Nail the ToneMeshuggah

Bleed

Meshuggah · obZen · 2008

"Bleed" is Ibanez custom 8-strings with Lundgren M8 bridge pickups running into Line 6 Vetta II modelers, taken direct rather than through a miked cab. The voicing is huge bass, deeply scooped mids, and enough treble and presence to keep the pick attack readable under the palm mute — Thordendal has described his general approach as lots of drive and bass, a little mid, some treble and presence. Keep it bone dry: no reverb, no delay, and a tight gate so the space between chugs is silent.

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

Tuning

F standard, 8-string (F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb) — a half step below 8-string standard

The main riff sits on the 7th (Bb) and 6th (Eb) strings, so it also works on a 7-string tuned a half step down (Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb); both guitars double the riff on the record.

Part: Riff

Guitar

  • Ibanez M80M custom 8-string (M8M prototype) · Lundgren Model M8 · bridge pickup

Amp

Line 6 Vetta II

GAIN
8.0
BASS
7.0
MID
2.5
TREBLE
6.5
PRESENCE
6.0
REVERB
0.0

Hagström confirmed the Line 6 rig on obZen and said the miked cabinet was abandoned because the speakers collapsed on the low palm mutes, so the record is essentially the modeler's direct signal; the specific amp model and preset were never published, and forum accounts still argue for a blended miked Marshall or a POD Pro instead.

Pedals

  • Noise gate (Vetta II internal gate or any tight gate) · noise gate · Fast attack and release, threshold just high enough to silence the gaps between chugs

Tone character

scooped mids · tight low end · dry and clinical · hard pick attack · digital top-end fizz · no ambience

advanced

The fretting hand barely moves — open string plus a bend at the 5th fret — but the picking hand has to hold an unbroken stream of triplet palm-muted chugs at about 114 bpm with even attack and no drift, which is a stamina and accuracy test more than a note-learning one.

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