The Middle
Jimmy Eat World · Bleed American · 2001
The riff is a Fender American Standard Telecaster on the bridge pickup into a cranked non-master-volume Marshall — Adkins' 1979 JMP Super Lead — with the dirt coming from the amp rather than a pedal. Set a medium-high volume for crunch, push the mids, keep the bass modest so the palm mutes stay tight, and double the part to get the record's width. A small amp like a Fender Champ handles the thinner top layer and the solo, which Adkins named specifically.
Where these numbers come from: worked out from the documented rig and the sound of the record
Tuning
Standard tuning, no capo
Standard tuning in D; the riff is doubled by stacked rhythm overdubs, and Adkins plays .013-gauge strings, which is part of the thick, stiff attack.
Guitar
- Fender American Standard Telecaster · stock Fender single-coils · bridge pickup
Amp
Marshall JMP Super Lead 100 (1979)
Adkins has said he recorded every album from Clarity onward with his '79 JMP Super Lead into a 4x12, so it is the most likely source of the loud riff track; the non-master-volume Super Lead has no gain control, so the number above is the Volume I (High Treble input) setting. Other accounts credit an Orange OR120 and a Marshall JCM800 on this album, with Tom Linton on the Orange.
Amp
Fender Champ
Adkins describes an "overdub pyramid" in which the amps get smaller toward the top of the stack, and names an American Standard Telecaster into a Champ for the solo on this song — a good choice for the thinner doubling layer of the riff too.
Tone character
forward mids · tight palm-muted attack · bright Tele snap · amp breakup, no pedal dirt · stacked rhythm layers
Simple two-finger shapes low on the neck, but the palm-muted picking has to stay even and the syncopated pushes land exactly on the beat or the riff loses its bounce.
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 gearSources
- Jim Adkins and Zach Lind on the making of Bleed American (MusicRadar)
- How Jim Adkins nailed his solo on The Middle (MusicRadar)
- Jimmy Eat World Highlights Their Go-To Gear Through the Years (Reverb)
- Jim Adkins gear (Equipboard)
- Which Orange for Jimmy Eat World tones? (Orange Amps Forum)
- Rig tour: Jimmy Eat World (Guitar World / Total Guitar)
- Bleed American credits (Discogs)