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The Edge


sneddy72

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Take his effects away and he's no better than the kid up the street. He couldn't play a decent solo if he tried. But he's got 'his' sound and he's done well from it. It proves the point that shredding is no guarantee of fame.

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Take his effects away and he's no better than the kid up the street. He couldn't play a decent solo if he tried. But he's got 'his' sound and he's done well from it. It proves the point that shredding is no guarantee of fame.

 

Well, he helped write songs that people love and has a unique sound... That's all it takes, really.

 

And I don't like U2 at all....

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Take his effects away and he's no better than the kid up the street. He couldn't play a decent solo if he tried. But he's got 'his' sound and he's done well from it. It proves the point that shredding is no guarantee of fame.

Very true. I saw U2 support Talking Heads at Hammersmith on the 'Remain In Light' tour.

I went for Belew but remember watching U2 and the Edge and getting very VERY envious indeed. Here was a guy who evidently couldn't play at all in the conventional sense and he was onstage at Hammersmith Odeon with the digital delays and really enjoying himself!! I have to admit he impressed me too in the film 'It Might Get Loud' - he's a sincere guy.

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I think he is the first to admit that he is not technically brilliant, but what he has managed to do is create his own sound using delays in a pretty unique way and writing some pretty awesome songs along the way. 150 million albums sold so he's done something right!

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Not better than the kid down the street?

 

I'd like to see that "kid" play "Sunday" to a packed stadium while singing harmony.

 

As I said earlier, he is not my favorite player. But technical proficiency was never my strong suit. He came up with some damn good riffs: If it was made better by delay, then great. "Where the Streets Have No Name" is probably the best use of delay I have ever hear.

 

Welcome to Boston...

 

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Enjoyed "Boy" and "War" records, but after that not as much. I am always hesitant to use sales figures as evidence of artistic merit. So much crap out there has sold well. I would say though that Edge's sound is quickly recognizable (admittedly in part due to his use of delay) and that is more than you can say for many players.

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U2 sucks. They sold out themselves after they quit making money (after Zooropa) and now churns out drivel to feed their masses.

 

It was funny to see Edge with Jimmy Page (knowledge) and Jack White (passion). Edge has neither quality and opened the movie bragging about playing two notes and having effects make all the sounds. Take away the effects and he probably cannot even play Smoke on the Water.

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Let me get this straight...

 

One side of the debate sais, "he is talentless and the fx do all the work."

 

Another sais, "He has his own sound and though he's no guitar God for lack of chops, he's done well for himself financially and artistically, considering his limitations."

 

Not sure anyone here thinks of him as a guitar God on par with legendary Jhonny Winter or Jim Page or (insert G God), I sure don't think he's a G God.

 

So we all agree, he is no guitar God in the chops category. That's what I like. I don't want to hear complicated godly guitar every day. I Just Wanna Be Your Dog by The Stooges is awesome and so easy even I can play it. I'd rather listen to that song repeatedly than any of Steve Vai's, if I had to chose a song to play on repeat all day.

 

Where the Streets Have No Name is one of my favorite songs. I am willing to bet the guy understands perfectly he is mediocre without the set-up. It May Get Loud sort of shows that. The fact that he's so down to earth about it sais a lot.

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Lol,,

I'm not a fan but I do get a kick out of the plethora of critics on here.

I guess you can do a better job?

There are just so many on this forum that are so full of themselves it makes me laugh.

 

Call him up, I'm sure he will trade places with you behind your computers and let you have a go up on stage....

I'm sure he thinks its really cool how you sit there and type.

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Yeah he's not the most technical guitar player out there.

 

I think he looks as his guitar as more a controller for his effects than vice versa--substitute "keyboard" for "guitar" and you realize that he's more an electronic musician than a guitar player.

He's really an effects player and not a guitarist and it appears he's the first one to admit it.

So he's not Jimmy Page (or Jimi Hendrix)...

He's clearly an intelligent guy who understands guitar effects better than 99% of us and has used them to create a distinctive sound--so more power to him!

 

And really...how many of us haven't played around with dotted eighth notes on a delay pedal? [laugh]

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They write. They record. They tour like animals. More than three quarters of being a succesful rock guitar player is those three things. If you can do them, or your handlers can make it look like you can do them things, you are far beyond the scope of people that play the guitar like I do. Playing the guitar is easy, anyone can train anyone to do it, provided the second anyone practices enough. Practice too much and yer a virtuoso. There is no requirement that provides lower limits or upper limits to what a guitar player should or should not be able to do in order to be a guitar player.

 

Any one of us would look and sound great with that bass player and that drummer behind us, and whether you like him or not, that singer in front of us. Edge is part of something much bigger than an arpeggiated mixylidian mode played over the changes from Giant Steps. That's what being in a successful band is, being part of something bigger, no matter how insignificant other guitar players or drummers or bass players or singers think your part is by itself.

 

Them first two records were pretty different at the time, and they made a place to be them. Some really great records, some not so really great since, like anyone else.

 

rct

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They write. They record. They tour like animals. More than three quarters of being a succesful rock guitar player is those three things. If you can do them, or your handlers can make it look like you can do them things, you are far beyond the scope of people that play the guitar like I do. Playing the guitar is easy, anyone can train anyone to do it, provided the second anyone practices enough. Practice too much and yer a virtuoso. There is no requirement that provides lower limits or upper limits to what a guitar player should or should not be able to do in order to be a guitar player.

 

Any one of us would look and sound great with that bass player and that drummer behind us, and whether you like him or not, that singer in front of us. Edge is part of something much bigger than an arpeggiated mixylidian mode played over the changes from Giant Steps. That's what being in a successful band is, being part of something bigger, no matter how insignificant other guitar players or drummers or bass players or singers think your part is by itself.

 

Them first two records were pretty different at the time, and they made a place to be them. Some really great records, some not so really great since, like anyone else.

 

rct

couldn't have put it any better myself!

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All I have to add is to see 'em live. They've made some pretty good albums over the years and went through that critics darling period with the release of "The Joshua Tree" but where The Edge and these guys really shine is live. Now days you can do just about anything in the studio because technology fixes everything but live before 60,000 people you better have that something and they do.

 

As a rhythm guitarist he's fantastic and his guitar technique captured my attention because it was different than every other Van Halen wanna be at the time.

 

It was never" Hey look at me I'm the lead guitar player!". It was how what he played or had to play, as the lone guitarist, fit the song.

 

 

I only wish I was in the same band for 30 years making music with my school buddies.msp_thumbup.gif

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The bottom line here is....'It's what you don't play that matters'. Too many people think a thousand notes a minute is the thing to do. But 'Edge' proves that Quality not quantity does the job. I don't like U2 or his playing. But as a band they're superb.

He does rely on effects, but that's 'His' sound and you certainly know it's him when you hear it.

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