EVH Gear

[BrianMorrison71]

BS, he switched to Soldano on 5150...

[Alchaeon1]

...all the great guitarist give the same advice to young upcoming guitarists

FIND YOUR OWN UNIQUE NATURAL TONE

And youre not going to find it living in the past or mimicking other artists

[Sean2592]

I'm very curious as to know what kind of tubes were in this at the time, a lot of the re-issues have so many different tube setups, it's hard to tell.

[henryshomebrew]

some people call it Ab... he calls it "his A" good stuff

[Neylus]

what amp is the guy using in the video, the JMP or the 1959? and any pedals? 

[Sean2592]

@Neylus he explains it all but It's a 1967 Marshall plexi super lead re-issue and in the cabinet is a standard Marshall 4x12 with vintage 30's , doesn't specify on what reverb, a gibson echoplex a univox for a delay. doesn't specify on the pickup, It's basically like everything Ed used on the first album

[guitarsandampsguy]

@Sean2592 You're way off on everything. That amp is owned by Curt and it's an ORIGINAL 1969 100 watt Plexi Super Lead head with EL34 power tubes modified by Todd Langner. The cab uses 4 ORIGINAL Celestion G12M 25watt Greenbacks. The guitar is a Warmoth Alder Strat body, 25-1/2" Maple neck / Rosewood fretboard, Floyd Rose bridge, with a Seymour Duncan JB pickup in the bridge and one single coil in the middle position only. The Maestro Echoplex units like EVH used were tube driven tape delays.

[Sean2592]

@guitarsandampsguy i'm sorry i can only go off of what the guy says in the video. How you know this i don't know. I just went by what i head on the video

[guitarsandampsguy]

@Sean2592 You must be watching an entirely different video! Since you can't hear, go to his website and read. He has a "Gear" page that gives a brief description. But if you want the details, go to the link "Blab". That directs you to the forum on his website where you can read all about his gear.

[guitarsandampsguy]

@Neylus He's using the 1959 model on the bottom. It's his original 100 watt Super Lead (Plexi) made in 1969, modified by Todd Langner. He's using mild phaser, flanger, and delay (for an echo / reverb effect). EVH used a MXR Phase 90, MXR Flanger, and Maestro Echoplex and a lot of natural room reverb in the studio by micing separate cabinets. Despite Curt saying in this video his cabinet has "30 watt" speakers, it actually has four 25 watt Greenbacks as you can see on Curt's website.

[FastRedPonyCar]

i have this on VHS!!

[MrSandydillon]

Notice how all these jelous guys think you suck You are someone who put in alot of time Good show they laughed at ED and said he sucked too

[dezmo42]

this guy rules

[scottrap]

did anyone notice the fart at 6:10 or so

[Christodoulos]

Yes. He plugged in and it was over!!



[guitargod2737]

ri-ping loud



[theShowStopper321]

I don't know if that modified cascaded gain stages story is true because that amp tech from Holland who took Eddie's original plexi and fixed it up said it was entirely stock besides basic changes...No added gain or anything.

[Sean2592]

I could really use some advice on a delay pedal playing his stuff I know it's an essential With Ed's tone.

[MEGATROID114]

@Sean2592 whats your budget?? you can go from a decently cheap($75+) digital delay or analog delay, all the way up to the fulltone tube tape echo($1095.00). i have a danelectro fab digital delay and it works perfectly for me.. but everyone is different. try and get the mxr carbon copy if you want a descently priced analog delay with a modulation button(you can tweak the modulation via a trim pot inside the pedal). hope this helps..

[Sean2592]

@MEGATROID114 i'm torn between quite a few right now because i'm going to use 2 of em like Ed does live (i actually think he uses 3). I'm definitely going to have to get the boss re-20 since it has reverb with it, and i dunno about a second one i'll go look and see about that danelectro fab thank you

[MEGATROID114]

@Sean2592 no problem, glad i can be of some assisstance.cant wait to see some vids of your new gear when you get it all set up!

[Sean2592]

@MEGATROID114 it's gonna be a while but i'll definitely put some out there

[TheOgrelord]

Wow, I forgot I have this tape somewhere in my pile of old vhs tapes. Maybe I'll look for it. Guy is all over the place, he does show some cool tricks. For me best line is right after random harmonic, "plugged in and it was over".

[spanky2964]

you need too smoke some more speed or speed rail another eight ball of coke dude,your high out of your mind>

[ahinko]

shirt + "tune to my A"

[jimistephen]

on Van Halen 1 he used an Ibanez destroyer on everything that didn't have a whammy.

