Riff Tone

New Year's Day

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Stratocaster (Black, likely 1973 model)

AmpVox AC30 Top Boost (early 1980s studio model)

PickupsFender single-coil pickups

Amp Settings

gain4.5

bass4

mid7

treble7.5

reverb2

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

delayKorg Korg SDD-3000 Digital Delay (or similar tape/analog delay)

Notes

Studio recording, 1982-1983 for the album 'War'. The Edge used his black Stratocaster for the main riff. Amp is confirmed as Vox AC30 Top Boost for this era and song. No evidence of other guitars or amps for the riff section.

Tone Character(10)

dry and rawgritty and nastybright and articulatealmost no basschimey and percussiveslightly overdriventight and rhythmiccutting high-endmodulated delay repeatsclear attack

Difficulty

The riff requires tight timing to sync with the delay repeats, clean percussive picking, and careful muting to keep the sound articulate and free of unwanted noise. Moderate technical challenge for intermediate players.

Sources

Edge Fans: New Year's Day | Guitar Forum - The Gear Page Revisiting early U2 guitar tones : r/guitarpedals - Reddit U2 New Year's Day Tone | Fractal Audio Systems Forum Delay settings for New Year's Day - U2 Guitar Tutorial Forums

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