Fender The Edge Stratocaster

Photo: Sharon Latham via Instagram
Model: Fender The Edge Signature Stratocaster
Color: Black
Year: 2016

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Used in...

- 2017-2024

- used during the recording of the EPs (late 2017 - 2019)

- used during the recording sessions for the Council Skies album

- featured in the video of Black Star Dancing

- played live in Black Star Dancing, This Is the Place, Love Is a Rich Man and Love Will Tear Us Apart
Details

In early 2016, Fender announced the Strat "The Edge" Signature, inspired by the U2 guitarist's original 1973 black Stratocaster.1

It has a few some modern features, like a 9.5" radius neck and locking tuners. The middle and neck pickups are Custom Shop Fat 50s single-coil with flat-staggered pole pieces; a DiMarzio FS-1 pickup is fitted at the bridge position.

Here is what Noel said about the guitar in a 2019 interview with Jeff Slate:2
"And on the three new EPs that I’ve done, I used one guitar. It’s The Edge’s signature Strat, by Fender. It’s fucking amazing. [...] And it’s hands-down one of the best guitars I’ve ever played in my life."
Later on, in early 2022, it was seen in Noel's studio while recording guitar parts for the album Council Skies.3
It was played by Noel, Gem Archer and Paul Strangeboy Stacey for various tracks of the record, including Think of a Number, Love Is a Rich Man and Easy Now.

For instance, the lead guitar part in the outro of Easy Now was played by Strangeboy with the black Strat.
Also, Noel is seen playing pitch-shifted chords for the instrumental break of Love Is a Rich Man, using the Strat through a Boss Harmonist pedal.
Since 2019 it has been played live for Black Star Dancing and This Is the Place.
In 2023 and 2024, during the Council Skies tour, it was played also for Love Is a Rich Man and Love Will Tear Us Apart.

It was also Noel's guitar of choice for a few outings of the song You Know We Can't Go Back in 2023; he then switched back to his more appropriate signature ES-355 and ES-355 no.1.

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For informational and non-commercial use only. Please do NOT publish this content elsewhere.
If you share or use this information, please provide proper credit and link to the website.
I appreciate your respect for the years of dedicated, freely available research!
Visit the “Info & About” page for contact details and more.
Thanks!

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  1. https://www.u2.com/news/title/on-guitar-the-edge/ ↩︎
  2. https://guitar.com/features/interviews/noel-gallagher-high-flying-birds-oasis-interview/ ↩︎
  3. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – The Making Of Council Skies [Parts 1, 2 and 3] ↩︎

2 thoughts on “Fender The Edge Stratocaster”

  1. Anton's avatar

    that’s not an edge signature strat. No signature on the headstock, 6 hole bridge instead of 2, lots of natural wear and tear – wouldn’t happen on a poly finish from ’16, and lastly kluson tuners – not the locking tuners on the edge sig.

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    1. Lazy Guitar Anorak's avatar

      Nicely spotted – thanks for sharing! A source who had a brief talk with Noel’s guitar tech in 2023 actually told me that it is a Custom Shop version based on The Edge’s Strat – that’s why some of the details are different. It is not a regular Edge Strat. I’ll update the page soon with your observations. Thanks again!

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