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  1. Originally posted by WojBhoy:[..]
    Well, I think a lot of it is to do with the pickups but I've found that a bit of compression goes a long way to getting the choppiness of the tone - miles better than any other UTEOTW tone; Vertigo tour, where did it all go wrong? It sounded like he was playing...underwater or something


    I know right!!! I think he was trying to recreate the ZOO TV tone (which was pretty nice, really tight) but failed to captivate us. It was "underwater," it was loose and all over the place. Yet in the "Day in the life of the Edge" documentary we see him messing around with settings at the soundcheck for a Miami Vertigo leg 3 show, it somewhat resembles the Elevation tone. Who knows what'll happen this time around.

    Do you know what it was he was doing on Vertigo that made it sound so lackluster? Wrong effects? Lacking o/d? Fender amp?
  2. Originally posted by AAV711:I know right!!! I think he was trying to recreate the ZOO TV tone (which was pretty nice, really tight) but failed to captivate us. It was "underwater," it was loose and all over the place. Yet in the "Day in the life of the Edge" documentary we see him messing around with settings at the soundcheck for a Miami Vertigo leg 3 show, it somewhat resembles the Elevation tone. Who knows what'll happen this time around.

    Do you know what it was he was doing on Vertigo that made it sound so lackluster? Wrong effects? Lacking o/d? Fender amp?

    Yeah, the PopMart and ZooTV tones were pretty similar, I think it was a case of oomphing up the album feel. Vertigo, it does sound like he just took the overdrive out of the equation altogether

    I mean, he's hailed as being one of the great minimalist guitarists, but that shouldn't mean he minimises the tone too! It's weird though, I mean he nailed Zoo Station as far as effects go etc., and yet went the other way with UTEOTW...weird stuff.
  3. Might I say that is an excellent avatar you have--I love that little bit at the end of New York on the Boston DVD when he abruptly cuts his guitar. Classic Edge, so serious.
  5. Originally posted by AAV711:Might I say that is an excellent avatar you have--I love that little bit at the end of New York on the Boston DVD when he abruptly cuts his guitar. Classic Edge, so serious.

    Ha, cheers

    I do love that JT Edge + Explorer one I had previously, but I was watching the Boston DVD today (I'm having one mother of all Elevation phases at the moment) and just loved that shot - yes, that is a bit of praise for Hamish! - so I screenshot it

    New York is fast becoming a live favourite of mine, I just love the tone Edge gets out of the Explorer there, so...awesome!

    I should keep up with the Beeb more often, those were two great finds Jeff

    So weird that Edge's magic sounds quite different in a studio setting as opposed to live - the chorus riff to Beautiful Day sounded a lot more...jingly that it does in a live context, as did Mysterious Ways. The Variax though, what the hell...one flick of a switch and you have a different tuning! Edge was classic though...

    "Somethings not right Dallas...no that's Love and Peace!"

    Jeff, do you know what vintage etc. the Les Paul was that Edge said never gets taken out on the road?
  6. Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:[..]

    The only way to sound exactly like Edge would be to get a 76' Limited Edition Explorer, a vintage AC30TB, and all the effects Edge has. Even without all the effects thats over 10 grand easy. I think most of us are past the attempt of trying to sound exactly like Edge, and now our goal is "trying to get as close to Edge as possible".

    I'm not trying to sound like im arguing, but it was almost as if you were saying it as a positive point in your post

    Alex

    P.S To me, they sound a lot like Edge actually. I know it's surprising, but usually I can tweak settings until I find the sound I want. People are usually surprised as to how close my sound is with how little effects I use. So BAM.


    Well, I think that having influences is nice, but trying to sound exactly like somebody else is not that cool.
  7. YES YES YES! Great stuff. Questions I lie awake at night thinking about.

    Notice the Marshall over on the side...are we just about guaranteed to see that on the road next year?

    Also some mandolin-Tele style thing to the left of the guitars. Someone many months ago predicted that there would be more Teles and Ricks joining the lineup--we see a new one over by the Gretsches.

    Anything else you guys see that's noteworthy?
  8. Originally posted by WojBhoy:[..]


    So weird that Edge's magic sounds quite different in a studio setting as opposed to live - the chorus riff to Beautiful Day sounded a lot more...jingly that it does in a live context, as did Mysterious Ways. The Variax though, what the hell...one flick of a switch and you have a different tuning! Edge was classic though...

    "Somethings not right Dallas...no that's Love and Peace!"

    Jeff, do you know what vintage etc. the Les Paul was that Edge said never gets taken out on the road?


    Late 50s version--'57 perhaps? You can see in the Walk On performance done for the 9/11 tribute concert on the BBC a little over 7 years ago.


    Things definitely sounded odd--proof that with U2, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. He was also in some cavernous room, likely to affect reverberations and dampening.

    The Variax is a force to be reckoned with. As I'm sure Jeff can attest to, the possibilities are endless.
  9. By the way, I should probably tell someone round here bout this. I am right now writing a paper for my History of Media & Culture class comparing U2.com (official) to our favorite unofficial U2 website. I'll post the thing once I'm done somewhere everyone can take a look.


  10. He definately used a pick and he used the green Fender on most of that album.

  11. I'm sorry, but I disagree here. The sound may be in the equipment, but the tone's in the fingers. If you don't have Edge's signature playing style you won't sound like him - even if you own all that stuff.

    I think Edge will always sound like Edge, even with another guitar and amp (plus any cheap delay pedal). Let him fool around with the knobs for a few minutes, and I bet he'll sound like Edge.

    On the other hand, give me his equipment, let me fiddle around and most likely I'll sound like me. I heard a CD listener once say: "Hey Alex, that's you playing this part, I hear your typical sound, that can't be the band's other guitarist. I know your sound from your last record". When I answered: "Yes, that's me, but it doesn't sound the same at all, I used a different guitar and a different amp then" he replied: "Yes, the sound's better, but it definitely still sounds like you".

    I heard the great great Glenn Kaiser once say: "You can give me any decent guitar and amp and after a few minutes of adjusting the controls I can get pretty much the sound I desire". Ok, he plays rocking blues, he's not that innovative soundwise. But I won't ever forget that sentence.

    I don't mod my guitars to nail someone else's tone. I mod them according to what I like. If I play a guitar I love, it'll bring out the best in me.

    So my basic personal guitar modding suggestion would be: Find out what you can do to love your guitar more - even if it's just a nicer strap. And once you've reached that point - stop modding and start playing.

    Alex

  12. I wouldn't say there's anything wrong with trying to sound like someone else, because you could use the same argument for playing the music of your favourite artist i.e. playing U2 music, and no one makes a big song and dance about that. I think it's similar to the plagiarism debate - as long as you don't claim either the sound or the music to be a creation of yours, it's ok. That's not to say that I don't endeavour to come up with my own music or tones/sounds of my own though
Contribute to the U2 community with uploading photos or by telling us which shows you have visited.
Contribute to the U2 community with uploading photos or by telling us which shows you have visited.
Contribute to the U2 community with uploading photos or by telling us which shows you have visited.
Contribute to the U2 community with uploading photos or by telling us which shows you have visited.