Riff Tone
Every Breath You Take (Alternate Mix)
The Police
Guitarrock1980s
Original Gear
GuitarFender Telecaster (custom, 1961, with humbucker in neck and single-coil in bridge)
AmpRoland JC-120 Jazz Chorus
PickupsBridge single-coil (Fender Telecaster bridge pickup), Neck humbucker (Gibson PAF-style, but riff is bridge)
Amp Settings
gain0
bass5.5
mid6.5
treble7.5
reverb3
presence5
Effects & Signal Chain
compressionMXR MXR Dyna Comp
chorusBoss/Roland Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble (or Roland JC-120 built-in chorus)
delayMaestro Maestro Echoplex EP-3
Notes
Studio recording, 1982-1983. Andy Summers used his custom Telecaster with a bridge single-coil into a Roland JC-120 for the clean, chorus-laden riff. Effects were mostly pedals, not amp-based. Alternate Mix uses the same core setup as the original studio version.
Tone Character(10)
crystal-clear and brightlush, swirling chorus modulationtight and percussive attackshimmering top endcompressed and even dynamicsarticulate chord voicingsstudio-polished clarityminimal breakup, pure cleanspangly, alive soundsignature 1980s clean chorus
Difficulty
The riff requires advanced chord shapes with large stretches, precise muting, and rhythmic accuracy to maintain the clean, articulate sound. The subtlety of the effects and the need for dynamic control add to the challenge.
Sources
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Create Free AccountGuitarrock1980s
Original Gear
GuitarFender Telecaster (custom, 1961, with humbucker in neck and single-coil in bridge)
AmpRoland JC-120 Jazz Chorus
PickupsBridge single-coil (Fender Telecaster bridge pickup), Neck humbucker (Gibson PAF-style, but riff is bridge)
Amp Settings
gain0
bass5.5
mid6.5
treble7.5
reverb3
presence5
Effects & Signal Chain
compressionMXR MXR Dyna Comp
chorusBoss/Roland Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble (or Roland JC-120 built-in chorus)
delayMaestro Maestro Echoplex EP-3
Notes
Studio recording, 1982-1983. Andy Summers used his custom Telecaster with a bridge single-coil into a Roland JC-120 for the clean, chorus-laden riff. Effects were mostly pedals, not amp-based. Alternate Mix uses the same core setup as the original studio version.
Tone Character(10)
crystal-clear and brightlush, swirling chorus modulationtight and percussive attackshimmering top endcompressed and even dynamicsarticulate chord voicingsstudio-polished clarityminimal breakup, pure cleanspangly, alive soundsignature 1980s clean chorus
Difficulty
The riff requires advanced chord shapes with large stretches, precise muting, and rhythmic accuracy to maintain the clean, articulate sound. The subtlety of the effects and the need for dynamic control add to the challenge.
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- Message In a Bottle · riff
- Every Breath You Take · clean
- Every Breath You Take (Remastered 2003) · solo
- King of Pain · riff
- Message In a Bottle · distorted