DigiTech Whammy

[Brian_C]

I’m looking to get the intro sound of ‘Real Thing. My research leads me to the DigiTech Whammy, which is about £120stg, it’s allot of money for a box for just one song. Or so I thought.....
Apparently, Dallas has said that the DigiTech Whammy is now Edge’s favorite pedal and he is now even using it on songs where it was not originally on. I can place the Whammy on 3 songs, The Real Thing, Hold me…. and Elevation.

What other songs is it used on???

BTW: IS the Whammy left on while Edge plays the whole of 'Real Thing????

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

I’m looking to get the intro sound of ‘Real Thing. My research leads me to the DigiTech Whammy, which is about £120stg, it’s allot of money for a box for just one song. Or so I thought.....
Apparently, Dallas has said that the DigiTech Whammy is now Edge’s favorite pedal and he is now even using it on songs where it was not originally on. I can place the Whammy on 3 songs, The Real Thing, Hold me…. and Elevation.

What other songs is it used on???

BTW: IS the Whammy left on while Edge plays the whole of 'Real Thing????

Edge used the WH-1 Whammy pedal for:

• "Even Better Than The Real Thing"
• "Hold Me, Thrill Me..."
• "Gone"
• "Beautiful Day" (middle section)
• "When I Look At The World"
• during many summer 1992 Zoo TV Europe shows (June 15 Rotterdam comes to mind) Edge began incorporating the WH-1 Whammy into "Bad", also. It sounded fantastic and I hope he does that again. It was used in a more subtle way than it's use in EBTTRT but still to (in my view) great effect.
• and he used it on many songs on Passengers

It's definitely a cool pedal and many things can be done with it.

The original WH-1, like Edge [and Tom Morello] use and prefer has a 16bit chip and the tone is a bit dirtier. The newer reissues have a 24 bit chip and the tone isn't favored by The Edge.

 

[The_Pac_Mule]

He also uses it on "Bullet The Blue Sky" now, on the Vertigo tour and maybe Elevation, I'm not sure..but he definetly used it on Veritgo, during the verses, and maybe the solo a bit too

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

He also uses it on "Bullet The Blue Sky" now, on the Vertigo tour and maybe Elevation, I'm not sure..but he definetly used it on Veritgo, during the verses, and maybe the solo a bit too

I don't remember seeing or hearing Edge use the Whammy during Bullet... where did he use it?

 

[the tourist]

I don't remember seeing or hearing Edge use the Whammy during Bullet... where did he use it?

He used it on ZooTV for sure. Listen to the live version of Bullet from the Stay single. At the end of the song you can hear it for sure.

 

[Brian_C]

I had a scope on eBay last night.... wow, there's a WH-1 on there for something like £250 ($400). A little pricey?? I'll keep an eye out for one, if they are all around this price I'll just have to go for one of the newer versions at a more sensible £100(ish).

 

[LarryMullenFan]

I had a scope on eBay last night.... wow, there's a WH-1 on there for something like £250 ($400). A little pricey?? I'll keep an eye out for one, if they are all around this price I'll just have to go for one of the newer versions at a more sensible £100(ish).

As with many effects that are no longer made, prices can be way too high on ebay. I think you should consider a new pedal. Or at least try it out at your favorite music store. Although purists might hear a difference in sound, I doubt whether they will pass a blind test.

On the other hand, there's not wrong with going for purisism

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

He used it on ZooTV for sure. Listen to the live version of Bullet from the Stay single. At the end of the song you can hear it for sure.

Cool. I'll have to check that. I've not listened to that single in a bit.

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

As with many effects that are no longer made, prices can be way too high on ebay. I think you should consider a new pedal. Or at least try it out at your favorite music store. Although purists might hear a difference in sound, I doubt whether they will pass a blind test.

On the other hand, there's not wrong with going for purisism

There is a difference in the sound of the original WH-1 and the reissue. I guess the question is: Is it worth $200.00-$300.00 more for an original. If you have the money, I say yes, it's worth it.

$400.00 for an original WH-1 isn't horrible, as they were going for $500.00-$600.00 a few years ago but thanks to a tanking economy...

As for passing a test... I took my WH-1 and A/B compared to the reissue. I asked the two sales folks and three customers which they liked the sound of... all 5 people, without looking down to see which pedal was being used, picked the WH-1 (original version).

 

[mirrorballman]

Looks like the folks at Digitech at least acknowledge that not only does the re-issue suck in tone, but also in design!

Introducing the new Digitech Whammy DT

Pedal design looks more like the WH-1, the logo is vertically written on it again with a black frame. Looks better than the newer ones IMO. Unfortunately, tone-wise it's of course not w/ the WH-1 chip, so it's digustingly clean...

