Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

[TheEdge]

Hi, I love the tone of The Edge's sound. I have a Vox AC-30 and a Fender Strat USA 96 and a Boss DD-20. The guitar no longer has its original pickups. Now it has David Barfuss and I was thinking of getting Seymour Duncan. I think that Edge himself uses or used Seymours on his Strat. Anyone has a hint on a good warm Seymour set of single coils (NOT humbuckers) to put on my Strat? These Barfuss are too thin, especially in the middle/bridge pickup wich is the position I use the most. I'm getting 0.11 strings to put on it to improve the tone and I was looking to change the pu's. Anyone has any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[veryhungrycaterpilla]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Edge#Musical_equipment

http://u2-atomic-edge-gear.tripod.com/

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

Welcome to the forum.

For singles, go with APS-2's.

Personally, I've gotten quite close to his earlier tones with an APHn/Screain Demon combo in my Hamer in the middle position (with the pickups set quite low).

 

[TheEdge]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

A guy recommended me the Antiquity II set. How do they compare to the APS-2?

Thanks

 

[Artie]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

I just went to see one of my favorite local bands last night, and Les nailed the Edge tone, on "Where the Streets have no name", with his Antiquity equipped Strat. But then again, I think he could nail that tone with anything.

 

[JohnnyGuitar]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

The Edge in only one guitar??? hehe...

What songs do you like? someday you'll have to get a good mahagony axe you know...

Maybe a combination of 2 or 3 types? I'd go with something that would give you some twang in the bridge - like the Twangbanger, and use it with two vintage voiced pups in the neck and middle... APH, SSL, Antiquities, etc...

 

[TheEdge]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

The Edge in only one guitar??? hehe...

What songs do you like? someday you'll have to get a good mahagony axe you know...

Maybe a combination of 2 or 3 types? I'd go with something that would give you some twang in the bridge - like the Twangbanger, and use it with two vintage voiced pups in the neck and middle... APH, SSL, Antiquities, etc...

The tone I'm after is around Where the Streets have no name, I still haven't found, etc. The very recognizable "ching" Edge tone is what I'm after. Wich pickups would you guys recommend? The middle/bridge position is the one he uses to get those sounds so I guess the bridge pickup should be hot and with presence, but definitly not a humbucker. Single Coils only. Would it be better to combine different pups?

 

[J Moose]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

He played that Explorer a lot back in the day...I vaguely remember seeing a Les Paul too...

The black Strat came a little later I think.

 

[flank]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

Antiquity surfers

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

I'm a HUGE U2 fan, I don't know all his gear or anything but this is what I do know.

Main guitars used on Rattle And Hum (DVD):
Black Fender Stratocaster (His chime machine)
White Gibson Les Paul
I don't think his Explorer was used even once on that DVD, could've been.

ZOO TV in Sydney:
Mainly Les Paul
Some songs with Strat
some with Explorer

Vertigo Tour Chicago:
Fender Strat
Gibson Les Paul
Epiphone Elitist Sheraton
Fender Tele
Gibson SG (used only on Elevation from what I recall)

I have 4 U2 vinyl albums, one being Under A Blood Red Sky. Most of the songs on that sound like his Strat, the few that don't sound like his Explorer.

When I saw them in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre in 2005 he used his black Strat the most. I think there was another Strat as well. He used the Strat on Sunday Bloody Sunday (the Chicago DVD he used a blonde Tele). He used his SG on Elevation, a Gibson Les Paul on quite a few songs as well as the Explorer on a fair number of songs. He also used his Epi Sheraton on some of the newer songs (Crumbs, City Of Blinding Lights, All Because Of You). I believe on Sometime You Can't Make It he used the Rickenbacker, though if I'm not mistaken at the concert I was at he didn't have it in the gear set up and used a Tele.