[VH5150MetallicaFan]

What specific kind of Marshall Plexi and JMP is Curt Mitchell using?

[franco0311]

Party on, Wayne! I wonder how many lines this guy snorted before they began recording :)

[franco0311]

Party on, Wayne!

[swanky23]

Haha! Randomly plays a pinched harmonic at 3:04 lol completely out of the blue.

[AKMAC82]

y'all. one of the most important factors about "amp sag", this guy just addressed in the first minute. not trying to be a know-it-all. but tuning down a half-step is a major contributor to amp amp squishing a little more. Especially a marshall type amp.

[audiolabguy]

Dude looks like Uncle Fester in a Gilligan hat now.

[GIORGIO1995]

This video is pretty EPIC

[NICKWAPPERER117]

@GIORGIO1995 Not calling you a liar, Or trying to insult you. but Eddie said he's never used any of that. It was always the guitar straight into the amp

[GIORGIO1995]

@NICKWAPPERER117 Yeah I know that, but is pretty false just because in his records you can hear lots of effects ^^

[karlhouseknecht]

@NICKWAPPERER117 Eddie deliberately misinformed people to keep them guessing so they wouldn't cop his tone. His descriptions of his rig varied from interview to interview. There was a lot of purposeful misinformation going on there, especially about the role of the variac. He's also used distortion pedals in the studio.

[NICKWAPPERER117]

eddie never used pedals

[GIORGIO1995]

@NICKWAPPERER117 Yes he did. Phase 90, Mxr Flanger, MXR 6 Band EQ... etc..

[barkleyspider]

I think this guy may be mis-informing all of us on at least one thing. I have read and heard from Eddie himself in an interview that he would Variac the voltage down, not up. Therefore, the amp would have less headroom, causing the signal to clip earlier, resulting in a more distorted signal.

[Greenballed]

@barkleyspider Your correct. Ed said he would crank the Variac up and watch the tubes melt. He didnt say thats what he did to play. He turned the variac down to 90v and turned the bias on the amp up over 51ma's.

[karlhouseknecht]

@barkleyspider The only purpose of the variac in the rig was to keep the amp from overheating. Has almost no effect on the tone or early clipping. He ran the amps volume almost wide open, but ran them into dummy loads which had a line out into a bunch of solid state power amps, and then into the cabs. A lot like a THD hotplate setup, just more complex. Because the amps didn't have effects loops, the time based effects, like delay, were placed between the dummy load and the power amp.

[barkleyspider]

@karlhouseknecht Can you explain what you mean by ?"variac in the rig was to keep the amp from overheating." How does that work?

[karlhouseknecht]

@barkleyspider Because he ran the amp full out volume-wise to get more saturation, that would generate considerable wear on the tubes and transformers by generating more heat. To keep his transformers from overheating, he'd lower the operating voltage of the amp. Like I said, this wasn't a tone thing, it was just to keep the amp from getting too hot.

[Chillybeef123]

@karlhouseknecht i've also read he set the variac to a specific voltage to "brown" the sound, to complement alex's snare . . . i also heard that it lowered the volume so it didnt blow out everyone's ears

[karlhouseknecht]

@Chillybeef123 Nope, neither of those things are true. Lowering the voltage doesn't "brown" anything. Just makes the amp run cooler when you've got it cranked. It would have been every bit as loud had he not run it into a dummy load and then run that signal into a separate solid state poweramp running at a lower volume. You could have taken the variac out of the equation entirely and his tone would have remained the same. He just would have overheated the amp.

[coltsuperocean10]

@karlhouseknecht The simple fact was Eddie knocked out the passive variometer and boosted the mids and highs on his amp, but kept the diodes running at only 52 Hz. The guitar was his "Frankenstrat" which was quite a basic guitar, but the sounds were awesome! His amps would run at high volume all day, "the Brown Sound", but Marshalls at that time were famous for balking at bank holidays! The voltage was variable at 12 but had to be adjusted if the reactor was not included in the passive bypass.

[billmeedog]

@karlhouseknecht

"You could have taken the variac out of the equation entirely and his tone would have remained the same..."

If your (above) statement is true (and maybe it is?) then why wouldn't EVERY TUBE-AMP since VH1 have a voltage-regulator to preserve tube-life? It makes no sense to me (Tho I'm NO ELECTRONICS WHIZ ;) that lowering the supply-voltage would NOT affect the characteristics (and subsequent tone) of the amp? Are you sure? When you say "tone" are you including the gain too?

