Nail the ToneAvenged Sevenfold

Afterlife

Avenged Sevenfold · Avenged Sevenfold · 2007

The Afterlife riff is the classic 2007-era A7X rhythm sound: a Schecter Synyster Custom on the bridge Invader into a Bogner Uberschall, blended with a Mesa Rectifier and double-tracked hard left and right. Gain sits lower than most people expect — around 6 to 7 — because the note definition in the fast picking comes from an overdrive boost out front and pushed treble and presence, not from more dirt. Tune to Drop D first; no amount of EQ fixes the wrong shapes.

Where these numbers come from: worked out from the documented rig and the sound of the record

Tuning

Drop D

Both guitars are in Drop D; the riff leans on the dropped sixth string, and the studio tracks are layered with doubled rhythm guitars plus a harmonized lead line over the top.

Part: Riff

Guitar

  • Schecter Synyster Custom · Seymour Duncan Invader (bridge), Sustainiac (neck) · bridge pickup
  • Schecter Zacky Vengeance ZV 6661 · Seymour Duncan JB SH-4 · bridge pickup

Amp

Bogner Uberschall

GAIN
6.5
BASS
5.5
MID
4.5
TREBLE
6.5
PRESENCE
6.0

The band's longtime engineer Fred Archambault confirms the Uberschall was used on the self-titled record and is blended into every album; note that the Marshall JVM/JCM800 and Diezel amps often quoted for A7X came with the 2009 Marshall endorsement and belong to Nightmare, not this album.

Amp

Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier

GAIN
6.0
BASS
5.0
MID
4.0
TREBLE
6.0
PRESENCE
6.0

Both guitarists name Mesa Rectifiers alongside the Bogner in this period, and the album rhythm sound is a blend of more than one head; run it under the Uberschall for low-end weight rather than as the lead voice.

Pedals

  • Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive · overdrive (boost) · Drive 0, Tone 5-6, Level high — used to tighten the low D, not to add dirt
  • Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer · compressor · Sustain 4, Attack 5, Level 5-6 — Gates calls it his secret weapon for lead sustain
  • Dunlop Cry Baby Wah · wah · Parked/swept in the lead sections, not on the main riff

Tone character

tight high-gain crunch · slightly scooped mids · pushed treble and presence · articulate palm mutes · doubled and wide

medium

Steady 16th-note palm-muted picking on the dropped sixth string with quick jumps up to the higher strings — the challenge is keeping the right hand even and the muting tight for the whole riff.

Want this on your own amp?

These are the record's settings. Tell us what you play through and we'll translate every knob to the amp you actually own — free.

Adapt it to my gear

Sources