Nail the ToneThe Police

Every Breath You Take

The Police · Synchronicity · 1983

This is a clean, chorused, lightly compressed arpeggio tone — the sound of a vintage Fender through a Roland JC-120 with the onboard chorus on and no dirt at all. Set the amp clean with treble a touch above mid, bass pulled back so the low strings don't get boomy, and only a hint of reverb; the width comes from the chorus, not from EQ. Pick near the neck with the neck pickup, keep attack soft and even, and remember to tune down a half step or the shapes will land in the wrong key.

Where these numbers come from: worked out from the documented rig and the sound of the record

Tuning

Eb standard (down a half step)

The record sits a half step below concert A shapes (sounding key Ab), and it drifts slightly sharp of A440, so a tuner at roughly 448Hz matches the disc more exactly.

Part: Rhythm

Guitar

  • Fender Telecaster (1963, modified) · Gibson PAF humbucker (neck), stock single-coil (bridge) · neck pickup, or both pickups together
  • Fender Stratocaster (1961) · single-coils · neck or neck/middle

Amp

Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus

GAIN
0.0
BASS
4.0
MID
5.0
TREBLE
6.0
REVERB
2.0

Engineer/co-producer Hugh Padgham says the guitars on this track went through a JC-120 with its onboard chorus always on, sometimes double-tracked with dry on one side and chorused on the other for width; he also kept a Fender Twin Reverb on hand for straighter sounds. The JC-120 has no presence control and no gain stage beyond its Distortion knob, which stays off here.

Pedals

  • Roland JC-120 onboard stereo chorus · chorus · Chorus mode on, rate slow (around 9 o'clock), depth light to moderate; the part is only mildly swirly on the record
  • Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress · flanger used as chorus · Light rate, low depth, filter matrix off — Summers' signature shimmer, part of his Pete Cornish board during this period
  • MXR Dyna Comp · compressor · Sustain around 11 o'clock, output to unity — evens out the arpeggio picking

Tone character

clean solid-state sparkle · wide stereo chorus · light compression · scooped-ish neck warmth · bell-like arpeggios · no breakup

medium

The chords are simple, but the add9 shapes are wide stretches that have to be arpeggiated cleanly and evenly for four minutes without any note ringing into the next.

Part: Riff

Guitar

  • Fender Telecaster (modified, early '60s) · Gibson PAF humbucker (neck), Tele single-coil (bridge) · both pickups combined
  • Fender Stratocaster (1961/62, red) · Fender single-coils · neck/middle

Amp

Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus

GAIN
0.0
BASS
4.5
MID
5.0
TREBLE
6.5
REVERB
2.0

Padgham's account: the JC-120's built-in chorus stayed on, both 12s close-miked and panned wide, one speaker dry and one chorused, sometimes double-tracked with the sides flipped. Use the Bright switch on, Distortion at zero, chorus rate slow and depth modest — the record swirls gently, it does not warble.

Amp

Marshall JMP 100-watt head with 4x12

GAIN
2.0
BASS
5.0
MID
5.0
TREBLE
6.0
PRESENCE
5.0

Per Sound On Sound, the Marshalls on these sessions carried Summers' Roland guitar-synth parts, not the clean arpeggio riff; included only for the album's other layers.

Pedals

  • Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress Flanger/Filter Matrix · flanger used as chorus · Rate slow, Range/depth low, Color low — chorus-side of the pedal, not a jet sweep. Documented as the core of Summers' Police modulation; on this track the wobble is mostly the JC-120's own chorus.
  • MXR Dyna Comp · compressor · Output ~1 o'clock, Sensitivity ~1 o'clock — evens out the eighth-note picking and lengthens the ring. On his Pete Cornish board in this period; not confirmed for this specific take.
  • Maestro Echoplex EP-2 · tape delay · Short slap, one or two repeats, low mix. Standard in his Police rig; the audible width on the record comes largely from the stereo miking and double-tracking.

Tone character

glassy solid-state clean · wide stereo chorus · compressed even eighths · bright chime, no dirt · round low-mids from humbucker

medium

The claw-like add9 shape has to be held while you arpeggiate steady eighth notes and shift it up and across the strings without losing the pattern, and the stretch plus the constant right-hand consistency is what trips people up.

Want this on your own amp?

These are the record's settings. Tell us what you play through and we'll translate every knob to the amp you actually own — free.

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Sources