Is Edge a Great Guitarist?

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How about Edge's contention that the song is the thing...not the guitar part? He evidently looks as what he does as only a part of the whole...he doesn't want to play solos because they detract from what he considers the most important thing...the song.
Peter Buck scoffs at anyone who considers him a 'great' guitarist' In his mind he is a decent guitar player...but he considers himself a songwriter...not a guitar player. Think perhaps Edge's thinking goes along the same lines? Yes he can play...and he has great technical skills...and he could rip out a solo if he wanted...but he doesn't want to because all of that is mere distraction from the song as a whole?????? It would mean the guy has no ego...and lots of vision.

Dream wanderer

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at times I felt that I had come a long way only to find that which I sought the most was something I had left behind.

from "Everest:The West Ridge"
 
A guitar player or any other performer is usually only as good as the song he/she has written. Technique bears little weight in determining whether an individual is a good guitarist. Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, etc. may be technically excellent players, but how many memorable songs or tunes have they got between them?
As a guitarist myself I would classify great guitarists on other factors rather than just technique. Two of these are:

1. Unique sound - Brian May, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, The Edge to name a few have an instantly recognizable sound, unique to themselves.

2. Influence on a generation of guitarists - in the 60's it was Hendrix, 70's it was Eddie Van Halen and Paul Brady/Arty McGlynn for Traditional guitar, 80's was The Edge and Johnny Marr and the 90's had John Squire and Bernard Butler.

After 10 years of playing cover versions in pubs and clubs, I would say it is a lot easier to imitate some of the faster and solo heavy guitarists than imitate The Edge's sound.
In my opinion a good guitarist must not rely on solos, but should be able to create mood and atmosphere and The Edge possesses these qualities.
 
It's so obvious Edge is a great guitarist that I'd rather wanna know whether you think he's a great pianist
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Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it
 
Edge doesn't need to be "fast" to be a great player. I've heard lots of fast players and quite frankly the majority of them bore me because their off the tangent solos just doesn't make sense within the context of the songs and end up ruining the songs.

Edge is great because his sounds are so interwoven within the songs they just wouldn't sound the same without him. Early songs like 'Is that all' and 'The Electric Co' are perfect examples of the guitar being integral to the songs from start to finish. Other songs which have solos like 'Pride' 'Acrobat' 'The Fly' still contain that basic element of oneness and not detachment of the guitar and song.

As for his piano skills - I don't play the piano so I can't really judge him.
 
Edge is a great guitarist, not so much because of his technical skil, but because he just knows what sounds good. His use of delay, harmonics, and simple tabs are amazing to play and to listen to.

Edge can solo, too! I hate people who say that Edge is an "average" guitar player, but have never heard the Lovetown Tour shows. Edge plays some awesome, rad solos that he hasn't shown since.

Hopefully he will bust out on the next tour!

[edit]


Have any of you played the solo to UTEOTW? Edge does some bends and hammers that I can't get down, however many times i try! He perfects each solo, and man, does he play them well!
 
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local said:


2. Influence on a generation of guitarists - in the 60's it was Hendrix, 70's it was Eddie Van Halen and Paul Brady/Arty McGlynn for Traditional guitar, 80's was The Edge and Johnny Marr and the 90's had John Squire and Bernard Butler.
Click to expand...

Which bands were Paul Brady and Arty McGlynn in? And John Squire? (the name sounds familiar but I'm not sure which band he's from) Can we also add Radiohead's guitar player to that list? (he's pretty original sounding, too)

:shrug: I like Edge's guitar (my favorite guitar player, with Brian May and Johnny Marr close) sound and minimalistic style but I will leave techique debates to others.
 
local said:

1. Unique sound - Brian May, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, The Edge to name a few have an instantly recognizable sound, unique to themselves.
Click to expand...

What about Slash??
 
i play lead guitar.(play on a marshall halfstack)it rocks!

alot of solos and big guitar sound.its hard to play a good solo and playing fast without messing up.i play every day 2hrs. and im happy to tell you all, i can now shred like a mother fu*ker.i can play any rock song , from led zeppelin to guns n roses! and i look good too with my les paul hanging below my waist.and im a sexy stud which make me a double threat.
 
