Tone library / Avenged sevenfold / Nightmare

Nightmare amp settings — Positive Grid Spark 40

The Avenged sevenfold guitar tone for “Nightmare”, dialed in for a Positive Grid Spark 40 with a Fender American Professional II Stratocaster. Studio version, Nightmare (2010) — main heavy rhythm riff

Original rig

Schecter Synyster Gates Custom (Seymour Duncan Invader humbuckers) into Bogner Uberschall Rev 1 & Diezel VH4 blend

Aggressive, tight high-gain modern metal with punchy low-mids and sharp pick attack

Amp settings — Positive Grid Spark 40

CHANNELTreadplate (Mesa Dual Rectifier / High Gain) amp model with 4x12 Recto V30 cabBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	6
Mid	5
Treble	7
Reverb	1
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Positive Grid Noise Gate block

Essential in front to tighten fast palm-muted chugs and kill single-coil hum

Threshold 6 · Decay 2

02Positive Grid Tube Drive (TS-style) block

Clean boost mode to cut low-end flub and focus pick attack

Drive 0 · Tone 7 · Level 8

Why these settings

To compensate for the low-output, bright single coils on the Strat versus Synyster's ultra-hot Seymour Duncan Invaders, the onboard Tube Drive block acts as an active mid/level boost to tighten the Treadplate model. Treble on the Strat is pulled back slightly to 8 to tame the single-coil glassiness and mimic thick humbucker saturation. Keep the Spark's noise gate engaged to silence single-coil 60-cycle hum under high gain. Clean intro switch: bypass the high-gain block and Tube Drive, select the Black Duo (Twin) amp model with neck pickup.

PRO TIPDig in with a heavy, sharp pick (1.5mm+) directly above the bridge pickup and angle the pick slightly forward to replicate Syn's surgical, razor-sharp pick attack.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Positive Grid Spark 40. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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