1984>1985 era

U2 - Atomic: Edge

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1984>1985 era - gear

* perMusician magazine - Jan 1985 *

The Edge has a lot of guitars these days: A 1971 Fender Strat with a graphite nut, brass bridge saddles, modified Seymour Duncan quarter pound stack pickup and Strat Tremolo. More standard are his 1971 Gibson Explorer, an early-60's Les Paul Deluxe (used only on "Indian Summer Sky") and a 1961 Telecaster. He also plays a new Washburn acoustic. On "Pride" he playes a 1959 Gretsch Falcon, with stero pickups he rewired to mono. He also uses an Epiphone Elektra lap steel (1939 or 1940) which he picked up real cheap in the U.S. His amps are an old Vox AC30 and Mesa Moogies, MK-II C series. His lap steel and Yamaha CP70, though, go through a Roland JC120 amp. His strings are Superwound Selectras.

He selects his effects with a Boss SCC-700. These include two Korg SDD-3000 Digital Delays, a Yamaha R-1000 digital reverb, an MXR pitch transposer and a Yamaha D-15 digital delay. There are also two Electro-Harmonix Memory Man analog delays: one side is used for the CP70, the other for the lap steel on "Surrender." He uses a MXR Compressor and thanks the Lord for his Boss TU-12 tuner. What would you do if you had so much guitar equipment? How about taking up keyboards? The Edge did; he poinds a Yamaha DX7 and CP70, and Oberheim OB-8 and DSX.

* per International Musician & Recroding - Dec 1984 *

"One alternative, which we've done before, is to change the arrangements, which I think is quite valid." The Edge changes guitars a dozen times during the course of the show, according to his technician, Steve Rainford. His main guitars, strung with heavy-gauge Superwounds, are a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Explorer. The Fender, customized only with a graphite nut and a Seymour Duncan Quarter-Pound pickup in the treble position, is preferred for its cleaner, top-end sound; the beefier Gibson is used on such songs as "Sunday Bloody Sunday." Effects include two Korg SDD-3000 programmable digital delays, an MXR pitch transposer, two MXR compressors and a Yamaha R-1000 digital reverb, all linked to a Roland SCC-700 programmer. The Edge still uses the Electro-Harmonix Memory Man echo he's had for years, and plugs into a Vox AC30 ("It has a clarity that I've never been able to find in any other amp") and a Roland JC-120, though for the Australian tour he was experimenting with a MESA/Boogie C-series amp.

The Stoking of Unforgettable Fire

by: Daniel Lanois

The Edge -- Fender Stratocaster, stock Fender Telecaster, Gibson Explorer guitars; Vox AC30 amp and, on some tracks, Fender Bassman amp with two 12" speakers, miked with a Beyer 88; Electro-Harmonix Memory Man echo, three Korg SDD-3000 digital delays.

Mostly Edge used his Strat, but we had some very good results with the Tele, an excellent-sounding instrument. Whenever we'd do an overdub, we'd experiment by recording several different combinations of guitar, amp and mike. The Beyer consistently proved the best for Edge.

Keyboards -- Yamaha DX7 synthesizer and CP70 electric piano.

Eno had been playing the DX7 for about six months and came up with some beautiful tones. The piano parts were played by him and the Edge.

* per U2 Magazine. Vol 10. February 1984 *

THE EDGE: Guitars:Fender Stratocaster, Gibson Explorer, Epiphone Lap-Steel, Washburn Acoustic 6-string. Piano - Yamaha CP70. Amps: Vox AC30, Roland JC120 Combo. Effects: Electro-Harmonix Memoryman Echo, MXR Compressor, Furman Parametric Equaliser.