Editing U2 (section)

=== Guitar ===
[[File:U2 performing in Belfast 10-27-18 (45611776892).jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|left|The Edge playing his signature guitar, the [[Gibson Explorer]]]]
The Edge's style of playing guitar is distinguished by his chiming [[timbre]]s,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newsweek.com/stop-name-love-329516|title=Stop in the Name of Love|magazine=[[Newsweek]]|first=Jim|last=Miller|date=31 December 1984|access-date=26 October 2019}}</ref><ref name="guitargods">Gulla (2009), pp. 57–65</ref> echoing notes,<ref name="edgeofu2">{{cite magazine|title=The Edge of U2|magazine=[[Guitar Player]]|first1=Tom|last1=Nolan|first2=Jas|last2=Obrecht|date=June 1985|volume=19|pages=54+}}</ref> sparse [[Voicing (music)|voicings]],<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Basic Instincts: The Edge Brings the U2 Sound Full Circle|magazine=[[Guitar Player]]|first=Darrin|last=Fox|date=January 2001|volume=35|issue=1|pages=100–108}}</ref> and extensive use of [[effects unit]]s.<ref name="10things-edge">{{cite magazine|title=10 Things You Gotta Do to Play Like The Edge|magazine=[[Guitar Player]]|first=Vincent|last=DeMasi|date=November 2008|volume=42|issue=11|pages=117–124}}</ref> He favours the [[perfect fifth]] [[Interval (music)|interval]] and often plays [[power chord]]s, which are [[Guitar chord|chord]]s consisting of just the [[fifth (chord)|fifth]] and [[root (chord)|root]] notes without the [[third (chord)|third]].<ref name="edgestyle-u2byu2">McCormick (2006), pp. 72–75</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=U2 Takes the Fifth|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|first=Jon|last=Pareles|author-link=Jon Pareles|date=11 March 1981}}</ref> This style is not explicitly in a minor or major [[key (music)|key]], but implies both, creating a musical ambiguity.<ref name="edgestyle-u2byu2"/><ref name="edgeofu2"/> For these chords, he often plays the same notes on multiple strings, some of which are left [[Open string (music)|open]], creating an Irish-influenced [[drone (music)|drone]].<ref name="edge-musician86"/><ref name="guitargods"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/u2-0722.aspx|title=Gibson Guitars and U2's The Edge: Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Boy|work=[[Gibson (guitar company)|Gibson]]|first=Ted|last=Drozdowski|date=22 July 2010|access-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630070528/http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/u2-0722.aspx|archive-date=30 June 2017}}</ref> Against this drone, he changes other notes to imply a [[harmony]].<ref name="playlikeedge">{{cite magazine|title=How to Play Like .... The Edge|magazine=[[Guitar Player]]|first=Andy|last=Ellis|date=February 2005|volume=39|issue=2|page=122}}</ref><ref>Calhoun (2018), p. 17</ref> Among the Edge's signature techniques are playing [[arpeggio]]s,<ref name="pluckirish"/><ref name="playlikeedge"/> [[sixteenth note]] percussive strumming,<ref>{{bulleted list|{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-04-20-ca-1124-story.html|title=A Subdued U2 Rebounds for the '80s|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|first=Chris|last=Willman|date=20 April 1987|access-date=26 October 2019|at=sec. Calendar, pp. 1, 5}}|{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/150899-u2-achtung-baby-20th-anniversary-edition-2495921552.html|title=U2: Achtung Baby (20th Anniversary Edition)|website=[[Popmatters]]|first=AJ|last=Ramirez|date=10 November 2011|access-date=26 October 2019}}|{{cite news|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2001-12-04-0112030462-story.html|title=U2 closes tour on consoling note|newspaper=[[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]]|first=Sean|last=Piccoli|date=4 December 2001|access-date=26 October 2019|page=3E}}|{{cite web|url=https://www.musicradar.com/tuition/guitars/how-to-play-guitar-like-the-edge-617919|title=How to play guitar like The Edge|website=[[MusicRadar]]|first=Steve|last=Allsworth|date=17 March 2015|access-date=26 October 2019}}}}</ref> and [[String harmonic|harmonics]],<ref name="edgestyle-u2byu2"/> the latter of which he described as "so pure and finely-focused that [they have] the incredible ability to pierce through [their] environment of sound, just like lightning".<ref name="edge-musician86"/> His approach to guitar playing is relatively understated and eschews [[Virtuoso|virtuosity]] in favour of "atmospherics, subtlety, minimalism, and clever [[Audio signal flow|signal processing]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Shaking the Tree: Exploring the Edge's Sonic Innovations on the 30th Anniversary of U2's ''The Joshua Tree''|magazine=[[Guitar Player]]|first=Vinnie|last=DeMasi|date=September 2017|volume=51|issue=9|pages=62–64}}</ref> Rather than emulate common playing styles, the Edge is interested in "tearing up the rule book" and finding new ways to approach the instrument.<ref name="edgeofu2"/> He cited guitarists such as [[Tom Verlaine]] of Television, [[John McGeoch]],<ref name="worldabout"/> [[Rory Gallagher]], and [[Patti Smith]] as some of his strongest influences.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/edge-pays-tribute-to-legendary-bluesman-who-laid-road-for-u2-26380018.html|title=Edge pays tribute to legendary bluesman who 'laid road' for U2|work=[[Irish Independent]]|first=Treacy|last=Hogan|date=17 June 2006|access-date=10 August 2018}}</ref><ref name="edge-musician86"/>

