Category: Edward Van Halen
Here’s the last of the interesting stuff from the newly published transcript of the entire 1978 interview of Edward Van Halen that Jas Obrecht did for Guitar Player mag. Wish there was a lot more! Guitar Stuff The Shark/Destroyer Jas: Does it have a standard neck? EVH: Yeah. It’s completely stock, really, except for the […]
Here we go, more from the newly published transcript of the entire 1978 interview of Edward Van Halen that Jas Obrecht did for Guitar Player mag. Cool stuff. Effects Jas: What about effects? EVH: I use two Echoplexes. I use a flanger just for little subtle touches. I don’t use it for any intros or […]
Wooooooo-hooooooooo! Stoked! The earliest interview we have of Edward Van Halen is the one Jas Obrecht did that ran in the July (and then November) 1978 issue of Guitar Player magazine. But we weren’t reading everything Jas had on tape because just like with any print interview, what’s published is cropped way down. At the […]
I have an early ’80s MXR 6-band EQ (pictured). Can’t remember exactly why I bought it (new), but had to be because of Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads, my two guit-wielding idols at the time. Even though Ed used the 6-band and Randy used the 10-band, Randy may have been more of an influence […]
In a 1978 interview for Guitar Player magazine, this guitar-slinger said the following: > He created his own guitar by mixing and matching parts from Fender instruments. > Part of the creation was chiseling out a spot so he could put a humbucker in the guitar. > The pickups were directly mounted to the wood.
Seems from photos that EVH did not change the stock Destroyer pickups until sometime after he chainsawed the guitar. Since Ed constantly messed with just about everything, this is very odd. So what does it tell us? He liked the stock Super 70 pickups. Why? Probably because they were (or sounded like) a higher-output pickup. […]
The most recent issue of Guitar World mag included the pic at left, one of several images recently unearthed of the 1977 Van Halen. Props to GW for devoting some space to it, but the accompanying text doesn’t accurately reflect Ed’s Ibanez Destroyer, later to be known as the Shark. So here’s what “we” – […]
Nice weather here in Jersey, finally, feels like Friday, like I should be typing this with a beer next to me. It’s all putting me in the mood for Van Halen’s sunny SoCal music. So while I let ‘er rip on the stereo computer, here’s some fun EVH stuff for ya. And of course, while fun, […]
The documentary “Cry Baby: The Pedal that Rocks the World” was released a few months back. Did you hear about it? Since I’m not a frequent Cry Baby (or any wah or pedal) user, I didn’t feel compelled to track it down for a look-see. But then I saw recently that the entire movie – […]
Variac (!), Kept it Simple Do you remember reading Eddie Van Halen’s comments about Randy Rhoads “ripping him off?” I believe those comments were made and published after Randy’s death – though after listening to the transcript of that tape (on the web somewhere) it sounds like Ed didn’t know his comments would be used […]
(One reason, anyway….) Studying Edward Van Halen, even just the stuff on the first six records, to me is like studying the universe or reading the Bible or whatever your best analogy is: The more you delve into, read, etc., the more you get out of it and you never know it all. Lately I’ve […]
You may have heard the story about how Dave Davies slashed, or allegedly slashed, the speaker cone of his amp to get a buzzier, raspier tone in the Kinks tune “You Really Got Me.” Well, he did – but I challenge you to actually hear it. First, here’s the story (from here, an interview with […]
We all “know” what Edward Van Halen used on the first six records, right? Frankie (mostly), a variety of bridge-position humbuckers, mostly MXR effects plus a few others here and there, his magical 100w Super Lead with Sylvania 6CA7s, 4×12 cabs with Greenbacks (mostly), a Variac. That’s the base tone for sure. But as much […]
(Part 2 of 2) From Tuesday’s post you see that Al Di Meola and Ace Frehley were big-time DiMarzio Super Distortion (DSD) users. Who else was in that club? Here’s a partial list, in no particular order: Tom Scholz (still uses) Paul Stanley (used Dual Sound, a coil-tapped DSD) Edward Van Halen (early, modified – […]
Full Circle Maybe? Plus the 50w 5150 III – Amp Settings? Don’t know if you’ve seen the few vids from the EVH booth at the recent NAMM trade show, but if not, most interesting for me was the new EVH Wolfgang Custom – basically a Les Paul in EVH clothing. Or maybe an EVH-ized Les […]
Fair Warning Tone Ain’t All the Same
Got it in my head to figure out which Van Halen song tones – not album tones – I liked the most. Started with Fair Warning, whose balls I just can’t get enough of…which doesn’t sound so good but you get what I mean. Listen to it cranked in my car because that’s the only […]
Pondering VH’s Fair Warning Tone
LOVE the first four Van Halen albums. Always have, always will. Love the rest too, including the Van Hagar years (oops, forgot about VH III…), but those first four vinyl donuts are to me and many others just the nads. The nadliest of nads. They’re a band kicking the world’s butt in every way, and […]
Recently I was ruined yet again by a good amp. This time a bud’s Bogner Shiva, EL34 version. Let’s call him Sean – because that’s his name…. He’d been talking about how awesome it was for a while, and even though I know he has good ears, wasn’t too motivated to go try it. I’d […]
The Gene-EVH-Ace-Joe Perry Connection
Have you picked up “Guitar World Presents 40 Years of Van Halen” yet? Zactly – I didn’t even know it existed until I saw it in a bookstore (remember those? lol). Anyhow, I’m always amazed at how I think I’ve memorized every word ever written about Ed and his gear and then I read something […]
More On the YMI5150 Model-A Guitar
Few weeks ago I posted a brief “review” (outdated word) of Kevin Holbrook’s YMI5150 Model-A guitar. As a brief reminder, what got my attention were the following things: > A good wood combo: swamp ash, maple/rosewood. > An interesting and unique combo of components resulting in a Strat-shaped and -scaled guitar with an ABR bridge […]
Did You Read the Esquire EVH Piece Yet?
We’re going to have to wait yet another week for the interview with Kevin Holbrook of YMI5150 guitars because we have yet another newsworthy event. This time it’s the recent Esquire interview with Edward Van Halen. Now before you EVH fans get to getting your hopes up, let’s bear in mind the same ol’s: 1. […]
Show ‘Review’: Van Halen at the Garden
Took my 10-year-old son to see Van Halen at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 1. I think he was more excited to see them than I was – not that I wasn’t, but this was the mighty Van Halen whose tunes the both of us have copped, jammed to and listened […]
