Metal2007Avenged Sevenfold (Self-Titled)

Afterlife Amp Settings

by Avenged Sevenfold

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Original Recording Settings

Well-SourcedResearched tone data for "Afterlife" by Avenged Sevenfold

Original Gear

Guitar: Schecter Synyster Custom (early signature model)
Pickups: Seymour Duncan SH-8 Invader (bridge) (bridge)
Amplifier: Bogner Uberschall / Bogner Shiva / Marshall (blended)
Channel: High gain channel
Tuning: Drop D
Pickup Selector: bridge for rhythm and lead; neck pickup for clean intro arpeggios
Strings: 0.010-0.052 (Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottom)

The self-titled album was recorded with a mix of Bogner amps (custom Uberschall-style and Shiva) and a Marshall, as confirmed in the 'Making Of' documentary. The clean intro uses a separate clean channel, likely the Shiva or Marshall clean.

Amp Settings

Gain

7.0

Bass

5.0

Mid

6.0

Treble

7.0

Presence

6.0

Master Volume

5.0

Volume

7.0

No exact settings documented. The self-titled album tone is slightly tighter and more refined than City of Evil. Estimates based on the known amps (Bogner/Marshall blend) and the album's polished, mid-heavy high-gain sound. Guitar World interview with Synyster Gates confirms the Marshall JCM800 was part of the Nightmare sessions, and Bogners were primary for self-titled.

Effects Chain

→

Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor

noise_gate

→

Visual Sound H2O Chorus & Echo

delay

→

1.Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor — Standard in Syn's rig for taming high-gain hiss.

2.Visual Sound H2O Chorus & Echo — Used for echo/delay effects on lead sections and clean passages. Guitar tech Za confirmed this pedal in rig documentation.

Playing Technique

The song opens with clean arpeggiated chords using the neck pickup, then shifts to heavy palm-muted rhythm on the bridge pickup. Lead sections feature Synyster's signature sweep picking and fast legato runs. The main riff uses aggressive downstroke picking with tight palm mutes. Solo section is highly technical with sweep arpeggios and string-skipping.

Sources+

Avenged Sevenfold 'Making Of' self-titled album documentary (Bogner and Marshall amps visible)
Equipboard.com — Synyster Gates (Visual Sound H2O confirmed by guitar tech)
Premier Guitar Rig Rundown: Avenged Sevenfold (confirms Schecter Syn Custom, Invader pickups, Ernie Ball strings)
Guitar World interview — Synyster Gates discusses amp blend approach
Synner.com forum — album-by-album amp breakdown with documentary evidence