Riff Tone

Fear of the Dark

Iron Maiden

Guitarmetal1990s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Stratocaster (Dave Murray or Janick Gers, likely with humbucker in bridge)

AmpMarshall JCM 900 (studio recording, 1991-1992 era)

PickupsSeymour Duncan Hot Rails (bridge, Dave Murray signature) or DiMarzio Super Distortion (Janick Gers); both high-output humbuckers

Amp Settings

gain7

bass5.5

mid7.5

treble7

reverb1.5

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1991-1992. Gear based on known studio rigs for 'Fear of the Dark' era. No evidence of pedals for riff section; most rhythm tones are direct Strat into Marshall. Janick Gers and Dave Murray both used Strats with humbuckers into Marshall JCM 900s for this album.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussivepronounced midrange punchbright and articulatesaturated but controlled distortionfast note definitionminimal bass mudaggressive palm mutingclassic British metal crunchcutting treblehigh-output humbucker clarity

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, accurate alternate picking and tight palm muting at a brisk tempo, with precise rhythm and some string skipping, making it moderately challenging for intermediate players.

Sources

Guitar tone : r/ironmaiden - Reddit Amp settings for an Iron Maiden tone Iron Maiden Guitarists Discuss 'The Final Frontier' | Guitar World

This tone has been researched 8 times by the community

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account