Song Rig
The Trooper
Dave Murray · Piece of Mind · 1983
Tone Overview
What Makes This Sound Unique
The Piece of Mind era tone — slightly more refined than the Number of the Beast recordings. Murray and Smith's twin-guitar harmony approach is showcased here, with both guitars running similar Marshall setups for a unified harmonic blend. The harmony lead is Murray's signature contribution to the Maiden sound.
Signal Chain
- 1Fender Stratocaster (Murray)
- 2Marshall JCM800
- 3Adrian Smith's guitar in harmony
Amp Settings
Twin-guitar blend — when both guitars play in harmony, the combined tone is slightly warmer than either alone. Murray's Strat-brightness and Smith's warmer humbucker tone combine into a fuller harmonic texture.
Technique
How to Play It
Third-harmony guitar lines — Murray and Smith harmonise melody lines a diatonic third apart, creating the Maiden harmony lead sound. One guitar plays the primary melody, the other plays a third above or below using the same key signature.
Budget Alternative
Achievable With
Stratocaster → JCM800 → record the melody line → then record a second track with the same notes shifted up a diatonic third (in the song's key) → blend the two tracks for the harmony lead.
Your Gear
Adapt to My Amp
More from Murray
Other Song Rigs
The Number of the Beast
The Number of the Beast · 1982
The title track that made Iron Maiden global — Dave Murray's Stratocaster into t…
View rig →Hallowed Be Thy Name
The Number of the Beast · 1982
Widely considered Iron Maiden's greatest song — the guitar tone builds from a cl…
View rig →Fear of the Dark
Fear of the Dark · 1992
Murray's Fender Stratocaster through a Marshall with the twin-guitar Iron Maiden…
View rig →Run to the Hills
The Number of the Beast · 1982
Peak NWOBHM Marshall tone — Murray and Adrian Smith's twin Stratocasters through…
View rig →Aces High
Powerslave · 1984
One of Maiden's most relentlessly fast tracks — the twin-guitar unison picking a…
View rig →