Riff Tone

Message In a Bottle

The Police

Guitarrock1970s

Original Gear

Guitar1961 Fender Telecaster (modded with Gibson PAF neck humbucker, out-of-phase switch, built-in preamp)

AmpMarshall (exact model unknown, likely JMP or Super Lead), possibly blended with Roland JC-120 for clean tones

PickupsBridge single-coil (Fender Tele), Neck humbucker (Gibson PAF), out-of-phase option

Amp Settings

gain3.5

bass6

mid7

treble7.5

reverb2

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

flangerElectro-Harmonix Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress Flanger/Filter Matrix

compressionMXR MXR Dyna Comp

delayMaestro Maestro Echoplex EP-3

Notes

Studio recording, 1979. Andy Summers used his heavily modded Telecaster for all Police studio work of this era. Amp specifics are unclear, but interviews confirm Marshall was used for dirty/edge tones and Roland JC-120 for cleans. Effects were run through a Pete Cornish pedalboard. Settings are estimated based on era, genre, and typical Marshall/JC-120 usage for this song. All data is for the studio recording, not live.

Tone Character(10)

bright and glassychiming, piano-like claritytight and percussive attackslightly compressedmodulation shimmer (flanger)articulate and definedminimal sustainquick note decaydistinctive Telecaster snapclean with edge-of-breakup

Difficulty

The riff requires large left-hand stretches for add9 chords, fast and accurate alternate picking, and precise muting to achieve the signature percussive, staccato sound. The combination of technical chord shapes and rhythmic discipline makes it challenging for most players.