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The Chainsmokers & Coldplay

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Band Overview

The Chainsmokers and Coldplay's collaboration on 'Something Just Like This' represents a fascinating meeting of electronic pop production and Alternative Rock sensibility, released in 2017 during a creative overlap between both acts' touring schedules. The Chainsmokers brought their signature synth-driven EDM foundation while Coldplay contributed the melodic guitar infrastructure and atmospheric textures that define their post-2014 era. From a guitarist's perspective, this track is deceptively simple on the surface but requires precise timing, clean tone control, and understanding of how to layer guitar against dense electronic arrangements without getting buried in the mix. The guitar work here is handled by Coldplay's Jonny Buckland, whose approach emphasizes restraint, tasteful dynamics, and single-note melodies that cut through the electronic landscape rather than compete with it. What makes this collaboration essential for intermediate guitarists is learning how to adapt your playing to complement synths and programmed drums instead of driving the song as the primary melodic instrument. The difficulty sits in the intermediate range, not because of complex fingerings or speed, but because of the precision required in tone shaping, timing lock with electronic elements, and knowing when to play less rather than more.

What Makes The Chainsmokers & Coldplay Essential for Guitar Players

  • The main guitar line uses clean single-coil tones with subtle compression to maintain consistent attack and sustain across the verse sections. Listen for the exact picking dynamics in the opening riff; Buckland uses controlled dynamics to make a simple melodic pattern sit perfectly against the synth progression without piercing the mix.
  • Jonny Buckland employs minimal overdrive on the chorus sections, relying instead on pickup response and amp gain rather than heavy distortion. This approach teaches guitarists how to voice chord progressions in a frequency-friendly way when competing with electronic instruments.
  • The song showcases the importance of tone shaping with mid-range emphasis rather than treble-heavy settings typical of rock music. Watch for how the guitar presence sits in the 2-4kHz range, giving clarity without harshness when layered with synth pads and electronic drums.
  • Palm-muting appears subtly during the bridge sections to add rhythmic texture and separation from the verses. The technique here is refined, serving as punctuation rather than the driving rhythmic element a rock song might demand.
  • Buckland demonstrates how single-coil guitars can deliver powerful melodic statements without needing humbuckers or heavy gain. The interplay between the guitar's natural chime and Coldplay's production choices shows how tone is shaped as much by gain staging and EQ as by the instrument itself.

Did You Know?

The original guitar demo for 'Something Just Like This' was recorded with a Fender Telecaster rather than a Stratocaster, giving the track its distinctive bright attack. Coldplay's studio approach often favors Telecasters for their punch in dense mixes, contrary to their earlier rock-oriented work.

Jonny Buckland recorded the guitar parts separately from the main Coldplay band sessions because The Chainsmokers were based in New York while Coldplay was in London. This meant the guitar had to be mapped and timed to pre-existing electronic drum patterns rather than live band interaction, requiring exceptional timing precision.

The track uses virtually no reverb on the guitar during verses, favoring a dry, intimate tone that contrasts sharply with Coldplay's typically lush ambient approach. This production choice was deliberate to allow the synths and electronic elements space to breathe without phase cancellation.

The guitar tone sits in a frequency range specifically chosen to avoid masking the lead vocal line and The Chainsmokers' signature synth melody. Engineers employed surgical EQ cuts around 5-6kHz to reduce harshness while maintaining clarity.

This collaboration influenced how Coldplay approached guitar tones on subsequent releases, with more emphasis on complementary textures rather than guitar-led arrangements. The experience proved valuable for understanding modern pop production where guitars must adapt to electronic-first compositions.

The pedal board used for this session was notably minimal, with only a compressor and a subtle chorus effect added to the signal chain. Most of the tone character comes from a Fender Deluxe Reverb driven at moderate levels rather than stacked effects.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Parachutes 2000

Coldplay's debut showcases Jonny Buckland's foundational fingerstyle approach and clean tone architecture that influences his work on collaborative tracks. Tracks like 'Yellow' and 'Trouble' demonstrate how to build emotional resonance through simplicity, restrained vibrato, and patience with dynamics.

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A Rush of Blood to the Head 2002

This album features more complex guitar layering and open-tuning work that balances lead and rhythm responsibilities. Learning these arrangements teaches guitarists how to create depth without distortion, using tone control and smart voicings.

Spotify Apple Music
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends 2008

Coldplay's orchestral-influenced era shows how electric guitars interact with symphonic arrangements and electronic elements. This is essential listening for understanding how Buckland adapted his playing to more production-heavy contexts that preceded the EDM collaborations.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Jonny Buckland favors Fender Telecasters and Stratocasters depending on the project context. For studio work on tracks like 'Something Just Like This,' he often selects a Telecaster for its bright attack and clarity in dense electronic mixes. Coldplay's typical setup includes vintage and modern Fender instruments, kept relatively stock without major modifications to maintain their characteristic chime and responsiveness.

Amp

Fender Deluxe Reverb remains Buckland's primary tone shaper, driven at moderate to low volumes for natural breakup without heavy saturation. The amp's built-in spring reverb is often used subtly or bypassed entirely depending on the track's production requirements. For collaborative pop work, the clean tone with minimal gain serves the track better than the cranked amp approach typical of rock music.

Pickups

Coldplay's guitars typically feature standard Fender single-coil pickups in the 5-7k output range, chosen for their transparency and natural responsiveness to pick dynamics. The single-coil character allows detail and note articulation to shine through, crucial when the guitar must coexist with dense synth arrangements rather than dominate them.

Effects & Chain

The signal chain for 'Something Just Like This' remains deliberately minimal: a compressor for consistency and sustain, optional subtle chorus, then directly into the Fender amp. The production prioritizes natural tone and finger dynamics over effect-heavy processing. Reverb is handled by the amp's onboard spring tank rather than external effects, maintaining warmth without artificial thickness.

Recommended Gear

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

The most iconic electric guitar ever made. Its three single-coil pickups, contoured body and versatile tone make it the go-to for blues, rock, funk and everything in between. Players from Hendrix to Gilmour to Clapton built their sound on it.

Fender Telecaster
Guitar

Fender Telecaster

The original solid-body electric guitar. Its snappy bridge pickup and no-nonsense construction deliver a sharp, cutting tone perfect for country, rock and blues. Favored by Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen and countless session players.

Fender Deluxe Reverb
Amp

Fender Deluxe Reverb

Twenty-two watts of pure Fender magic. Unlike the Twin, the Deluxe Reverb breaks up beautifully at manageable volumes, giving players the best of clean sparkle and natural tube grit in a giggable package.

How to Practice The Chainsmokers & Coldplay on GuitarZone

Every The Chainsmokers & Coldplay song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice Something Just Like This - Guitar Cover