Combo
Vox AC30
Chime, jangle and that top-end sparkle that no Fender or Marshall quite does. Push it and it compresses into a snarl that's carried British rock from the 60s to now.
ChimeyCompressedBright
The Edge's Sound
Rhythmic delay as a compositional instrument — minimalism that filled stadiums.
Dotted-eighth delay, shimmering compression and Vox AC30 chime
The rig
The gear associated with the sound. Each item opens a live Reverb search — vintage examples where they exist, modern equivalents where they don't.
Guitars
- 1976 Gibson ExplorerFind on Reverb
- Fender StratocasterFind on Reverb
- Rickenbacker 330Find on Reverb
- Gretsch Country GentlemanFind on Reverb
Amps
- Vox AC30Find on Reverb
- Fender DeluxeFind on Reverb
- Multiple AC30s in stereo liveFind on Reverb
Effects
- Korg SDD-3000 delay (the signature unit)Find on Reverb
- TC Electronic 2290Find on Reverb
- Memory ManFind on Reverb
- Compressors, tremolo, e-bowFind on Reverb
Pickups
- Gibson humbuckers, Fender single-coilsFind on Reverb
Why it sounds like that
Where the Streets Have No Name
Two synchronised delays over an AC30 — the pattern is created by the effects, not the picking hand.
With or Without You
Infinite-sustain Infinite Guitar tone floating above almost nothing else.
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Dry, compressed and harmonically sparse — the aggression is in the rhythm.
From the shop floor
Similar sounds
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