How To Sound Like Andy Summers

Andy Summers is one of the defining guitarists of the 70s and 80s. As a member of The Police, Summers redefined the role of the guitarist in a trio format with brilliant musicianship, inventive arrangements and clever use of effects. 

Using a handful of effects, a clean guitar tone and a telecaster or stratocaster, Andy wrote some of the most iconic riffs of all time, such as Roxanne, Walking On The Moon, Don't Stand So Close To Me, Every Breath you Take, amongst others.

To replicate the tones found on ‘Walking On The Moon’ I have chosen to use a BOSS DD-500 for delay, a BOSS MD-500 for the flanger (often believed to be a chorus with the way Summers set his Electric Mistress pedal), an MXR Studio Compressor and an MXR Reverb set to plate. 

The compressor was placed before the amp’s input which the other three pedals placed in the fx-loop. The pedals in the fx-loop are ordered flanger into delay into reverb. 

The compressor is set to just smooth out the signal of the guitar and give a little more punch to the clean tone. The use of a compressor was quintessential to the 80s clean sound…of which Andy was one of the defining components.

The MD-500 is set to a flanger effect, which is set more to emulate a chorusing effect. The ‘jet’ sound of the flanger is not what you are after with this.

Andy used Echoplex delay units. In the DD-500 I have used tape delays in dual mode to add depth and fill the space when hitting the Dm11 chord that is allowed to ring in the opening. Andy’s use of effects and space were essential to the arrangements of the band. 

Finally this is gong into an MXR Reverb set to plate. The level is set to 50% and the tone in the middle; the sound is still fairly bright but we don’t it to be too bright (which can easily happen with Fender single coil guitars and a Roland Jazz Chorus amp). 

When playing the chordal stabs in the second section of the song I turn the delay off and lower the reverb levels.

So that should get you close to emulating this classic tone. Of course we will never be able to replicate it exactly, but this will get us close. How you use it is then up to you!