To the pedal itself though: Octave and pitch shifting sounds pretty awesome though, 7 drop tunings is huge. I could hit up to 31 half-steps w/ this thing.

 

[breathe]

So does edge use it in elevation? If i bought one could i play elevation?

 

[theedgeu2]

What Edge uses for Elevation is a fuzz stored in a wah pedal. He uses the wah pedal to control the fuzz, much like how you control the filter of the wah.

 

[Burlington77]

I know that Edge is a HUGE user of delay, probably the best to ever use it.

But does anyone know if he has ever used a Talk Box? I don't recall ever hearing it on anything, album or even rare/bootleg stuff.

 

[theedgeu2]

Nope not as far as I can tell. I don't think Edge has even used a talk box. He may own one though, but I have no clue.

 

[canedge]

Vocoder maybe, but not a talk box that I am aware of.

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

Vocoder maybe, but not a talk box that I am aware of.

I don't know of Edge using a vocoder. Although, it's possible that Lanois or Eno would have one for the albums but...

 

[Burlington77]

Ok so I apologize as my guitar knowledge is.......bad lol.

But I noticed in much of the NLOTH songs and live that Edge uses a rather large guitar, larger than say a Les Paul.

What type of guitar is that and what type of sound(s) would it be most applicable for? (hope that makes sense lol)

 

[breathe]

Thats A Gretsch hallow body guitar i believe that is the "Black Falcon" Edge has only used live on 360 his Country gent (Red one) And The black falcon,he also in 2009 on moment of surrender used a Gretsch,Now he uses a Strat. Hallow body guitars (Someone will correct me if i am wrong......E_O) Has a nice full sound vs a Les Paul. and the pick up's are different. But he really only uses a Gretsch on "Magnificent" Now he also used a Epiphone Casino for "Breathe"

Edge uses The Gretsch also on "City Of Blinding Lights" And "Zooropa"

 

[theedgeu2]

Breathe got most of it down. Edge owns more other hollow body guitars and semi-hollow. The Gretsch guitars are all full hollow I do believe and while they are big guitars they are not all that heavy. Then there is the Epiphone Casino, which Edge used for Breathe and was also used on All Because of You on the Vertigo tour, is a semi-hollow I do believe. There is a block of wood inside the guitar I think, therefor not making it a full hollow. Edge has two Gretsch Country Gentleman guitars with him this tour in the Walnut finish (looks kinda reddish). One is a 1964 and the other is a 1960 something. I can't remember the date of the other one. But Edge Orchestra will help us out there. Edge has been using Gretsch guitars for a while and the Gretsch Country Gent goes as far back as the PopMart tour I believe. Used on songs such as Please, Do You Feel Loved, Last Night On Earth, One, and Wake Up Dead Man. Used for Moment of Surrender for the 2009 shows of 360 was a Gretsch Stereo, correct me if I am wrong here, Country Club. It had a vintage sunburst type finish. Gretsch Black Falcon appeared for Magnificent and One Tree Hill on the current tour. It's been a more recently used guitar.

Here's some shots of Edge's guitars as mentioned above:

Epiphone Casino

Gretsch Country Gentleman

Gretsch Black Falcon

Gretsch Stereo Country Club

 

[Burlington77]

OK now for an even dumber (is that a word..?) ques:

Do colors of guitars have any specific meaning?

For example, I have seen The Edge play an electric sunburst Fender but also seen him play a black and white Fender.

 

[theedgeu2]

OK now for an even dumber (is that a word..?) ques:

Do colors of guitars have any specific meaning?

For example, I have seen The Edge play an electric sunburst Fender but also seen him play a black and white Fender.

Color doesn't really have any specific meaning. Some finishes can be less common than others and so forth but they don't always have a real meaning. A specific model of a specific brand guitar can have many different finishes. But there can be a case when little details can make a difference. For instance Edge has two Fender Stratocasters with exactly the same finish and white pickguard. Also I think they both have a maple fretboard. But one is a 1976 and the other is a 1974. I hope I explained that well enough.

 

[breathe]

OK now for an even dumber (is that a word..?) ques:

Do colors of guitars have any specific meaning?

For example, I have seen The Edge play an electric sunburst Fender but also seen him play a black and white Fender.

The sunburst strat is used for "Sunday" And "Pride" Those songs are in a different tuning that is why edge uses it for those songs. Its a full step down.

