The Edge

His rig has drawn on pedals, rack units and amps alike: an Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man in the early days, Korg SDD 3000 and TC Electronic 2290 rack delays in pairs over the years, a Vox AC30, a Tube Screamer for overdrive, and a 1960s Japanese fuzz as a go-to pedal¹²³⁴⁵.

Delay: the core of the sound

The Edge's early delay sound came from an Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man. Voodoo Lab's demo notes that "The Strymon Brigadier conjures The Edge's trademark delay effects where he used an Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man"¹. In his own words, quoted by GuitarPlayer:

He said the Memory Man's echo offered textural and rhythmic possibilities when U2 cut those early demos⁸. Later, his delay moved into the rack: MusicRadar reports he "has used Korg SDD 3000 and TC Electronic 2290 units in pairs over the years to fuel some of his most iconic moments"². Premier Guitar described the Korg SDD 3000 pedal reissue as "The rightgeous rackmount delay used by the Edge now in a compact stompbox housing"⁹.

How he connects it

The Edge plugs his delay and echo effects directly into the amp's input rather than into an effects loop. Guitar World puts it bluntly: "the Edge built a whole career out of doing just that," while noting that "if you want absolutely clean, pristine delay and echo effects with no distortion, the effects loop is the only way to go"¹⁰. BOSS's signal chain guide covers the same trade-off, noting that "when running your delay direct into the dashboard of an overdriven amp, a tactic used by legends from The Edge to Eddie Van Halen, roll back the effect level and repeats to keep sound under control," and that the amp's effects loop is the option if keeping the delay ultra-clean is the priority¹¹.

Voodoo Lab's demo video takes the idea further with modern pedals, using a Voodoo Lab Giggity, Strymon Brigadier and blueSky Reverb to recreate The Edge's delay tone, and noting that "Placing your delay pedal in front of Giggity gets you close to the Edge's sonic alchemy"¹. In the same video, James Santiago points to pick attack as a further ingredient in the tone¹.

Fuzz: the Kay Fuzz Tone and the JHS Mary-K

The Kay Fuzz Tone, a Japan-made fuzz circuit of the 1960s, is one of The Edge's go-to pedals⁵¹²¹³. JHS Pedals built a modern version of it, the Mary-K, as part of a fuzz lineup the company has maintained for over a decade, covering both original circuits and replicas of classics⁵¹⁴.

The original Kay Fuzz Tone was a treadle fuzz with no knobs, and The Edge used its treadle, or expression, function¹⁵¹⁶. The Mary-K adds what the original lacked:

• Volume and Frequency knobs, allowing a wider sonic palette than the original¹³
• A Mode switch that delivers a more aggressively fuzzy and mid-rangey version of the original sound¹³
• An expression pedal output, for players who want to use it as it was originally intended¹⁵

Delicious Audio describes the Mary-K as "a replica of an under-the-radar Japan-made fuzz circuit of the '60s," and guitar.com notes the original "was marketed in the late '60s as a low-cost alternative to the Shin-Ei/Univox Superfuzz"¹³¹⁷. JHS states the Mary-K is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Kay Musical Instruments or Mary Kay Inc⁵. Delicious Audio also reports that The Edge is a big fan of the Mary-K¹³.

The Edge has other fuzz and distortion links to JHS. Josh Scott writes that "The Edge (you know, the one from U2?) uses this, and it's very visible on his pedalboard," of the JHS Crayon distortion/fuzz¹⁸. And on early U2 recordings he used the Guyatone Zoom Box, which Josh Scott says "you can hear it on live at Red Rocks"¹⁹.

Preamp and overdrive

The Edge used the Boss FA-1, a preamp pedal, on the recording of "The Unforgettable Fire" and placed it in his following touring rigs⁷. Guitar.com's Richard Purvis calls him "a big fan of the Boss FA-1 preamp," adding that "the only mystery is why this oddball unit from the early 80s hasn't been copied more often"²⁰.

For overdrive, Analog Man's history of the Tube Screamer states that "The Edge from U2 uses a TS9 for most of his overdrive tones"⁴.

Amp and other effects

The Edge plays through a Vox AC30, which MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley says he "won't be retiring... just yet"³. BOSS's introduction to pitch shifter pedals notes that "The Edge (U2) employed pitch shifting to create quick, on-the-fly pitch changes and smooth, continuous sweeps"⁶. MusicRadar also reports that he is "even more open to integrating pedals into his rig than ever these days," in a story about the MXR Joshua Echo delay pedal, which channels the rack sounds of his delays²¹¹.

Questions