Where the Streets Have No Name
A chiming six-note arpeggio doubled by a dotted-eighth delay over held synth chords, then fast, percussive strumming.
What is the Where the Streets Have No Name guitar tone?
The Where the Streets Have No Name guitar tone is a chiming six-note arpeggio doubled by a dotted-eighth delay over held synth chords, then fast, percussive strumming, heard on U2's 1980s rock recording. It is a clean riff tone, and U2 reportedly tracked it with a Fender Stratocaster, which the Edge credits for the opening arpeggio, saying that on any other instrument those notes do not ring out the same way; his black 1973 Strat, bought in 1981 and fitted with a DiMarzio bridge pickup, became an important go-to guitar on U2's records after the first, although which Strat is on this take is not documented; co-producer Daniel Lanois describes the Edge's rig at the time of these sessions as a Vox AC30 and probably a Korg SDD-3000 digital delay, and Guitarist magazine credits the intro arpeggios to two delays set to different times, a TC Electronic 2290 and a Korg SDD-3000; the dotted-eighth echo plays each note of the arpeggio twice, the intro and the outro are in 3/4 and the rest in 4/4, at about 126 beats per minute in D major, and the guitar fades in after 40 seconds over sustained synthesiser notes before the Edge moves to percussive sixteenth-note strumming; he made the demo on a four-track at his new house the night before the band went back to the Joshua Tree sessions, the band struggled with the song for so long that Brian Eno nearly erased the tapes until engineer Pat McCarthy stopped him, and the album version was pieced together from several takes. Here the delay carries the part rather than the amp: the repeats fill in the notes between the ones that are picked, so the amp only has to stay clean and bright enough for every repeat to be heard.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a clean channel on a modelling combo and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
Where the Streets Have No Name amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 2, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3, with the neck or middle position.
- Gain 2
- Bass 5
- Middle 6
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 3
- Signal chain
- Two digital delays at different times, one a dotted eighth → Vox AC30, clean
- The control that matters most
- The delay time. The arpeggio only becomes the record when the dotted-eighth repeat falls exactly between the picked notes, so set the delay from the tempo: at about 126 beats per minute a dotted eighth is roughly 357 milliseconds. Keep the amp clean and bright, pick evenly, and add a second delay at a different time for the thicker sound Guitarist describes.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own. Your first match is free with an account, and needs no card.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Neck or middle position
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
What gear did U2 use on Where the Streets Have No Name?
A Fender Stratocaster, which the Edge credits for the opening arpeggio, saying that on any other instrument those notes do not ring out the same way; his black 1973 Strat, bought in 1981 and fitted with a DiMarzio bridge pickup, became an important go-to guitar on U2's records after the first, although which Strat is on this take is not documented; co-producer Daniel Lanois describes the Edge's rig at the time of these sessions as a Vox AC30 and probably a Korg SDD-3000 digital delay, and Guitarist magazine credits the intro arpeggios to two delays set to different times, a TC Electronic 2290 and a Korg SDD-3000; the dotted-eighth echo plays each note of the arpeggio twice, the intro and the outro are in 3/4 and the rest in 4/4, at about 126 beats per minute in D major, and the guitar fades in after 40 seconds over sustained synthesiser notes before the Edge moves to percussive sixteenth-note strumming; he made the demo on a four-track at his new house the night before the band went back to the Joshua Tree sessions, the band struggled with the song for so long that Brian Eno nearly erased the tapes until engineer Pat McCarthy stopped him, and the album version was pieced together from several takes.
Sources: Wikipedia: Where the Streets Have No Name, Rolling Stone: the Edge on his Stratocasters, 2016, Guitar World: the Edge on his black 1973 Strat and signature model, Fender: One Track Mind, the sustained brilliance of With or Without You, MusicRadar: 38 great effected guitar tones, from Guitarist
Tonelify reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the Where the Streets Have No Name tone on your own amp?
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Where the Streets Have No Name tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Where the Streets Have No Name?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 2, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3, with the neck or middle position. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same chiming six-note arpeggio doubled by a dotted-eighth delay over held synth chords, then fast, percussive strumming from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Where the Streets Have No Name tone?
The delay time. The arpeggio only becomes the record when the dotted-eighth repeat falls exactly between the picked notes, so set the delay from the tempo: at about 126 beats per minute a dotted eighth is roughly 357 milliseconds. Keep the amp clean and bright, pick evenly, and add a second delay at a different time for the thicker sound Guitarist describes.
Can you get the Where the Streets Have No Name tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with a Fender Stratocaster, which the Edge credits for the opening arpeggio, saying that on any other instrument those notes do not ring out the same way; his black 1973 Strat, bought in 1981 and fitted with a DiMarzio bridge pickup, became an important go-to guitar on U2's records after the first, although which Strat is on this take is not documented; co-producer Daniel Lanois describes the Edge's rig at the time of these sessions as a Vox AC30 and probably a Korg SDD-3000 digital delay, and Guitarist magazine credits the intro arpeggios to two delays set to different times, a TC Electronic 2290 and a Korg SDD-3000; the dotted-eighth echo plays each note of the arpeggio twice, the intro and the outro are in 3/4 and the rest in 4/4, at about 126 beats per minute in D major, and the guitar fades in after 40 seconds over sustained synthesiser notes before the Edge moves to percussive sixteenth-note strumming; he made the demo on a four-track at his new house the night before the band went back to the Joshua Tree sessions, the band struggled with the song for so long that Brian Eno nearly erased the tapes until engineer Pat McCarthy stopped him, and the album version was pieced together from several takes, but the parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order. Those translate to other equipment, which is what the adaptation step does.
Is Where the Streets Have No Name a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a clean character, from U2's 1980s rock catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
Your first match for your own gear is free with an account, and needs no card. After that both plans start with a 7-day free trial: Stage is $6.99 a month for 20 matches, Headliner is $10.99 a month for unlimited matching within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.
