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 --<12>--------------------
 ---------<7>--------------
 ---------------<7>--------    (tuned 1/2 step down)
 ---------------------<7>-- 
 --------------------------  x2 (with different rhythms)
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• Starting at time 0.00 when Larry hits the first cymbal crash, the sample runs from [11.71 - 12.49 secs].
• In the sample, you can hear the initial attack of the first harmonic (12th fret harmonic, E string), then 3 distinct delay 'groups', each with 2-3 'short delays' within them. At the very end is the F# attack (7th fret harmonic, B string). This short delay we can hear is the time it takes for the sound created by the amplifiers to reach Edge's and Bono's vocal microphones 20 and 40 feet away respectively (see more about this on the main page).

Here's an mp3 of me playing the main riff from the song, with no delay and, later, with delay. (I turned the delay on a few seconds into the recording). I used a Fender Telecaster (middle pickup) into a $100 Line 6 Toneport on my PC with the setup on the right, although using the '57 on-axis' microphone setting. I had to use a Korg SDD-3000 for the delay because the Toneport delay options don't (yet) include a digital delay with modulation.

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 |:--------12-11-12-----:|
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Figure 1: Waveform of the sample clip - from the Rattle and Hum DVD

NOTE: This is a very similar setup to what Edge uses for 'Walk On' (see that page for more info).

Figure 2: Waveform of the sample clip - from The Joshua Tree

Awesome site! Just what I 've been looking for. I'll have fun for hours.

-- chris watford, Apr 21, 2005

close enough but i use a tube screamer for top end boost that know one sees. the key to cutting effects is hard mid softened with slight reverb.

-- the edge, June 30, 2005

Thanks a Great site. I am fortunate to own the korg sdd3000. I use it on two of our original songs. Funny thing is I didnt even know it was the edge's delay unit, I thought it was made famous by David Galmour. But when we started playing a few cover songs one being "Where the streets have no name". Soon after trying to find the delay settings, I found out I had the same delay, This site has helped tremendously. Thanks

-- Rob, July 12, 2005

HI!!Great site!Just one comment to "streets: i saw a dvd of the making of the joshua tree, edge used a little trick to get more drive into his riff, one guitar plays the mainriff with delay as shown above, another guitar just scratches the main riff long... without delay!That's how it's recorded on the cd...but i don't know if dallas schoo(guitar tech of edge) plays the second part live...!???

-- Ruben, July 19, 2005

to Ruben: U2 use a lot of backing tracks live, so i'm sure they do for the second guitar during Streets. otherwise Edge would have to have sixteen appendages.

-- elizabeth, July 27, 2005

you're wrong, it's a standard delay effect which gives it the illusion of two guitars. Most likely on the Joshua Tree Edge recorded the muted parts separate from the main riffs/chorus, but live it's a one man show when it comes to guitar, the only Backing Track has to do with the organ sounds.

-- pat, Aug 8, 2005

For all your Edge questions relating to his sound/gear/style visit this forum http://www.u2sound-forum.com/forum/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi

-- pat, Aug 8, 2005

theres too much delay in the acoustic parts for me... i dont think the edge does that legato too but nice job....

-- Estevao, Aug 23, 2005

Hi, great site by the way. Edge definately uses two guitars in the first verse... one is doing the melodic stuff while the other is doing a rhythmic raking thing underneath - he demonstrates it on the making of The Joshua Tree DVD. Peace.

-- darren, Sep 6, 2005

strat set between neck/mid pickup --->Boss CS-3 with Tone turned a tiny bit on the bright side (use a good dose of compression, but take the "popping effect out, each CS3 is a little different, so you'll just have to tweak it)----> Boss DD- 2, send dry signal to any Mesa Boogie Amp set a nice shimmery clean sound, good listening level, send delayed output set 800ms mode, delay-time set around about 1:30pm, effect level about 11:30am, feedback, around 10am-Noon (no more than 3 or 4 repeats) and send to antoher standard Mesa Channel 2 "crunch" tone rolled off a bit but must be LOUDER than the clean amp. This will nicely approximate a "two guitar" delay effect when covering "classic" U2 from the Joshua Tree; Mesa has lots of headroom in overdrive channels that respond very nicely to your guitars volume control, this is necessary for covering "with or without you". The setup above, also does a nice version of "pride in the name of love" use your volume on the gu! itar and check out the wonderful changes in the overdriven boogie's sound.... In any event, this is how some non-multi-billionaire can approxiamate a U2 sound, without having to dedicate countless hours re-verse figuring how Eno and Langlois and all those guys dialed in the edges tones PS I know, I know you see a lot of Vox combos on his more recent tours (the odd Hi-watt for show); but try it all through a boogie say a Mark 4 or some of their preamps, it will blow you away!!!!! Have a great one, and keep adding to this site; what a great idea -

