Linkin Park went on hiatus for seven years after lead vocalist Chester Bennington’s death in 2017, but last September, the band announced that they were returning with new music and a new lineup—including vocalist Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain. A new album, From Zero, was released in November 2024, followed by the single “Up From the Bottom” earlier this year, and this summer, the band tore off on an international arena and stadium comeback tour. Founding lead guitarist Brad Delson is still a creative member of the band, but has elected to step back from touring. And so on the road, Alex Feder takes his place alongside founding guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, DJ Joe Hahn, and bassist Dave Farrell.
PG’s Chris Kies headed to downtown Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena to meet up with Mike Shinoda, plus techs Mark, Ben, and Tracy, to learn how the band pulled off their much-anticipated gigs this year.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Boredom Beater
This is Shinoda’s “workhorse” Strat, a longtime trusted pal that’s featured on songs like “What I’ve Done.” There have been plenty of times when Shinoda gets bored on tour, and at one point, he started painting his guitars to keep himself occupied—including this Strat.
Painted PRS
This PRS is from the band’s Meteora-era, a definitive instrument in the early years of the band. Again, the guitar’s aesthetic customizations were executed by Shinoda himself, with ink markers, spray paint, and a paint pen—plus some custom “etchings” on the fretboard. This and his other guitars are outfitted with custom Kill Spencer straps.
Blackout
This black Gibson SG came into the picture around Linkin Park’s third record, 2007’s Minutes to Midnight.
Empty Spaces
With new vocalist Armstrong’s voice filling a different spot in the band’s sound, Shinoda has adjusted some of his tunings and playing. This Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster helps give Armstrong’s voice space and keeps everyone in their sweet spots, frequency-wise.
Hybrid Theory Heavy
This 2008 PRS Custom 24 is a replica of Delson’s Hybrid Theory-era PRS, and sports Paul Reed Smith’s autograph on the back. It lives in drop C-sharp tuning, and if Delson is playing it, it’s loaded with D’Addario NYXLs (.010-.052). When Feder’s at the wheel, he goes for heavier top strings mixed with Delson’s packs, for a gauge range of .054-.044-.032-.017-.013-.010.
Another PRS, finished in grey and tuned to drop D sharp, features the Minutes to Midnight logo and gets brought out for “One Step Closer.” A sunburst PRS DC3 is equipped with even heavier strings for a drop A tuning: A-E-A-D-G-B.
’61 Standard
This Fender Custom Shop Rory Gallagher Stratocaster has become a staple of the live show. It’s part of a set of three that were created for Delson, designed and relic’d to mimic a 1961 Standard Stratocaster. It stays in drop D, with Delson’s standard .010-.052 strings. He uses .72mm Dunlop picks, while Feder uses slightly heavier .88mm picks.
Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, and Alex Feder’s Rack Systems
Delson’s rig (used by touring member Alex Feder) lives on the left side of this rack, while Shinoda’s takes up the right. They both include a Radial KL-8, two Radial JX44s, two Shure AD4Qs, and two Fractal Axe-Fx III units. Shinoda’s setup also includes two Electro-Harmonix HOG2 pedals. The fractals use IRs that were captured by old FOH engineer Pooch, using a Randall cabinet.
MIDI handles all of the changes for the show, though there’s a Fractal FC-12 foot controller on hand in case of emergency for manual switching. Fred Carlton of Nerdmatics, who built the Linkin Park rig for this 2024-2025 run promoting From Zero, shared some more information with us after filming: “The backline gear consists of about 11 computers running Ableton, all receiving locator information from the main playback computers. We maintain redundant computer systems for Joe Hahn’s DJ rig, Mike Shinoda’s keyboard rig, the Audio FX rig, and the Playback system. Single-computer setups are used for both guitar rigs and the bass rig, as these stations only send MIDI patch changes and do not handle audio. Additional single-computer systems are in place at Monitor World, FOH, and within the Visual department.
Each station carries an updated timeline of the show, allowing techs to insert automation data such as MIDI or timecode to control their systems. Once changes are made to the main Ableton session, we distribute updated .ALS files to all departments, enabling them to integrate their specific data into the new timeline. This workflow allows us to implement changes quickly while keeping all departments aligned. Having separate computers also gives each tech the ability to test their own system independently. In the event of losing RTP network connectivity, they can punt the show locally without relying on external automation.”
Sharpened with Precision
This Fender Custom Shop Precision bass is Dave Farrell’s go-to, his tech Tracy explains. It’s tuned to either drop D or standard, and Farrell uses Ernie Ball Bass Hybrid Slinky strings (.045-.105) with Dunlop .88mm picks.
Ernie Ball Basher
This beloved Ernie Ball Music Man StringRay, with active electronics and neck-through construction, is the second-most used bass in the rack, and comes out for hits like “Papercut” and “In the End.” It’s tuned to drop C-sharp.
Mum Knows Best
Though his other StingRay gets more play, this is the original item, which Farrell’s mother bought for him. It gets tapped for tracks “Somewhere I Belong” and “Faint.”
Dave Farrell’s Rack
Along with the same accoutrements (Radial KL 8 and JX 44, Shure AD4Q), Farrell also uses a pair of Fractal Axe-Fx IIIs, and runs three signals—one of an Ampeg SVT model, a Marshall JMP-1 model, and a clean direct signal, run through emulations of two Ampeg 4x10 speaker cabinets—to front of house, which can mix and match between the three as needed.
Fender Custom Shop Rory Gallagher Stratocaster
Fender Custom Shop Precision bass
Ernie Ball Bass Hybrid Slinky Strings (.045-.105)
