Riff Tone

22 Acacia Avenue (2015 Remaster)

Iron Maiden

Guitarmetal1980s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Stratocaster (Dave Murray, 1970s/early 1980s, DiMarzio Super Distortion bridge pickup)

AmpMarshall 50-watt JMP head with Marshall 4x12 cabinets (Celestion and EV speakers, studio recording)

PickupsDiMarzio Super Distortion (bridge humbucker)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass5.5

mid7

treble6.5

reverb1.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

distortionMXR MXR Distortion+

eqPete Cornish Pete Cornish custom EQ (always on)

Notes

Studio recording, 1982 (The Number of the Beast sessions, as used on '22 Acacia Avenue'). Gear confirmed for this era and song by Guitar World interview and period photos. 2015 Remaster is from original 1982 recording.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussiveaggressive but cleanpunchy, saturatedcrisp high endfull midrangearticulated palm mutingclear note separationbridge pickup attackclassic British metal crunchfocused low end

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, accurate palm muting and tight rhythm playing at high speed, with dynamic control to maintain clarity and punch under heavy distortion.

Sources

Interview: Iron Maiden's Adrian Smith and Dave Murray in Their First Guitar World Feature from 1983 | Guitar World Amp Settings for 2 Minutes to Midnight by Iron Maiden (guitars and tone) - Guitar Chalk Learn to play 22 Acacia Avenue by Iron Maiden | LickLibrary

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