-- Vox Humana, Sept 7, 2005

Hi, Very interesting posts. I do all my Edge stuff on a 12-string Martin, Dreadnaught acoustic. All strum- with the Open inversions and the suspended notes- and a real, real busy right hand. That high octave "g" string fills in all the high notes so I can concentrate on holding fuller, bigger, lower-chord inversions on the neck. I know you think I'm nuts, but the repro using this guitar & technique ia astoundingly authentic for "Streets".. Best Regards, Art

-- art, Dec 8, 2005

hello, if you want the edge tone like on "where the streets have no name", you need a fender stratocaster with a bridge Dimarzio pickup FS-1. it is important !! the bridge pickup dimarzio and the central pick up fender together in // produce this particular sound of the edge. after mxr dynacomp and the delays... thank. denis from France.

-- denis, Dec 9, 2005

Hi, Denis, Thank you for the post. But what I meant was that I do it all acoustic, no amp or pick ups. It's just for my own enjoyment as I don't play in a band anymore. I gave up electric guitar years ago but became frustrated looking for a full sound. So my wife bought me a 12-string acoustic and it's been great fun. All the Best, Art

-- art, Dec 9, 2005

Delay? TRY THIS ONCE AND YOU'LL BE A BELIEVER, I promise you. As far as delay I haven't seen one right answer on this page. There are only 2 separate delays, and after hours of intensive study i finally found the timing. 1st delay - 115ms 2nd delay - 360ms Both volume levels are actually pretty close, but you'll have to play around with that to see what sounds best on your equipment. Note that when you are using these proper delay settings, the first note you play at the beginning of the song (12th fret) is only played once, the second is actually coming from the 360ms delay. The feedback should be set at a level where the 360ms delay fades out completely by the 4th or 5th delay. Hope this helps you!

-- Michael, Jan 1, 2006

Hey its me again. I realized I didn't explain the delay thing properly. Okay. 2 delays. they are BOTH 360ms, however one starts 360ms after the note is played and the second starts 115ms after the first note played, and then is 360ms every echo after that. I have a wave file for an example, but I don't know where to post it here. Cheers!

-- Michael, Jan 7, 2006

Is that really the Edge's comment. Coolness. I cant wait to try this out.

-- Roland, Feb 9, 2006

I use similar settings with my sax.

-- Bill Clinton, Feb 9, 2006

Thats a lie Bill you bastard you told me you never had saxual delaytions.

-- Monica Lewinski, Feb 12, 2006

hey, very cool site. Does anyone know if the edge uses the same settings in pride(in the name of love) as in where the streets have no name? it seems like the delay level is a bit lower on pride though. let the good times rollin!

-- steven stratocaster, Mar 9, 2006

Hi guys, Very nice site. Do yuo know where i can get all detailns about Edge guitars, amp setup, effects, tab etc? Where is the ultimate site? all the best from Copenhagen

-- Jesper , Mar 10, 2006

Amazing Insight, All of you really... But the true answer lies with edge and his rarely seen moogerfooger pedals... I say - If it feels good, do it - just keep the milliseconds down and the compression even. And an extra idea - bypass the camshaft for added wetness to your tone...

-- Moogerfooger, Mar 23, 2006

in the chorus of "streets" (where the streets have no name, we're still building then buring down love. And when i go there, i go there with you, it's all i can do) what are the chords the edge plays? i have his delay unit (TC-2290) but i need the chords. Great site by the way.

-- rob, April 16, 2006

alright Rob you was asking about what chords he uses for the chorus on streets, well Ive managed to figure at some of it, its like this, they are acoustic chords by the way!.

