Fear of the Dark guitar tone
Iron Maiden · Dave Murray & Janick Gers
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); Fender Stratocaster-style guitar (Janick Gers)
Amplifier
Marshall JCM800 50-watt head; Marshall JCM900 head
Cabinet
Marshall 1960 4x12 with Celestion G12T-75 speakers
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
Fear of the Dark is built from two distinct guitar tracks rather than a single duplicated amp. Dave Murray's closest era-appropriate voice is a 50-watt JCM800-style Marshall moving from low gain to crunch and lead settings, while Janick Gers adds a rawer JCM900-era layer. A Marshall 1960 cabinet, close dynamic microphone, restrained rack delay and plate ambience form the recording recreation. The BOSS-style chorus is reserved for the clean introduction.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_the_Dark_(song)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_the_Dark_(Iron_Maiden_album)
- Guitar World / Guitar for the Practicing Musician, 1992–1993 Dave Murray and Janick Gers rig coverage
- Hal Leonard, Iron Maiden – Fear of the Dark guitar transcription