Riff Tone

Every Breath You Take

The Police

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Telecaster (custom, 1961, with humbucker in neck and single-coil in bridge)

AmpFender Twin Reverb (blackface, early 1960s)

PickupsBridge single-coil (Fender), Neck humbucker (Gibson PAF-style)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5

mid6

treble7

reverb3.5

presence5

Effects & Signal Chain

compressionMXR MXR Dyna Comp

flangerElectro-Harmonix Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress

delayMaestro Maestro Echoplex EP-3

Notes

Studio recording, 1982-1983, Synchronicity album. Andy Summers' main guitar for this track was his heavily modified 1961 Fender Telecaster with a Gibson neck humbucker and stock Tele bridge pickup. Amp was a Fender Twin Reverb for clean tones. Effects were run into the front of the amp. No evidence of effects loop use in studio.

Tone Character(10)

crystal-clear cleanlush chorus shimmertight, percussive attackambient, spatial delayslight compression for sustainbright and articulate highsrich, modulated texturestudio-polished claritydistinct, ringing chord voicingsno audible overdrive or breakup

Difficulty

The riff demands advanced chord voicings, precise picking, and tight synchronization with delay repeats, making it challenging for most intermediate players.

Sources

Andy Summers on the origins of the Every Breath You Take riff and his favorite Police guitar parts | Guitar World Electric Etudes: Andy Summers (Electric Etudes An) - Premier Guitar Video: How to Sound Like The Police's Andy Summers - Reverb Andy Summers Talks Echoplex Pedals, Recording with the Police and Jamming with Jimi Hendrix | Guitar World What guitar effects were used on Every Breath You Take? - Reddit

This tone has been researched 17 times by the community

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