Sorry, but i gotta ask...Edge Tone???

Ok guys, so ive been trying to get that U2 sound out of my AC15 for a couple months now, and its just been so frustrating...i thought i'd go ahead and ask. anyone have any good tips for amp/pedal settings to get that sound?? Im using a telecaster and i dont have his special picks so obviously it wont be similar in that way, but i have a digital delay with a tap tempo, an analog delay, and a dyna-style compressor, all of which i know he uses. anyone have any ideas? settings for amp OR pedals?

You don't have enough delays... a couple more delay pedals should do it! :-P

And you need seperate pedal techs and guitar techs!

I think he uses a memory man delay most of all.

I think he plays a 60s AC30TB with the blue speakers, not 100% but I think that's what he uses. Hard to find that tone without those two specifics.

lots of delays, he stacks them, what some call "dual" delays these days. An eventide time factor would do the trick, or multiple pedals. He plays with all sorts of effects these days.

link might lead you somewhere:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gpe5cAkIo0

http://www.guitar-rigs.com/images/edge-pedalboard.jpg

You have some way to go yet.

I am no expert but if you set one of your delays for quarter notes and one for dotted eighths and run them together with a nice clean compressed tone you will probably dig your sound. Pick don't matter at all.

I think the beanie is pretty crucial.

I guess the 'classic' Edge sound is a strat into an AC30 with a delay. But he has used so much gear, really anything can work.

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now that is funny!

Check out the movie 'It Might Get Loud' where the Edge gives a demo of exactly what Bill Bailey is talking about. Without the effects the Edge's sound would be nothing if not 'minimal'!

Dude, basic Edge tone is the easiest to get. Just monkey with your delay pedals until you find the proper delay setting. His songs do utilize different delay settings - "Bad" is not the same as "Electric Co.". Yeah, it helps to play into a VOX, but you'd be surprised at how easy it is to sound just like the Edge simply when you dial in a proper delay setting. It may also help you if you tune down half a step. Many of his songs are half step down, and when you tune down you get a lot closer to his tone.

If you really want to go into depth of his settings, years ago I came across this insanely amazing site. It is by far the most detailed look at any guitarist's tone. Check it out, you will probably love it:
http://www.amnesta.net/edge_delay/

Look around this site: http://www.u2guitartutorials.com/

This guy goes super in depth with how to sound like the Edge.

http://www.guitar-rigs.com/images/edge-pedalboard.jpg

You have some way to go yet.

What, no picture of the pedal board at his feet?

I'm finally watching "it might get loud" broke down and bought it on itunes today....

I never heard what edge was doing before he started doing it... listening to his 4track recordings when he was starting out... boy, I've never been much of a U2 fan (not a disliker just not a huge fan) but, boy, he figured out a whole thing and executed on it... and I have more than a few guys refer to doing 'the edge' thing....

his influence on pop music is pretty broad and while the simplicity of what he does mixed with the complexity of what he does with it is almost mind boggling... he reminds me more of JJ Cale than anyone else...

simple lines, with studio magic and forethought about the effect of the execution...

from this day forth, I will see Edge mockery as bitterness and weakness and pettiness... the guy created something that hadn't been there before and has made a fantastic career of it... there is a crowd scene in "it might get loud' that is absolutely spell binding... gazillions of people completely moving together and over a triad!

my m13 and homemade 5f2a gets a good edge sound... count me as a fan and someone who respects him and what he came up with.

from this day forth, I will see Edge mockery as bitterness and weakness and pettiness... the guy created something that hadn't been there before and has made a fantastic career of it... there is a crowd scene in "it might get loud' that is absolutely spell binding...

... count me as a fan and someone who respects him and what he came up with.

+1

I'm finally watching "it might get loud" broke down and bought it on itunes today....

