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Quick tone direction
Use a bridge humbucker into open British crunch. Keep more mids and less gain than a modern metal preset, and separate the rhythm, harmony and solo parts instead of using one dense sound.
- Gain
- Medium-high crunch with clear gallops
- EQ
- Firm bass, strong mids and bright but smooth attack
- Pickup
- Bridge humbucker
- Effects
- Dry rhythm; restrained ambience for leads
- Tuning
- Standard E
The recording uses distinct rhythm and lead voices from Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. Avoid one over-saturated preset for every part.
The recording
The Trooper was recorded at Compass Point Studios in early 1983 with producer/engineer Martin ‘Black Night’ Birch. Murray’s lead lines and Smith’s rhythm parts were each double‑tracked, creating a massive, tightly‑choked wall of sound. Birch ran the amps through a noise gate to silence amp hiss between phrases, and placed the solo guitars slightly higher in the mix, panning them to the centre to separate them from the rhythm pair. The track’s aggressive, mid‑focused crunch comes from the dual Marshall JCM800 heads fed by a 1970s Fender Strat with DiMarzio humbuckers and a 1970s Gibson SG.
Tuning E standard (E A D G B E)
Signal chain
Original gear
1970s Fender Stratocaster (DiMarzio humbuckers)
Guitar
Dave Murray used a 1970s Fender Stratocaster fitted with DiMarzio humbucker pickups on The Trooper, providing his soaring lead lines.
1970s Gibson SG
Guitar
Adrian Smith played a 1970s Gibson SG on The Trooper, delivering the tight rhythm tone that underpins the song’s galloping riffs.
Marshall JCM800 2203
Amp
Both guitars were routed through a Marshall JCM800 2203 head, delivering the bright, mid‑focused crunch characteristic of the track.
Alternatives
Practical playing approach
Recreation guidance, not a claim about undocumented studio control positions.
- 1.Use alternate picking with tight palm‑muted downstrokes for the galloping riffs.
- 2.Select the bridge pickup on the Stratocaster for maximum bite.
- 3.Double‑track each rhythm part to achieve the thick layered sound.
- 4.Run a noise gate in the mix to tame amp hiss between phrases.
- 5.Set the amp’s tone controls to a bright, mid‑focused setting (gain high, treble up).
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What gear was used for the The Trooper guitar tone?
The available research points to 1970s Fender Stratocaster (DiMarzio humbuckers) into Marshall JCM800 2203. The full reported signal chain and evidence links are listed on this page.
Are the original The Trooper amp settings documented?
Exact historical knob positions are not reliably documented for most recordings. ToneTwin does not publish generated values as studio fact; it creates playable settings only for the amp and pedals a player selects.
What tuning is The Trooper in?
The current research record lists E standard (E A D G B E). ToneTwin keeps corrections open when reliable accounts disagree.
How do I recreate the The Trooper tone on my own gear?
Use the reported pickup, gain character, effects and signal-chain order as the target, then translate that target to your equipment. The matcher models controls for your selected rig rather than copying undocumented studio numbers.
Researched and reviewed by the ToneTwin Research Team.