The Edge's guitar sound is frequently modulated with a [[delay (audio effect)|delay]] set to a [[dotted note|dotted]] [[eighth note]] for rhythmic effect.<ref name="guitargods"/><ref name="bosso">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/edge-u2-interview-memory-man|title=Memory Man|magazine=[[Guitar World]]|first=Joe|last=Bosso|date=September 2005|volume=26|issue=9|access-date=21 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{bulleted list|{{cite web|url=https://www.gibson.com/news-lifestyle/features/en-us/the-edge-classic-u2-guitar-sound-0924-2012.aspx|title=How The Edge Created a Classic Guitar Sound|website=Gibson|first=Daniel|last=Eriksson|date=24 September 2012|access-date=7 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109045926/https://www.gibson.com/news-lifestyle/features/en-us/the-edge-classic-u2-guitar-sound-0924-2012.aspx|archive-date=9 January 2017}}|{{cite web|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/creating-using-custom-delay-effects|title=Creating & Using Custom Delay Effects|website=[[Sound on Sound]]|first=Geoff|last=Smith|date=May 2012|access-date=7 April 2019}}}}</ref> After acquiring his first delay pedal, the Electro-Harmonix Memory Man,<ref name="mcg29"/> he became fascinated with how to use its return echo to "fill in notes that [he's] not playing, like two guitar players rather than one".<ref name="imgl">{{cite video|people=The Edge, [[Davis Guggenheim]] (director)|title=[[It Might Get Loud]]|medium=film|publisher=[[Sony Pictures Classics]]|date=2008}}</ref> The effect unit became a mainstay in his guitar rig and had a significant impact on the band's creative output.<ref name="mcg29"/> The Edge became known for his extensive use of effects units, and for his meticulous nature in crafting specific sounds and guitar tones from his equipment choices.<ref name="10things-edge"/><ref name="musicradar-360">{{cite web|url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/u2-exclusive-the-edges-stage-setup-revealed-223342|title=U2 Exclusive: The Edge's stage setup revealed|website=[[MusicRadar]]|first=Joe|last=Bosso|date=14 October 2009|access-date=22 May 2020}}</ref> [[Led Zeppelin]] guitarist [[Jimmy Page]] called him a "sonic architect",<ref name="imgl"/> while [[Neil McCormick]] described him as an "effects maestro".<ref>{{cite news|title=Has the axeman lost his mojo?|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|first=Neil|last=McCormick|author-link=Neil McCormick|date=20 August 2009|page=25}}</ref> Critics have variously referred to the Edge's guitar sounds as evoking the image of fighter planes on "[[Bullet the Blue Sky]]",<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/u2-the-joshua-tree-re-mastered-r1987|title=U2&nbsp;– The Joshua Tree Re-Mastered (R1987)|magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|first=Andrew|last=Mueller|author-link=Andrew Mueller|access-date=20 March 2017|archive-date=23 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123222141/http://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/u2-the-joshua-tree-re-mastered-r1987|url-status=dead}}</ref> resembling a "dentist's drill" on "[[Love Is Blindness]]",<ref name="ew"/> and resembling an "airplane turbine" on "[[Mofo (song)|Mofo]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2009/05/guilty-pleasure-u2-pop/|title=Guilty Pleasure: U2 – Pop|website=[[Consequence of Sound]]|first=Joe|last=Marvilli|date=9 May 2009|access-date=21 December 2018}}</ref> The Edge said that rather than using effects merely to modify his sound, he uses them to spark ideas during his songwriting process.<ref name="bosso"/>

The Edge developed his playing style during his teenage years, partially as a result of him and Mullen trying to accommodate the "eccentric" bass playing of Clayton by being the timekeepers of the band.<ref name="edgestyle-u2byu2"/> In their early days, the Edge's only guitar was his 1976 [[Gibson Explorer]] Limited Edition,<ref name="bosso"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gibson.com/news-lifestyle/features/en-us/10-things-about-the-edge-and-his-guitars.aspx|title=10 Things About The Edge and His Guitars|website=Gibson|first=Daniel|last=Eriksson|
date=21 July 2013|access-date=27 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418063845/https://www.gibson.com/news-lifestyle/features/en-us/10-things-about-the-edge-and-his-guitars.aspx|archive-date=18 April 2018}}</ref> which became a signature of the group.<ref>McGee (2008), p. 18</ref> He found the sound of the Explorer's bass strings unsatisfactory and avoided them in his playing early on, resulting in a [[Treble (sound)|trebly]] sound. He said by focusing "on one area of the [[Fingerboard|fretboard]] [he] was developing a very stylized way of doing something that someone else would play in a normal way".<ref>{{cite magazine|title=On the Edge of Success |magazine=U2 Magazine|first=Tom|last=Nolan |number=3 |date=May 1982}}</ref> His 1964 [[Vox AC30]] "Top Boost" amplifier (housed in a 1970s cabinet) is favoured for its "sparkle" tone, and is the basis for his sound both in the studio and live.<ref name="musicradar-360"/> Rather than hold his [[Guitar pick|plectrum]] with a standard grip, the Edge turns it sideways or upside down to use the dimpled edge against the strings, producing a "rasping top end" to his tone.<ref name="edgeofu2"/>