I never heard what edge was doing before he started doing it... listening to his 4track recordings when he was starting out... boy, I've never been much of a U2 fan (not a disliker just not a huge fan) but, boy, he figured out a whole thing and executed on it... and I have more than a few guys refer to doing 'the edge' thing....

his influence on pop music is pretty broad and while the simplicity of what he does mixed with the complexity of what he does with it is almost mind boggling... he reminds me more of JJ Cale than anyone else...

simple lines, with studio magic and forethought about the effect of the execution...

from this day forth, I will see Edge mockery as bitterness and weakness and pettiness... the guy created something that hadn't been there before and has made a fantastic career of it... there is a crowd scene in "it might get loud' that is absolutely spell binding... gazillions of people completely moving together and over a triad!

my m13 and homemade 5f2a gets a good edge sound... count me as a fan and someone who respects him and what he came up with.

You said a mouthful.
I'm not a huge fan per se but his influence on all pop and rock guitar to follow is undeniable.

Pop guitar literally changed over night between the Edge and Andy Summers. Throw in some Johnny Marr and EVH and man, by 1983 you HAD to be a whole 'nother kind of player.

The Edge is cool. He figured out how to do something new with the same old hammer. You know him when you hear him.

I think i understand basically how to use the delay stuff (emphasis on basically), but even outside of the delay, his tone is just phenomenal. Anyone have any ideas as to how to get that thick, yet single coil, clean, yet gritty sound? I recently started adding compression to my sound to thicken it up a bit. any other ideas as to settings or whatever?
Hes got pretty unique technique and i hear his picks make a very surprising amount of difference in his sound, but im not moving away from fender heavies any time soon

You need some reverb (for the thickness)... and a cranked amp (for the raunch). Many of his fancy delay work actually employs 2 units with various combinations of delays and repeats... lotsa Google out there on the exact settings

jswiss,

much of his tone comes from the way he voices chords...

less 'full' chords, less traditional forms of chords... really make those chords sound good because they are strident, and with lots of drive, they are clearer and distinct...

I think you'll find if you play his chord shapes, that will get you there faster than different amps...

The edge sound? The guy seems to produce a billion sounds ...
A good point to start to get some of his vintage sounds with the vox and delay, the kind he used on the first albums like on the song gloria: set the vox to a light crunch (and plenty of treble) use your bridge pickup and find the right tempo with the delay not too many repeats. He uses a lot of drones on that song too like on many others.
I heard him performing beautiful day on TV the other day and that was totally different approach - clean, warm sustaining chords alternating with his patented crunch.
The Edge may not be about a specific sound but all about variety. I think a good starting point would be to approximate the sounds from the first albums and then move on from that - same way the man himself did. He never seems to abandon any gear just adding more and more and more ...

As Getbent iterates ... the Edge's sound isn't really his actual guitar sound (yeah, Vox, multi-delays, chorus - we all know that). It's how he goes about playing music - playing guitar in 'that' band that is his very recognizable sound.

Chord voicings and use of space is where you need to start. Two delays can be your second concern.

As for his "special picks," Clayton has recently released a series of Ice or Blue Ice picks that, I think are in the ballpark.

I bought them sight unseen because Clayton makes their picks a bit bigger. Unfortunately, the Ice picks are standard sized, but, they're knurled, like Edge's picks. Turned sideways, they do make a difference.

As for all the poking fun at him, we all like to claim we play to the song, but then we rip him apart for doing so. I'm not the biggest U2 fan in the world, but, you've gotta admit, there aren't too many tone styles that you can instantly identify with one player. His is one of them, and he's in rare air, in that regard.

^+1
I am also not the biggest U2 fan, but the edge is a great stylist. Just because he chooses not to noodle or shred doesn't mean he can't play guitar. Great timing, tasteful chord-shapes, wise melodic work IMHO makes a great musician.

The Picks: didn't he use these?
http://www.tone-toys.com/shop/Sharkfin_1

i remember reading an article where the the writer actually got to play through the Edge's rig ... guess what ??? ... he couldn't get the same sounds out of it ... lesson learned ... it's not the gear, but the player ...

http://www.guitar-rigs.com/images/edge-pedalboard.jpg

You have some way to go yet.

How did you get a picture of my rig?

'81 setup: http://www.guitargeek.com/the-edge-u2-1981-guitar-rig-and-gear-setup-diagram/
'83 setup: http://www.guitargeek.com/the-edge-u2-1983-guitar-rig-and-gear-setup-diagram/

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