With or Without You help needed from those in tribute bands :D

[Joshua_Tree_Hugger]

Hi all. For Christmas I'm getting a Boss DD-20 delay and an eBow... a perfect combination for With or Without You methinks.

I know a number of you interferencers are in U2 tribute bands, so I'm looking for advice on how to get WOWY sounding spot on on guitar. At present I have a Korg AX1500G multi FX that I'm using for delay. For the famous chorus delay riff part I use 410ms of delay with 2 feedbacks and I play it like this:

--------10------10-------10-
-7---8-----8-8-----8-8------
---0---------------------------
--0----------------------------

Not sure if this is right, it sounds ok but not fantastic. I leave the 410ms/2 feedback delay on for the chorus D-arpeggio part, plus the after-chorus part where Edge gently strums the four variations of the D chord. Again, not sure if the delay should be changed for these parts, or turned off altogether, so any help would be appreciated.

FINALLY... with regards to the eBow, I've never used one before so I have no idea how it works. When I am using it for the WOWY part of the song do I have delay on? Or any other effects? Or is the eBow in WOWY just used on a clean guitar signal?

Phew... that's a lot right there! Thanks very much in advance for any help. Regards, JTH.

 

[The_Edge89]

FINALLY... with regards to the eBow, I've never used one before so I have no idea how it works. When I am using it for the WOWY part of the song do I have delay on? Or any other effects? Or is the eBow in WOWY just used on a clean guitar signal?

Phew... that's a lot right there! Thanks very much in advance for any help. Regards, JTH.

I'm not in a tribute band but I play the guitar so I hope you're fine with that.

I leave the delay on for the Ebow parts, becuase you have to set your volume knob to around 2 and the delay doesn't sound as loud as it does otherwise, at least for me.
However, the volume gets really loud when you use the EBow, so be careful when you use it the first time(s).
I know this sounds odd and it's hard to explain in words, but it's the way this thing works.

I got mine last year, and it's a great little piece to play around with and works great for other u2 songs than With or Without You as well.

Here's some more information about using it:
EBow Player's Guide

 

[Joshua_Tree_Hugger]

Thanks for the tip! Any further help/advice would also be appreciated

 

[TheEdge U2JT]

Part of what might not be sounding right is where you are playing the riff. What you tabbed out is what you'll find on a lot of tabs for the song on the internet. The notes and right but it is not where Edge is playing the riff. Edge is playing the G and F# that you show on the B string, on the 11th and 12th fret of the G string. I have the delay set at 415ms. When you get your DD-20, the modulated delays will make a big difference too.

On the Ebow. You can leave the delay on but you will get a muddy sound when transitioning notes. I have a lower delay set for that part. With just one delay for the song, I'd consider shutting it off until the riff comes in. Also, ou can roll off the tone pot and, as suggested by The Edge89, pull down the volume. This will help you keep the sound under control. You will be able to get the sound close but you will not have the shimmer sound that Edge bring in in the 2nd half of the EBow section.

Good luck and congrats on the new gear.