As for the pups I'd reccomend, I think a twang banger bridge, SSL or Antiquity middle and a Cool Rails or Lil' 59 neck (for some of the Gibby tones). The precious suggestions have also been quite reasonable and are worth a shot.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

The "Edge" sound could be anything, as the dude has many guitars and such. I'd say mainly it's amp and then there's always the delay factor (Edge Delay). I'd say that if you keep one delay pedal at ~100ms and one at ~500ms (and vary the 500ms or tap according to taste), you should get very close to that sound. As for pickups, get pickups that are clear sounding, probably a Lite Ash Strat (3 x Alnico II Pro humbuckers), but probably better would be Vintage Staggered pickups and/or Jazz/JB humbuckers, but this is all just my opinion. If anything, I'd recommend getting a Gretch for the HH sound, and a standard strat for the strat songs, but again, just my opinion.

EDIT: Oops, that's 3 x Alnico II Pro Staggered, sorry....

 

[TheEdge]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

I'm a HUGE U2 fan, I don't know all his gear or anything but this is what I do know.

Main guitars used on Rattle And Hum (DVD):
Black Fender Stratocaster (His chime machine)
White Gibson Les Paul
I don't think his Explorer was used even once on that DVD, could've been.

ZOO TV in Sydney:
Mainly Les Paul
Some songs with Strat
some with Explorer

Vertigo Tour Chicago:
Fender Strat
Gibson Les Paul
Epiphone Elitist Sheraton
Fender Tele
Gibson SG (used only on Elevation from what I recall)

I have 4 U2 vinyl albums, one being Under A Blood Red Sky. Most of the songs on that sound like his Strat, the few that don't sound like his Explorer.

When I saw them in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre in 2005 he used his black Strat the most. I think there was another Strat as well. He used the Strat on Sunday Bloody Sunday (the Chicago DVD he used a blonde Tele). He used his SG on Elevation, a Gibson Les Paul on quite a few songs as well as the Explorer on a fair number of songs. He also used his Epi Sheraton on some of the newer songs (Crumbs, City Of Blinding Lights, All Because Of You). I believe on Sometime You Can't Make It he used the Rickenbacker, though if I'm not mistaken at the concert I was at he didn't have it in the gear set up and used a Tele.

As for the pups I'd reccomend, I think a twang banger bridge, SSL or Antiquity middle and a Cool Rails or Lil' 59 neck (for some of the Gibby tones). The precious suggestions have also been quite reasonable and are worth a shot.

Those seem excelent suggestions. I have a Strat and a Gibson Les Paul, so my main concern is to get that middle/bridge Strat tone. I think the david Barfuss bridge I have is way to thin and lacks body to make that edge "ching". Lacks middles and bass. The sound tends to become too thin and as I raise the volume in the AC-30 it will only be thinner and noisier. I use a special pick like he uses, called the Herdim pick wich has a dimpled part he uses to grate the strings better, and I notice that the pick makes a much better "ching" in the neck pickup than the bridge (I guess because the bridge lacks a lot of presence and body). I could try to put one of those single coil type of humbuckers in the bridge. But then again, there must be good solid bridge pups that do the trick. The Twanger is supposed to simulate a tele sound, is that a good help for bridge?

Thanks

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

Those seem excelent suggestions. I have a Strat and a Gibson Les Paul, so my main concern is to get that middle/bridge Strat tone. I think the david Barfuss bridge I have is way to thin and lacks body to make that edge "ching". Lacks middles and bass. The sound tends to become too thin and as I raise the volume in the AC-30 it will only be thinner and noisier. I use a special pick like he uses, called the Herdim pick wich has a dimpled part he uses to grate the strings better, and I notice that the pick makes a much better "ching" in the neck pickup than the bridge (I guess because the bridge lacks a lot of presence and body). I could try to put one of those single coil type of humbuckers in the bridge. But then again, there must be good solid bridge pups that do the trick. The Twanger is supposed to simulate a tele sound, is that a good help for bridge?

