First U2 song that really challenged you on guitar

[strat88]

What U2 song did you have a hard time trying to figure out.
for me it was probably "Streets" .

 

[7cs]

Bad and Wire (intro) for guitar technique.
Many, many songs for effects settings.

 

[bigjohn2441]

id say the hardest song to play would be another time, another place (demo version).

faster, longer, and a lot more notes in the guitar solo than the album

the first one that challenged me was desire with lovetown solo on the end. once i figured out how to do those hammer ons & pull offs it was a piece of cake.

 

[Orioles4L]

So I'm sure I'm going to be the jerk, but there really isn't one song that is difficult from a technical standpoint. If you have the gear, you can pull off and learn any U2 song in a few hours, to a days time.

I love Edge's playing, and I love his tone, don't get me wrong. But he doesn't over do his playing. It's very mild. It's not lick heavy. Working withing chord structure is easy, but when you add the effects he uses, it's tough to replicate the tone to the T. i.e. I can't afford the Eventide gear he uses. Sweet tones, but 3-5k for a piece of gear is too much for me.

If you have hours upon hours, and a nice selection of high quality effects, you could sit and workout every guitar part easily. Again, the notes themeselves are not difficult, it's replicating the tone that provides the challenge. Have fun

 

[waynetravis]

Streets. Even now I still can't get it right

 

[strat88]

the edge doesnt play guitar in a traditional way.i mean sure plenty of chords bar and open,but alot of little riffs and and licks that can cause headaches.
but when you figure them out you feel pretty good, the riffs on the end of bad gave fits.

 

[Chill Mike D]

I've actually only ever tried playing a handful of U2 songs. With or Without You, Streets, All I Want Is You, Bad.

Same as the others said. The handiwork itself isn't so bad, it's getting all the fucking settings right.

 

[branwalls]

Bullet the Blue Sky. After twelve years, I still don't have it exactly right. Of course, he kept changing the solo, so every four years between 1992 and 2004, I'd have to figure out a new version. Also EBTTRT, I just can't get my whammy pedal to do right in the intro.

 

[phillyfan26]

Effects aside, I still can't pull off the ZooTV Bullet solo. Edge is good.

Other than that, I think I can do it all.

 

[theedgeu2]

A few. Streets, Electric Co. took me a while to get the solo but it's a piece of cake now, what else...solo on The Fly. Not a whole lot. But I've only learned around 20-25 U2 songs. There's much more left for me to do. I have a Fender GDEC, so getting some effects is real simple for me. I have the New Year's Day sound down perfectly thanks to that amp. That amp gives you everything. I even have the sound for The Fly studio version down perfectly. Not trying to showboat here, just saying that that amp has everything you need to get the effects down right. Oh and if any of you want to learn some U2 songs I have lessons on my YouTube.

YouTube - The Fly U2 guitar tutorial (Pt. 1/2)

YouTube - The Fly U2 Guitar Tutorial (Pt. 2/2)

 

[Galeongirl]

On guitar? The Fly, definitely.

On Bass, Gloria. I still haven't figured that one out. I still believe that bassline was made up by someone else than Adam. It's too friggin' complicated for him!

 

[branwalls]

On guitar? The Fly, definitely.

On Bass, Gloria. I still haven't figured that one out. I still believe that bassline was made up by someone else than Adam. It's too friggin' complicated for him!

Yeah, me too; I still can't get Gloria right on bass. And you may be right about Adam . I think the Vertigo performances of Gloria used a much simpler bassline, no poppin' solo.

 

[theFly51]

Ultraviolet ('92-'93) especially during the chorus is still a little challenging

 

[phillyfan26]

The Fly was the first U2 song I was able to finish on guitar, oddly enough.