Okay, this was stuff I had looked up before but had forgotten.
It looks as if there are a few key elements which we shall never know for certain regarding what Guitars were played on VH-1( Van Halen1) .One bone of contention is concerning the body wood of the Tremolo equipped Strat style body guitar used. Some contend it's Alder from the same vintage Strat he played at the Whiskey A-go go previously ) and others claim it was a 'Boogie Bodies" Ellsworth(now Warmoth) Hard Ash Start that became the first black and white "Frankie". Some say that the Ibanez destroyer was Japanese 'Ash" ( Senn) while some contend Ibanez did actually make a Korina body.
Other disputed factors are the pickups used, which involve claims of a PAF style Mitey Mite( one of the newest most popular thoeries) on the Strat while others claim Van Halen used a stock PAF from the 335 rewound by Seymour Duncan.
As far as the Destroyer, many think the pickups were the stock Super 70's.
These are just a few of the most popular ideas as to what Van Halen actually did use to record VH-1, not to mention the investigations into his amp set up, which seem to be more grounded in fact.
Some people think Edward Van Halen is secretive, others claim he doesnt really remeber alot of stuff correctly.
These are things we'll probably never really know for certain.
Am I about right ?

Yes, as long as Eddie doesn't come 1,000,000,000,000% clean on what was going on with his equipment, we'll never know for sure. Many people seem to get close with PAF style pickups and Ash bodies though.

People seem to forget that this tone quest is a very independent venture. It's "To Each His Own" in every sense of the phrase.

Even if Ed told the whole truth, at this point a lot of people would doubt him anyway.

Preach on brother! can I get an AMEN?

Looking back at everything Ed said, he didnt lie about anything really. Its just the way he speaks and it gets misunderstood. My favourite was the variac comment. "I turn it up to 140 and watch the tubes melt". He didn't say that is what he does to play, thats just what happens when you do. People totally see this as lying. The fact some people are dumbass's, doesn't mean Ed is lying. Its quite funny actually.

There were many times when he is either misquoted, or just misunderstood, but there were a few untruths as well. At the very least, he said his Marshall was modded by Jose, when later it is said to be stock.

I'm willing to bet many of those interviews were over the phone, before/after shows. Since it seems like the band was working hard, recording and then touring for months on end, Eddie was probably wiped and didn't know what town he was in, let alone have the clarity to speak fluently about his gear. There was an interview posted here where this was exactly the case.

It's because of these factors that EVH comes off as a liar about his gear. Combine that with the modern day sales pitches (read: half truths) and you've got one confusing ball of info. Without further insight, it becomes hard to know what to take as true and what is pure BS. It's easy to assume that because of a few half truths back in the day, that we can't take anything he says as gospel. However, there are definitely instances where that approach falls apart.

So really, it's up to the aspiring tone chaser to decide what they think is correct.
And to not forget the importance of the hands

The hands........ I TOTALLY agree ! All the 'info' coming from the whole neurological/mental blah blah blah, ENDS at ones hands when playing a guitar, so that is where its at.

Having said that, I can tell a distinct difference when using different guitar body woods. For me, hard ash nails early Ed, as comared to other woods (Basswood is the FURTHEST from early Ed, maple top or not). Alder sounds good with single coils, but a little 'Neanderthalish' with hb'ers. On the other hand, ash sounds thin and sorta bright when using a bridge single coil, though great in the 2-3-4 and five positions.

I think the Destroyer was indeed Jap Sen wood, which is a brighter, hard wood.

I always thought the same thing, the variac at 140 is a perfect example.

Come on guy's, in the reference that Ed used that in, it came off as a blatent lie. Thats like when Slick Willie Clinton pointed his finger toward the onlooking crowd of press and spectators and said "I did not have sexual relations with that woman". He could have been pointing at anyone, but he still told a damn lie !


I think that Ed just likes to be secretive about certain things, like anybody else. A little annonimity. He just gets put on the spot and tells a a lie or 12 !

I think this is naive. Ed was the king of mis and disinformation, like Billy Gibbons. He won his tone secrets through hard work, and he wasn't tellin'. Can't blame him.

Sincerely,
- a dumbass

+1

Guitar Player (April 1980)


How do you modify your amps?

EVH: Okay, I use a combination of two different kinds of amps. They’re both Marshalls, but one kind actually has less power than the other, which is boosted. I use them together(slaving ). The ones that have less power have a giant capacitor in conjunction with the fuse; if anything happens, the fuse blows first. The capacitor has something to do with the computerized ignition system of a car. I can’t give you the exact specs, but it looks like a stick of dynamite, only fatter. What it does is suck juice. I hook it up to the fuse holder and the mains, and it lowers the voltage about ten volts so the amp lasts a little bit longer. It doesn’t really change the sound, but whatever I use, I use to the max. I just turn it all the way up. So this capacitor lowers the voltage and the amp lasts a little longer. I still have to retube them once a week. (Editor’s Note: This is not a recommended procedure for modifying amps and should not be attempted by anyone inexperienced in the field of electronics and amp modification.)



GP: What is done to the other kind of amps?