Where the streets have no name               where the streets have no name 
G chord  open strings A5 chord               G chord  open strings A5 chord  
Still building then burning down love        burning down love               
          A5					A5  
And when I Go there I go there                 I go there with you its all I can do 
G chord  open strings  A5 chord                G chord  open strings  A5 chord  

On the very last part of the chorus,(I go there with you its all I can do) , he uses some different chords on that section which I haven't been able to figure out yet, they seem to sound higher in pitch, however they are still played around the top of the guitar neck, if you haven't got diagrams of these chords, particularly the A5 chord, just send me! an e-mail and ill send ya an e-mail back with some diagrams.

-- dave, May 27, 2006

I am going to go ahead and say that was the Edge's comment above, just because I'm an optimist. That guy's the man...and i'm gonna try that tube screamer.

-- Matthew Miller, June 15, 2006

Hi all: Has anyone managed to reproduce this sound using a Toneport? I just bought one - I am a total newbie but I get frustrated practicing boring stuff all the time and want to have some fun, so I bought a Toneport. I put a screen shot of my settings here: http://www.psdesign.tzo.com/straumanns/guitar/ If anyone can take a look and let me know what they think that would be great. John.

-- John Straumann, Aug 26, 2006

Is it possible to reproduce his sound with only one amp? I have a boss digital delay system, strat, and traynor amp. I can't seem to find a multiple delay setting. It will only echo once. Please help!

-- matt, Nov 2, 2006

I have a boss ME 50 effects peddle. Does anyone know what settings i have to use on it to get streets have no name sound.. cheers

-- Peter Lawlor, Nov 16, 2006

Hi guys (and gals), I just saw U2 play in Melbourne (on Sunday 19th Nov) and they were awesome. I thought the sound was excellent and Edge's guitar brilliant. I was discussing with my electrician, and he was sayinging that Edge's guitar playing was not sychronized with the sound (significantly). His mate (who apparently plays guitar) said that Edge has backing guitarist(s) to achieve some effects that are impossible to reproduce on one guitar. Apparently this is known but not advertised. Without starting a massive debate, does anyone know if there are backing guitarist(s)? I guess the other question is whether he plays pre-recorded guitar at the live show to achieve some effects that are impossible to reproduce on one guitar.

-- jimmy, Nov 23, 2006

Testing out many different delay times for Streets, I too believe that the 350ms and 531ms combination are accurate. However the mix and playing makes it or breaks it. On my first SDD3000(350ms)here are the settings: input + output attenuators (-10db); level (10); feedback (a tiny increment before 2); filters (flat, flat) modulation (triangle, a tiny increment past 1, tiny increment before 6); level balance (tiny increment past 4). With the second SDD3000O(531ms): the attenuator and level are set the same as the first SDD; feedback (one tiny increment past 1); filters (flat, flat) modulation (triangle, a tiny increment past 1, a quarter past 3); level balance (1). Most SDD's are not calibrated the same and so this may vary but I believe this is very very close towhat The Edge used on The Joshua tree recording. On my AC30 I've positioned the cut 4oclock, bass 6 oclock, and treble just past 6. A high volume on the AC30 also brings out some of the tone that you may not get from playing at low levels (goes hand in hand with the idea that this song was recorded at high volumes). A last note. I generally play my guitar through the back input of the Brilliance Channel, this seems to also bring out some better tone.

-- oliverstwists, Jan 13, 2007

jimmy, no there are no extra guitarists hidden, only Edge and sometimes Bono are playing guitar. It is possible to achieve the sounds he produces live with only him and his effects.

-- pat, Feb 5, 2007

Hey i too went to see U2 live and i agree they are amazing. The egde doesn't have backing guitarists he uses looping pedals. He'll play wnat he wants to hear and loop it and play over the top. It's actually really hard to do. Yeah to the guy who wanted to know about the right settings for an ME-50 then you should use the 100-500ms delay with feedback right to the bottom and level right to the top. Put the Time knob at around a quarter of the way round (a little bit less). I like to use the mod reverb with it too and it should be around 10% of the way. Well that's what i think sounds nice. If you also pick hard and near the bridge it brings out that bright loud sounding tone the he achieves. Any suggestions from anyone that might sound better?

