BOSS ME 50 - Early Van Halen I and II Tone (Oldschool Style) Brown Sound (?)

This is a mod of my 1986 Van Halen tone which Ive also uploaded. The main change is to switch on the expression pedal in "resonance mode" and leave it on full.

This adds the full on nasty hi-end and sub bass thumping that early van halen was known for. You then need to reduce the OD/DS level to 3.5 to prevent the modulation stage from clipping.

These settings can also be used for other late 70's early 80's guitarists. eg: Randy Rhodes

The settings are therefore:

Reverb: Hall (About 4.8)
Modulation: Type=STCHORUS2 Rate=0 Depth=10 E.Level=10
Delay: Type=SPACEPAN Time=5 FeedBack=0 E.Level=5

The amp tone settings are:

Tone Modify: Type=H-S
Compressor: Sustain=1 Level=10
OD/DS: Type: BD-2 Drive:10 Bottom:10 Tone:10 Level: 3.5

This was recorded in one take on a Epiphone Les Paul Custom. You can hear that most of what Eddie did can be achieved via this tone. Add a floating trem and a phaser/flanger and bingo, van halen.

Some people call this the "Brown Sound" but personally I think you need to overdrive a real tube amp for that.

Hope it helps ya.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• BOSS
• ME
• 50
• Eddie
• Van
• Halen
• Oldschool
• Style
• Brown
• Tone
• Randy
• Rhodes

[motleycrue24]

ppl need to stop bitchin nothings good enough for some ppl sounds great too me and eddie doesnt us a me 50 of course so aint goin to sound 110 %

[EpiphoneGear]

@motleycrue24 Very cool. Bitchin is human nature and it is perfect to want more. I want more!. trust me. Im my biggest critic. No one improves by not assessing ones faults. Problem is, what a persons faults? It is difficult to document. Id love to meet Eddie one day. But, thats a dream. He is a god in my eyes

[motleycrue24]

@EpiphoneGear well hey man i got a me 20 is there anyway i can still somewhat set it to this sound?

[EpiphoneGear]

@motleycrue24 I'd try the BLUES distortion setting with full drive. I'd crank the tone. Then I'd adjust the EQ with full bass, treble and slightly scooped mid's, depending on how much mid/treblle comes from the BLUES distortion. You are looking for a crunch between grunge and metal. I'd use the chorus with rare=0 depth=10 and level=1..5 I'd use the delay on about 100-200ms depending on what im playing. I'd also try extreme settings. Great sounds come from settings most people dont try.

[1971SuperLead]

Sounds frikkin killer!!!! Sounds better than Eddie did so many times on stage. Sick of idiots saying "That;s not right." Frikkin Eddie couldn't get it right either. Some know that the sound Eddie got on I an II were largely due to Eddie Kramers recording techniques. It drove Eddie nuts on tour because he couldn't nail the sound either. Just ask David.

[EpiphoneGear]

@1971SuperLead Cool. Yea, considering a BOSS ME50 can be bought for around $250 (AU), its a pretty cool toy. My Eppiphone SG custom has a sloppy neck, so it might sound better with a tigher neck. It also sounds far better in context. ie: With some drums and bass. I would also try VST software reverb and chorus inplace of the ME50's effects. Eddie rocks in my books. Wish he would get over his issues and write music again.

[0606gypsyrose]

i just bought a boss me-70 and played it for about five minutes before work and i could tell already that is a serious guitart tool not just another same sounding cheap toy, thanks for affirming that! kick ass stuff!

[davidopoulin]

If you ever have the time, it'd be great if you could do another vid of this patch without the reverb so we can hear the dry overdriven tone more clearly. In any event, good job!

[motleycrue24]

fuck i need to get rid of my me 20 n upgrade to this

[mooneye81]

That you so much man! This sounds sick!!

LOVING THE BROWN SOUND!!!!

[mrdavid333]

sick sound!!! Correct me if im wrong but isnt that an sg?? not a les paul custom?

[Rasshode]

Awesome! I'm going to try out the settings now. Sounds spot on to me :)

[caracoles01]

Awesome job. Thanks for sharing.

[Hankandthetanktops]

spot on-

[herestolife32]

fuckin a man