U2 & Guitar Gear: Q & A

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

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...

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.

Originally posted by LikeASong:[..]It's on Dm on the album isn't it? Tryin' E would be a bit weird

Originally posted by LikeASong:In the album it's in Ebm.
I'll try an arrangement in Em, I like that chord and all the arpegios and chords related to it. Thanks

Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:[..]

Yeah you're right. Although I don't always like tuning my guitar down half a step just to play one song! Turns into a hassle. Some people have say, 2 strats, and keep one at half a step down and one in standard.

Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:The actual song is in E, or Eb if you want to play along with Edge.

Originally posted by LikeASong:I never tune half step down, I simply put a capo and play other (easier) chords and frets

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

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

Originally posted by anstratdubh1979:[..]

The parts are not that difficult. Getting your timing down will be the challenge. As most U2 songs have one or more delay pedals... you have to be consistent in your timing... the delay pedals time will not waver - neither can yours. But that comes with some playing and practice.



[..]

Beg to differ. I think you've over-simplified this.

A decent Strat, overdrive and delay will be fine for "Boy" through "War" but from Unforgettable Fire forward, more is needed.

You can get started with just a few items. A decent Strat is a good place to start. Epiphone Explorer might be a second or third choice. The Epi Explorers are actually very good. If you want a Les Paul 2nd, you could get an Epiphone Les Paul but pickup upgrades would be needed. The stock p'ups are brash and not condusive to the more vintage Edge tones.

A Line 6 M13 will cover lots of U2 tones. They are $500 new but deals for new and used can be found on eBay and the like.

Amp-wise there are lots of options. If you are playing at home for now - Vox AC4 is great. Vox Pathfinder is not bad either. (Best $100 I ever spent). Even if you upgrade to a AC15 or AC30 later, the Pathfinder is good for practice at home and live can be used (mic'ed up) to run stereo effects.

PS - Squier Strats are horrible more often than not. Buyers remorse will soon follow. And then you have to find a way to sell that guitar to buy another. You won't get much for a Squier on the 2nd hand market. So if you buy one you are essentially throwing money away for a guitar that has bad pickups, bad fretwork, bad electronics... Just hate to see folks throw money away when waiting another month or so to save a bit more can get them a NAFTA-caster (Made In Mexico) Stratocaster that will be a better guitar.