Editing The Edge (section)

==Musical style==
{{Quote box
 | quote  = "Notes actually ''do'' mean something. They have power. I think of notes as being expensive. You don't just throw them around. I find the ones that do the best job and that's what I use. I suppose I'm a minimalist instinctively. I don't like to be inefficient if I can get away with it. Like on the end of '[[With or Without You]]'. My instinct was to go with something very simple. Everyone else said, "Nah, you can't do that." I won the argument and I still think it's sort of brave, because the end of 'With or Without You' could have been so much bigger, so much more of a climax, but there's this power to it which I think is even more potent because it's held back... ultimately I'm interested in music. I'm a musician. I'm not a gunslinger. That's the difference between what I do and what a lot of ''guitar heroes'' do."
 | source = —The Edge in 1991<ref>Flanagan (1996), p. 43</ref>
 | width  = 25em
 | align  = right
}}

=== Guitar playing ===
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 and that eliminate 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 major or minor [[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="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><ref name="edge-musician86">{{cite magazine|title=U2's Leading Edge|magazine=[[Musician (magazine)|Musician]]|first=John|last=Hutchinson|date=September 1986|issue=95|pages=32+}}</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">{{cite magazine|title=U2: Pluck of the Irish|magazine=[[Trouser Press]]|first=Jim|last=Green|date=March 1982}}</ref><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"/> Author Henrik Marstal said that his use of harmonics and chiming timbres "emulates the concept of bell ringing" and "embod[ies] a spiritual dimension".<ref>Calhoun (2018), p. 11</ref>

The Edge takes a relatively understated approach to guitar playing, viewing notes as "expensive" and preferring to play simple parts that best serve their song.<ref>Flanagan (1996), pp. 44–45</ref> He eschews [[Virtuoso|virtuosity]] in favour of "atmospherics, subtlety, minimalism, and clever [[Audio signal flow|signal processing]]", according to ''[[Guitar Player]]''.<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 was inspired by guitarists such as [[Tom Verlaine]] of [[Television (band)|Television]], [[Keith Levene]] of [[Public Image Ltd]], and [[John McKay (guitarist)|John McKay]] of [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]], who he thought "were all playing the instrument in a fresh way".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/11/28/u2-kennedy-center-honors/|title=U2: One since '76|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Geoff|last=Edgers|at=sec. Arts, E11|date=4 December 2022|access-date=18 January 2023|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129033630/https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/11/28/u2-kennedy-center-honors/|archive-date=29 November 2022}}</ref> The Edge also cited guitarists such as [[John McGeoch]],<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hotpress.com/music/ijoshua-treei-at-30-read-niall-stokes-and-bill-grahams-1987-interview-with-u2-20172462|first1=Niall|last1=Stokes |author1-link=Niall Stokes|first2=Bill |last2=Graham |title=U2: The World About Us |magazine=[[Hot Press]] |date=26 March 1987|volume=11|issue=5|access-date=8 February 2022|archive-date=16 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016162124/http://www.hotpress.com/archive/551797.html|quote= [The Edge:] My background is much more Tom Verlaine and John McGeoch.}}</ref> [[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"/> 

[[File:U2 performing in Belfast 10-27-18 (45611776892).jpg|thumb|upright=0.95|left|The Edge playing his signature guitar, the [[Gibson Explorer]]]]
The Edge's guitar sound is frequently modulated with a [[delay (audio effect)|delay]] set to a [[dotted note|dotted]] [[eighth note|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">McGee (2008), pp. 29–31</ref> 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">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/article/1991/11/29/achtung-baby |title=Burn, Bono, Burn|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|issue=94 |first=Bill |last=Wyman |date=29 November 1991|page=90|access-date=6 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220184857/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C316330%2C00.html |archive-date=20 February 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> and resembling an "airplane turbine" on "[[Mofo (song)|Mofo]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://consequenceofsound.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"/>

[[File:EdgeAC30.jpg|thumb|right|The Edge's [[Vox AC30]] amp during a U2 concert ]]
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> However, 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 name="u2mag-1982"/> Other equipment choices contribute to the Edge's unique sound. 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"/> The Edge has also used [[Guitar pick|plectrums]] manufactured by the German company Herdim that he turns sideways or upside down so the dimpled grip strums against the strings, resulting in a "rasping top end" to his guitar tone.<ref name="edgeofu2"/>

About his playing style, the Edge said in 1982:
{{blockquote|I like a nice ringing sound on guitar, and most of my chords I find two strings and make them ring the same note, so it's almost like a 12-string sound. So for E I might play a B, E, E and B and make it ring. It works very well with the Gibson Explorer.}}