EVH: I use a Variac, which is like a dimmer on a lighting system. It’s an autotransformer which goes all the way from 0 to 160. In the studio I crank it up to 140 and watch the tubes melt! (Editor’s Note: Again, this is not a recommended procedure for modifying amps, as Paul Rivera of Rivera Research and Development points out: “You can cause severe damage to the amp besides melting tubes. Since a Variac is an exposed transformer, by hooking it up incorrectly you could get the hot of the AC line on the chassis of the amp and electrocute yourself. Anyone wishing to attempt this sort of modification should go to a knowledgeable repairman.”)

GP: Do you lose many amps during your shows?

EVH: Yeah, but I have so many of them. I have like 12 to 15 100-watt Marshalls onstage in pairs of four, hooked up together. Then I have three switches where if the first stack blows, I can switch in the next one. That’s about it for live. I have such a big setup: 80 12” speakers for my last setup, which was the equal of 20 Marshall cabinets. The next one will be World War III. But it’s not for over-blitzed noise.


GP: Is it to refine the sound?

EVH: It’s to make a good tone even louder. Some people get a sound like an amplified AM radio. I like it to be like a nice home stereo amplified -- you now, the difference between tone and no tone. I have some other tricky stuff in my amps which I don’t even want to talk about because if someone reads it in the magazine they are going to hit up Jose, an old guy from Argentina who knows a lot of tricks and does stuff for me. He doesn’t want people to know who he is because he’s getting mobbed. He also puts little things inside my MXR stuff, like permanent gain controls that boost when I kick them on. I don’t even know what they’re called. They reduce noise and boost the signals.

Van halen 5150 says "He also puts little things inside my MXR stuff, like permanent gain controls that boost when I kick them on. I don’t even know what they’re called. They reduce noise and boost the signals."

That's a great example of what you were saying. To the layman it's say what? permenet gain controls dah...he must be lieing....things that reduce noise and boost signals..dahh Ed must be lieing.

Thing is he isn't and he is describing stuff in non technical terms. Technically he is describing a buffer. So his mxr stuff has been modded by jose too.....and it sounds like more than 1 of his mxr boxs are modded....I can't believe he actually came out so early and admitted to using "mxr stuff"....things some have discovered 30 years after the fact.

The big lies are "I just plug straight into my stock amp"...." hendrix used too many effects".... facts are Ed doesn't plug straight into his stock amp only and Ed used and uses way more effects than Hendrix ever did. Ed sure sent a generation barking up the wrong tree that's for sure making them think it was just a guitar going into an amp period. I agree with his approach tho...just like billy, jimi, ritchie, angus etc...you keep your tone magic secret or they will rip you off blind...they being aspiring guitar giants like Randy rhoads, that was actually accused by Ed for robbing his tone. The fact of the matter is Ritchie blackmore was right all guitarists steal and copy licks, gear you name it in their tone quests for their unique styles. When they get there the last thing they want is someone copying them, despite imitation being the highest form of flattery, guitarists with THE tone hate it, when someone steals their licks and gear.

I too find it comical when you here things like Billy saying ..all I use is a rangemaster...or Eddy saying I just plug straight into my marshall...or Jimi " what gimmicks"?....or ritchie what tape recorder...I don't see a tape deck ,,do you?..or angus and his stock jtm45 that has no low end and lots of gain...power slave? or power amp slaved?

Well here is what i was told by Rudy Leiren his long time tech. This was just last week. His setup was flanger phaser echoplex amp. His main 100 watt was used on everything. The bias was turned all the way up and the variac was set to 91v. into only 1 cab. There is a pic of the early days with a 50 watt and a vox. He told me the 50 was a back up to the 100 and the vox was a last ditch back up. He often borrowed amps for his back ups. In fact he told me a story that at a party they were playing ed blew a fuse in his main amp and did not have a backup and had to rum home to get a fuse while the band was playing. After this he always made sure he had a backup. Now Rudy said the eq pedal was used only for certain guitars or sometimes when he used rental gear that sounded bad. Also the univox echo was patched in by hand for eruption only and then was taken out of the chain after. Later there was another cab on Mike side that was driven from another amp they used a splitter to do this. As time went on more cabs where used and so where more amps. The amps would only drive on cab though. Now he did say ed was always trying shit but would always come back to this set up. This info follows everything ed has ever said to me personally. Also when 84 hit he changed his set up to H&H power amps and some different effects etc. He still used a cab off the head though no load resister. The Load resister came for the 5150 tour.

Here is the interveiw, for those that have not read it. Some of the things Ed says sound pretty wacky. Is that really what Ed was trying to get across, or did the interveiwer do some bad editing or misunderstand. When Ed describes the original Franky, the editing is obviously mixed up.

GP: Is this where you got the wood for your first homemade guitar?

EVH: Yeah, this very first one was the black-and-white striped one on the first album. I went to Charvel and had them rout a body out for just one pickup and one volume knob . I had to cut my own pickguard to cover everything up because it was originally a three-pickup Strat body . I used the vibrato tailpiece from a '58 Strat for that guitar. I also had Charvel make me a really wide neck. I hate skinny necks. I like it bare wood because I hate to slip and slide when I start stretching strings. Now at the same time, I built what I call my shark guitar, which is actually one of the first Ibanez Destroyers [shaped like Gibson Explorer] made out of Korina wood. I made the mistake of taking a chainsaw to it and putting a bunch of weird stuff on it.



Tough to say unless you heard Ed say it himself.
If Dave F. heard it from Ed, I'll take that.

http://www.vhlinks.com/pages/interviews/evh/gp0480.php