A couple of EVH questions

[Jakek5150]

1- Does anybody know anything about that Dragon/snake guitar he used back in like '79 or '80? It looks really cool and I was just wondering what the story is behind it.

2- When is the damn evhgear website going to be updated? They had the new 50watt head and the Wolfgang Customs at NAMM, but they haven't said anything since. Are they going to wait until they're about to put out the new VH album or something?

Anyways, happy Tuesday morning to you all!

*back to sipping coffee*

[Ayrton]

Do you know what NAMM stands for?

Not available, maybe May...

[Jakek5150]

Do you know what NAMM stands for?

Not available, maybe May...

haha, good one.

[IanBallard]

1- Does anybody know anything about that Dragon/snake guitar he used back in like '79 or '80? It looks really cool and I was just wondering what the story is behind it.

2- When is the damn evhgear website going to be updated? They had the new 50watt head and the Wolfgang Customs at NAMM, but they haven't said anything since. Are they going to wait until they're about to put out the new VH album or something?

Anyways, happy Tuesday morning to you all!

*back to sipping coffee*

Have you seen the official VH site? "HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM VAN HALEN
Los Angeles, CA -- December 29, 2009" is the newest update. I mean, as much as I love those guys, the cryptic secretiveness and lack of being in the public eye, might explain why they've been eliminated from every Karaoke book I've thumbed through.

That Dragon guitar was a "J-Frog" custom from what I understand. He was the guy who modded Ed's Kramer neck to make the "hockey stick" design and also made the skull and crossbones guitar for George Lynch. I think he just used it for a photo shoot. I'm pretty sure it was never on a record.

As far as EVH Gear, stuff won't be released until all the i's or dotted and t's crossed. The 50w head looks REALLY interesting to me but it might have to wait until the prototype is finished being beaten up by Ed recording the new album.

[Jakek5150]

Have you seen the official VH site? "HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM VAN HALEN
Los Angeles, CA -- December 29, 2009" is the newest update. I mean, as much as I love those guys, the cryptic secretiveness and lack of being in the public eye, might explain why they've been eliminated from every Karaoke book I've thumbed through.

That Dragon guitar was a "J-Frog" custom from what I understand. He was the guy who modded Ed's Kramer neck to make the "hockey stick" design and also made the skull and crossbones guitar for George Lynch. I think he just used it for a photo shoot. I'm pretty sure it was never on a record.

As far as EVH Gear, stuff won't be released until all the i's or dotted and t's crossed. The 50w head looks REALLY interesting to me but it might have to wait until the prototype is finished being beaten up by Ed recording the new album.

Oh, I know. They're terrible with interacting with the fans. They could at least have a more expansive website with Did You Know? type of facts, trivia, history, photos.

That does sound pretty understandable. That skull and crossbones guitar is awesome too. If you go on youtube and look them up live in 1979, there's footage of Ed playing alot of the concert with that guitar, including Eruption. Although I think he said he did away with it because it just wasn't getting the tone he wanted.

The 50w head is what I'm really GAS'ing for too. I heard it was supposed to be like $850, which is practically a steal for a tone like that.

[IanBallard]

Oh, I know. They're terrible with interacting with the fans. They could at least have a more expansive website with Did You Know? type of facts, trivia, history, photos.

That does sound pretty understandable. That skull and crossbones guitar is awesome too. If you go on youtube and look them up live in 1979, there's footage of Ed playing alot of the concert with that guitar, including Eruption. Although I think he said he did away with it because it just wasn't getting the tone he wanted.

The 50w head is what I'm really GAS'ing for too. I heard it was supposed to be like $850, which is practically a steal for a tone like that.

Yeah, compare them with "Chickenfoot". Sammy and Co. are all over it with "Yeah we just finished most of the songs...blah, blah". We can't even get an official confirmation that Van Halen are even recording an album and it took a leak from the producer's Twitter to get the info. But you have to understand, Eddie (in particular) is extremely leery of the media and their spin on things he says (or didn't say), as well as being utterly jaded by the music critics and a good portion of "fans" who are a bunch of Uncle Ricos stuck in 1982.



"Back in '82, that's when rock was ROCK... back when Diamond Dave was in Van Halen..."

