The Downfall of Us All
A Day to Remember · Homesick · 2009
This is a drop-C metalcore rhythm tone: an active-humbucker guitar into a boosted high-gain tube head, with the amp's bass pulled back so the low open C stays punchy instead of muddy. Set a Tube Screamer with the drive all the way down and the level up in front of the amp, keep gain around halfway, and let the palm mute do the tightening. Double-track the part left and right — the width on the record is two performances, not a stereo effect.
Where these numbers come from: worked out from the documented rig and the sound of the record
Tuning
Drop C (C G C F A D)
Rhythm guitars are double-tracked hard left and right; heavy strings (roughly .011-.054 or .012-.056) keep the low C tight enough for the palm-muted chugs.
Guitar
- Gibson Les Paul Custom · EMG 81 · bridge pickup
- Schecter C-1 · active humbucker (EMG-type) · bridge pickup
Amp
Peavey 5150 II
Neil Westfall has said in interviews that a Peavey 5150 pushed by a Tube Screamer is his core sound; that is period rig, not a confirmed Homesick session log. A competing account for this era points at Tom Denney's Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, and the layered album tone may well be both amps blended.
Amp
Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Modern channel, boosted, bass kept low so the drop-C chugs stay tight rather than boomy. Denney was photographed and filmed with a Dual Rectifier in the era he played on the record.
Pedals
- Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer · overdrive used as boost · Drive near 0, Tone 6-7, Level high — tightens the low end and adds pick attack
Tone character
tight palm-muted chug · high-gain modern crunch · boosted, controlled low end · forward pick attack · double-tracked and wide
The riff is one-finger low-string power shapes (open, 9th, 5th fret) at a fast tempo, so the work is all in the right hand: even sixteenth-note picking and a consistent palm mute that shuts the chug off cleanly.
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.
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