Does Edge use his memory man on tour anymore?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
You never see it because it's not been used on tour since the UF tour.And it's use on the UF tour was for piano and lap steel ("Surrender") not for guitars.

He got the SDD3000 during the War tour.

From Guitar Player article: 1985

Early in your career, you used an Electro-Harmonix Memory Man Deluxe for the echo effects. Is that still part of your setup?


"That's been put out to pasture at this stage. It was getting so old and battered that our stage manager was having to dismantle it every night to try to get it to work. It was on a life-support system, the poor thing, by the time we stopped using it. Now I've got two Korg SDD-3000 digital echoes. They have the same sort of features as the Electro-Harmonix, but with a digital clarity. At first, I couldn't get used to digital because it is so clean. There were all these frequencies that I hadn't heard for years coming out of my amplifier. And the definition of the repeats was so clear that it was off-putting. What was an atmospheric thing from the old analog suddenly became a very scientific, precise repeat. I never find myself using the far reaches of the Korg's echo potential; I tend to stay within the mid-area, between the parameters of about 50 and 400 milliseconds. I began using the Korg at the start of the War tour."

Did you use it for Under a Blood Red Sky?

"For some of it, but I did bring out the old Electro-Harmonix for some of the recording sessions. The great thing about that old unit is that it emits this whistle, which goes up and down in frequency relating to where you are on the echo knob. So if you've got a very long delay, you hear this low-pitched whistle that's reminiscent of the whine from a TV set. This used to really freak out our engineer; he'd listen to the guitar and suddenly get this high-pitched "oooooh." Not a way to ingratiate yourself with a studio engineer."


And from Musician Magazine: January 1985 -

"There are also two Electro-Harmonix Memory Man analog delays: one side is used for the CP70, the other for the lap steel on 'Surrender'."

That isn't to say that the EH DMM hasn't been brought out for recording sessions but for touring, it seems it's been deemed unreliable.
 
DMM alternatives

The Deluxe Memory Man had a unique sound. The mixing of the vibrato (not chorus as some seem to have mistakenly thought) and analog delay on the DMM is 'the sound' of those early U2 recordings.

The problem with the reissues is that they cleaned them up a bit much.

What is a good place to start for an DMM like delay with mod?

Malekko Ekko 616. Has vibrato. Has great analog warmth. They run around $150. You might find one cheaper on eBay.

Ekko 616 link:
EKKO 616 MKII | Malekko Heavy Industry Corporation

The TC Electronic Alter Ego is another great delay w/a DMM setting. This one is a .proguitarshop . com exclusive. It is worth it for the EchoRec and DMM settings along but... it also has the 2290 delay. So that makes it a great delay pedal, in my book. These are $165.00

They have settings for 1/4 note. Dotted 1/8 note and 1/4 + dotted 1/8.

Alter Ego link:
TC Electronic Alter Ego Delay

You might remember the TC Electronic Flashback. Great delay. They later made the Flashback x 4, more features, tap tempo and you can program 3-settings.

They have most recently done the same with the Alter Ego - now we have the Alter Ego x4 for $269.95 - This takes a great delay w/U2 friendly tones and makes it that much better with the tap tempo and presets.

Alter Ego x 4 link
TC Electronic Alter Ego X4

$270 is a lot, you say. Really? DMM reissue is $320. And the Alter Ego sounds better and is more reliable. $270 vs $165 for the single Alter Ego... You get essentially 3 Alter Ego's in one.

At $320-ish for the DMM... no pre-sets. No tap tempo, unless you go for the Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man 550 Tap Tempo. That one is 399.00 and it has no presets.
 
Just FYI, on thegearpage, people are pretty disappointed about the Alter Ego 4x because they say the vibrato on the DMM mode sounds terrible compared to the real units. I have no firsthand experience, though.
 
Actually, in retrospect I probably worded that wrong: people love the Alter Ego. Some people love DMM - mostly those that like the chorus DMM sound. Those who were after the vibrato sound weren't happy with it.
 
Back
Top Bottom