Finding that EVH Kerrrrrang (or "Nyeeeeoowwwwww")...

CodePoet

CodePoet

Fractal Fanatic
I was listening to the latest "Runnin' With The Dweezil" podcast (which you should subscribe to if you're any kind of EVH fan), and Pete Thorn hits on what I've always found to be a key to the coolness of the early EVH tone. It's that "kerrang" where the sound develops over time from the initial hit to the sustained portion - giving it a vocal quality as Pete mentions. I grabbed a few seconds of the discussion so you can hear what he's referring to. Pete gets a good approximation here.

Anyone have experience with parameters that bring this out on a Marshall Plexi? I feel like it's something beyond EVH's Variac settings. Thanks for any good discussion on the topic!

I hope Dweezil doesn't mind me sharing a few seconds of the podcast here - hopefully it inspires more to subscribe. It's a treasure-trove of EVH discussion.

 
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I suspect it's more than just transformer sag to create the Nyeeeeoowwwwww :p that we hear!

Maybe someone with a better understanding of electronics can chime in to offer a better explanation than my half assed one, it's been a long time since basic electronics for me and I have forgotten the majority of what I have learned as I just dont use it anymore.

The load of the speaker is the other half of the equation in this recipe. In order for the transformer to sag it has to see a load, lowering the voltage makes that affect easier to happen. Pretty sure Ohm's law needs to be quoted here. As voltage drops current increases but I don't know how that affects the rest of the picture with respect to the circuit / sound.

The other question is I wonder what's happening to the impedance curve when the transformer sags and does that contribute to affect on the sound we are hearing?
 
Sixstring said:
I suspect it's more than just transformer sag to create the Nyeeeeoowwwwww :p that we hear!

Maybe someone with a better understanding of electronics can chime in to offer a better explanation than my half assed one, it's been a long time since basic electronics for me and I have forgotten the majority of what I have learned as I just dont use it anymore.

The load of the speaker is the other half of the equation in this recipe. In order for the transformer to sag it has to see a load, lowering the voltage makes that affect easier to happen. Pretty sure Ohm's law needs to be quoted here. As voltage drops current increases but I don't know how that affects the rest of the picture with respect to the circuit / sound.

The other question is I wonder what's happening to the impedance curve when the transformer sags and does that contribute to affect on the sound we are hearing?
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As voltage drops amperage increases in an inductive load like a motor. Is a speaker an inductive load?
 
rcm78 said:
As voltage drops amperage increases in an inductive load like a motor. Is a speaker an inductive load?
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Good question! I had to google it so apparently it does have inductance but appears as a resistance load in a circuit because of the nature of how it is driven by varying frequency.

So that said I would have to say yes but I'm sure there are other factors at play so I reserve the right to give an incomplete answer! :p
 
The pickups are a big part of it, too. EVH used lower output PAF style pickups in the early days which are brighter and more dynamic.
 
So I was reminded of some information in another thread thanks to @unix-guy in this section and thought it might be good to post a link to this information that might shed light on the OP's post. Not sure if it explains it specifically but it might lead to an answer in the Tech Notes section of the forum!

There is so much info on this forum that it's hard to remember that it's here sometimes.
 
Sixstring said:
So I was reminded of some information in another thread thanks to @unix-guy in this section and thought it might be good to post a link to this information that might shed light on the OP's post. Not sure if it explains it specifically but it might lead to an answer in the Tech Notes section of the forum!
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Cool - do you have a link to what you're referring to?
 
CodePoet said:
Cool - do you have a link to what you're referring to?
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If you click on the Tech notes link it will take you to a list of topics! I didn't see anything specifically addressing the cause or effect but rather suggestions but I was thinking of the Why Power Tubes sound different thread. Cliff explains some math towards the end of the post that could suggest a reason for the affect. Idk just me thinking it may have something to do with it because of the line power being lowered and the affect it will have on everything else being explained in the first part of the post.
 
la szum said:
The super-wet and drippy, non-kerrang portion of the Edward Van Halen legacy! 🥳

Did you try the Boss/EVH SDE pedal by chance?
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Yeah I still have it. I'm tempted to toss together an easy WDW rig with the 50w Stealth, Power stage 700 and three real cabs. But the FM9 just gets it done. And I can add the eventide a hell of a lot easier.

Would still be cool to do though.
 
la szum said:
Cool! I've been on the fence about that thing for months!! 🤣

I feel like I need a dedicated w/d/w rig to justify the purchase.
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It's a great delay pedal. If you're just doing stereo the non evh version probably makes more sense unless you want the evh presets and the graphics. I love WDW so the evh version was a no brainer. However it also works great in stereo. I had it on a board where I was running WDW but that pedal was just in stereo because it was in the loop of a parallelizer. I replaced the Dispatch Master with a Walrus R1 but pulled the board apart not too long after. Hard to justify rebuilding it when I know I can just switch on my FM9 and get results that are easily as good (actually better overall imo).

IMG_2151.jpeg
 
That's awesome! Thanks for your time. 🙂

I am a total nutjob full of delusions when it comes to this stuff, so if I grabbed one, and hopped
off this fence I am on, then it would be the EVH, and I would find a way to go full on w/d/w.

We are only live once, and are here for a short time, right? 🤘
 
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