-- Tom, Feb 9, 2007

For covering "Streets" I use a rocktron intellifex (I know it's not the best gear, but it's pretty transparent). The unit will split the signal so I can have two different delays. I set one output for 355 ms, and the other to 360 ms. It creates a cool stereo effect. I run each output to a Hughes & Kettner Puretone combo. That's it. I think you get the best tone when there is as little as possible between your guitar and the amp. Keep it simple. Peace!

-- Joey, Mar 2, 2007

Hey everybody, I have the "Play guitar with U2" book and i says that the delay's for "streets" are supposed to be 360 ms and 120 ms, which sounds pretty good i think. whats all this 531 ms delay about? I've never heard of a 531 ms delay used. I'm wondering why my book hasn't said anything about that? Also, how do you know it uses modulation in the delays? Thanks

-- Aaron, May 8, 2007

STREETS - TRY THIS!! USING TEMPO DELAY - Long Delay set to 2 x Triplet quarter note (sometimes written 2/3) , Short Delay set to 1 x triplet quarter note (1/3). Alternatively use Tap Delay or Ping Pong - Set longer delay to 2/3 and set tap to 50%. The opening riff is a 6 note pattern (almost played in 6/8 time) superimposed on a 4/4 beat.

< = accent (with strong down pick attack) 
T = Tap here for tempo on delay pedal
               <                 <                 <          
1  e  &  a  2  e  &  a  3  e  &  a  4  e  &  a  1  e  &  a
D  A  G  F# G  A  D  A  G  F# G  A  D  A  G  F# G  A  D  A 
T           T           T           T             

You will find the shorter delay filling in the gaps between the G-F#-G and the longer delay emphasising the accented A-D-A - like on the recording. Let me know what you think. This gives a different delay pattern than the 3/16 + 9/32 described by the author of this page - however the author of this site should be bestowed with god-like status for his contribution to mankind.

-- Tony Faulkner, May 11, 2007

STREETS - Correction 2/3 Delay with TAP set at 50% is the same as 1/3 delay with two repeats - except you can't pan alternate repeats left and right. So its back to the drawing board for me... I cant get the 9/32 + 3/16 (or 525ms + 350ms*) to sound right - the 525ms repeat sounds off to me. Another way of doing this with one delay pedal is to set delay time to 525ms and set TAP to 66% (i.e two thirds).

-- Tony Faulkner, May 15, 2007

I have come to the conclusion that the hole delay thing is down to his TC 2290, they are Dynamic with a ducking delay, and the delay you hear on where the streets have no name is impossible with out dynamic delay, It Makes scents to me that the song was created with these unit, I mean streets came out in 86 87 and so did the tc 2290. Ive tried all kinds of delays and the ones he uses for this song is definatley digital, and its really clear at the begining of the song on the intro, its got to be set to 50% 12 oclock mark, but when he breacks into the main riff the delay doesn't muddy the riff, why? because it becomes ducked, because hes using ducking delay on the TC2290 you really need a TC unit to play this song and to really enjoy it, as soon as I get the cash im getting two because the delay is a stereo delay so I should say you need 2 X TC2290.

-- , June 27, 2007

I really think some of contibuters here are really missing the point. The last post re: needing 2 x TC2290. You don't need even one TC2290. Any decent digital delay that can operate in dual delay mode will do the job. Getting the correct tones and a good guitar sound is down to the player. You could have all of the equipment that The Edge has and sound nothing like him. About delays, I have quite a collection of decent delays, both rack and pedal type. I would like to share with you my recent experiments for "Streets". I tried an old Ibanez SDR1000+, an Alesis Octal Quadraverb plus, Korg SDD3000, Zoom RFX2000 and a TC Electronics G Major. They all did the job exeptionally well. The ones that did stand out were the TC G Major multi-effect that has the ducking and dual delay delay facility, and the Korg SDD3000 which to my ears had the edge. (forgive the pun). The Korg not only does the job but has a really fruity warm almost analogue sound. That is not to say that I wouldn't use the others they all sounded great. A cracking delay to consider at the moment is the TC Electronics D2 which has both dual delay mode and ducking delay. For anyone that doesn't know, the dual delay facility works a treat, you have in fact two delay units in one case here. You can send the two outputs to seperate amps and program the delays individually. This facility is also on a lot of old decent delay units like the Octal Quadraverb and the Ibanez SDR1000+. It is also on other TC products like the G Major and G Force. Have fun everyone. Great site.

