Dark, fatalistic and cinematic, "The Killing Moon" is one of the great atmospheric guitar records. Here's Will Sergeant's tone.
What makes the tone. A clean guitar drenched in reverb and delay, with a cold, slightly modulated shimmer — spacious and haunting rather than loud. The arpeggiated figure rings out with lots of space around it; a touch of tremolo or chorus adds unease. Gain stays low; the effects and the mood do the work.
The analogue recipe. Clean amp, generous reverb and delay, a hint of tremolo/chorus. Let notes decay; play sparingly.
On a Boss GT-100 / GT-1000 / GX-100. A clean amp model, lush reverb + delay, light modulation.
On a Kemper. A clean profile with reverb, delay and a touch of modulation in the loop.
Skip the guesswork. The Soulster Tonebook for fans of Echo & the Bunnymen → has it for Boss GT and Kemper. Go deeper in our Will Sergeant guitar tone guide →.
Put it on the wall. The "The Killing Moon" print → and t-shirt →.
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