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The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary - Guitar Tab

Sections · Loop · Speed · Metronome

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Speed Control

Speed
100%

Tools

BPM
Key E minor
The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary guitar tab video
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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.
Listen on Spotify
The Cult Hard Rock E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About She Sells Sanctuary

Few riffs from the mid-1980s are as immediately recognisable as the arpeggiated guitar figure that opens "She Sells Sanctuary." Billy Duffy plays it in E Standard tuning, and the key of E minor gives the whole thing a dark, driving energy that sits perfectly under the song's relentless 120 BPM pulse. The riff itself is built on a repeating arpeggio pattern, and keeping it clean at tempo while the rhythm section pushes hard beneath you is the real challenge. Your pick attack and right-hand consistency are what hold it together, so use the Practice Toolbar to loop that opening figure slowed down before bringing it up to speed. Beyond the signature riff, the song asks you to lock into a steady, almost hypnotic groove, so resist the urge to rush. The Cult built this track as a piece of Hard Rock with a strong post-punk undertow, and that tension between looseness and drive is exactly what you want to carry into your playing.

  • The signature opening riff is an arpeggiated E minor figure in E Standard tuning, and clean right-hand consistency at 120 BPM is the main technical hurdle.
  • Billy Duffy's tone is bright and slightly chorus-washed, so a touch of chorus or a clean boost can help you dial in the right feel.
  • The riff repeats for extended sections, making steady pick attack and avoiding rhythmic drift the two most important things to practise.

How to Play She Sells Sanctuary

The song moves through: Intro, Verse 1, Interlude, Verse 2, Chorus 1, Verse 3, Verse 4, Chorus 2, Chorus 3, Outro.

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

The arrangement runs through 10 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.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Billy Duffy's go-to for heavier Cult tracks, delivering warm PAF-style humbucker tones that provide thick midrange crunch when pushed through his Marshall amp gain.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Duffy's black Les Paul Custom serves as his workhorse for overdriven passages, its stock humbuckers producing that dense, warm saturation essential to The Cult's harder-edged material.

Marshall JCM800
Amp

Marshall JCM800

The foundation of Duffy's signature overdriven tone, with preamp gain pushing natural tube saturation and power-tube compression that defined The Cult's heavier arrangements since the mid-1980s.

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Amp

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

Added to Duffy's rig on later tours for thicker, more modern gain textures, allowing The Cult to refresh their heavy tone while maintaining clarity and sustain.

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

Duffy uses this classic wah for cutting lead accents and psychedelic textures, adding dynamic expression to The Cult's melodic passages and solos.

Boss CE-2 Chorus
Pedal

Boss CE-2 Chorus

Paired with his Roland JC-120's built-in chorus, the CE-2 augments Duffy's signature lush, spacious tone that defines The Cult's atmospheric clean sound across hits like 'She Sells Sanctuary'.

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