Riff Tone

Close Your Eyes

Breaking Benjamin

Guitarmetal2010s+

Original Gear

GuitarPRS Custom 24 (likely 2000s model, as used by Ben Burnley in studio)

AmpMesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (studio recording era, typical for Breaking Benjamin mid-late 2000s)

PickupsPRS HFS Treble (bridge) and Vintage Bass (neck) humbuckers

Amp Settings

gain8

bass6

mid5

treble6.5

reverb1.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 2010-2011 era. Gear inferred from band’s known studio rig for 'Dear Agony' and 'Dark Before Dawn' sessions. No direct evidence for this specific song, but PRS + Mesa/Boogie is confirmed for this era in multiple rig rundowns. No evidence of pedal use for main riff; high-gain amp tone is standard for BB rhythm parts.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationchunky low endarticulate pick attackcompressed and focusedminimal ambiencemodern metalcore clarityno audible modulation

Difficulty

The riff requires intermediate-level control of palm muting and picking accuracy at a moderate tempo, but does not involve advanced lead techniques or complex chord voicings.

Sources

How can I sound like Breaking Benjamin? - forum topic | Ultimate Guitar HooGie Walkthrough - Ben and Mark's Gear - YouTube How do I get a similar guitar tone to Breaking Benjamin? - Reddit

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account