Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2 (Riff · Clean) — Guitar Tone

The Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2 guitar tone is built on a Vox AC30 — Telecaster, dialed in at gain 2.5/10, bass 5, mid 5.5, treble 7, presence 6 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

Amp settings (0–10)

Community-researched baseline. Your rig is different — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials every knob for your specific guitar, amp and pickups.

How these settings compare

Measured against the 540 rock tones in our researched catalog: Gain 2.5 sits well below the rock average (4.8) — cleaner and more dynamic than typical rock; mids at 5.5 are right around average (6.2).

Guitar controls

Original gear

Amp: Vox AC30 — Telecaster, with a Memory Man / Korg SDD-3000 delay (the chime)

The Edge’s signature chime. A Telecaster (or Strat) into a Vox AC30, with the delay as the secret weapon — a Memory Man live in the early 80s, then a Korg SDD-3000 for the "chimey breakup". For Sunday Bloody Sunday the delay is set around 100 ms with feedback around 40 for the fast, rhythmic repeats. Bright, jangly, chiming clean — treble way up, the delay filling in the rhythm.

Gear used on this tone

Don’t own this gear? GuitarToneAdapt re-creates the sound on the rig you actually have.

Pickups

bridge (Telecaster, bright & chiming)

Effects / signal chain

delay, reverb

Tone character

bright chiming clean, rhythmic delay, cascading & anthemic, Tele into AC30

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

bright chiming clean with rhythmic delay distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Sunday Bloody Sunday sound.

Difficulty

3/5 · Riff

The ~100ms rhythmic delay and bright chime are the whole character; play simple parts and let the delay create the cascading rhythm — treble way up.

Level: Beginner-friendly — see more easy guitar songs to play →

Worth knowing

• Sunday Bloody Sunday is The Edge’s chime — a bright Telecaster into a Vox AC30 with a RHYTHMIC delay (~100ms, feedback ~40) that fills in the strums. Treble way up, low gain, the delay in time with the song. The delay IS the sound — play simply and let it cascade.
• Use a bright single-coil into a Vox-style clean, treble way up, low gain, and a ~100ms delay (moderate feedback) in time with the tempo; play sparse and let the delay build the rhythm.
• Settings are community-researched starting points, not official recall sheets.

Sunday Bloody Sunday guitar tone — FAQ

Share this tone

Sources

• A Study of The Edge’s Guitar Delay — Amnesta
• Sunday Bloody Sunday Tone Preset — Fender Tone

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More like this

🎸 How to get U2’s guitar tone →  ·  🎸 more Rock guitar tones →  ·  🎚️ Vox AC30 settings →  ·  🎛️ best rock amp settings →  ·  🎸 more iconic guitar riffs →  ·  🎚️ Delay tone guide →  ·  🎚️ Reverb tone guide →  ·  🎯 more bright tones →  ·  📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

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