[Jakek5150]

Yeah, compare them with "Chickenfoot". Sammy and Co. are all over it with "Yeah we just finished most of the songs...blah, blah". We can't even get an official confirmation that Van Halen are even recording an album and it took a leak from the producer's Twitter to get the info. But you have to understand, Eddie (in particular) is extremely leery of the media and their spin on things he says (or didn't say), as well as being utterly jaded by the music critics and a good portion of "fans" who are a bunch of Uncle Ricos stuck in 1982.

Yup. Again I agree. I love Chickenfoot. They interact with fans, make great music, and just have fun. People call them cheesy or unoriginal, but yet they'll complain that there's no more good music. Having not grown up on VH in their prime, I think that because I first discovered VH by hearing a Sammy-era song on my dad's MP3, I simply developed the ability to appreciate all of Eddie's tones, his use of keyboards, etc. I also agree about him being cautious about any sort of publicity cause even when he doesn't say anything, but someone else does, but when those rumors never come into fruition, people start blaming Eddie when he didn't say anything. Just look at when they reunited with Dave in '96 on MTV. He tried taking it slow, but everyone got so hyped that they wouldn't accept anything other than a full-on reunion with Dave, so Eddie got screwed with VH3 (which still wasn't overly great). Then again in 2001 when they supposedly did some new songs, but they weren't able take it further, people start blaming Ed even though he hadn't mentioned anything to the public. It does suck that while there are fans like you and me that can adapt to Eddie's changes in tone and songwriting, there are so many others that still expect Dave to have long blonde hair and jumping off the drum riser doing a mid-air split.

[IanBallard]

Yup. Again I agree. I love Chickenfoot. They interact with fans, make great music, and just have fun. People call them cheesy or unoriginal, but yet they'll complain that there's no more good music. Having not grown up on VH in their prime, I think that because I first discovered VH by hearing a Sammy-era song on my dad's MP3, I simply developed the ability to appreciate all of Eddie's tones, his use of keyboards, etc. I also agree about him being cautious about any sort of publicity cause even when he doesn't say anything, but someone else does, but when those rumors never come into fruition, people start blaming Eddie when he didn't say anything. Just look at when they reunited with Dave in '96 on MTV. He tried taking it slow, but everyone got so hyped that they wouldn't accept anything other than a full-on reunion with Dave, so Eddie got screwed with VH3 (which still wasn't overly great). Then again in 2001 when they supposedly did some new songs, but they weren't able take it further, people start blaming Ed even though he hadn't mentioned anything to the public. It does suck that while there are fans like you and me that can adapt to Eddie's changes in tone and songwriting, there are so many others that still expect Dave to have long blonde hair and jumping off the drum riser doing a mid-air split.

All I have to say to those who detract from Van Hagar, is to consider the OTHER music on the radio at the time. Aside from underground punk/grunge and heavy metal (not hair metal), it was horrible crap compared.

As far as the gear goes, some things may surface like the 50w head and others like the Wolfgang "Les Paul" may not. It depends on what they think will sell. Since they used Ed's 1960 LP as a spec for the prototype set-neck Wolfie, it wouldn't surprise me if Gibson tried to sue them, like they did with Ed's "Drop to Hell" tail piece that was basically a transposing unit like the Steinberger TransTrem (owned by Gibson).

[AudioWonderland]

As far as the gear goes, some things may surface like the 50w head and others like the Wolfgang "Les Paul" may not. It depends on what they think will sell. Since they used Ed's 1960 LP as a spec for the prototype set-neck Wolfie, it wouldn't surprise me if Gibson tried to sue them, like they did with Ed's "Drop to Hell" tail piece that was basically a transposing unit like the Steinberger TransTrem (owned by Gibson).

Unlikely since the guitar looks like a Wolfgang and not a Les Paul

[IanBallard]

Unlikely since the guitar looks like a Wolfgang and not a Les Paul

Well, the D2H tailpiece looked nothing like the TransTrem, nor was a "tremolo" but evidently enough design and purpose similarity was there to take it off the market. Either that, or Ed just decided to bag it. Gibson probably won't sue because EVH/Fender will make a Les Paul better than they do (haha!), but it's still a debate whether we need another such guitar and if the market really is going to clamber over another $4000 piece of wood and metal.