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Iron Maiden - The Ides Of March Dave Murray's - Guitar Solo Tab

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Iron Maiden - The Ides Of March Dave Murray's guitar tab video
Steph Le Gratteux
Steph Le Gratteux Top Contributor
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Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
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Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
Iron Maiden Heavy Metal

About The Ides Of March Dave Murray's

"The Ides of March" is the instrumental opener to Iron Maiden's Killers album, and it exists almost entirely as a guitar piece. Dave Murray builds tension through a clean, arpeggiated figure that shifts between menacing and melodic, making right-hand picking clarity the central skill to develop here. The pattern is deceptively simple on paper but demands consistent finger independence and clean fretting to keep the notes from blurring together, especially as the tempo rises toward the transition into "Wrathchild." If the picking hand is losing definition at speed, use the Practice Toolbar to loop the main riff slowed down until each note speaks cleanly before you push the tempo back up. Iron Maiden wrote this as a scene-setter, so tone and control matter more than flashy technique. Getting the dynamic shape right, starting restrained and letting intensity build, is what makes the piece land the way it should.

  • The piece is built around a clean-toned, arpeggiated guitar figure that rewards careful attention to picking-hand consistency and note separation.
  • Because it flows directly into 'Wrathchild,' nailing the tempo build at the end is a key practice target worth looping with the Practice Toolbar.
  • There are no heavy rhythm guitar parts here, so this track is a useful study in controlled clean picking rather than distorted riffing.

How to Play The Ides Of March Dave Murray's

Tempo: 130 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 130 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Iron Maiden's signature choice for heavy metal, the Strat's bright single-coils in neck and middle positions deliver the glassy, articulate tone that defines their melodic passages. Dave Murray and Adrian Smith pair bridge humbuckers with this platform to preserve pick dynamics and note definition rather than drowning in compressed gain.

Marshall JCM800
Amp

Marshall JCM800

The backbone of Maiden's iconic sound, the JCM800's moderate gain structure lets the power tubes sing without preamp saturation, preserving the punch and harmonic clarity that makes their riffs cut through a mix. Murray and Smith set gain moderately to maintain definition while pushing the amp into natural tube breakup.

Seymour Duncan JB
Pickup

Seymour Duncan JB

Adrian Smith's weapon of choice, the JB's balanced output drives Marshall amps into singing sustain without over-compressing dynamics, allowing his lead lines to breathe with clarity and snap. This moderate-output humbucker maintains the attack and articulation essential to Maiden's punchy, defined metal tone.

DiMarzio Super Distortion
Pickup

DiMarzio Super Distortion

Dave Murray's bridge pickup at 13k output strikes the perfect balance, hitting the Marshall hard enough for thick sustain yet retaining enough dynamics for expressive bending and harmonic control. It's hot enough to sing but not so overwound that it flattens the natural Strat character underneath.

Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive
Pedal

Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive

Murray and Smith use this clean boost to push their Marshalls harder during solos, adding aggression without relying on pedal distortion, keeping the tube amp saturation as the true tone source. The SD-1 preserves their natural playing dynamics while giving leads extra presence and cut.

ISP Decimator Noise Gate
Pedal

ISP Decimator Noise Gate

Smith occasionally employs this noise gate to manage feedback and hum from his high-output rig without sacrificing sustain, staying true to Maiden's philosophy of minimal pedal intervention. It's a practical tool for live performance that doesn't color the natural tube amp tone.

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