One Step Closer
Thick, saturated drop C# riffing with a tight, heavy low end.
What is the One Step Closer guitar tone?
The One Step Closer guitar tone is thick, saturated drop C# riffing with a tight, heavy low end, heard on Linkin Park's 2000s alt metal recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Linkin Park reportedly tracked it with Brad Delson's blue PRS CE24, the first PRS he bought, with part of his earlier band Xero's first publishing advance, and the main guitar he recorded Hybrid Theory with, in drop C# tuning through a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier; Delson names that rig in his own account of the song and says he is pretty certain the CE24 was the guitar, and Wikipedia adds modified Marshall 1959SLP reissue heads to his amps on the first two albums; the song was recorded in 2000 at NRG in Los Angeles with producer Don Gilmore. Detuned parts need the bass control pulled back further than feels right, or the low strings turn to mud as soon as the gain rises.
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.
One Step Closer 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
- Noise gate → Amp distortion → Chorus on clean passages
- The control that matters most
- The tuning. Delson played it in drop C#, a half step below drop D, so the weight comes from the strings rather than the bass knob. Pull the bass back further than feels right, or the low C# turns to mud as soon as the gain rises.
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. Your first match is free with an account, and needs no card.
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.
What gear did Linkin Park use on One Step Closer?
Brad Delson's blue PRS CE24, the first PRS he bought, with part of his earlier band Xero's first publishing advance, and the main guitar he recorded Hybrid Theory with, in drop C# tuning through a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier; Delson names that rig in his own account of the song and says he is pretty certain the CE24 was the guitar, and Wikipedia adds modified Marshall 1959SLP reissue heads to his amps on the first two albums; the song was recorded in 2000 at NRG in Los Angeles with producer Don Gilmore.
Sources: Guitar World: 35 PRS guitarists on why they love their PRS, Wikipedia: Brad Delson, Wikipedia: One Step Closer
Tonelify 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 One Step Closer tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of One Step Closer
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
One Step Closer tone questions
What amp settings do you need for One Step Closer?
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, saturated drop C# riffing with a tight, heavy low end from different positions.
What is the most important control for the One Step Closer tone?
The tuning. Delson played it in drop C#, a half step below drop D, so the weight comes from the strings rather than the bass knob. Pull the bass back further than feels right, or the low C# turns to mud as soon as the gain rises.
Can you get the One Step Closer tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Brad Delson's blue PRS CE24, the first PRS he bought, with part of his earlier band Xero's first publishing advance, and the main guitar he recorded Hybrid Theory with, in drop C# tuning through a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier; Delson names that rig in his own account of the song and says he is pretty certain the CE24 was the guitar, and Wikipedia adds modified Marshall 1959SLP reissue heads to his amps on the first two albums; the song was recorded in 2000 at NRG in Los Angeles with producer Don Gilmore, but the parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order. Those translate to other equipment, which is what the adaptation step does.
Is One Step Closer a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Linkin Park's 2000s alt metal catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
Your first match for your own gear is free with an account, and needs no card. After that both plans start with a 7-day free trial: 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.
