Riff Tone

Élan

Nightwish

Guitarmetal2010s+

Original Gear

GuitarESP Horizon EV-II Harem Girl Emppu Vuorinen Signature

AmpMesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier 100W 3-channel Solo Head (Multi-Watt) into Marshall 1960A 4x12 Cabinet

PickupsEMG 81 (bridge), EMG 85 (neck) active humbuckers

Amp Settings

gain7

bass5.5

mid5.5

treble7

reverb1.5

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording for 'Élan' (2015, 'Endless Forms Most Beautiful' album). Gear confirmed for Emppu Vuorinen in this era; no evidence of alternate guitars or amps for this song's riff section. No explicit pedalboard or effect chain for this specific recording found.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussivehigh-gain saturationarticulate palm-muted chugsmodern metal clarityfull-bodied low endcrisp attackcontrolled sustainclear note separationnot overly scooped midsfocused, punchy riff sound

Difficulty

The riff requires solid palm muting and rhythmic precision but does not involve advanced techniques or fast tempo, making it accessible to intermediate players.

Sources

Nightwish Members, Gear & Sound Erno Matti Juhani Vuorinen ESP Horizon EV-II Harem Girl Emppu Vuorinen Signature ...Best amp for Nightwish sound and goth metal - forum topic

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account