The Edge - Full Rig Rundown

p90fool · July 2018

It's a shame that a thread about a wonderfully nerdy gear obsessive's tech setup which has been used to conquer the world for decades is being ignored in favour of debating whether the owner is any good or not.

On a guitar gear forum, no less.

Get a grip people, ffs.

Bridgehouse · July 2018

Hattigol said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Hattigol said:

Voxman said:

For me someone like Mark Knopfler is a great guitarist - he just has such a wonderful touch & feel, and the way his mind works to naturally see playing patterns, riffs, licks etc that covers such a wide range of playing styles. You just can't compare the Edge to a talent like that...it's not just technical, but there's a real underlying playing ability, & 'magic' there...the track 'Brothers in arms' isn't overly technical - but it just has an aura and atmosphere and feel that's wonderful.

I listened to Knopfler playing alongside Clapton at Knebworth the other day - song called 'I Think I Love You Too Much'. The difference in feel, tone and technique was staggering. Knopfler sounded horrible on every level against EC.

Then again, he probably wouldn't be alone in that.

Still, at least we sorted out the issue of whether Edge is a great guitarist - didn't we?

See how pointless this is getting? I'd take Knopfler anyday over this Eric Clapman guy. (whoever that is)

I note that in this whole stupid thread barely anyone has talked shop. If you watched that video and want to discuss Edge instead of actually commenting on a fuck ton of cool gear and sounds then piss off.

re the video:
Deluxes on 3? interesting. Vox 1 sounds fascinating, I love that era's tones.
Lots of interesting bits. Dallas has a hell of a job

You heard it right everyone. NO DISCUSSING THE EDGE ON A THREAD ABOUT, ERM, THE EDGE.

Good grief...

I’ve just been back to the OP. You were the first to reply and it’s your fault YOUR FUCKING FAULT we are discussing the edge with your throwaway “it’s popular to diss U2 but he’s a really influential guitarist” claptrap.

Get yourself off to a forum that discusses players rather than just the gear, like er, The Gear Page.. um...

Winny_Pooh · July 2018

@Bridgehouse comment was aimed at the negative nancies.
@hattigol chill out, its a thread about his rig. Not a place for old farts to wade in and say "but he cant blooze rock"

Bridgehouse · July 2018

Winny_Pooh said:

@Bridgehouse comment was aimed at the negative nancies.
@hattigol chill out, its a thread about his rig. Not a place for old farts to wade in and say "but he cant blooze rock"

Lol, I know - I was sort of playing a bit straight bat and going in with the full sarcasm as it’s all gone a bit The Gear Page on this thread...

Hattigol · July 2018

Bridgehouse said:

Hattigol said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Hattigol said:

Voxman said:

For me someone like Mark Knopfler is a great guitarist - he just has such a wonderful touch & feel, and the way his mind works to naturally see playing patterns, riffs, licks etc that covers such a wide range of playing styles. You just can't compare the Edge to a talent like that...it's not just technical, but there's a real underlying playing ability, & 'magic' there...the track 'Brothers in arms' isn't overly technical - but it just has an aura and atmosphere and feel that's wonderful.

I listened to Knopfler playing alongside Clapton at Knebworth the other day - song called 'I Think I Love You Too Much'. The difference in feel, tone and technique was staggering. Knopfler sounded horrible on every level against EC.

Then again, he probably wouldn't be alone in that.

Still, at least we sorted out the issue of whether Edge is a great guitarist - didn't we?

See how pointless this is getting? I'd take Knopfler anyday over this Eric Clapman guy. (whoever that is)

I note that in this whole stupid thread barely anyone has talked shop. If you watched that video and want to discuss Edge instead of actually commenting on a fuck ton of cool gear and sounds then piss off.

re the video:
Deluxes on 3? interesting. Vox 1 sounds fascinating, I love that era's tones.
Lots of interesting bits. Dallas has a hell of a job

You heard it right everyone. NO DISCUSSING THE EDGE ON A THREAD ABOUT, ERM, THE EDGE.

Good grief...

I’ve just been back to the OP. You were the first to reply and it’s your fault YOUR FUCKING FAULT we are discussing the edge with your throwaway “it’s popular to diss U2 but he’s a really influential guitarist” claptrap.

Get yourself off to a forum that discusses players rather than just the gear, like er, The Gear Page.. um...

Crack on by all means but I refuse to have a battle of wits with unarmed opponents.

Moe_Zambeek · July 2018

This is one of the Guitar forum mainstays:

The Edge - shit or not?
Who needs more than 15 watts anyway?
Soundmen are the enemy!
Gibson - shit or not?
Imports - shit or not?
Modern Music (post 1979) - shit or not?
Millenials are crap.
Pedals overrated.
Digital overrated.
Page overrated.
Vai overrated.
My taste in music is better than your taste in music.