-- Roger Latapie, Aug 24, 2007

Answer to Tony Faulkner May 15 2007. Hi Tony. You may be a little misled by the thought of needing two delay units to get the correct Edge sounds. I would be very surprised if the discontinued TC2290 does not operate in dual delay mode. It should be a Stereo unit. These were high end top of the range units that were quite expensive, and still are if you can find one second hand. I would feel a bit robbed if it didn't operate in dual delay mode. If you were using the Korg SDD3000 you might want two as these did not have a dual delay mode, However I have used only one and the sounds are great using just the one. I have been experimenting with a TC Electronics G Major recently. It has a dual delay mode where you can have it running as two separate delays going into two amps. You can set the timing for each side independently. It sounds great. It also has the dynamic and ducking delay facility along with a pile of other great quality effects for around 260. The price for these has dropped from an original price of almost 500. I did however try the TC in ping pong mode set to 360ms for Streets and to me it sounded closer to the delay sounds on the recording. Would be interested if anyone else has tried this. I came across it by chance when I set the TC G Major wrongly to the ping pong delay mode instead of dual mode and was knocked out at the sound. Best Regards Roger

-- Roger Latapie, Aug 30, 2007

Does anyone have the setup for the GTR3 ? I ve tried the 2 delays (352 ms and 523 ms) but the result was not good enough...

-- Jairo Rosa, Apr 4, 2008

What can i say, you rule man! This page is so complete, so well structured...congratulations! Keep up the good work! Greeting from a great italian U2 fan!

-- Orbital, Sept 26, 2008

Has anyone gotten as good a result as the author's clip posted above? I've tried the various settings reccomended using 2 Gearbox plugins and the underlying buildup of "ticks" doesn't seem to happen. Am I missing something? I notice in one spot it says "3 delays" but I only see two in the signal paths.

-- FLmason, Oct 6, 2008

I've gotten pretty good results using the effects built into my Boss GT-8. I can use seperate delays at different times to achieve some sound that are REALLY close to the Edge's. When he says there are 3 delays, he means that you are hearing 3 repeats. The delay in signal A repeaets 1-2 times and signal B repeats once. Great site though! Streets is sounding really good in my band now!

-- David, Dec 22, 2008

nice work! but IT'S WRONG! THE RIGHT DELAYS ARE: 360ms AND 120ms! not 530ms or whatever!!!

-- FLORIN KOPE, Jan 18, 2009

Hi. Looks like you have a handle on ''the Edge thing''. Im writing a big essay on guitareffects, and im going to do an analysis of the song ''where the streets have no name''. Can you help me with this? what effects were used for the guitar? Just Delay??

-- Adriano, Apr 10, 2009

Has anyone got any better ideas for the amp settings in "Where The Streets Have No Name"? I think im in the right ball park with these: I'm using the VOX Clean simulator on the boss GT8 with these numbers: Gain @25/120 Bass @40/120 Middle @60/120 Trebble @80/120 these feed into a dual delay with Tim Darlings settings, a little compression, modulation reverb and a stereo chorus. There's also a slight drive coming from my left side marshall. AWESOME Site, great community also

-- Shane Freeman, July 28, 2009

Thanks this helped a lot.

-- Penta, Aug 19, 2009

Why is everyone overcomplicating this ? Watch the man explain it himself... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKHm_frL_dI&feature=related It's a simple dotted eighth delay. You can hear it exactly when he hits the strings to check the delay is on before he starts playing. ANY delay pedal is capable of doing this.

-- Aneng, Aug 23, 2009

Hey, i got all the delay down. i am just wonderin about the scratchy-ish sound in general on the edge's guitar?

-- kevin, Sept 26, 2009

The scratchy sound comes from the picks Edge uses: Herdim picks made in Germany. They're dimpled on the fat part of the pick when held normally (works with fingerprint ridges to prevent losing the pick) but the Edge holds them sideways so achieve a grating sound (dimples striking the strings). I believe there is a discussion about that on this site somewhere. You can get them on ebay or other places on the internet. Just saw U2 on 10/20 in Phoenix and when The Edge played near us you could see he was indeed using a herdim pick.

