Andy Summers

In the very early days of Police, Andy was using just the MXR Phase 90 pedal, and a reverb. As he became more successful, he got himself the Pete Cornish pedalboard, which had all kinds of effects programmed into it, including Mutron Envelope filter, wah wahs, fuzz boxes and distortions like EHX Muff Fuzz and Distortion+, MXR Dyna Comp Compressor, Phase 90 and others. He also used the Roland GR-300 Guitar Synthesizer.

But, the two effects which were really the key to Andy’s sound with the Police are the Maestro Echoplex tape delay, and the Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress.

Another guitar pedal, which was confirmed during the Boss interview shown here. Here is the bit where they talk about the CE-1 and the CE-2.

"Back in The Police days, were there any BOSS pedals that you gravitated to?"

"Yeah. I obviously had the Roland and BOSS chorus."

"The CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, or the CE-2 compact pedal?"

"That’s the little pedal right? There was a bigger box, you know?"

"The CE-1 and CE-2 were BOSS pedals, and there was a rackmount Roland chorus called the Dimension D."

"Yeah, I had the big box for a while, because it was very good. You know, for a long time in that period, I operated [it] with my Pete Cornish board once it was all set. Obviously, as time went on, I got the BOSS pedals."

As he became more successful, he got himself the Pete Cornish pedalboard, which had all kinds of effects programmed into it, including Mutron Envelope filter, wah wahs, fuzz boxes and distortions like EHX Muff Fuzz and Distortion+, MXR Dyna Comp Compressor, Phase 90 and others…

Andy Summers talks about this one in this Boss interview. He says, "I’m very happy to say my main thing that I’ve been using is the VG-99—it’s killer.

It’s so good. I mean, it’s the best [modeling processor] anyone’s ever made, as far as I’m concerned, of the ones I’ve tried. You know, I’m standing in front of my recording desk, and I’ve got all my amps out there, and I always go through this guilt trip like, 'Oh my God, I better go and plug in an amp.' And then I end up plugging in the bloody VG-99. [Laughs.] It’s so good. You get it out through the speakers, you know, it’s great."

Police guitar tech Dennis Smith explains Andy's rig during the Police's 2007/2008 reunion tour in this article. There are, in fact, two Klon Centaurs in his list.

Another guitar pedal, which was confirmed during the Boss interview shown here. Here is the bit where they talk about the CE-1 and the CE-2.

"Back in The Police days, were there any BOSS pedals that you gravitated to?"

"Yeah. I obviously had the Roland and BOSS chorus."

"The CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, or the CE-2 compact pedal?"

"That’s the little pedal right? There was a bigger box, you know?"

"The CE-1 and CE-2 were BOSS pedals, and there was a rackmount Roland chorus called the Dimension D."

"Yeah, I had the big box for a while, because it was very good. You know, for a long time in that period, I operated [it] with my Pete Cornish board once it was all set. Obviously, as time went on, I got the BOSS pedals."

In this interview with Boss, Andy Summers confirms usage of this guitar-synth. It reads, "I remember seeing a Police video where you were playing a Roland GR-700 guitar synth."

"I don’t remember which one was which. Was that the silver one?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, I used that one. I don’t have it anymore unfortunately. I think I did some stuff with Robert Fripp with it back when we did a couple of albums together."

"I had simple tools: a Telecaster, a Fender Twin, and maybe an MXR Phase 90,"

TC Electronic's artist page for Andy Summers includes a TC Electronic Dark Matter Distortion pedal.

Andy Summers uses a Moog Moogerfooger MF-104Z on "Can't Stand Losing You," according this article by Guitar Player.

According to the Premier Guitar's interview, one of the pedals Summers is using is the Boss CE-3 chorus pedal.

According to the Premier Guitar's interview, one of the pedals Summers is using is the Catalinbread Belle Epoch.

On TC's website, the TC Electronic Vortex Flanger pedal is listed among the TC Electronic products Andy Summers uses.

TC Electronic's artist page for Andy Summers includes a TC Electronic MojoMojo Overdrive pedal.

