Loar said:
And your point is?
He's the Edge, not coverband Edge. He's not just interested in getting the tones that he's always gotten, he wants the flexibility to continue to experiment with new tones and new ideas.
My point is that he doesn't seem to be experimenting. Experimenting is realizing you have harmonizers and doing something more with them, instead of using them for a job a simple €100 pedal can do. His Eventide probably has hundreds of different tones in it and it seems like he's only using the crystal echoes patch. That's my point. Experimenting to the Edge to me seems to consist in getting a new toy every album, and then only using it the rest of his career to play the songs of that album.
While there's no doubt that there are whole worlds of tonal layering that he's not using, chances are he's probably experimented with every option on most of those processors.
Probably years and years ago. Now, its just something he uses to play songs of that period with. To use the Jonny Greenwood analogy, he still uses the same pedals he had on OK computer, but he still tweaks out new sounds out of them.
Think about all the different ways he's gotten his signature tones over the years. EHDMM to SDD3000 to TC 2290. SD-1 to custom-built rackmounted DM-4s. Ebow to Fernandes. AMS pitch shifter to Eventide.
Think of the even more signature tones he could wring out of what he already has.
And although there is no doubt a reason for him to bring his entire rig on tour, keep in mind that U2 are still out to put on a show, and part of the show is the Edge Mission Control. If people saw him standing there with a guitar, an amp, and a couple pedals, it'd be like catching Superman in a towel. Sure, he could still do what he does, but he sure wouldn't look as impressive to those for whom visual impressions are important.
I'm not disputing him bringing the Twin Towers on tour. I'm disputing its usage off stage, in rehearsal and studio.
And I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't notice. When you are up front you can't see his fancy footwork. Up high you can't make out any of the details. And most people come to hear and sing along to the greatest hits. Besides, if he could get the same sound out of a single amp, a guitar and a few pedals he would be beyond Superman, he'd be God!
Edge uses his gear optimally in that he gets the tones he wants out of it, and as long as he can afford to do it that way, I see no reason to make bones about it.[/quote]
Who's making bones about it?
I'm just musing on the fact that for somebody with two twin towers full of effect gear, I think he could be even more awesome. There has to be tons of interesting sounds in it. And if I were a producer for the next album I'd say: no new toys for you, but let's bring in your twin towers and lets fumble around for a few months to see what we can get. He has a friggin' Eventide harmonizer!!! He could be doing Brian May'esque multi-guitar harmonies and leads just for starts! And then warp it through the A3, or the Meatball, a reverse delay or whatever to something that makes it his own sound.
Does he use every preset or option on his processors? No. Has he tried them? Probably. Maybe he'll use some other patches and effects in the future.
New effects? Undoubtably. New patches, the jury is still out on that.