Nail the ToneSum 41

In Too Deep

Sum 41 · All Killer No Filler · 2001

The riff is a bridge-humbucker rhythm tone — Whibley's humbucker-modded Gibson Marauder and a Les Paul Classic Goldtop were his guitars in this era, with Baksh on a PRS Singlecut — pushed into a mid-forward Marshall crunch rather than a scooped metal sound. Set a mid-gain amp around 7 on gain with mids up and just enough treble to keep the palm mutes clicking, then double the part left and right the way Jerry Finn tracked it. Roll the guitar volume back or hit the clean channel for the intro figure, and keep the bass tight so the eighth notes stay punchy.

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

Tuning

Standard tuning, no capo

Standard E tuning in the key of E; the record has two rhythm guitars doubled hard left and right, with the intro figure played clean before the distorted E5–A5 riff enters.

Part: Riff

Guitar

  • Gibson Marauder (mid-'70s, humbucker-modded) · Gibson '57 Classic · bridge pickup
  • Gibson Les Paul Classic 1960 Reissue Goldtop · Gibson humbuckers · bridge pickup
  • PRS Singlecut · PRS humbuckers · bridge pickup

Amp

Marshall JCM2000 DSL100

GAIN
7.0
BASS
5.0
MID
6.0
TREBLE
6.5
PRESENCE
6.0

Baksh's documented Marshall of the period and Whibley used a JCM2000 TSL live in 2001; the exact heads at the Metalworks/Cello sessions with Jerry Finn are not documented, so treat this as the era rig rather than a confirmed session amp. Whibley's Marshall JCM900 Lead 1960 4x12 was his first cab and appears in the 'In Too Deep' video — he credits it on Half Hour of Power, while press coverage of his Reverb sale describes it as being on the debut album.

Amp

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

GAIN
7.0
BASS
3.5
MID
4.5
TREBLE
6.5
PRESENCE
6.0

Whibley was using Dual Rectifiers up to roughly 2003–04 per community gear tracking, which fits the tight, saturated side of the record; Jerry Finn's documented tracking method was two amps at once, four mics (ribbon plus condenser) summed to one track, so a Marshall-plus-Mesa blend is the likeliest picture of the printed tone.

Tone character

bright pop-punk crunch · forward mids · tight palm mutes · doubled rhythm wall · clean chime on intro

easy

Two-finger power chords moving E5 to A5 in steady eighths with palm muting, plus a clean intro figure that needs accurate picking — the tapped solo is a separate, much harder job.

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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Sources