 

[breathe]

Breathe got most of it down. Edge owns more other hollow body guitars and semi-hollow. The Gretsch guitars are all full hollow I do believe and while they are big guitars they are not all that heavy. Then there is the Epiphone Casino, which Edge used for Breathe and was also used on All Because of You on the Vertigo tour, is a semi-hollow I do believe. There is a block of wood inside the guitar I think, therefor not making it a full hollow. Edge has two Gretsch Country Gentleman guitars with him this tour in the Walnut finish (looks kinda reddish). One is a 1964 and the other is a 1960 something. I can't remember the date of the other one. But Edge Orchestra will help us out there. Edge has been using Gretsch guitars for a while and the Gretsch Country Gent goes as far back as the PopMart tour I believe. Used on songs such as Please, Do You Feel Loved, Last Night On Earth, One, and Wake Up Dead Man. Used for Moment of Surrender for the 2009 shows of 360 was a Gretsch Stereo, correct me if I am wrong here, Country Club. It had a vintage sunburst type finish. Gretsch Black Falcon appeared for Magnificent and One Tree Hill on the current tour. It's been a more recently used guitar.

Here's some shots of Edge's guitars as mentioned above:

Epiphone Casino

Gretsch Country Gentleman

Gretsch Black Falcon

Gretsch Stereo Country Club

Epiphone casino is a hallow body guitar not semi. I learned that from E_O

 

[theedgeu2]

Epiphone casino is a hallow body guitar not semi. I learned that from E_O

Ah I stand corrected.

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

Thats A Gretsch hallow body guitar i believe that is the "Black Falcon" Edge has only used live on 360 his Country gent (Red one) And The black falcon,he also in 2009 on moment of surrender used a Gretsch,Now he uses a Strat. Hallow body guitars (Someone will correct me if i am wrong......E_O) Has a nice full sound vs a Les Paul. and the pick up's are different. But he really only uses a Gretsch on "Magnificent" Now he also used a Epiphone Casino for "Breathe"

Edge uses The Gretsch also on "City Of Blinding Lights" And "Zooropa"

The Black Falcon hasn't been used much. It's a 2009 model. The Black Falcon was used on "One Tree Hill" (Played only 4 times on the 360 tour) and he used it for "Magnificent" in Oakland. (1 time).

1963 Gretsch Country Gentleman was the primary guitar for "Magnificent". That was the primary for "City of Blinding Lights" during the 'Vertigo' tour.

360 tour, the 1968 Gretsch Country Gentleman has been the primary guitar for "City of Blinding Lights".

The 1962 Epiphone Casino was used for "Breathe" and for "No Line On The Horizon". As those tunes were dropped after the 2009 shows, it's not seen any stage time since Vancouver October 28th 2009.

This one:

Is a 1959 Sunburst 6101 Country Club. Edge used it for "Moment of Surrender for the 2009 dates. By 2010 shows he'd gone to a 1970's era black and white Stratocaster.

OK now for an even dumber (is that a word..?) ques:

Do colors of guitars have any specific meaning? For example, I have seen The Edge play an electric sunburst Fender but also seen him play a black and white Fender.

They may have went with the tobacco tuned to "D" as it would stand out instead of mixing up one of multiple black and white Strats. But it also may be that the tobacco Stratocasters tone suits "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Pride..." better. So I am not convinced that the color means a whole lot. He's partitial to black Stratocasters so he has a few. That might be as his main Stratocaster that was used in the 1980's was a black 1970's model.

The 1968 tobacco finish Stratocaster is used for "Pride..." and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" as both are tuned down to "D" this tour. (Not open D but a whole step down from standard tuning).


PS: Gretsch Country Gents to have a partial sound block (center block of wood). So in that, they are semi-hollow and not entirely hollow, like a Gibson 330TD (like Edge used for "One" on the Zoo tours and "Holy Joe" on the Pop Kmart Promo appearance) or the Casino (that Edge used for "All Because of You", "Breathe" and "No Line On The Horizon").

 

[breathe]

You can here Edge using the pedal in bad on zoo t.v
‪U2 - Bad - Live from Rotterdam‬‏ - YouTube

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

You can here Edge using the pedal in bad on zoo t.v
‪U2 - Bad - Live from Rotterdam‬‏ - YouTube

He also did it at the Stockholm show in 1922. Interesting that for a few weeks in the summer of 1992 he tried that, it was a nice experiment and then it fell by the wayside and he didn't do it afterward.

 

[Burlington77]

For a newbie guitar player that really only knows how to play Smoke on the Water and the Godfather theme, what is the easiest U2 song to learn to play?

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

For a newbie guitar player that really only knows how to play Smoke on the Water and the Godfather theme, what is the easiest U2 song to learn to play?

"Desire" is pretty easy. The Proverbial 3-chords and the Truth.

 

[mirrorballman]

Have the chance to pick up a WH-2 for around $200. Now I know it's nothing like the WH-1 (IVL chip isn't there anymore), but I've heard good enough reviews about it, especially in comparison to the most recent WH-4!

Anyone try both or maybe even all three (WH-1, 2 and 4) and can give me some feedback or if it's worth buying? Would be greatly appreciated.

I know Edge even tried some during the first popmart shows, but wasn't satisfied with the sound, so he changed back to the WH-1.