Message In A Bottle (Remastered 2003) Guitar Tone Settings
The Police · 1970s · rock
studio
Original Recording
A reconstruction of the riff tone. Gear attributions and estimated settings are explained in the research notes below.
Studio recording, 1979. Andy Summers' main guitar for The Police era, used for the riff section. Amp is the Roland JC-120 for clean, chorus-rich tones. Effects are from pedals, not amp. No evidence of Marshall or other amps for the riff section in the studio. Pickup selector set to bridge single-coil for signature chime.
Amp Settings
Suggested starting points on a 0–10 scale, not documented studio knob positions. Match to your gear for controls specific to your setup.
Effects Chain
- Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress Flanger/Filter Matrix · flanger
- Boss CE-2 Chorus · chorus
- MXR Dyna Comp · compression
- Maestro Echoplex EP-3 Tape Delay · delay
Guitar → MXR Dyna Comp → Electric Mistress Flanger → Boss CE-2 Chorus → Maestro Echoplex → Roland JC-120
Tone Matcher
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Tone Character
- bright and chiming
- glassy and percussive
- lush modulation
- tight, articulate arpeggios
- minimal breakup
- complex chord voicings
- dreamy, swirling modulation
- crisp note separation
- slight compression for sustain
- signature Police shimmer
Sources
Tone Story / Why This Tone Works
studio