So, anyway.... I think the OP asked if anyone could help him with getting the "cleanish/chimey core sound of the amp". Anyone got anything useful here for him? :roll
The clean, chimey tone, is a result of a few things;
i) The vintage AC30 Edge has had from almost day one...although, as Dallas has mentioned, most of the the parts have been replaced more than once over the years. The Top Boost channel and the speakers play a big part. If you watch the start of the Elevation concert, from Slane Castle, you can clearly see there was a blue and silver speaker in there at the time. I can't remember what the silver speaker is, but Dallas said that one time they blew a speaker and that's all they had. Apparently Edge really liked it and they left it in. I have a Chinese made CC2, that was modified to original 1963 specs. (ie. transformer, caps, resistors, etc.) with a Weber Blue Dog and Silver Bell and it's very clean and chimey. I have JJ tubes in it with matched, medium distortion power amp. tubes. Of course a big part of the AC30's tone comes from cranking it, which I can't do because of my Tinnitus, but what really helps in my case, is the power scaling I had installed. Edge prefers to run his main AC30 fairly clean, just on the verge of breaking up, then he'll push it with the pre-amp and OD pedals...most notably the TS-9. He's used the SD-1, OD-2 in the past as well. I think the SD-1 might be back in the new rack.
2) The SDD-3000 pre-amp/delay. I have an original rack-mounted SDD-3000 and there is definitely something magical about the warmth it gives the amp. and the delays themselves are very unique..clear, crisp and warm. The modulation is also very important. It gives that chorus quiver to the delay and in some cases, when set higher, gives that de-tuned tone you hear. I also have the SDD-3000 pedal, which Edge now uses and although it does come close to the original, it's not 100%. It does have MIDI control though, which is one of the reasons Edge probably started using it. The older rack mounts are becoming far and few between and do require maintenance...ie. the battery and leaky caps. Also, no MIDI control.
3) Strings...I would say this a big one for the chime your hear. You need to use at least .010's or .011's. If you're used to using .009's, they'll take some getting used to and your calluses will definitely get bigger!
4) It's already been mentioned, but the Herdim pick. No one showed Edge how to hold a pick, so when he first started using the Herdim, he held it sideways. So the part that has the dimples, which is for getting a better grip, that's the part he uses to rasp against the strings. Edge loves to play 'within the chord', as Dallas would say, so when he's picking a string, because of the dimple on the pick, it's likes he's plucking the strings. You'll be amazed at how significant the Herdim is to his sound.
5) Yes, his hands. Not saying his hands are the reason for the clean, chimey tone, but they are a big reason why he sounds the way he does. Edge has an incredible sense of rhythm and timing (Streets goes from 6/8 to 4/4...not easy). Playing with a delay set to the tempo of the song...dotted-eighth usually...is not easy. Try it and you'll see what I mean. It becomes a mess in a hurry if you don't play with the delay and instead, let it play you. If you want to appreciate how good he is, try playing with the delay set to four strong repeats and you'll see what I mean. He also plays by using very staccato movements when strumming and picking and he's also very good at palm muting, the song Bad comes to mind. Not a lot of notes in the song Bad, so you think it's simple to play...but it's not. Try it, you'll see it's not easy at all. He's also masterful at using drone notes as well.
Just watch video of him playing and watch his hands closely, it's very impressive.
