Van Halen "Unchained" Isolated Guitar Track

[JoeT6319]

Wow. See you next week in Indy, boys!

[eliizme]

MASTER!

[FredWolfeElvis]

where is the picture from? looks like july 4 Cobo hall. det michigan!

[exileinrosedale]

I was making a comment about how amazing this was and I was surprised that no one had commented about the reverb, printed to tape. I wasn't being clever nor having an attitude about it. I was sharing in the joy of the track. Anything else smart to say, puttaway?

[dman44032]

@exileinrosedal do your homework son.

[PutItAway101]

@exileinrosedale Moron, this isn't the master, this is a mixdown supplied to Guitar Hero. It tells you nothing about what they printed to tape. They almost certainly had the effects on a separate track on the original mulitrack and just combined them here. Do you also think Eddie punched in the solo in the middle of the rhythm track and bounced it so the final note of the solo is over the top of the rhythm guitar? This is several tracks mixed down.

[bayley5150]

now this is good!!!!!!

[cgravier]

tatto tattoo? mosy mouf wtf? Id rather listen to these iso tracks. shit never gets old!

[pflo99]

YES he used an octave device on the whole thing, the only track he ever did. At varying levels. As well as the flanger on the chugs.And probably and outboard harmonizer/chorus added afterward.

[Scholzy127]

THAT TONE!!

[PutItAway101]

@exileinrosedale Everyone noticed. Stop trying to be clever.

[mreed91]

@PutItAway101 what did he say? it's been deleted...

[PutItAway101]

@mreed91 he thought he was the only one who noticed there's reverb on the track.

[dman44032]

@PutItAway101 get back in the corner timmy?

[Trilobite8jesus]

What amp was he using? To me, it sounds more metallic than a Marshall. Maybe an over saturated Fender? I'm lost... Help me fellow EVH fan community.

[ZakkHendrix666]

@Trilobite8jesus It's probably either a heavily modded Marshall or as you said, some very over saturated Fender.

[gretsch58]

@ZakkHendrix666 Dude, not either. it's just a cranked Marshall Super Lead. Everything on 10. Variaced down 90 volts.

[ZakkHendrix666]

@gretsch58 Oh wow, that's awesome.

[TKG4077]

@Trilobite8jesus in everything I've read he claims to use the modded variac'd marshall in every album until OU812. He has said the pickup in his guitar was totally screwed up though, so that might affect something.

[sp3ci4lkpo]

The guitar solo is B.R.I.L.L.I.A.N.T.

[sp3ci4lkpo]

@sp3ci4lkpo So is the entire closing phrase. Wow. F'ing genius. LOL

[muzapstar]

Why did you put up a pic of David lee Roth looking like he's sitting on a cold toilet seat?

[MrBobbyhill5150]

@muzapstar cuz it looks fucking hilarious

[jcramer5150]

Love that flange at 2:40

[beeroosterm]

One of the coolest guitar riffs ever. Massive energy.

[gilbet]

I don't get it...this is my favorite Van Halen song, but it doesn't make any sense. There's no hook riff- nothing to hum to. It's just chords that somehow weave together. Must be something he got from Classical Music. I'll have to work it out on the keyboard to figure this one out. Maybe it's not about the path of the notes like a normal riff, but how the paths or groups of notes interact with other groups of notes.

[LypsLynch55]

@evh1eddie1rocks: Its not an octave pedal - its the Eventide H910, which Ed started using on this album.....best example of this is on the outro of Unchained and also the solos on "One Foot Out the Door". Use of this processor in a wet-dry-wet set-up w/Bradshaw rig was what gave 5150 album its signature sound - ala the whole album sounds like Ed's running a chorus pedal (which is essentially what a chorus pedal is - few cents flatter than original note).  hope this helps!

[LBCOOLB]

How in the Hell did were you able to get the complete Eddie isolation of these tracks? Freaking Love 'Em All. I'm supposed to be working but can't do a God Damn Thing listening to straight Eddie Tracks!!

[LIGHTintheHALLS]

He is not just a great lead player, he is a SERIOUSLY funky and heavy rhythm player.

[alwaysopen]

@LIGHTintheHALLS

Something most folks overlook concerning Hendrix or EVH is they were both outstanding rhythm players first and foremost. It has always been my thought that a guitarist can't play a solo correctly if he can't carry the tune as a rhythm player.