No doutbs.....the edge is the "guitarist". The egde is great because his invented a new kind of rock. He made very simple thing and arrangiaments but they totally rocks
 
It makes me laugh that just because Edge doesn't (NOT can't) play three thousand notes per second covering every semitone of the fretboard in four bars he is judged not to be a great guitarist.

A fast player is 'technically' very good but BORING. (my opinion!!)
Most fast playing consists of whizzing about in a scale. This to me is NOT creative, also mistakes are easily covered up or missed. Edge can say the same thing with three notes as the fastest player can with as many notes as can be sqeezed in! If Edge makes a mistake it stands out like a sore thumb so, playing like he does, each note has to be played accurately. This makes for a great guitarist.

Edge is more obsessed with the sound of his guitar. I have never listened to a U2 record and thought the guitar sound needed to be different (not that I'm an expert), everything sits perfectly. Edge uses the guitar, effects AND the studio as ONE instrument of many parts to create the right sound. He has developed his own sound, that people recognise straight away. What he creates is original, it doesn't sound like it has been done before by anyone else, yes, I'm sure he has influences but he uses them to create something new. Each guitar track he creates doesn't sound like any other track he's made previously.

It's notable that most of the people who slag-off Edge are the 'fast' and 'technically brilliant' guitarists. I wouldn't mind betting that they just wish they had as much expression and technique in one note as they do in fifty!!

If the end result is a guitar sound that captures the soul, is spiritually uplifting and connects with the listener to raise the hairs on the back of their neck (which Edge does constantly) then 'technical ability' doesn't come into it.

Edge is the greatest guitar player in existence!!
 
Comparing Bon Jovi With U2 ?????????????
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
It's a good job I'm wearing a corset because my sides have just split.

How many times have Bon Jovi reinvented themselves??
Perhaps it's about time they left the 80's behind and at least came into the 90's if this decade is out of the question.

Hear one Jovi song you've heard them all. Yawn.

IT'S JUST CHEESY ROCK AT IT'S WORST!!

All my humble opinion of course - each to their own and all that!
 
Guitars are a dime a dozen and those we like have THAT SOUND, something special All pretty zen and personal. I like the Edge because of what he DOESN't do. I saw Daniel Lanois play last fall and he has a similar attitude, I think; good use of sound, space, power, melody and impeccable timing. Less is More, also I think I prefer songwriters who are guitarists ( Townsend, Beck, Page, ect.) Innovation. But I think alot of people think the Edge is "easy to play" ie. not too many 16th notes, bizarre tunings, noodling or
strange chords. Musically it is hard, tecnically less so, some people don't know the difference, and it is able personal taste. Also his sound is part of the u2 sound; Larry a bit ahead of the beat , Adam a bit behind, Bono doing Bono-its all of a piece. Ciao.And tell them to when you see them hurry up with the new album will'ya!!
 
Guitars are a dime a dozen and those we like have THAT SOUND, something special All pretty zen and personal. I like the Edge because of what he DOESN't do. I saw Daniel Lanois play last fall and he has a similar attitude, I think; good use of sound, space, power, melody and impeccable timing. Less is More, also I think I prefer songwriters who are guitarists ( Townsend, Beck, Page, ect.) Innovation. But I think alot of people think the Edge is "easy to play" ie. not too many 16th notes, bizarre tunings, noodling or
strange chords. Musically it is hard, tecnically less so, some people don't know the difference, and it is about personal taste. Also his sound is part of the u2 sound; Larry a bit ahead of the beat , Adam a bit behind, Bono doing Bono-its all of a piece. Ciao.And tell them to when you see them hurry up with the new album will'ya!!
 
