Stage names always kind of grind my nerves, but with a name like David Evans, I can see why Edge needed something a little more memorable.
Although he could have gone with David Howell, right?
Howell is his middle name.
While a full parsing of his rig is daunting, here are the pieces that are most responsible for his tone:
Gear that David Evans (Edge) Uses
Gear | Title | Rated | Browse |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Fender 1973 Stratocaster | n/a | |
 | EHX Deluxe Memory Man Delay Pedal | n/a | |
 | MXR Dyna Comp Compressor | n/a | |
 | VOX AC30 Combo Amp | n/a |
David Evans "Edge" of U2. Flickr Commons Image via Phil Romans
I guess “Edge” has a pretty good ring to it.
But, I digress.
We’re here to talk about his guitar work and how to nail down The Edge amp settings.
Minimalistic Guitar Playing
Evans is known for his minimalist approach to the guitar and his use of delay, reverb and chiming effects, all of which are commonly associated with U2’s sound. Personally, I’m a big fan of his guitar playing and have modeled a lot of my own creativity and teaching approach off of his template.
What we need to do is find an amp settings schema that accommodates a minimal approach to the guitar and allows us to utilize delay and reverb.
I’ll give you a couple options.
First, we’ll cover the conventional “Edge sound” and then I’ll give you a second schema that I’ve found to work well with my own rig.
Conventional Edge Amp Settings
The little bit of gain here helps, and I’d say it works better when coming from your amplifier instead of a pedal.
This setting is great for delay with a lot of highs and a cut down bass knob.
Try this for a U2-style clean signal.
Numbers
- Gain: 1
- Treble: 6-7
- Mids: 4-6
- Bass: 2-4
- Reverb: 4-7
The one thing I would add is reverb, which wasn’t available on the app I use to make the settings diagrams.
Depending on your amp, I’d experiment with reverb between four and seven (on a scale of one to ten) especially if you’re looking for that chiming effect.
High Tones and Cheap Amps
I’ve found that cheaper amps (and often times solid state amps) don’t handle high settings nearly as well as the best tube amps like Marshall and Vox. Sometimes you can get away with a low, thick tone on a cheap amp, but highs are just too brutal.
Evans’ traditional sound comes from a VOXAC30, which not all of us are privileged enough to own.
So if you don’t have a higher end tube amp and you feel like it doesn’t handle the higher tone settings as well, you’re running into a pretty common problem.
In my experience, a good solution can be to go with a heavier, thicker tone, especially if you’re trying to use a delay effect, like Evans so often does.
Here’s what I came up with.
Smoother and thicker Edge amp settings with more bass in the EQ.
Numbers
- Gain: Off
- Treble: 6-7
- Middle: 3-5
- Bass: 7-8
- Reverb: 4-6
You can tweak this to see what works best with your guitar and amp, but generally speaking, if you start with the original setting (the first one I listed) and you feel like it just sounds a little weak, try cutting back the mids and push the bass a bit higher.
That will give your sound some more body and add that extra bit of substance that might be missing with a cheaper amplifier.
Edge’s Effects
Evans has used a lot of effects on different recordings and performances. Though he most commonly utilizes basic compression and an Electro-Harmonix Memory Man which has been part of his rig since the early ’80s.
The compression helps with layering, delay and smoothing out the signal to prevent major jumps and dips in volume.
It makes everything just a bit more discrete.
If you’ve got something that you think works better for capturing Evans’ tone, leave it in the comments.
Conclusion and Questions
I haven't updated this post in quite awhile, so if you have questions or ideas about Edge's tone or the gear he uses, feel free to drop those in the comments section below. Over the years his settings and gear have stayed pretty much the same.
Thanks to those who have already chimed in and best of luck pursuing a great tone.
Source: Guitar Geek
Related Articles
Written by Bobby on Amp Settings
Written by Bobby on Amp Settings
The EHX DMM is a great pedal, but worthwhile to note Edge put them out to pasture in ’83-’84 in favor of his beloved Korg SDD-3000 digital delay rackmount. The EHX DMM is great to nail down his tone on U2’s first three albums, but everything after that is pure SDD-3000. You need the SDD-3000 for the quick pure delay tunes such as Pride and Streets. The EHX DMM isn’t precise enough (or shall I say too analog) to capture the crisp percussive attacks of the guitar.
Another crucial piece of gear worth mentioning is his guitar pick. “Herdim” picks made in “West Germany” (yeah, I know they isn’t a West Germany anymore). They are dimpled and he uses the dimpled end to strike his strings to get that “Edgey”-chimey top end we all know and love.
Finally, it’s his playing style that contributes very much… he plucks his strings upwards to get a more folk sound, and also achieves magnificent natural vibrato by wriggling his guitar neck like a mad-man as you can see in his live performances.
Worth to note…spending $$$ on gear but not focusing on these other aspects will not get you very far…just a big hole in your wallet. Lots of “Edge” aficionados out on the web/Youtube who spend a lot on gear, but when you hear them play, they just sound amateurish as they don’t focus on these key aspects.
Thanks for the thoughtful insight, and kudos especially for those last two paragraphs.
Hi anyone know the exact pickup on his black strat from streets.? I know about the dimarzio bridge but which fender pu do i need to buy for middle position? Thanks
Well, his signature model which he uses now exclusively for that song has Fender Custom Fat 50’s in the neck and middle. As you already know, he’s got the Dimarzio FS-1 on the bridge.
I believe his originaly ’73 (’72?) strat had original stock pickups in the neck and middle along with the FS-1.