[144wychwood]

@alwaysopen, Never understood why people overlooked this seeing how most guitarist spend their time playing rhythm anyhow. 

[alwaysopen]

@144wychwood

I didn't learn to play 40 years ago without learning chords. You have to learn to solo and that comes after you can finger chords. There is a lot more to playing the guitar than the "rock star" image most people have fixed in their minds. Years of acquainting one's self with the fretboard, not always fun, comes first.

[blackrockdude1]

This is how I listen to "Classic" Van Halen. Isolated for half the reason I loved Van Halen for 29 yrs.: Eddie. The man is a genius !! The other half of the reason is: Al, although you can't hear him...( thought I's gonna say Roth,didn't you?.......HELL FUCK NO !!!). The greatest rhythm section in all of Rock !! THE VAN HALEN BROS. : ALEXANDER & EDWARD

[electrickithara]

I love these isolated guitar tracks!

[chaos120]

so awesome

[NS9213]

@PetraeKo Van Halen was always in Eb {1/2 step down} during the Roth years..... not sure about the Van Hagar era?

[simpsonmusic]

2 idiots outta 158 ain't to bad I guess..

[jamo387]

Definitely a Flanger at work there. You can hear it cycling in between cords when he muffles the strings.

[TheArk5150]

Harmonizer!!



[sejnitram]

1 person needs to be "chained up"!

[ASPEDBUSDRIVER1]

@sejnitram one person needs to stop trying

[Tat2Dragons]

This killer riff has always given me goose bumps. Love it.:)

[Sythofin]

he has so much style. so many cool nuances in his rhythm playing, a real genius.

[dmarkj22]

Riffmaster

[MrHideyoursheep]

The master!

[kidsTeachGuitar2kids]

While it's difficult to rank one phenomenal artist against another, I certainly would agree that this could easily be the greatest riff of all time.

[tubewrestler]

This is the Best riff ever produced in Rock history !..my hair always stands up when the song opens and forgive me but it makes me feel like i can f *ck 10 chicks in a row, guzzle down my favorite cold beer and dive in torquoise blue water in the greek islands to cool off from its hotness. vAn hAleN forever !

[evh1eddie1rocks]

is it just me or does it Sound like hes using an octave pedal on the solo?

[dren68]

@evh1eddie1rocks Yeah, I think you're right. I noticed it, too - especially on the solo at the end of the song.

[beeroosterm]

@evh1eddie1rocks Yep. And that heavy chunking sounds like the biggest steam locomotive ever. Chuck Berry strikes again...

[TheArk5150]

@evh1eddie1rocks I beleive it's Harmonizer put on post production. Just like most of For unlawful carnal knowledge and balance.

[backseatdriver03]

@evh1eddie1rocks sounds like it, but my guess is that its probably a harmonizer. I mean he really got into them in the 90's, maybe this was his first use of one. Who knows!

[rockgodtar]

@evh1eddie1rocks I believe it's chorus/Faze 90 pedals he used for the solos



[SkillzThatKi11z]

@evh1eddie1rocks chorus

[Blaubeerwald1]

@evh1eddie1rocks It's a drop D tuning, that's where the deep tones come from.

[Blaubeerwald1]

@evh1eddie1rocks ...sorry you'r right, in the solo he uses some pitch pedal device, either an octaver or a harmonizier. 

[junkerde]

@evh1eddie1rocks lol dude. its called a chorus pedal.........

[PutItAway101]

@evh1eddie1rocks It's just you. It's clearly chorus.

[gunraykilla]

@evh1eddie1rocks harmonizer actually. hes been using those for years :p

[AetroyayorteA]

@evh1eddie1rocks do you even know what the fuck an octave pedal is?

[BassFever74]

@evh1eddie1rocks like the beginning of chinatown

[ltal0308]

you damn it.

[ltal0308]

Maybe enough ain't enough for but it my turn to drive!

[ltal0308]

This is my chance to fly1

[ltal0308]

ALL RIGHT!

[ltal0308]

The rock says! I know I don't ask for permission!

[ltal0308]

The rock says!

[pa5232]

How did you isolate that? Really cool.

[thedreamportal]

@pa5232 It's funny that people  still don't know that this is from Guitar Hero

[mindstormsabrewin]

Just ONE of Eddie's "mistakes" on guitar is worth ten million lesser guitar players "perfect" riffs.

