Nail the ToneLinkin Park

Numb

Linkin Park · Meteora · 2003

On Meteora, Brad Delson's rhythm sound was a PRS Custom 24 on the bridge pickup into a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier through Recto 4x12s, with a Marshall Plexi blended in for mids and definition. For "Numb," the riff is a wall of doubled and panned takes rather than one big amp, so a single guitar needs a little less gain than you'd guess and a hard-panned double to sound right. Scoop the mids, keep the bass firm but not boomy, and gate the palm mutes.

Where these numbers come from: worked out from the documented rig and the sound of the record

Tuning

Drop C# (Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb)

Delson's Meteora-era main guitars were strung and tuned to this drop-C# setup, so the riff's power chords are all one-finger shapes on the low two strings; the opening piano/synth melody is not guitar on the record.

Part: Riff

Guitar

  • PRS Custom 24 (Soldier graphic) · PRS HFS · bridge pickup
  • Ibanez RG470XL · stock humbucker · bridge pickup

Amp

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

GAIN
7.5
BASS
4.0
MID
2.5
TREBLE
6.5
PRESENCE
6.0

Modern channel into Mesa Recto 4x12s with Vintage 30s; the Dual Rec is the documented core of Delson's Hybrid Theory/Meteora rhythm sound, though no primary source ties a specific head to this track and one Meteora write-up notes an Orange TH100 was also in the control room.

Amp

Marshall 1959SLP Super Lead (Plexi)

BASS
6.0
MID
7.0
TREBLE
6.0
PRESENCE
5.0

Blended underneath the Mesa for British mids and note definition — a Plexi head is visible in Meteora session photos; it has no gain control, so run both Loudness knobs high (around 8) and jumper the channels rather than dialing a gain number.

Pedals

  • Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor · noise gate · Threshold about 9 o'clock, fast decay to tighten palm mutes
  • Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer · compressor · Light: sustain 9 o'clock, level unity
  • ZVEX Super Hard On · clean boost · Boost about halfway, hitting the amp front end

Tone character

saturated high gain · tight low end · scooped mids · layered doubled tracks · compressed sustain

easy

Two-note power chords moved between four frets on the low strings in a drop tuning, with steady eighth-note picking and palm mutes — the only real work is keeping the mutes tight and the changes clean.

Want this on your own amp?

These are the record's settings. Tell us what you play through and we'll translate every knob to the amp you actually own — free.

Adapt it to my gear

Sources