the 412 CA Stand OS S V30 90s cabinet. Silence the clean path. Keep the distortion thick but defined, with strong palm-muted low strings and aggressive chord attacks. Maintain a controlled bass response and enough mids to cut through the mix.
Clean tone too ordinary?
Increase Flangerish feedback or effect intensity gradually. Experiment with more metallic modulation. On supported firmware, a carefully blended Ring Modulator may get closer to the character of the Ibanez Wack'd mode.
Clean tone too piercing?
Reduce the clean amp Treble or the flanger feedback. Try a different pickup position before removing all the high frequencies.
Heavy tone too muddy?
Lower Bass on CA Duo Ch3 Modern and check the cabinet low cut. Reduce gain slightly if the low notes lose definition.
Heavy tone too fizzy?
Reduce Presence or Treble slightly. Move the cabinet microphone away from the centre or lower the high-frequency cut.
Too much noise between riffs?
Raise the Simple Gate threshold gradually. Stop when pauses are quiet but sustained notes still decay naturally.
Scenes change volume too much?
Compare both Scenes at the same monitoring level. Adjust path output levels rather than relying on amplifier gain. Check that the inactive path is fully silenced.