Van Halen Panama Guitar Cover

http://www.youtube.com/user/BaldHeadBrad
http://www.facebook.com/baldheadbrad

A guitar cover of Van Halen's classic "Panama," from the album, 1984.

I know it's not perfect, but I recorded this cover just for the fun of it. I enjoy playing rock music, just like I enjoy playing reggae. I don't feel qualified to give a detailed lesson for such a riff- and solo-intensive song, but there are some good TABs out there.

For "Panama," I'm using a parts guitar I designed from the ground up. I wanted to create my own version of a Charvel Pre-Pro. The neck and body are custom made (Mean Street and Warmoth, respectively). The body is basswood and is painted vintage Fender seafoam green. I designed a custom logo and had it cleared onto the headstock. The PuPs are a matched pair of Bareknuckle VHIIs, and they're coil split via a 5-way switch. The guitar has a NOS Charvel brass volume knob and a smooth, no-friction pot. The neckplate, which you can't see, is also NOS Charvel brass. The bridge is a real Floyd Rose (OFR). I added a brass big block to it, and a trem stop. The control cavity is copper-shielded. The tuners are Schaller Minis, and the strap buttons are Dunlop Straploks. I custom-ordered the strap from El Dorado. I love this guitar!

I hope you enjoyed the video. If so, please leave a comment. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Thanks,
Baldhead Brad

Category:

Music

Tags:

• panama cover
• van halen cover
• panama guitar
• van halen guitar
• panama guitar cover
• van halen guitar cover
• panama
• van halen
• 1984
• evh
• charvel
• eddie van halen
• brown sound
• warmoth
• david lee roth
• rock guitar
• hard rock guitar
• panama solo
• panama intro
• baldhead brad
• bald head brad
• video

[1spezza]

awesome job. You're a dead ringer for AA Arn Anderson

[BaldHeadBrad]

@1spezza  I love me some Arn Anderson.

[BaldHeadBrad]

@BaldHeadBrad Also, what kind of amp do you have? Solid state? Tube? I don't know anything about the Delta Lab pedal, but I find it's best to keep things as simple as possible. Start with a guitar plugged straight into an amp. Get as close to your desired tone with just those two elements. For Van Halen, ideally you'd plug an old Kramer or Charvel into a roaring tube amp, like a Marshall Plexi Super Lead. There's a ton of info out there about tone, and EVH's Brown Sound in particular.Google it!

[BaldHeadBrad]

@Chippy215Boss If you look at the description for this vid, you'll find the info for the guitar I'm using. It's a parts guitar I designed. The guitar you use is just as important as the amp or effects pedals. What kind of pickups does your Squier have? Single coils? Humbuckers? For Van Halen and most hard rock and metal, people generally use a guitar with humbuckers. Of course, there are many types of humbuckers! (cont'd)

[Chippy215Boss]

@BaldHeadBrad all i have is a squier my pedal is called delta lab and my amp is pretty good. just one question does wht type of guitar you have ..have its own sound or does all guitars sound the same and its based on wht pedal

[BaldHeadBrad]

@BaldHeadBrad I know that a lot of tone depends on playing technique, but it's impossible to get the Brown Sound with a Strat plugged into a Roland JC, you know? Eventually, I'd like to try a Splawn, particularly the Street Rod combo, which has realistic volume (40W).  Unfortunately, I've spent so much money on guitars that I can't afford any amps right now!

[BaldHeadBrad]

@BaldHeadBrad The thing about Eddie is that he played and recorded at deafening levels on high watt modded Marshalls, and most regular people will never be able to duplicate those circumstances (plus, his recording setups and processes affected his tone, too). I've tried different pedals, too, including a Kaden Brown Creeper, but they never get close. And the amps that bear Eddie's name likely aren't really used by him, anyway. I could be wrong, but I assume they're just empty stage shells.

[BaldHeadBrad]

@Chippy215Boss The Brown Sound is elusive. I got a decent sound out of my recording setup for this tune, but I haven't gotten 100% EVH tone with any setup. I mean, it's one half guitar and one half amp, and nailing all the variables between those two is tough. I have some good EVH style guitars now: the Charvel-style parts axe I used for this vid, plus a Mean Street Custom and an '87 Kramer, but I still need to get a proper, high-gain amp . . . (cont'd)

[Chippy215Boss]

dude that was really good i love playing my guitar but i can never get the pedal to sound as i want .. yours sound exactly like the song