TUNELIT

Linkin Park · 2000 · Studio album

Hybrid Theory tuning.

Drop C♯ at concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD. 5 of 12 songs are tuned differently.

Hybrid Theory album cover

Album tuning

Drop C♯

At concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD.

MeasuredWidely reported

Tune like thisPlay alongAll 12 songs

Measured by TuneLit

At concert pitch

SourceOffsetEquivalent ASongsSpreadConfidence
MP3 copy (320 kbps), Warner Bros. 2000+3.1 ¢A 440.8120 to +4.3 ¢High
 Offset from concert pitch (A 440). Spread: the middle half of the songs, when four or more share the album's pitch. Confidence: how well the notes agree with one grid.

Before we measured, sources said: Drop C♯, with no pitch given (widely reported).

The debut, and the template for the early sound: Drop C♯ on almost every song, a 7-string in B Standard on With You and Runaway, and E♭ Standard on A Place for My Head and Forgotten. The MP3 copy of the CD TuneLit measured sits at concert pitch (+3.1 ¢), with Papercut about 12 ¢ sharp. TuneLit's semitone check from the audio agrees with the tabs on every song with a guitar.

12 songs · 5 tuned differently

Every song, ready to tune

Tune opens the tuner in that song's tuning, pitch included. Play along opens the song player set to that tuning, so the track plays in yours. What the labels mean

  1. 1. Papercut

    Different pitch

    Drop C♯ +12 ¢Measured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    Measured about 12 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 443), the one Hybrid Theory song clearly off the album's pitch; the Tune button includes it.

    Tabs put nearly every song in Drop C♯: drop D tuned down a half step (C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯). Brad Delson's red PRS of the era is listed in Drop C♯. Looking back in 2021, Delson called the One Step Closer riff "Drop D", the shape players usually name it by.

  2. 2. One Step Closer

    Drop C♯Measured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    Delson found the riff while bored at an early photo shoot, playing harmonics against the open low string. He calls the tuning Drop D; the tabs and TuneLit's audio check put the record in Drop C♯, the same shape a half step lower.

  3. 3. With You

    Different tuning

    B StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    TuneLit's audio check hears the open low B of the 7-string at concert pitch. On a 6-string, Drop C♯ covers most of the riffs an octave shape higher, but the low B needs the seventh string.

    Played on a 7-string guitar in B Standard (B E A D G B E): Delson's Ibanez RG7620 of 1999–⁠2002, listed for With You and Runaway.

  4. 4. Points of Authority

    Drop C♯Measured

    Tune Play along

  5. 5. Crawling

    Drop C♯Measured

    Tune Play along

  6. 6. Runaway

    Different tuning

    B StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    The audio check agrees with the low B, at concert pitch.

    A 7-string song like With You: B Standard on the Ibanez RG7620.

  7. 7. By Myself

    Drop C♯Measured

    Tune Play along

  8. 8. In the End

    Drop C♯Measured

    Tune Play along

  9. 9. A Place for My Head

    Different tuning

    E♭ StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    How to get there from the album's Drop C♯: String 6 up a whole step (C♯ → E♭); the other strings stay.

    TuneLit's audio check agrees with E♭ Standard.

    The Songsterr tab puts this one in E♭ Standard, with the low string at E♭ instead of the album's C♯.

  10. 10. Forgotten

    Different tuning

    E♭ Standard −5 ¢Measured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    How to get there from the album's Drop C♯: String 6 up a whole step (C♯ → E♭); the other strings stay.

    Measured about 5 ¢ flat (A ≈ 438.8); the audio check agrees with E♭ Standard.

    Tabbed in E♭ Standard on Songsterr, like A Place for My Head.

  11. 11. Cure for the Itch

    Drop C♯Measured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    Joe Hahn's instrumental of samples, scratching and strings, with no guitar part; it is listed in the album's tuning.

  12. 12. Pushing Me Away

    Drop C♯Measured

    Tune Play along

What the labels mean

Measured
TuneLit measured the pitch on an original CD or LP. The tuning name still comes from the sources.
Official
The band, a member, their producer or their guitar tech said it.
Widely reported
Trusted outlets, guides and tabs agree, but the band did not say it directly.
From tabs
From community tabs, or from players who tune along with the record.
Disputed
Sources disagree. The likeliest setting is shown; the notes name the other one.

Each song shows one label, the strongest it has, in this order. How we measure recordings →

Questions

What tuning is Hybrid Theory in?

Linkin Park recorded Hybrid Theory (2000) in Drop C♯ at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit on the CD. 5 songs use other tunings or pitches, listed song by song on this page.

Why does Hybrid Theory sound out of tune with my guitar?

Papercut sits about 12 cents sharp (A ≈ 443), so a guitar tuned to A 440 clashes with it. The Tune buttons on this page set the tuner's reference to match the record, so you only tune the strings.