People forget two things when chasing the early Van Halen tone.

[Barron1]

Many people are after the early Van Halen tone. So they get on a never ending quest of buying different pickups to get it. There are some aftermarket pickups out there that get close. But people forget two little things when they install it:

1) Angle the humbucker like Van Halen did. I know some people say it really doesn't matter how the strings are lined up. I disagree. How the poles line up or don't line up with the strings does make a difference, not a huge difference. BUT my ears do detect a slight difference. Find a photo of how his strings and poles line up and copy it.

2) No tone pots. Having no tone pots does sound different from when you load the pickup with a tone pot. Without tone pots the pickup sounds louder and brighter. Early VH connected his pickups to one volume knob. That's it. Disconnect those TONE pots or throw them away.


These are just two little tweaks that will get you closer the that early Van Halen tone.

[Ed Hunter]

Many people are after the early Van Halen tone. So they get on a never ending quest of buying different pickups to get it. There are some aftermarket pickups out there that get close. But people forget two little things when they install it:

1) Angle the humbucker like Van Halen did. I know some people say it really doesn't matter how the strings are lined up. I disagree. How the poles line up or don't line up with the strings does make a difference, not a huge difference. BUT my ears do detect a slight difference. Find a photo of how his strings and poles line up and copy it.

2) No tone pots. Having no tone pots does sound different from when you load the pickup with a tone pot. Without tone pots the pickup sounds louder and brighter. Early VH connected his pickups to one volume knob. That's it. Disconnect those TONE pots or throw them away.


These are just two little tweaks that will get you closer the that early Van Halen tone.

I agree and want to add that you dont have to spend a fortune to get a satisfactory EVH tone here is a guy who is using a $300 guitar loaded with a $120 EVH pickup and a $99 marshall and it sounds pretty damn EVH for that little bit of money IMHO,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InBuSE_LFOw

[Jessie's ghost]

Do they make a bigger difference than the relic marks on the quarter?

I agree and want to add that you dont have to spend a fortune to get a satisfactory EVH tone here is a guy who is using a $300 guitar loaded with a $120 EVH pickup and a $99 marshall and it sounds pretty damn EVH for that little bit of money IMHO,

[Ed Hunter]

Do they make a bigger difference than the relic marks on the quarter?

no that 1971 quarter is the real secret

[Despair]

Which EVH tone? The whammy lead one, or the rest of the time? Two different guitars on VH1&2.

[Jessie's ghost]

Which EVH tone? The whammy lead one, or the rest of the time? Two different guitars on VH1&2.

Either way, to paraphrase some magazine I read years ago, dude had the most massive tone that's ever rocked this Earth.

[IanBallard]

Which EVH tone? The whammy lead one, or the rest of the time? Two different guitars on VH1&2.

I think he only used the Shark for "You Really Got Me", "Runnin'..." and maybe some backing rhythm tracks on a few others on the first record. As far as I can tell, it was mostly the Frankie. The pickups, however, are a different story. I would bet anything that he was using something hotter and ceramic on the first record. The bass is tighter and the tone is "harder", whereas the 2nd record, the tone is more spread out, softer and "PAFish".

My take is that the amp was the key and the guitar and pickups were a secondary concern. The use of a 10-band EQ and good studio compressor was also important.

[Edgecrusher]

My take is that the amp was the key and the guitar and pickups were a secondary concern. The use of a 10-band EQ and good studio compressor was also important.

I agree completely with this here.

Another way you could look at it is with a good Marshall and a killer set of hands you can make any piece of junk guitar sound good.

I think if people could actually sit down and play the frankie they would find that it isnt oozing with some magical tone but was rather a tool for a very talented set of hands.

[Despair]

I think he only used the Shark for "You Really Got Me", "Runnin'..." and maybe some backing rhythm tracks on a few others on the first record. As far as I can tell, it was mostly the Frankie. The pickups, however, are a different story. I would bet anything that he was using something hotter and ceramic on the first record. The bass is tighter and the tone is "harder", whereas the 2nd record, the tone is more spread out, softer and "PAFish".

My take is that the amp was the key and the guitar and pickups were a secondary concern. The use of a 10-band EQ and good studio compressor was also important.

Hadn't been sharked yet, back then. He's stated in multiple interviews that he used the Ibanez Destroyer everywhere on the 1st album except where he was doing dives. The bass is indeed tighter with the Destroyer.

Also, on the harsher tone on first, he's said he's frustrated with the bright post-EQ on it, which made it far harsher than he wanted, and that VH II is what it sounded like without that.

And absolutely agree the amp and EQ were more important than the pickups. Lowered amp voltage really changes the way an amp behaves. Also lets you get away with beat up old speakers without blowing them as often.

[Barron1]

Which EVH tone? The whammy lead one, or the rest of the time? Two different guitars on VH1&2.

Most people chase the VH1 tone. And I'm not talking about the Ibanez

[AudioWonderland]

Most people chase the VH1 tone. And I'm not talking about the Ibanez

Its on VH1 as well.

[philthis]

Do they make a bigger difference than the relic marks on the quarter?

hey this sounds about right. besides all that remember the celestian greenback speakers have a big say in his tone as well. no matter what the amp he uses he seems to never budge on his love for that speaker and I recognize its tone on all his early stuff.

[Aceman]

#1 That they are NOT Eddie Van Halen

#2 Number one.

[Ed Hunter]

#1 That they are NOT Eddie Van Halen

#2 Number one.

this guy is not eddie van halen
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...howPlayer=true

[IanBallard]

this guy is not eddie van halen
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...howPlayer=true

That's pretty sweet. Curt Mitchell gets a pretty good EVH tone too.

[Aceman]

this guy is not eddie van halen
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...howPlayer=true

He's OK, but he is no VHolic....

[jimo]

Love this:

"It keeps you fit - the alcohol, nasty women, sweat on stage, bad food - it's all very good for you." -Bon Scott

Yeah, well, apparently not........

[aleclee]

Also, what we hear on the album is not necessarily what they heard in the room. Donn Landee did a fair bit with it after the sound waves hit the mic.

[Ed Hunter]

Also, what we hear on the album is not necessarily what they heard in the room. Donn Landee did a fair bit with it after the sound waves hit the mic.

This is the "raw" VH tone from VH I when he played the B/W strat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K0LAE-Fel8

as you can hear for yourself it is a kind of buzzy
and here is the raw track when he played the ibanez shark destroyer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3E_m7IhSfY

[IanBallard]

This is the "raw" VH tone from VH I when he played the B/W strat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K0LAE-Fel8

as you can hear for yourself it is a kind of buzzy

His old tone was like a Taoist paradox: Smooth yet rough... bright yet dark...

I think the cool thing about this whole interest in his tone, helps prove the point that expensive gear is not necessary to get awesome rock and blues tones. You have to know what you want and make the gear you can afford get as close as possible. It also helps to have Ted Templeman and Donn Landee.

However, I'll say that his BEST tones in my opinion were from his EBMM guitar through an SLO-100. Not cheap gear by any stretch. But I also think his playing was peaking in the late 80's, early 90's.