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Europe - Heart of Stone - Guitar Solo Tab

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Key E minor
Europe - Heart of Stone guitar tab video
Steph Le Gratteux
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Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

AI-selected preset based on genre and era — adjust the knobs to taste.

Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
The Final Countdown (Expanded Edition) album cover
The Final Countdown (Expanded Edition)
1986 3:47
Listen on Spotify
Europe Hard Rock 1986 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Heart of Stone

Few tracks from 1986 put a rhythm guitarist's right hand through its paces quite like "Heart of Stone" by Europe. Sitting in E minor at a steady 120 BPM, the song rewards a locked-in, consistent picking hand above almost everything else. The verse riff relies on tight palm muting with clean chord transitions, and letting either slip will make the whole groove feel muddy. E Standard tuning keeps things familiar, but the slightly stiff, driving feel of the Hard Rock rhythm parts means you need to stay relaxed through the shoulders to avoid tensing up over a full run-through. The chorus opens up into fuller chord voicings, so watch the switch between the muted riff and those open-sounding hits. If any of those transitions are catching you, set up an A/B loop on the Practice Toolbar and work through the changeover slowed down before bringing it back to full tempo.

  • The song sits in E minor at 120 BPM, making tight palm muting on the verse riff the central technique to nail.
  • E Standard tuning is used throughout, so no retuning is needed, but consistent right-hand control is what separates a clean take from a sloppy one.
  • The chorus requires a quick shift from muted rhythm playing to open chord hits, a transition worth isolating in practice.

How to Play Heart of Stone

The song moves through: Intro & full speed, 60 % speed, Fast lick 1, Fast lick 2, 22 frets-100, 22 frets-60, 21 frets-100, 21 frets-60.

Tuning: E Standard · Key: E minor · Tempo: 120 BPM

The arrangement runs through 8 distinct sections, so it helps to learn it in blocks rather than front to back.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 120 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

John Norum's Stratocasters blend single-coil clarity in the neck and middle with a bridge humbucker for aggressive leads, giving Europe's sound versatility between glassy rhythm tones and saturated solo work. This hybrid approach lets him switch textures without changing instruments, crucial for his dynamic playing style.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Norum's late '50s-style Les Paul Standards with PAF humbuckers deliver the warm, articulate foundation for Europe's classic hard rock tone, responding beautifully to his volume knob technique for clean rhythm passages before cranking for full saturation.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

The Gibson Les Paul Custom, particularly his '68 goldtop, anchored Europe's early recordings with thick mahogany body resonance and vintage humbucker character that cuts through high-volume Marshall saturation while maintaining pick definition.

Marshall JCM800
Amp

Marshall JCM800

Norum's JCM800 head driven at high volume creates Europe's signature natural power-tube breakup without relying on gain stacking, letting his touch and dynamics shape the tone rather than pedal settings.

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

The Cry Baby wah is Norum's most essential effect, featured prominently across Europe's solos for vocal-like expressive sweeps that showcase his legato technique and add character to lead passages.

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