Riff Tone

Soft Spine

Spiritbox

Guitarmetal2010s+

Original Gear

GuitarAristides 080S 8-string (used for most Eternal Blue-era riffing, likely for 'Soft Spine')

AmpNeural DSP Archetype: Nolly plugin (used for all album rhythm tones, not a physical amp)

PickupsFishman Fluence Modern Humbucker Ceramic (active, 8-string set)

Amp Settings

gain9

bass6

mid4.5

treble7

reverb1

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

noise_gateUnknown Noise gate (plugin-based, model unknown)

Notes

Studio recording, 2021 (Eternal Blue album). Mike Stringer confirmed all heavy guitar tones were recorded using Neural DSP Archetype: Nolly plugin, not a real amp. Guitar is an Aristides 080S 8-string with Fishman Fluence Modern Ceramic pickups. No evidence of live amp or cab use on the studio recording. Pickup selector likely set to bridge for riff sections.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussiveaggressive palm mutingmodern djent saturationarticulate pick attackclear note separationslightly scooped midscrushing low endhigh output, active pickup clarityminimal ambiencefocused, modern metal rhythm

Difficulty

The riff requires advanced palm muting technique, precise rhythm, and control of string noise on an 8-string in a very low tuning, making it challenging for most players.

Sources

Spiritbox’s Mike Stringer: brutal riffs and ambient bliss | Guitar World Spiritbox guitarist Mike Stringer’s 13 tips for using guitar plugins | MusicRadar Mike Stringer | Equipboard

This tone has been researched 3 times by the community

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account