Repeat with some ‘best tubescreamer’ and so on and you’ve got tFB and TGP in a nutshell. Though here you also need to add in some bass stuff too

Cirrus · July 2018

On the amp situation... the vox thing is interesting. Because of their relative simplicity, it seems like it doesn't take much to really change how they feel to play through. And there have been so many part substitutions over the years, there are different speakers, transformers, treble, bass and normal variants, added top boost or no...

It all adds up to amps that can sound very different - different midrange voicing, different amount of low and high end, different character of breakup, different onset of breakup (sudden or gradual). I've had a bunch of AC30s and they all do have their own character, it's not imagined. I ended up trying to work out what the formulae was for my own preferred AC30 sound.

And honestly, I made a few small discoveries but a lot of it is just indefinable magic. I found that there's one particular coupling cap in the top boost circuit where even small differences can radically change how thick the amp sounds - because the stock value starts rolling off quite high, like 500hz, and if you go for just a single value bigger, which in most cases would be pretty much inaudible, the rolloff goes down to somewhere in the 300Hz area and that makes a big difference because suddenly there's a whole extra bunch of lower mids pushing through into the power section. It still sounds tight, but it's a thicker sound and I really like that. It's more like plugging into the normal channel but with the extra compression, complexity and chime the top boost gives.

So, if you don't know about that, and you get three old AC30s all with ostensibly the same value capacitor in that position, if one is 10% high and the other is 10% low in a serious listening test you might think one sounds tubby, or the other sounds thin, depending on what your tastes are. And you'd just chalk it up to mojo.

Then there's a few other tweaks that I like. But even knowing those, I've still had amps that just never quite get there, no matter what I try - I had one amp where I changed pretty much everything trying to get it "there" and never made it. There's some kind of synergy in the good ones that I don't think can be injected into them if they don't already have it.

And that's just one component out of dozens that make up a single part of the circuit.

So, TL:DR, I can totally see why if you've found one amp that you love, and you've used it for decades, you'd notice if it had to be substituted for a different amp.

I think the beauty of that one amp Edge loves is that it's got the chime up top - think "Streets", "Still Haven't Found" as classic examples of that, but underneath that chime there's a fantastic warm midrange that balances it out perfectly. And the pick attack gets compressed too, so it's clear but rounded - not ice-pick harsh.

Voxman · July 2018

Hattigol said:

Bridgehouse said:

Hattigol said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Hattigol said:

Voxman said:

For me someone like Mark Knopfler is a great guitarist - he just has such a wonderful touch & feel, and the way his mind works to naturally see playing patterns, riffs, licks etc that covers such a wide range of playing styles. You just can't compare the Edge to a talent like that...it's not just technical, but there's a real underlying playing ability, & 'magic' there...the track 'Brothers in arms' isn't overly technical - but it just has an aura and atmosphere and feel that's wonderful.

I listened to Knopfler playing alongside Clapton at Knebworth the other day - song called 'I Think I Love You Too Much'. The difference in feel, tone and technique was staggering. Knopfler sounded horrible on every level against EC.

Then again, he probably wouldn't be alone in that.

Still, at least we sorted out the issue of whether Edge is a great guitarist - didn't we?

See how pointless this is getting? I'd take Knopfler anyday over this Eric Clapman guy. (whoever that is)

I note that in this whole stupid thread barely anyone has talked shop. If you watched that video and want to discuss Edge instead of actually commenting on a fuck ton of cool gear and sounds then piss off.

re the video:
Deluxes on 3? interesting. Vox 1 sounds fascinating, I love that era's tones.
Lots of interesting bits. Dallas has a hell of a job

You heard it right everyone. NO DISCUSSING THE EDGE ON A THREAD ABOUT, ERM, THE EDGE.

Good grief...

I’ve just been back to the OP. You were the first to reply and it’s your fault YOUR FUCKING FAULT we are discussing the edge with your throwaway “it’s popular to diss U2 but he’s a really influential guitarist” claptrap.

Get yourself off to a forum that discusses players rather than just the gear, like er, The Gear Page.. um...

Crack on by all means but I refuse to have a battle of wits with unarmed opponents.

RAOTFALMFAO!

thegummy · July 2018

For me the take away from this thread is, firstly people have widely varying opinions on what a great guitarist is and none of them are and more or less wrong than the others, but more importantly, it's pointless to even think about how great a player is because the only thing that matters is what the music sounds like at the end.

TA22GT · July 2018

I think sometimes we have to remember that a guitar, just like any musical instrument, is a tool for making music.
The music it makes may or may not appeal to you but if someone uses that tool to create music that appeals to millions then they obviously know how to use that tool.
I'm sure he get's as much pleasure creating his music as the shredder making his.

redrighthand · July 2018

jimmyguitar said:

Back to the “rig run down” video, what a passionate tech! He seems to genuinely love the Edge and working on his guitars and it’s a great interview.