Nowadays Andy’s been using a somewhat simpler rig. He has a Ernie Ball volume pedal, Klon Centaur overdrive, Menatone Red Snapper OD, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, couple of pedals from Red Witch including Empress Chorus and Moon Phaser, and a couple of rack effects like Eventide Eclipse Multi-Effects Processor, TC Electronics 1210 Spatial Expander and the Lexicon PCM70 Reverb.

"Summers also incorporated Marshall amps and a Roland guitar synthesizer into his rig. Of course, times have changed and so has Summers’ gear. For the ’07/’08 Police reunion tour, he used an elaborate two-piece Bob Bradshaw switching system, the right wing of which includes three Boss FV-500H Volume/Expression pedals, one used to control a rack-mounted Lexicon PCM 70 and two for an Eventide Eclipse, a Moogerfooger Analog Delay, and a Boss Loop Station and Chromatic Tuner. The left wing houses the main Bradshaw switching unit, plus another FV-500H and a Dunlop Cry Baby wah. Summers’ off-stage rack also contains his main Custom Audio OD100 amp and a Carvin DCM150 used to power stereo effects (each amp feeds two Mesa/Boogie Rectifier 2x12 speaker cabs), plus additional signal processors, including a T.C. Electronic TC1210 Spatial Expander/Stereo Chorus/Flanger, Bob Bradshaw V-Comp Tube Compressor, D-Two Multi-tap Rhythm Delay, and a slew of stomp boxes, including a Love Eternity Overdrive, Red Witch Empress Chorus and Moon Phaser, Klon Centaur, Maxon SD9…"

Andy Summers' guitar tech, Dennis Smith, discusses the gear used by Andy both in the studio and on tour, including the Maxon OD-9 Overdrive, as listed by Realrock.

Andy Summers uses a Red Witch Empress Chorus for the solo in "Can't stand losing you", according to this Guitar Player article.

In the very early days of Police, Andy was using just the MXR Phase 90 pedal, and a reverb. As he became more successful, he got himself the Pete Cornish pedalboard, which had all kinds of effects programmed into it, including Mutron Envelope filter, wah wahs, fuzz boxes and distortions like EHX Muff Fuzz and Distortion+, MXR Dyna Comp Compressor, Phase 90 and others. He also used the Roland GR-300 Guitar Synthesizer.

ACOUSTIC GUITAR MAGAZINE – JULY 2006 ISSUE Effects: Ernie Ball volume pedal; Lexicon PCM70 reverb; Eventide Eclipse multieffects processor; T.C. Electronic 1210 TC; Klon Centaur overdrive; Menatone Red Snapper overdrive…

“I had simple tools: a Telecaster, a Fender Twin, and maybe an MXR Phase 90,” Summers revealed to GP. “The next thing I got was a chorus, and that, along with the Echoplex, became very characteristic of the Police sound. I probably got up to four pedals taped to the floor before I could afford a custom Pete Cornish pedalboard with a MuTron, a couple of fuzz boxes, an envelope filter, chorus units, and phasers, all of which I’d combine with the Echoplex.”

According to the Premier Guitar's interview, one of the pedals Summers is using is the Boss VB-2 vibrato pedal.

According to the Premier Guitar's interview, one of the pedals Summers is using is the Caroline Guitar Company Meteore reverb pedal.

According to the Premier Guitar's interview, one of the pedals Summers is using is the Earthquaker Arpanoid.

According to the Premier Guitar's interview, one of the pedals Summers is using is the Eventide H9.

According to the Premier Guitar's interview, one of the pedals Summers is using is the Mad Professor Golden Cello.

In this article written by Andy Summers, he says he uses Pigtronix pedals, both the Philosopher's Tone, and the Quantum Time Modulator.

On TC's website, the TC Electronic Flashback Delay pedals is listed among the TC Electronic products Andy Summers uses.

On TC's website, the TC Electronic Hall of Fame pedal is listed among the TC Electronic products Andy Summers uses.

Lovepedal's official website Quotes an article from Guitar Player Magazine saying "'While I was geeking over Andy Summers The Police custom stage rig during my interview with him for GP’s June 2007 cover story, I noticed a stompbox I had never seen before, the Lovepedal Eternity Overdrive. 'That’s an amazing distortion pedal,”' enthused the Police’s harmonic overlord.'"