[LordWestwood7]

I guarantee this man does not have teeth now or isn't alive any more.

[Tritono9]

fuck you. this is very interesting.

[Mjaquie]

Haha such a funny vid :P

[bigbigsound]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz­z

jesus christ on a bike....

"reccomended for you"

this guy is so boring

[stillrockin123]

i got your other video goes to the end what are you using for reverb and delay can you do a video how to program delay and reverb? for EVH sound. jon

[stillrockin123]

hi the video keeps stopping before you get to the effects i want to get that delay/reverb sound with my marshalls have you done another video this one stops 3/4 way every time. thanks jon

[wwit63]

Eddie did use a variac, but he used it to turn down the voltage. Eddie loved saying he cranked up the variac to help get his sound. Back in those days most every guitarist in the LA scene was very competative and each trying to stand out. So Eddie using the variac to maintain a constant 90v while bullshitting everyone else into doing the same but cranking the amps up and eventually destroying their amps on stage. And VH just stood back and laughed his ass off while amps burned up.

[phlizmo]

@wwit63 yeah, ed was pretty mean.

[guitarslave73]

why can't this guy stand still,,, dumb fuck......

[87sherwood]

He used the Variac to lower the voltage to around 90v. He didn't boost the voltage like the video says.

[bwilliams20071]

this video was made in 1995 or something. i used to have it on vhs lol

[12345678ix]

Ive been playing for 4 years and have had the same ibanez 35o dx lol im gonna get a new guitar because the bending on this guitar is though and the floyd rose is giving me alot of problems i want a guitar that preferably has a maple neck and is strat style also that it has a good bending radius neck and hss pickup alignment any suggestions

[jhop5150]

I've heard that the rumor about "Jose" modifying his amps was false, Eddie started it himself to give his friend Jose some work in his music shop, and that Eddie used the Variac to LOWER the voltage on the amp so that he could turn it all the way up to get his sound, but it wouldn't be as loud. Kindof like a master volume.

[SwampAshHSS]

i thought the variac was to lower the voltage, and that the plexi was stock

[Jacksonkellyfreak]

back in 77-78, which was quite a while ago...12-13 years ago...lmao try 32-33 years ago

[Christodoulos]

"...of course he plugged in and it was over..."

LMAO FUKKIN RIGHT!!!

[DarthKazi]

You simply do not need big, clunky Floyd Rose setups to get a wammy bar that stays in tune anymore. Use a TusqXL nut, locking tuners and roller saddles or the string-saver type and it works the same only gives you better tone. Floyd totally choke your strings and kill tone. Even Eddie admitted he preferred the tone of his brass nut equipped Strat over the Floyd. It was only because that was the best thing at that time.

[aldomania]

This guy is on too much tweek

[xXNeoShredderXx]

@aldomania It was the 80's, if you weren't jacked on something, you were a saint.

[PJHAIGHT]

@aldomania I agree... Awesome playing nonetheless

[Sean2592]

@aldomania you know what man that was ok in these days. And knowing how everything was back I MISS THOSE DAYS!!!

[headlesssoldier]

He also rotated the ball end of the string, as he put a new string on. When you tune up a string, it twists as you tighten. So this was another step in making the string more stable and have a better chance of returning to pitch

[6672rock]

@headlesssoldier He also put gobs of graphite in the nut slots and wound the strings around the tuning pegs so the windings went upward instead of downward.

[randell101]

You ASS! Variac was used to turn down the voltage from 120 VAC to 90 VAC.

You are trying to screw up o0the players equipment because you are an ASS!

[MarshallAmpMan]

Excellent presentation, I learned a lot here. Do you also analyze Uli Jon Roth? Thanks.

[mairava1996]

im learning from a video that is from before i was born lol

[RomeroDelgado]

what model marshall is on the top?

[TheLukeDaniel]

@RomeroDelgado plexi

[chinaski000]

very good lesson...the guy knows about it..

[lisannhodges67]

I WANT THAT SETUP!!!

[TaxideaTaxis]

3:05??? hahaha

[falconer333]

LMAO, I realise you commented on this 6 months ago... but I was literally gonna write the same thing, that was so unnecessary!

[TaxideaTaxis]

haha i thought that was pretty funny

[ohmygooooood]

3:07 is better, haha

[dozerification]

Ha Ha..what the hell happens at 3:07....is that a brainfart or what...funny shit

[fruitstripes87]

cool

[krypton975]

funny "RIpping loud"