He really does love him doesn’t he. I cringed a few times but Dallas does seem like a genuinely lovely bloke. Sounds like he really needs an assistant though!

The “but he is not a technically great guitarist” stuff is really pointless. Was Kurt Cobain a technically great singer? Is Neil Young technically great? What the fuck does technically great mean anyway? Who cares?

joeyowen · July 2018

John bolliangerino (The interviewer, can't remember his name) seems to be one of the most passionate people in the world. A total guitar nerd living the dream, what a cool guy.

A though the video was awesome, but it completely missed a rack tour of his fx, and considering it is The Edge, I thought it was needed (I may have completely missed it).

Voxman · July 2018

IIRC, didn't Line 6 make a rackmounted delay for the Edge in a gold finish that had some additional features as compared to its stock 'red' unit? I think they may have sold it as a limited edition for a while too?

Found it, dm4 pro made for the Edge

https://uk.line6.com/news/general/122/

thegummy · July 2018

redrighthand said:

jimmyguitar said:

Back to the “rig run down” video, what a passionate tech! He seems to genuinely love the Edge and working on his guitars and it’s a great interview.

He really does love him doesn’t he. I cringed a few times but Dallas does seem like a genuinely lovely bloke. Sounds like he really needs an assistant though!

The “but he is not a technically great guitarist” stuff is really pointless. Was Kurt Cobain a technically great singer? Is Neil Young technically great? What the fuck does technically great mean anyway? Who cares?

That's actually a perfect example, neither of those could be called great singers.

The only time it could ever matter, though, is specifically when making the statement "x is a great singer/guitarist" which is always pointless.

I much prefer listening to Neil young and nirvana to Celine Dion.

blueskunk · July 2018

I thought it was Bono who played the guitar !!

mburekenge · July 2018

Loved that run down. Tech seemed like a seriously cool dude.

Cirrus · July 2018

Actually, having just read Daniel Lanois' semi-autobiographical book, I thought it was nice to learn that he was the one who opened the door for Dallas to get such an awesome job. Lanois seems like basically the nicest guy in the world.

Freebird · July 2018

thegummy said:</b>

I don't know how some people can act like they can't see a fundamental difference between something like an overdrive pedal that changes the tone of the notes played and something like edge's delay that actually creates additional notes to the ones he plays himself.

It's like comparing a high level Hammond organ player with someone holding down a key on a synth while it plays a whole arpeggio.

Some great music has been made using the latter type of synths but it doesn't make the operators great keyboard players like john Lord for example.

There are many ways to produce art, and I always judge it by the end product.

Here is a fine example of a great programmed synth line played live. The keyboard equivalent of The Edge perhaps?

If this kind of musical automation was so easy, how come nobody else came up with these ideas?

robinbowes · July 2018

Freebird said:.

Here is a fine example of a great programmed synth line played live. The keyboard equivalent of The Edge perhaps?

One of my favourite songs ever (Temptation).

R.

fatherchewielewie · July 2018

I'm a lurker but I had to chip in..... Edge is one of my top influences, along with Lead Wallet, Gilmour and Malcolm Young.

One of the biggest lessons I ever learned was from Edge and that was 'play within the chord' to serve the song.

Recently I wrtote and recorded a scrarch pad demo of the most ridculously simple 3 chord trick song, inspired by me mucking around with a DD500. Now, I've written a few songs in my time, and some of them have even got a polite 'God loves a trier' type reception. Most of them had the 'classic' hard rock/metal stylings, lead work etc. but this new one is the antithesis of all that. Musician friends I've played it to have told me that I've actually written something good with that tune. It's got the same three chords in an unchanging pattern, in a non-standard song structure and NO overdrive at all....... I only used dynamics to make it all travel, along with some well chosen delay and reverb, and a Tele. It's even given gooseflesh to some..... and that's where I really want to be as a guitar player. The band I'm in like it so much, they want to record it. There's not a single bit of anything even remotely flash, playing wise, in the whole thing.

I grew up listing to rock/metal and I think I was brainwashed into thinking that speed/shred was a prerequisite for the 'good guitar' player medal; everything I did was done with the aim of making the grade as a 'rock' guitar player. Not for the first time, I was wrong, as far as I'm concerned. After years of trying to figure what sort music I'd like to play in an original band, I decided to ban myself from using the rock cliches and stripped it all back. And I'm happier as a player for it.

Cheers, Edge. You may talk a load of wizards cum at times but when you strap on a guitar, oh man........ I'd take you over shred technique any day.

Cheers.

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The Edge - Full Rig Rundown

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