page_title: Brad Delson
section_title: Playing style and equipment
hierarchical_section_title: Brad Delson / Playing style and equipment
caption_attribution_description: Brad Delson playing at the Smirnoff Music Centre in Dallas, TX during the Projekt Revolution tour 2007.
context_page_description: Bradford Phillip Delson is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist and one of the founding members of the American rock band Linkin Park.
context_section_description: Delson's style is sometimes criticized as being too simplistic, lacking complexity, and largely limited to non-solo, non-instrumental sections, particularly during the Hybrid Theory and Meteora eras. He has stated that he "doesn't like to show off", and that he attempts to play his guitar so that it sounds as though it were the keyboard or strings so as to seamlessly fit in with the band's hip-hop- and electronica-style compositions.  Delson has also stated that he likes to produce a gritty, "sampled" feel with his sound.  Although a self-described "fervent opponent of guitar leads," he started performing solos in the Minutes to Midnight era after his bandmates encouraged him to do so. Delson performs guitar solos on the tracks "What I've Done," "In Pieces" and "The Little Things Give You Away." Delson also played many solos on Linkin Park's 6th studio album The Hunting Party.
  In the early days of Linkin Park, their usual bassist, David "Phoenix" Farrell was unavailable due to touring commitments with Tasty Snax. As a result, on Hybrid Theory, Delson filled in as their recording bassist. For live shows, Brad has occasionally swapped instruments with Farrell during "Nobody's Listening" and he also plays the keyboards during the song "Hands Held High." During the A Thousand Suns Tour he expanded his live repertoire to include percussion and backing vocals, as well as keyboards during "Waiting for the End" while Mike Shinoda performs the song's rhythm guitar parts. During the 2012 tour promoting "Living Things" he also played keyboards during other songs like "Burn It Down".
  Delson typically performs while wearing a pair of Shure brand headphones, in order to protect his hearing.
  Delson's equipment includes the following:
caption: Brad Delson performing at Smirnoff Music Centre in Dallas, Texas on August 4, 2007.
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