U2start.com | U2 & Guitar Gear: Q & A

Originally posted by Andrew_C:just got my SG back from the shop, got a set-up and re-string done on it for the 1st time since i bought it (ive had it for 14months and it was an ex-display ) sounds like a completly different guitar, sooo much better.

how often do u guys change ur strings?

I change them only when they break...both on bass and guitar. I am not rich, and I have 3 basses and 1 guitar. If I changed them periodically I would spend too much money.
They don't sound that horrible as people used to say when they are old, just different.

anstratdubh1979

15 years

Originally posted by Andrew_C:just got my SG back from the shop, got a set-up and re-string done on it for the 1st time since i bought it (ive had it for 14months and it was an ex-display ) sounds like a completly different guitar, sooo much better.

how often do u guys change ur strings?

Depends on how much you play... Let your ears be the judge, in the end. You can tell when the 'zing' goes out and they start to sound a bit dead.

Also imporatant -- WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE PLAYING! This will increase the life of the strings.

RattleandHum1988

15 years

I change mine almost once every 2 months. I love the sound and feel of new strings, and I absoultely hate the sound/feel of dead, dirty strings. If you have the money, change them often. The potential sound your guitar has to offer is blocked when there's dead strings on it.

blink

15 years

Ok, im a complete noob when it comes to guitars, but the Edge's sound has inspired me. Alright so, this may be a dumb question, but...Do you really need all that expensive equipment to create, lets say, his sound in Bad?

And in terms of difficulty, how hard is it to play his stuff?

Thanks

RattleandHum1988

15 years

Originally posted by blink:Ok, im a complete noob when it comes to guitars, but the Edge's sound has inspired me. Alright so, this may be a dumb question, but...Do you really need all that expensive equipment to create, lets say, his sound in Bad?

And in terms of difficulty, how hard is it to play his stuff?

Thanks

Honestly, no, it's not. And it's not hard for the most part either. All you need is an electric guitar, somthing alright, doesn't have to be 1000+ dollars, but it shouldn't be -100 dollars either. All you essentially need for Edge is a guitar, a delay pedal (echoes), or even just an amp with delay on it, a bit of overdrive (most amps have this), and the herdim picks. The herdim picks are key, they're special picks with almost a rough kind of dimple grip on one side, and edge plucks the string with this side as opposed to the regular tip of the pick. Dunlop makes a similar pick, they're black, and they also have dimples, they should suffice, you can find them in most guitar stores. So,

Guitar (I recommend a squire strat, or even a mexican made fender strat, that's what I started on)
Delay (either in a cheap pedal or built into an amp)
Overdrive (most amps have it, or you can get a cheap pedal)
Dimpled picks, herdim, or whatever you can find that has dimples. (example: http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=419&pmh=products/picks), something like that, but you want the grip to extend to the sides of the pick, not just be in the middle.

This is all assuming you want to just start playing guitar. If you already know how to play and all that jazz, and you're looking for a good core Edge tone, I can recommend some more specific and expensive gear, but the basics are the things I mentioned.

Alex

LikeASong

15 years

Originally posted by thechicken:I change them only when they break...both on bass and guitar. I am not rich, and I have 3 basses and 1 guitar. If I changed them periodically I would spend too much money.
They don't sound that horrible as people used to say when they are old, just different.

+1

blink

15 years

Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:[..]

Honestly, no, it's not. And it's not hard for the most part either. All you need is an electric guitar, somthing alright, doesn't have to be 1000+ dollars, but it shouldn't be -100 dollars either. All you essentially need for Edge is a guitar, a delay pedal (echoes), or even just an amp with delay on it, a bit of overdrive (most amps have this), and the herdim picks. The herdim picks are key, they're special picks with almost a rough kind of dimple grip on one side, and edge plucks the string with this side as opposed to the regular tip of the pick. Dunlop makes a similar pick, they're black, and they also have dimples, they should suffice, you can find them in most guitar stores. So,

Guitar (I recommend a squire strat, or even a mexican made fender strat, that's what I started on)
Delay (either in a cheap pedal or built into an amp)
Overdrive (most amps have it, or you can get a cheap pedal)
Dimpled picks, herdim, or whatever you can find that has dimples. (example: http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=419&pmh=products/picks), something like that, but you want the grip to extend to the sides of the pick, not just be in the middle.

This is all assuming you want to just start playing guitar. If you already know how to play and all that jazz, and you're looking for a good core Edge tone, I can recommend some more specific and expensive gear, but the basics are the things I mentioned.

Alex

Thank you so much for your reply! This definitely helped me a lot

I don't even care for other songs to cover, I just wanna be able to get that sound haha

LikeASong

15 years

Which key/chords, Guitar People, would you pick for an acoustic version of Bullet The Blue Sky? Ok, it can sound weird, but I think I can make it work...

MattG

15 years

Originally posted by LikeASong:Which key/chords, Guitar People, would you pick for an acoustic version of Bullet The Blue Sky? Ok, it can sound weird, but I think I can make it work...

I think good, solid ol' E would do the trick. If not that, G always seems to give acoustic renditions an interesting feel.

LikeASong

15 years

Originally posted by EyesWithPrideB3:I think good, solid ol' E would do the trick. If not that, G always seems to give acoustic renditions an interesting feel.

It's on Dm on the album isn't it? Tryin' E would be a bit weird