Hello Coldplayers! I could really use some insight from any guitar gurus here on Coldplaying.

 

I'm a giant fan of the "ringing", "chiming", and "jangling" guitar sound that is the trademark style of Coldplay and U2.

 

I know Jonny mostly plays Fender guitars, and so does The Edge.

 

However, The Edge also uses Gibson guitars. In fact, The Edge usually plays a Gibson Explorer (an axe mostly seen in hard rock music) during live performances of Beautiful Day, and that characteristic U2 tone can still be heard.

 

I own a Gibson Les Paul Standard and my friend owns a Paul Reed Smith (I don't know which model).

 

Could I still nail the trademark Coldplay sound or U2 sound using a PRS guitar and a Gibson guitar?

 

I know PRS guitars and Gibson guitars have humbuckers, and Fender Strats have single-coils. But Jonny's favorite Fender Thinline Telecaster has humbuckers. So I think the PRS sound vs. Gibson sound vs. Fender sound shouldn't be that different.

 

I'm not at all a guitar-playing expert. Any advice from Coldplayer guitarists here would be appreciated.

 

Thanks guys.

I can't answer for sure but...

 

1. Jonny often uses a Les Paul for live performances on Violet Hill and it's very crunchy and great.

 

2. Achieving the effects is as much about the effects as it is the guitar --> figure out the right combo of overdrive, reverb, and delay to get to what you need. For instance, running most anything into a Boss RV5 reverb on its Modulate mode is highly likely to get you close to Lovers in Japan.

 

3. Jonny also uses a Fender Stratocaster for much of MX and the MX tour, and the Edge uses the strat a lot (such as on Where the Streets Have No Name). Not sure how a Start compares to a PRS or Les Paul, but it's just something to throw in there for your consideration.