Secrets of The Edge’s Sound

Learn how to get the tone of U2 classics.

In this video, Voodoo Lab’s James Santiago shows you how to recreate The Edge’s iconic ’80s tone using the Voodoo Lab Giggity Analog Overdrive + Preamp as the foundation.

Placing your delay pedal in front of Giggity gets you close to the Edge’s sonic alchemy, but Santiago dives into a secret ingredient — picks — more specifically pick attack, and how it adds dimension and texture that are key to nailing The Edge’s tone.

The Edge Tone Toolkit:

Signal Chain: Strymon Brigadier dBucket Delay→ Voodoo Lab Giggity → Strymon blueSky Reverb →

Delay: The Strymon Brigadier conjures The Edge’s trademark delay effects where he used an Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man Deluxe Memory Man. The Brigadier’s Mode switch is set to medium and Tap set to quarter. Start with all the controls around 12:00.

Giggity for Chime: Set for a slightly broken up tone full of slicing chime, Giggity cranks the Loudness, halfway up with Body, and set Air at 2:00 clock-ish, depending on your guitar. Master to taste.

The Reverb: To add more ambient textures found on late-’80s Edge tones, the Strymon blueSky Reverb is set to Plate and in Mod mode to give the reverb added shimmer. Crank the Low and High Damping controls for a more forward and dense reverb effect. Set the Pre Delay around 3:00.

BONUS: Watch as Santiago swaps out his main pick — a Dunlop Jazz III — for a thinner Dunlop with a rougher surface. By holding the pick upside down it gives you a subtle “scratch” that really brings out the chime.

-Darrin Fox