=== Vocals ===
[[File:U2 in Sydney (49121288753).jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|The Edge singing backing vocals into a headset microphone in 2019 while playing a Rickenbacker]]
The Edge provides the backing vocals for U2. Their 1983 live album and video release, ''[[Under a Blood Red Sky]]'' and ''[[U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky]]'' are good reference points for his singing (as are the live DVDs from the [[Elevation Tour]], ''[[U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle]]'' and ''[[Elevation 2001: Live from Boston]]''). For example, he sings the chorus to "[[Sunday Bloody Sunday (song)|Sunday Bloody Sunday]]" (Bono harmonises on the final 'Sunday'). U2 used this tradeoff technique later in "[[Bullet the Blue Sky]]" as well. His backing vocals are sometimes in the form of a repeated cry; examples of songs that use this approach include "[[Beautiful Day (song)|Beautiful Day]]", "[[New Year's Day (U2 song)|New Year's Day]]" and "[[Stay (Faraway, So Close!)]]". Another technique he uses in his backing vocals is the falsetto, in songs such as "[[Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of]]", "[[Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own]]", "A Man and a Woman", "The Wanderer", live versions of "[[The Fly (U2 song)|The Fly]]", and "[[Window in the Skies]]".

The Edge sings the lead vocal on "[[Van Diemen's Land (U2 song)|Van Diemen's Land]]" and "[[Numb (U2 song)|Numb]]", the first half of the song "Seconds", dual vocals with Bono in "Discotheque", and the bridge in the song "[[Miracle Drug]]".<ref name="edge-bio"/> He also sings the occasional lead vocal in live renditions of other songs (such as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the [[PopMart Tour]] and "Party Girl" during the Rotterdam Zoo TV show when it was Bono's birthday),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.u2-vertigo-tour.com/show355.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050509034118/http://www.u2-vertigo-tour.com/show355.html|archive-date = 9 May 2005|title = U2 Rotterdam, 1993-05-10, Feyenoord Stadium, ZOO TV Tour - U2 on tour| date=10 May 1993 }}</ref> and has sung the second verse of the "[[Stand by Me (Ben E. King song)|Stand by Me]]" cover on a few shows. A solo acoustic version of the song "[[Love is Blindness]]", which is featured in the documentary film ''[[From the Sky Down]]'', is sung by him as well.

=== Other instruments ===
He has played keyboards on many of the band's songs, including "I Fall Down", "[[October (song)|October]]", "[[So Cruel]]", "[[New Year's Day (U2 song)|New Year's Day]]", "[[Running to Stand Still]]", "[[Miss Sarajevo]]", "The Hands that Built America", and "[[Original of the Species]]" and others. In live versions of "New Year's Day", "[[The Unforgettable Fire (song)|The Unforgettable Fire]]", "[[Your Blue Room]]", "[[Moment of Surrender]]" and "Raised By Wolves", he plays both the piano and guitar parts alternately. In most live versions of "Original of the Species", piano is the only instrument played during the song. Although the Edge is the band's lead guitarist, he occasionally plays bass guitar, including the live performances of the song [[40 (song)|"40"]] where the Edge and bassist [[Adam Clayton]] switch instruments.

===Equipment===
[[File:U2 in Tokyo (49183050452).jpg|thumb|The Edge playing a [[Fender Stratocaster]] in 2019]]
The Edge plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar (on "40" and "Race Against Time") and [[lap steel guitar]]. Detailed gear diagrams of the Edge's U2 guitar rig for the 1981 October Tour,<ref>Cooper, Adam (18 March 2012). [http://www.guitargeek.com/the-edge-u2-1981-guitar-rig-and-gear-setup-diagram/ "The Edge's 1981 Guitar Rig"]. GuitarGeek.Com.</ref> the 1983 [[War Tour]],<ref>Cooper, Adam (20 March 2012). [http://www.guitargeek.com/the-edge-u2-1983-guitar-rig-and-gear-setup-diagram/ "The Edge's 1983 Guitar Rig"]. GuitarGeek.Com.</ref> and the 2009 [[U2 360° Tour]]<ref name="musicradar.com"<ref name="musicradar-360"/> are well-documented. In 2016, [[Fender Musical Instruments Corporation|Fender]] unveiled a signature model of guitar and amplifier designed in collaboration with the Edge: the Edge Signature Stratocaster and the Fender Edge Deluxe, respectively.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2016/03/24/u2-edge-strat/|title=U2's The Edge: Custom guitar and amp announced with Fender|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|first=Eric Renner|last=Brown|date=24 March 2016|access-date=11 June 2020}}</ref>