The Edge

The Edge approaches the guitar with a beautiful Welsh sensibility that is synergized by each of the band mates. I think its correct to assume Edge is more of an 'engineer' when it comes to approaching his instrument. He is a crafter of landscapes and textures through the effect of digital delay. He may not be a Hendrix but I much perfer a vibe, an atmosphere, a landscape any day over a towering guitar solo. I'm in the studio now and we're currently wrestling with a song that uses delay and some of his playing style. Its hard not for bands to use delay and not sound like U2, but the Edge shows us the power in approaching the guitar from a place. I think sometimes The Edge imagines to himself what a landscape looks like and tries to feel it in his heart i.e. 'A sort of Homecoming' and a 'Beautiful Day', to me there is a visual place you can see when you hear his playing. Another example, for me, the 'Unforgettable Fire' is infused with the landscape of Ireland.
 
After you've heard the Edge going bananas on his guitar, you could imagine
how sex with an alien would be...
They should give him a brainchurgery degree :yes:
 
The Edge is a great guitarist, no question about it. The Edge plays with a wholly original kind of sound and to be able to deconstruct playing techniques like that you've gotta know the techniques in the first place. Yeah it might be technically brilliant to play a squillion notes a second, but guitar wankery and self-indulgent solos have their place and that's not in the sort of music U2 play.
Effects, originality, creating sonic landscapes and knowing when not to overplay are certainly factors which I would say make a great guitarist. :up:
 
U2's contribution to the progress of rock is that they've divorced guitar heroics from the idea of a dazzling guitar hero. Though they're downright worshipful of the Edge's heavy-on-the-reverb Stratocaster?side two of October opens with his tuning the thing up?he's about as much of a technical wizard as Neil Young.

--From Rolling Stone's review of October, 1981.

I suspect that rap from the early years has kind of stuck with Edge and his technical skills today are better than many guitar geeks will give him credit for. If you've been in a succesful rock band for 20+ years and haven't abused yourself with booze & drugs, you couldn't help but get better technically.
 
OnFire said:
U2's contribution to the progress of rock is that they've divorced guitar heroics from the idea of a dazzling guitar hero. Though they're downright worshipful of the Edge's heavy-on-the-reverb Stratocaster?side two of October opens with his tuning the thing up?he's about as much of a technical wizard as Neil Young.

--From Rolling Stone's review of October, 1981.

I suspect that rap from the early years has kind of stuck with Edge and his technical skills today are better than many guitar geeks will give him credit for. If you've been in a succesful rock band for 20+ years and haven't abused yourself with booze & drugs, you couldn't help but get better technically.
Click to expand...

See, the thing is -- I think the Edge doesn't want to be a guitar virtuoso (although this next album may make me eat my words). He wants to play relatively simple guitar chords and riffs and use his musical sense and mastery of his effects to push those simple guitar parts as far as they can go.

As as example of what I'm talking about, consider the chorus to "Walk On". He's pretty much playing the same arpeggiated D9 chord (D-F#-E-A) over and over, but he's got his equipment set up so that the high E screams out.
 
I think he's a good guitarist, because he has his own unique style that I haven't heard from any other guitar player.
For some reason I don't seem to rank him as one of the greatest, but no doubt he is a great guitar player
 
babyman said:
edge is full of ideas, he's a fantastic composer...but unfortunately he's not so a big virtuoso with solos!!
Click to expand...

guitar solos are pompous and overrated.
 
This reminds me of an interview with Joe Satriani, which I saw on TV sometime in the start of the 90's. I'm not a Satriani fan but I'm a guitarist and back then I would watch anything if it had something to do with guitar playing.

Well, Satriani was asked about his influences and his answer was something like this (hey it's probably 12 years ago - i can't remember the actual words): "Hey, there we were, all playing a thousand notes a minute and then comes this guy and plays the simplest riff in the world - and it's the most beautiful thing you have ever heard."

He was refering to The Edges guitar part in With Or Without You. He was also saying things like The Edge had redefined the way to use the electric guitar and that he considered him one of the most influential guitarists in the 80's. I was already a huge U2 fan back then and Satrianis statement gave me the chills - in a good way off course :wink:

I have tried looking on the web for a transcript of the interview, but I've had no luck.
 
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