Numb
A thick, distorted guitar part beneath piano and synthesizer lines.
What is the Numb guitar tone?
The Numb guitar tone is a thick, distorted guitar part beneath piano and synthesizer lines, heard on Linkin Park's 2000s alt metal recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Linkin Park reportedly tracked it with the PRS guitars that Brad Delson told Guitar World really define Hybrid Theory and Meteora, through the amps Wikipedia says he used live and in the studio on the band's first two albums, Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifiers and modified Marshall 1959SLP reissue heads; Thomann's account of the band's sound says that on Meteora he combined amps for the first time, adding a Marshall Super Lead to the Mesa to blend their characters, and that two Dual Rectifiers can be seen behind him in the Numb video, though no source read here names the guitar, amp or tuning on this song; Mike Shinoda plays the piano and synthesizers, and Meteora was the first album with bassist Dave Farrell after he rejoined; the band had written around eighty demos on tour, entered NRG Studios by August 2002, put the guitar parts on in October once the drums were done and mixed the album with Andy Wallace in New York, where it was finished in December 2002; produced by the band with Don Gilmore, Numb closes Meteora and was its third single, and it topped Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart for 12 weeks and reached number 11 on the Hot 100; its video, shot in Prague with the band's performance filmed at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, became the band's first to pass one billion views on YouTube. Here the guitar is one layer under piano and synthesizers, so a thick, saturated sound with a tidy low end matters more than extra gain.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a high-gain head and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
Numb amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup.
- Gain 7
- Bass 4
- Middle 5
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- Amp distortion (album era: Dual Rectifier and Marshall Super Lead)
- The control that matters most
- The low end. With piano and synthesizers carrying the melody, keep the bass below halfway and the gain where the chords stay thick but clear, and check your tuning against the record, since no source read here documents it.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own. A first plan starts with 7 days free, $0 today.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Bridge pickup
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
Does the Numb tone sound off on your amp?
Pick what you hear. You get the knobs to turn from the starting point above, and how far.
What gear did Linkin Park use on Numb?
The PRS guitars that Brad Delson told Guitar World really define Hybrid Theory and Meteora, through the amps Wikipedia says he used live and in the studio on the band's first two albums, Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifiers and modified Marshall 1959SLP reissue heads; Thomann's account of the band's sound says that on Meteora he combined amps for the first time, adding a Marshall Super Lead to the Mesa to blend their characters, and that two Dual Rectifiers can be seen behind him in the Numb video, though no source read here names the guitar, amp or tuning on this song; Mike Shinoda plays the piano and synthesizers, and Meteora was the first album with bassist Dave Farrell after he rejoined; the band had written around eighty demos on tour, entered NRG Studios by August 2002, put the guitar parts on in October once the drums were done and mixed the album with Andy Wallace in New York, where it was finished in December 2002; produced by the band with Don Gilmore, Numb closes Meteora and was its third single, and it topped Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart for 12 weeks and reached number 11 on the Hot 100; its video, shot in Prague with the band's performance filmed at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, became the band's first to pass one billion views on YouTube.
Sources: Guitar World: Brad Delson on Linkin Park's From Zero, Wikipedia: Brad Delson, Thomann: the Linkin Park signature sound, Wikipedia: Meteora (album), Wikipedia: Numb (Linkin Park song)
Tonelify's tone matcher reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the Numb tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Numb
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Numb tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Numb?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same thick, distorted guitar part beneath piano and synthesizer lines from different positions.
What amp did Brad Delson use on Numb?
Amp: Album era (Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifiers blended with a Marshall Super Lead). Guitar: PRS, the model on this song not documented. Sources: Guitar World, Wikipedia and Thomann.
What were Brad Delson's amp settings on Numb?
None of the sources cited on this page gives Brad Delson's full amp settings on Numb. The numbers here are a starting point for that kind of part, not the settings from the session, and Tonelify rewrites them for the amp and guitar you own.
How do you get Brad Delson's tone on Numb?
The low end. With piano and synthesizers carrying the melody, keep the bass below halfway and the gain where the chords stay thick but clear, and check your tuning against the record, since no source read here documents it. Play it with the bridge pickup.
Can you get the Numb tone without the original gear?
Yes. The parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order, and those translate to other equipment. Tonelify's adaptation step works them out for the amp and guitar you own.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
A match for your own gear takes a plan, and a first plan starts with 7 days free with nothing charged that day: Stage is $6.99 a month for 20 matches, Headliner is $10.99 a month for unlimited matching within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.
