Nail the ToneMy Chemical Romance

Helena

My Chemical Romance · Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge · 2004

The main riff is a bridge-pickup Les Paul into a cranked Marshall JCM2000 through a 4x12 - mid-gain enough to stay articulate under fast palm muting, with the bass pulled back so the chugs don't turn boomy. Keep gain around 7 and let picking attack do the work; the record's size comes from double-tracking two guitars hard left and right, not from more dirt. No flanger or delay on the riff itself - the BF-2 flange shows up in the section links.

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

Tuning

Standard tuning, no capo

The main riff is a palm-muted single-note figure high on the D string (around frets 9-14) in standard tuning; on the record it's doubled by a second guitar, so double-track it or accept a thinner sound.

Part: Riff

Guitar

  • Gibson Les Paul Standard (1991-93) · Seymour Duncan JB (SH-4) · bridge pickup
  • Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Standard · stock humbuckers · bridge pickup
  • Epiphone Les Paul Custom Elitist "Pansy" · stock humbuckers · bridge pickup

Amp

Marshall JCM2000 DSL100 head + 1960A 4x12

GAIN
7.0
BASS
4.0
MID
5.0
TREBLE
6.5
PRESENCE
6.0

Toro said in Revenge-era interviews that his rig was a JCM2000 DSL100 into two 1960A cabs, and later confirmed that same DSL100 was his amp until it died before The Black Parade; a competing account (Equipboard, from Life on the Murder Scene footage) reads the studio head as a JCM2000 TSL100 and even a Marshall JVM410H, which did not exist in 2004. Settings are for the Ultra Gain/red channel, deep switch off.

Amp

Marshall JCM2000 (second rhythm layer)

GAIN
6.5
BASS
4.5
MID
4.0
TREBLE
7.0
PRESENCE
6.0

Iero's rhythm layer sits alongside Toro's with slightly more scooped mids; his exact session head is not documented, and Benson and Plotnikoff are also known for stacking several amps from their own collection on rhythm tracks.

Pedals

  • Boss BF-2 Flanger · flanger · Slow, shallow sweep - heard on the verse/chorus link, not on the main riff
  • Boss GE-7 Equalizer · EQ · Slight upper-mid push, low end trimmed

Tone character

tight palm-muted crunch · forward upper mids · bright humbucker bite · controlled low end · double-tracked and wide

medium

Steady palm-muted 16th notes at a fast tempo with quick position jumps up and down the D string - the challenge is picking-hand endurance and keeping the mute even, not the note choices.

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