-- lebowski, Oct 23, 2009

Great site. It is amazing the power of internet . I was programing my g major, and trying to set the Edge delay's, when I google and find this complete study about the thing. Congratulation my man ! Best whishes from Brasil.

-- Farsa Guitar, Oct 27, 2009

I think Edge's right hand plays a bigger roll in his overall sound.All the delay settings & other setups are not enough to sound like him or to play the songs.

-- Shahdib, Feb 9, 2010

I've read the reason he holds his pick the wrong way is that when he started playing, that's the way he started holding the pick. He never bothered to change after this was pointed out to him. I guess he realized the "chime" wasn't there...so why change it.

-- Spak, March 18, 2010

All this fuss(and I do understand).A simple rp50 (Iam not joking) Yo will be happpy but your gona have to play with it.Forget the r50 settings ssite.Peace ,love ,out

-- alvain, Apr 27, 2011

I use a Marshall 50w MKII Master Model Lead with effects loop and Rocktron Exprsssion. I have been playing Streets have no name with only one amp at 335ms delay mono. I can get almost all of his effects and it sounds correct but there has always been smething lackiing. Bumping it to 350ms an adding the 532ms second delay is the deal. If you have a unit that has double delays and both can be annned to one side you can do this with one amp and one delay uit.. You could also use a looper with pre programmed backing lops aand call them up as needed. I have seen his live setup and e usses 2 MemoryMan delay units. One set on the short delay andone llong. He has loopers too so he might use some loops. It semss plausible to me. Its all him live and it sounds like the reordd forsuur.

-- Tommy, May 25, 2011

What a great job of analysis. I have gone to these pages as a reource time aand again, and Played some great U2 tribute stuff baed on this iinformation (feel like I should make a donation!). Rgards, Richarrd

-- Richard, Jun 10, 2011

Brilliant site. Thank you!

-- Marty -- SF, June 22, 2011

Very informative site, Thanks for all your time researching. I just ave a couuple of questions like others mentioned here. I'am on limitted budget and would like to somewhat recreate the Edge'ssounnd as far as the delay goes. I only have the Strat, a Zoom 9000 and a Vox AD30VT. I've been looking at some MXR products and have read the the MXR analog delay can do a retty good jobb getting close to his sound but have also read tat he has useed both analog and digital through the years. Any deas? Somethinng else I would like to know is how does he get tat scratchy ssound? Picking technique or alot of Gain. Thanks fr any help. ccc

-- Vic, Oct 4, 2011

All this shrewdly tugging at the beard and "hmmm myezz"-ing and nterminable shhop talk makes me laugh...the fevered disagreements about delay times... ...it's briefly fun to hear the sound of omeone else's tones etc on yr own guitar, but surely the whole eal with musicc is creativity and brewing up your own sounds...i's llike a bunch of dudes repainting Picassos and going on line ayin, "garbage!!! he uses a burnt orange on the top lip!!!" Turn the binoculars round the right way, see orre...

-- timber, Nov 9, 2011

Studying ones techniques can inspire us to keep progressing forward as musicians. The Edge is a brilliant writer and perfomer. His ability to create moods with his use of effects and ger configgurations is remarkable. I have yet to see any other "poular"" guitarist come close to this ability, yet I have hope whe I reaad these forums to see that there are many out there that rully appreciate Edge's techniques. This is a great site... longliive U2 and The Edge!

-- Brian Byrnz, Jan 22, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTlh0lq1xwk
watch it t44.554 - you can see all his settings hhere!!

-- Me!, Mar 22, 2012

I know that I have seen interviews where he has 7' racks and peadalboards ff pretty much everything known. I know he's been known to use wwo vintage Electro-Harmonix Memory Man analog delay units and vinntage Vox AC30 w/Top Boost and a stock strat with maple nec. Nott sure if he uses overdrive but I get his tone through a vntaage 50w JMP Marshall, tube screamer and Rockron Intellifex LD or Expression. He sounds really crisp and clean with some brakkup but you can get that without a pedal. I have a clean boos I uuse to increase the amps already ample compression. Beautiful sunnds.

-- Psychotech, May 17, 2012

forgot to say....with point 2. play the notes with a very slight staccato. chees!!

-- david dzanovski, Nov 18, 2012