Thanks

Should be for his Tele type stuff. Seeing as how he uses the Strat a lot I'd say maybe go for that, a vintage rails or antiquity bridge pup. As long as you have a bright, clear and vintage sounding bridge pup through the AC-30 you should be rockin' Sunday Bloody Sunday in no time. Have you tried finding any of the specs (including pup specs) of any of Edge's guitars? Cause that could also help you find the right pup for his tone.

 

[JohnnyGuitar]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

If you want the notch tone from that position I wouldn't go for two different pups- Try Surfers with the Custom Surfer in the bridge, I don't have too much experience with Antiquities but it should be a solid choice... a simple SSL-1 set should also do the job, I like them.
The Twangbanger would be a good choice if you're going for as many tones as possible from one guitar.

And +1 on the delay... use as many delays and delay settings through a Vox amp and that should bring you closer then any pickup. Make the guitar sound good for you... BTW, he uses a Line-6 DM-4 for many distortion tones, that should also help for modern Edge tones.

 

[baritone]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

Using the dual-head tape delay feature of the DD-20 is awesome for that kind of sound.

 

[TheEdge]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

Should be for his Tele type stuff. Seeing as how he uses the Strat a lot I'd say maybe go for that, a vintage rails or antiquity bridge pup. As long as you have a bright, clear and vintage sounding bridge pup through the AC-30 you should be rockin' Sunday Bloody Sunday in no time. Have you tried finding any of the specs (including pup specs) of any of Edge's guitars? Cause that could also help you find the right pup for his tone.

I know the gear he uses, but I can't find the pups he uses on his Strat. It's said that he uses Seymours on his Strat, but I don't know wich ones. I know almost for sure he doesn't use any humbuckers on it, just single coils. Anyway, even in the middle/bridge he can get a very hot and sharp sound. Very full and epic. Do you think it's better to raise the pups close to the strings or further? And one last thing, I really want more mids in the middle/bridge cause the treble is very harsh. Will a new set of pups be enough or do I need an EQ pedal?

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

He had a DiMarzio FS-1 in the bridge position of his black Strat around the time of Under A Blood Red Sky.

 

[TheEdge]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

He had a DiMarzio FS-1 in the bridge position of his black Strat around the time of Under A Blood Red Sky.

I've also heard something about that. Anyone tried those dimarzios? I've read that they do boost the mids a lot but loose a little of the treble without getting muddy. Seems accurate but I never really tried them. wich of the Seymours single coils bridge pups are best for mid boosts?

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

I've also heard something about that. Anyone tried those dimarzios? I've read that they do boost the mids a lot but loose a little of the treble without getting muddy. Seems accurate but I never really tried them. wich of the Seymours single coils bridge pups are best for mid boosts?

I've used a DiMarzio FS-1 quite a lot in my Strat's bridge position (though these days I'm using a Twang Banger instead).

The FS-1 is excellent if you want a fatter Strat bridge pickup sound. It has more output, boosts the mids and loses the ice-pick quality but still sounds snappy and 'single coil'. The only trade-off in my experience is that you lose some of the quack when combined with the middle pickup, because the outputs will be quite different.

I would guess from looking at the specs that the nearest Duncan equivalent is the SSL-5 Custom Staggered, but I haven't tried that pickup.

 

[TheEdge]

Re: Right pickup for The Edge guitar tone

I've used a DiMarzio FS-1 quite a lot in my Strat's bridge position (though these days I'm using a Twang Banger instead).

The FS-1 is excellent if you want a fatter Strat bridge pickup sound. It has more output, boosts the mids and loses the ice-pick quality but still sounds snappy and 'single coil'. The only trade-off in my experience is that you lose some of the quack when combined with the middle pickup, because the outputs will be quite different.

I would guess from looking at the specs that the nearest Duncan equivalent is the SSL-5 Custom Staggered, but I haven't tried that pickup.

Ok, then wich is the best pickup to put on the middle to combine with the Dimarzio on the bridge? You think he still has his original Fender pups in the middle and neck?