[mindstormsabrewin]

I STILL get chills from those opening chords!

[SpitfirePunx]

Funk-in awesome !!!

What a groove - almost useable as guitar alone song...

[scat311]

I need that ringtone!!

[yngvaigilbsteen]

I like how he starts off too slow and then rushes the down stokes coming back in from the breakdown after the solo. : ) Cool to hear the rawness. And the fact that nobody is perfect. : )

[BSlash24]

is that a harmonizer at the end?

[angusyounghero]

Isolated tracks! So this is how people make tabs cause ill tell you what its hard learning these songs with all the other instruments ringing thru as well

[JPBones]

Never knew that he had a hint of an octave divider on the solo.

[stripes5150]

@JPBones it was a boss octaver pedal... :)

[ThePigonSkates]

Jakemk21: Try this trick i picked up from: DougFCKNSteele , The guy is the best! Bar your B and G 9th fret you will hear a crazy "wobble", flatten your B until it sounds right, on my guitars about a qtr step. You will have the shit tone then. I,,I

[jakemk21]

@ThePigonSkates Awesome. Thanks for the tip, I'm going to try it. Doug is a beast, and his lessons help lots. Rock on!

[Greenman422]

0:27 epic riffing

[sholstein]

You can play through the EXACT same gear/guitar Ed has but it will sound like YOU, not him. The magic comes from Ed's fingers. He could play through a rig at a cheap guitar store and it would sound like Ed

[vonzeke]

@sholstein That's the truth. I heard a story from a guy who got to play Carlos Santana's guitar. Like you say, It didn't sound like Santana.

[janemacdonnell1]

Best Riff Rock ever heard along with The wonton song by Pagey!!

[downincognito76]

@janemacdonnell1 LISTEN TO THE ISOLATED GUITAR TRACK OF somebody get me a doctor IYS PRETTY DAMN CLOSE

[darkeagle551]

hes obviously using a flanger..not chorus or a phaser

[janemacdonnell1]

@darkeagle551 Sorry dude, it is an MXR 90 Phaser and an Echoplex--at the end it is a Flanger(MXR) as well

[jakemk21]

Every time I try to play a riff like this, my B string sounds too high. I know I'm playing it right and I'm in tune, but the note just sounds sharp and as if I'm playing a note on the 20th fret or something. I heard Eddie used to flatten the B string more than the others for songs like Runnin with the Devil, Unchained and Panama? Is this what I need to do? Any tips? Could it be a matter of getting a pickup that gives more depth, mids, and bass to the notes? Thanks.

[dersingary187]

@jakemk21 just mess around with it a bit man try different techniques...eddie was a god...itll take you a while to get er down lmfao... but seriously just mess around with it a bit.. i figured it out after a while man

[jakemk21]

@dersingary187 Thanks. I was noodling with everything possible today. I've had the bass, mid, and treble all at 10 following Ed's method of just cranking everything up to 10, but I turned down the treble and I got rid of that high-end kinda twangy sound, but now it sounds a bit muddy so it's gonna take some messing around with. lol, you're right, it's tough to match a god like Eddie.

[MrKentheken]

He uses MXR Phaser, eventide reverb, tube distortion, chorus on alot of his soloing and alot of people dont know or forget that he would rewind the copper on his pickups and yes thats an octaver on the outro!

[DuaLeaD]

@MrKentheken Very cool!! I hear it now...That makes a lot of sense, thanks. It's funny though, I always though Eddie Van Halen was a purist at heart and was quite minimal as far as effects. At least that's what he says in interviews.....

[ernieballmusic5150]

dropped D ! what a groove !

[ski5150]

does anyone know what effect he is using on the solo and the outro solo? Sounds like a flanger at high speed, can't figure it out. thanks.

[whalefan5150]

@ski5150 chorus pedal i think

[ScrewAttackChina]

@ski5150 MXR phase 90

[jimmbo118]

@ski5150

Octave pedal.

[kuhboom22]

It's amazing that when you listen to the isolated track, you realize the lack of distortion and dryness of the tone, but when its dropped into the mix, it sounds so huge.

[yngvaigilbsteen]

@kuhboom22 Yep, the mic job is not quite as good as you think it is, either. A little studio magic goes a long way. : ) It's cool to hear the other track come in for the guitar solo, too.

