Ted Templeman's new book

Bman

Power User
..is out. I got it on Audible. It's really good! I'm almost through it at the 5150 time period. He goes into a lot about the Van Halen era and really loved those guys. He said that when Eddie came to the studio for VH1 he asked if he could borrow Ronnie Montrose's head because he loved the tone. He wasn't able to. But it got me thinking that his head probably was stock and he got that extra gain and sound from the variac. I know he's always said it's just the amp dimed but I always felt there was something pushing the front because the headroom would've been more apparent unless his pickups were hot enough to drive the amp like a boost. Plus he had the MXR EQ pedal. Obviously if that was used, it would boost the pre-amp tubes too. But he claims only to use it as a line boost live. So, I'm thinking the variac gave the 'hair' on the top end. And Don Landee is a genius. The book has been great, fwiw.
 
Just started this on Audible too. It’s a great book but the guy reading sounds like Ed Begley Jr. with loose dentures.
 
Great book! Cool little tidbit of trivia I did not know...the 1st 6 seconds of Hot For Teacher is actually a recording of Ed's Lamborghini exhaust pipe.

Another cool couple good reads on the topic are "Runnin with the Devil" by their Manager Noel Monk. And "Van Halen Rising by Greg Renoff."

In their very early days under the band name Genesis, they were influenced by the band Cactus. They would cover the first song of their first album Parchman Farm (1970), you can hear its influence on Ed's playing.

Since VH is a hot topic on the boards recently, here are a few cool youtube links. God Eddie was a Prodigy!

https://m.youtube.com/user/MugenMazeru/videos

 
the 1st 6 seconds of Hot For Teacher is actually a recording of Ed's Lamborghini exhaust pipe.
Interesting because I had read before that it was Alex's motorcycle. I think it was Eddie that said that, but I might be wrong.

It sounds much more like a motorcycle to me, but who knows?

Another interesting tidbit I learned last year: all of the drums on 1984 were recorded on Simmons electronic drums with NO cymbals. The cymbals were overdubbed later...

The reason: they recorded 1984 at Eddie's home studio, which was not quite finished and they couldn't record the basic tracks without the drums bleeding into the other tracks.
 
Great book! Cool little tidbit of trivia I did not know...the 1st 6 seconds of Hot For Teacher is actually a recording of Ed's Lamborghini exhaust pipe.

Dang... you mean that's not Alex's wicked double-kick technique..? I guess there's a lot more going on up that tailpipe than I would guessed... :openmouth:
 
In their very early days under the band name Genesis, they were influenced by the band Cactus. They would cover the first song of their first album Parchman Farm (1970), you can hear its influence on Ed's playing.


AFAIK, I'd never heard a Cactus track before, that was a lot more bonkers than I would have guessed, and I can definitely hear a VH precursor in that!

When I went to the 2009(?) PRS Experience, one of the special guests was Jim McCarty, (who I'd never ever heard of before). Mr. Paul R Smith hisself introduced him as the guitarist for Cactus (who I'd never heard of before) and proclaimed himself a huge fan. Mr. McCarty proceeded to perform with Paul's backing band and played like he invented every damn rock riff ever. I mean the cat just owned everything he played -- it was uncanny, and I've seen no small number of top-flight rock/metal bands live. Paul was obviously just star-struck, watching one of his heroes play the living crap of the guitar [company] he'd built and really enjoying it. Super cool to get to see in person!
 
Like Montrose, Cactus was ahead of their time and any popularity they had with the public was far exceeded by the enormous influence they had on bands that followed. Also like Montrose, Cactus didn’t last long. The singer Rusty Day died in a drug deal gone bad after the band broke up. Jim McCarty went on to some success with the Rockets and still plays out to this day with a blues band in the Detroit area. Carmine Appice and Tom Bogert of course went on to very successful careers. That first album stands up to this day as a landmark achievement of hard rock.
 
Will check this out for sure... any other ‘must read’ VH books out there that you guys recommend?
 
Interesting because I had read before that it was Alex's motorcycle. I think it was Eddie that said that, but I might be wrong.

It sounds much more like a motorcycle to me, but who knows?

Another interesting tidbit I learned last year: all of the drums on 1984 were recorded on Simmons electronic drums with NO cymbals. The cymbals were overdubbed later...

The reason: they recorded 1984 at Eddie's home studio, which was not quite finished and they couldn't record the basic tracks without the drums bleeding into the other tracks.

I gotta get this book. I'm always a sucker for the 'lore' for VH. I wonder if they used a variac on that exhaust pipe to get that 'brown' sound hahha. If that isn't a thing perhaps i can start it. Or maybe some voodoo magic they did on the lambo engine
 
I'll definitely read this one. While I'm a bigger Van Hagar fan (blasphemy, I know) I still love hearing all those stories and I'll eat up anything written by a producer I can get my hands on. Would LOVE for Dave Jerden and/or Toby Wright to write a book.
 
I'll definitely read this one. While I'm a bigger Van Hagar fan (blasphemy, I know) I still love hearing all those stories and I'll eat up anything written by a producer I can get my hands on. Would LOVE for Dave Jerden and/or Toby Wright to write a book.
Same here. The Van Hagar years had better songs IMHO. During the DLR years, every album just got worse and worse. More and more filler songs. 1984 had like 3 good songs on it.
 
My oldest brother (15 yrs older) gave me my first taste of VH early on. He was a great guitar player and gave me the 5150 cassette when i wast 15 yrs old. I started with the Van Hagar but as I get older I find myself really appreciating the guitar work of the older albums. I love both eras but that incredibly creative guitar genius from the early era is still so inspiring. Romeo's delight, drop dead legs, Hang 'em high, mean streets, On Fire, Top Jimmy...man i can go on. And these are just the riffs I love. Not including favorite solos.

Sammy brought lots of greatness to the band too. I adore the 5150 album in its entirety still. Listening to Summer nights blasted in my Dad's painting van on a Friday night on the main stretch with my buds are some of my most cherished memories.
 
I still remember hanging out with a couple of redneck farm dudes in the mid 80s. They had a truck with a really amazing stereo. One time we cranked Top Jimi all the way up and it was like a religious experience. LOL
 
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