Fear of the Dark guitar tone
Iron Maiden · Dave Murray
Fear of the Dark (1992)
NWOBHM high-gain crunch and singing lead with clean intro/outro
The rig Iron Maiden used
Researched from interviews, production write-ups and gear histories — not guessed.
Guitar
Fender Stratocaster Dave Murray Modification
Amplifier
Marshall JCM900 4100 Dual Reverb, Marshall JCM900 4100 Dual Reverb
Cabinet
Marshall 1960B 4x12 Cabinet
Microphone
Shure SM57
Signal chain
The order the original sound was built in. The exact settings get dialled for your own amp or modeller when you generate the tone.
Get this tone on your rig
Pick your amp or modeller and we’ll build Fear of the Dark for it — with a preset file you can load, not a list of knob positions.
Why we think this is right
Recorded at Steve Harris's Barnyard Studios in Essex with producer/engineer Martin Birch between late 1991 and April 1992. Dave Murray and Janick Gers tracked using Marshall JCM900 4100 Dual Reverb high-gain heads alongside JCM800s and early Marshall JMP-1 preamps, running into Marshall 1960B 4x12 straight cabinets loaded with Celestion G12T-75 speakers. Murray relied on his modified Fender Stratocasters outfitted with high-output Seymour Duncan Hot Rails and DiMarzio humbuckers, retaining his vintage MXR Distortion+ for lead sustain. Spatial separation and ambiance were achieved in the mix via studio rack digital delays and EMT/Lexicon plate reverb units; no outboard pitch-shifting or wah pedals were used on the studio track.
Sources
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- Fear of the Dark (1992) EMI Album Liner Notes & Credits (Martin Birch / Steve Harris)
- Guitar World / Guitar for the Practicing Musician (1992-1993) Dave Murray & Janick Gers Rig Features
- Songsterr / Hal Leonard Iron Maiden 'Fear of the Dark' Official Transcription & Tablature