[ShivaTheAuspicious]

@kuhboom22 Thats not exactly what Id call a lack of distortion there man..that plexi sounds like its about to blow the hell up.

[thedreamportal]

@kuhboom22 mainly because of the low freqs in the bass and the drums

[arising87]

@kuhboom22 not all of his guitar is on one track, so a lot of the guitar sound gets lost when it's isolated to one.

[ashasha3]

@arising87 Eddie rarely double tracked his parts in the early years. He may have done a solo or two over top of a rhythm part, but even that was extremely rare. At most he punched in.

[arising87]

@ashasha3 that's not what I meant. the process you have to go through to isolate Eddie's guitar track takes away some of his sound in the end result. if you could isolate his whole sound completely without taking anything away from it, it would sound much more full than this.

[ashasha3]

@arising87 Got ya.

How are they doing this anyway? Phase cancellation or frequency filtering, etc? I know that some people have found the iso tracks from things like rock band and stuff, but if they are doing this themselves it's got to be a lot of work.

[ltcurry]

@ashasha3 Maybe replaying really good to it.

[nbrown9010]

@kuhboom22

it has major distortion! it's just that it's pure pre-amp distortion coming straight from a marshall plexi with only 1 volume and 1 tone control. only way you can get THAT sound. awesome stuff definately!

[stripes5150]

@kuhboom22 i learned that a long time ago while recording...less distortion and more overall volume of an amp will sit so much better in a mix...

[alwaysopen]

@stripes5150

What you describe is simple gain - a principle lost on most guitarists. Distortion is fine when used correctly but what most guitarists really want is clean gain though they always go with an OD or distortion pedal/effect. That effectively creates muddy noise that makes the mix - live or studio - unlistenable; unless you like it so.

[stripes5150]

@alwaysopen simple gain and sustain...Lots of volume...push those tubes...I crank every knob to 10!!! My marshall is in a room that is 8 x 8 by 8ft ceiling....I use an sm58 2 feet away from the center of the cabinet...Fucking magic for tracking.

[macadoughshus]

@stripes5150 1000% true. Still gotta warm the tubes up tho, depending on wattage and tubes.

[ProbableFiction]

Damn, they left out the short pluck right at the end! What the hell?!

[theberg988]

how do you isolate tracks?

[Lilrocker5150]

THAT TONE!!!!!!!!

[21JAllen]

This was recorded through a Rhythm Bandit. I own one and they are bitchin'. I heard a rumor that they will be available again in 2011, but you can find them used on ebay - that's where I got mine.

[bbutters2]

Im blazed and this is soooo sick, the tracks he plays are fucking like songs of their own...hes got insane hands. This is too much...

never too much!

[alexcubata]

@bbutters2 I completely agree!!! He is very well known for his solos, but what i find most impressing in him-the riffs, licks, all the rythm guitar stuff. He is unique! When i was young i prefered his solos, but as i grew up person, now i found the rest more interesting. King Eddie is my favourite guitar player of all time and styles!

[nitedrive]

How many guys can do this - lay down a guitar so fucking clean, full and tasty that it sounds encredible without backing instrumentation?!!

Eddie is the man.

[Lucicsux]

The tone that no one can imitate....nor emulate.....on the 8th day...God created Edward Van halen!!!!!!!!!! Adnoydall is a seed of Satan, im sure the troll will appear here soon, as he has no job, and is on welfare!

[William5150vh]

Amazing! I've never heard it isolated by that... you can hear all of the nuances and effects crystal clear...this is a treasure!!!

[Jedizen07]

Man. . .that really changes everything I love about his tone!! I love it even more now!!

[grydtx]

awesome tone, great song, thanks for posting!

[durtmagert]

Funny, I have pics from this concert(pic posted here). It's from the '81July 4th Show Cobo Hall Detroit show. I just remember being in a daze

[uzamakifan40]

Greatest riff ever made xD

[nerdflanders8710]

@uzamakifan40 lamest riff ever made

[darksith36]

@nerdflanders8710 Really hmmmm 

[nerdflanders8710]

@darksith36 yes

[darksith36]

@nerdflanders8710 Your the lamest fag ever made, piece of shit .

[nerdflanders8710]

@darksith36 I love eddie think he;s the greatest but this song is laaaame. I don't just follow like a sheep and a faggot like you , you fuckng semen breath.