Tone library / Iron maiden / Fear of the dark

Fear of the dark amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

The Iron maiden guitar tone for “Fear of the dark”, dialed in for a Boss Katana 50 MkII with a Yamaha Pacifica 112V. Studio version, Fear of the Dark (1992) — main distorted rhythm and signature harmony lead riff

Original rig

Marshall JCM900 / 1960A 4x12 cab, Fender Stratocaster with DiMarzio Super Distortion/PAF humbuckers, Marshall rack preamps (JMP-1) / Boss DD-3 delay

Classic British NWOBHM crunch with biting upper mids, tight low-end, and articulate gain

Amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

CHANNELBrown amp typeBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	5
Mid	7
Treble	7
Reverb	3
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE9 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Onboard Booster (Blues Drive block)

Onboard Katana Booster engaged to tighten bottom-end and add lead bite

Drive 2 · Tone 5 · Level 7

02Onboard Delay (Digital Delay block)

Set for subtle atmospheric repeat

Time 4 · Feedback 3 · E.Level 3

Why these settings

The Katana 50 MkII lacks a physical presence knob, so upper-harmonic bite is achieved by setting Treble to 7 on the Marshall-voiced Brown model. Dave Murray's signature rhythm requires strong middle punch (set to 7) while keeping bass tight at 5 so fast galloping rhythms stay articulate on the Pacifica's bridge humbucker. Clean intro: switch amp type to Clean, switch to neck single-coil, roll guitar tone down to 7, and keep onboard reverb/delay on.

PRO TIPUse heavy, aggressive downpicking near the bridge saddle on your Pacifica humbucker to capture the signature percussive Maiden attack and tight palm-muted gallop.

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These settings are for a Boss Katana 50 MkII. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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