Faint amp settings — Fender Frontman
The LINKIN PARK guitar tone for “Faint”, dialed in for a Fender Frontman with a Fender Squire. Studio version, Meteora (2003)
PRS Custom 24 (bridge humbucker) → Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, Drop C# tuning, D'Addario NYXL 52-10 strings
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 3 |
| Bass | 4 |
| Treble | 6 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 6 |
01High-Gain Distortion (Boss MT-2 or similar)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for this tone; the Frontman cannot produce Mesa Rectifier saturation on its own. A Boss MT-2, MXR Fullbore Metal, or TC Electronic Dark Matter will get you in the ballpark.
02Noise Gate
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Keeps the tight, percussive stops clean between riffs. Boss NS-2 or similar.
The Fender Frontman is a clean solid-state practice amp with no mid control and cannot approach Dual Rectifier saturation — amp gain is set low (3) to stay clean while a high-gain distortion pedal handles all the dirt. Bass is pulled back from the original (Mesa at 6-7) because the Frontman's small speaker gets flubby with heavy low-end. Treble raised slightly to compensate for single-coil brightness loss vs the PRS humbuckers.
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