EVH tone

[LPMarshall hack]

Just a regular guy

Just curious...what 900 did you use?

 

[Jonathan Wilder]

I "resurrect" this old thread to share a thought I had yesterday.
A local Rock radio broadcast "runnin' with the devil" while I was coming back home, and I noticed the following.
First I thought it was my car audio system which was either broken or poor quality (hey it's a car radio) or teh broadcast was nto good enough, but going home I checked. I noticed that on the first Van Halen album, the rhythm guitar is almost completely panned on the left. On teh right, there are vocals and solos when present.

I'll do experiments in my DAW, but my sensation is that this influences the sound a lot. By leaving a small part (let's say 10%) on the right channel, an unique phasing effect is created, therefore giving the sound that very particular trebly edge.
Expert audio engineers know that just by changing the stereo image, the sound changes radically.

Let's hear yours.

So does this mean you have to position your amp on one side of the room/stage to get EVH's tone?

 

[wkcchampion]

So does this mean you have to position your amp on one side of the room/stage to get EVH's tone?

I dididn't exepct such a lame answer by you

No, of course it means to mix almost every track of the rhythm guitar on one channel, leaving just a little on the other. It MAY be a contributing factor. I'll do experiments, it's interesting.

 

[rjohns1]

His tone on the album is not a good representation of how his amp sounded. I have several quality bootlegs from 77-78, and his tone is more mellow than the album on those. It sounds just like a plexi turned up. A lot of that album's tone was the magic of Don Landee with some eq's, plate reverb, and several mikes in the room. Edwards tone is overly bright on the album, and he has said in interviews that it was too bright for him, he likes it darker. It' s amazing, the guy who made that famous sound doesn't even like it, yet all of us chase it.

 

[rjohns1]

The sound on the right channel is a room mic, approximately 10-20 feet away from the amp, with a plate reverb on it. At least that was what Don Landee said it was in some old article I read. but yeah, the sound is made to sound huge with that trick, and it definitely changes it.

 

[wkcchampion]

The sound on the right channel is a room mic, approximately 10-20 feet away from the amp, with a plate reverb on it. At least that was what Don Landee said it was in some old article I read. but yeah, the sound is made to sound huge with that trick, and it definitely changes it.

Yup there was something I was thinking about. Actually, Landee has the merit for the sound, not Eddie. Eddie is in fact too stupid and knows NOTHING of electronics... see what mess he did to his guitar

I also have to say that I don't like that sound at all, he's too cutting, too dirty and confused. But it's interesting too see how those genius engineers create sounds that make history like this.

Apart from the supposingly Variac'd Plexi, what cabinet did he use? And what mikes? A question that will probably never have the true answer....

I think that Eddie used a standard (nno Variac'd) Plexi live, as high voltage from the Variac may lead the amp to blow in any instant and obviously an amp may run for hours live...

And finally: was the Variac used to run the Plexi at higher or lower voltage? Iv'e read both in different articles. I think that "low" is the answer, starving the tubes delivers more gain... or not? I'll never try it of course....

 

[core]

Don't know how much you want to spend but David Bray does amazing amp mods and nails early VH sound. Check out all his clips.

David Bray Amps

 

[ant_riv]

wkchampion, Variacs are a very touchy topic with some people.

re: Use of the Variac. I don't know how Eddie used his Variac, as he has been known to "exaggerate" the truth - liberally sometimes - as to his gear. He used to say he boosted the Variac above 120v. This will make your amp run hotter, and probably with more gain until it catches fire or something worse. If you are lucky, you will just fry your OT and ....

I used a Variac with a 2203 and 2204 plugged into the same one at the same time for about four straight years in the early '80s. I reduced the voltage to just above where the on/off lights would stop working. (The amp would still work when there was not enough voltage to light the lamps.) I had as much crunch as those amps would put out, at manageable volume levels. Also, reduced power tube consumption!

I suspect that if Eddie used a Variac with his amp, this would have been how.

Maybe Jon will chime in on this topic.

 

[drolaw]

Check out this guy.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Guitarwannabee#p/u/18/ixQpOyl35VY

 

[sahlomonic]

Absolutely! That guy has the 2nd best convincing EVH tone with a 5150. Top dog in my opinion goes to vhoholic:

VHoholic

You can grab a 5150 combo for $400 if you're patient enough and scour Craigslist. Bought my 5150 head for $375, bought a XXX for $350, a Carvin Legacy for $250, and my 2203 for $250, all within the last 2 years. No bullshit. Be patient and always keep an eye out for deals.




Also . . . a DSL can get very close as well. If you want the ultimate budget brown sound, go buy . . . .



. . . a Crate GFX212. Seriously. Check out JFRocks.com and report back. He does all of his "Vin Heutin" lessons with a solid state Crate amp and it nails it. Convinced me to buy one years before I got my 5150.

 

[ken361]

here's mine, not perfect but you get the picture. JVM and the evh humbucker.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDf85k9-dCc[/ame]

 

[zslane]

+1 on the EVH humbucker.

I put one in my Warmoth Frankenstrat build and it is simply amazing. Especially for capturing the tone and texture of the brown sound. Plug this baby into any Marshall with vintage-y voiced circuitry (like my 6100) and you are there!

 

[Jonathan Wilder]

Variacs are a very touchy topic with some people.

Maybe Jon will chime in on this topic.

 

[ken361]

+1 on the EVH humbucker.

I put one in my Warmoth Frankenstrat build and it is simply amazing. Especially for capturing the tone and texture of the brown sound. Plug this baby into any Marshall with vintage-y voiced circuitry (like my 6100) and you are there!

nice axe!

 

[rjohns1]

I believe that the variac was used to keep the amp from blowing up the amp when it had the cerrem mod. I read that somewhere, but can't confirm this. It would kind of make sense, but again, this is heresay, I can't verify this. As for the cabs, In one of my guitar world magazines, they said the cab from VH1 had old JBL drivers in it. Also, the tolex was stripped off of the cabs.

 

[watchtheskies]

remember White Lion?

I think Vito Bratta must have been a huge EVH fan, even looks a bit like him from a distance

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV_sJlvs0j8[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atwUCIuNWjc[/ame]

 

[ken361]

always thought he had vh influence, lot of great bands in the 80's except the new wave crap lol. there not much magic out there in todays music.

 

[steelhorse]

Don't know how much you want to spend but David Bray does amazing amp mods and nails early VH sound. Check out all his clips.

David Bray Amps

+1

 

[indeedido]

.

 

[indeedido]

If you want to hear Ed's guitar isolated on VH I, check it

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdflys0LqFs[/ame]