Right Now - Van Halen intro sound (with vid)

Chewie5150

Chewie5150

Fractal Fanatic
Can anyone speculate as to the effect/sound going on in the bass clef Eddie plays ...in particular when he hits the octave notes of B flat and D. I've been trying to look it up online can't find much discussion on that. I figure he's layering a synth sound over top the bass notes or perhaps its just the way they've eq'd /mixed the piano and/or using plugin/effects for that bell like quality I"m hearing. Been relearning this on the keys this week.

 
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That's definitely bass layered with piano.

The type of bass attack used (to my ears) sounds like striking the string with the more bony part of your middle or index finger against the fretboard rather than using a slap or tap technique.
 
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ruso said:
Man, when Eddie first comes in with his guitar and lands that artificial harmonic! Fuck! ❤️
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I know what you mean. Love that. Magical. Got me thinking about the sound of this album which some VH purists aren’t crazy about though I feel this was definitely one of their better produced /mixed albums. And eddies tone / playing in this era I just love. The pinch harmonics in Run Around verse riff. I can never get them quite exact. Close with my EBMM axis though.
 
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dr bonkers said:
That's definitely bass layered with piano.

The type of bass attack used (to my ears) sounds like striking the string with the more bony part of your middle or index finger against the fretboard rather than using a slap or tap technique.
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I’m gonna go through my thousands of synth sounds this week ha and see if I can’t get close. I’ve got many other VH synth presets bang on. Dreams, love walks in, why can’t this be love , feels so good , when it’s love but this bass layered sound is the last piece to the set I need
 
Chewie5150 said:
I know what you mean. Love that. Magical. Got me thinking about the sound of this album which some VH purists aren’t crazy about though I feel this was definitely one of their better produced /mixed albums. And eddies tone / playing in this era I just love. The pinch harmonics in Run Around verse riff. I can never get them quite exact. Close with my EBMM axis though.
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quoting myself in my reply there to insert an example of Eddie's magical touch/articulations. People often think of a favorite riff or passage in a song but I often think of even a single note that when I hear it played everytime makes me smile. I'll listen to a song in anticipation of that 1 or 2 seconds. Though Eddie's guitar tone has changed a lot over the years his feel /execution remain consistent. One such example I'm talking about is in the beginning of the solo in Hear About it Later from Fair Warning. Around the 2:55 mark (and around 3:06) those pinch harmonics. Much like in Run Around it makes me think of the word 'juicy' not sure how else to put it. but i love it. Happens to be one of my favorite VH solos. I think of this solo when I read Eddie describe playing a solo like falling down the stairs but landing on your feet.

 
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At the risk of holding my own conversation Jeff Goldblum in Jurrasic Park aaaand here I am uhhh talking to myself...." I have spent a few hours combing through sounds and presets on various VST's. All of my Native Instruments ....then even fired up Halion 7 (its been ages) ...just looking for that elusive sound for Right Now. Then thought why not the Roland D50. I have Rolands VST and its def getting me in that ballpark. I found this Dee heX 7 (i think i see what they did there) patch and its very close.
 
Love it @Chewie5150 Fair Warning is awesome but I like all of Eddies music. It has such a distinct sound you just know it’s Eddie. Man I would love to play and sound that awesome. But I just stumble along with the best I can do. 😃
 
I've uploaded a vid via my Youtube ( i don't have a channel but using it as a platform to show the vid here only to the forum) but here's a sample of the sound I"m crafting here. let me know if there are issues accessing the vid. This is my first time uploading anything on Youtube. Also the recording is quick n dirty with my iPhone which is favoring the higher frequencies but I assure you the bass is large in the room. I'm using an Oberheim OX PRO II, Roland D50 together with Addictive keys here for the sound.

 
Chewie5150 said:
I've uploaded a vid via my Youtube ( i don't have a channel but using it as a platform to show the vid here only to the forum) but here's a sample of the sound I"m crafting here. let me know if there are issues accessing the vid. This is my first time uploading anything on Youtube. Also the recording is quick n dirty with my iPhone which is favoring the higher frequencies but I assure you the bass is large in the room. I'm using an Oberheim OX PRO II, Roland D50 together with Addictive keys here for the sound.

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That sounds VERY close, if not close enough! Well done!
 
Chewie5150 said:
I've uploaded a vid via my Youtube ( i don't have a channel but using it as a platform to show the vid here only to the forum) but here's a sample of the sound I"m crafting here. let me know if there are issues accessing the vid. This is my first time uploading anything on Youtube. Also the recording is quick n dirty with my iPhone which is favoring the higher frequencies but I assure you the bass is large in the room. I'm using an Oberheim OX PRO II, Roland D50 together with Addictive keys here for the sound.

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That sounds great.
 
Chewie5150 said:
I know what you mean. Love that. Magical. Got me thinking about the sound of this album which some VH purists aren’t crazy about though I feel this was definitely one of their better produced /mixed albums. And eddies tone / playing in this era I just love. The pinch harmonics in Run Around verse riff. I can never get them quite exact. Close with my EBMM axis though.
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Runaround was actually played on a Tele from what I remember reading, that might have something to do with getting it exact. You can tell the tone is weird for him - definitely does sound like single coils and I think he's also layering the intro an octave down with the EBMM Sillhouette Bass that he also used on Spanked.
 
TabsAZ said:
Runaround was actually played on a Tele from what I remember reading, that might have something to do with getting it exact. You can tell the tone is weird for him - definitely does sound like single coils and I think he's also layering the intro an octave down with the EBMM Sillhouette Bass that he also used on Spanked.
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I just read this the other day. Funny you mention it. The Tele. I had no idea. Yeah there's def some doubling with his baritone /silhouette bass that he has. I saw a Pete Thorn vid few weeks ago and he recreated that runaround sound doing that pretty much.
 
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