Solo Tone

Message In a Bottle

The Police

Guitarrock1970s

Original Gear

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

AmpRoland JC-120 Jazz Chorus

PickupsBridge single-coil (Fender), Neck humbucker (Gibson-style, exact model unknown)

Amp Settings

gain3.5

bass5.5

mid6

treble7

reverb2.5

presence5

Effects & Signal Chain

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

delayMaestro Echoplex EP-3

Notes

Studio recording, 1979. Andy Summers' main guitar for 'Message In a Bottle' was his heavily modified 1961 Fender Telecaster with a humbucker in the neck and a single-coil in the bridge. The amp was a Roland JC-120 for its signature clean, chorus-laden sound. Effects were added via pedals, not amp. This is for the studio version solo section.

Tone Character(10)

bright and articulatelush modulationcrystal-clear attackshimmering chorus/flangertight and percussivestudio-polished claritydynamic and expressiveslightly compressedsubtle echo repeatsdistinctive flanger sweep

Difficulty

The solo requires intermediate to advanced technique due to its use of wide chord stretches, precise picking, and the need to control dynamics and clarity when playing through heavy modulation effects.