The Van Halen Master thread collection!

Chewie5150

Chewie5150

Fractal Fanatic
**Edit (renamed thread)***I figured if there wasn't one already, perhaps a master Van Halen thread on neat findings on all things re: VH! post links/vids and cool articles you find. The more obscure the better!

Five Watt World just did this vid and takes you on a nice little journey of Ed's guitars. Another reminder to me that you don't need to spend thousands of dollars on a guitar to create music. Look at what EVH did in the early days. Ironically, it does tempt me to spend thousands on an EVH R/W/B striped guitar made in Mexico that was replicated on a guitar Eddie threw together for peanuts lol.

 
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...and yet his development led to his own brand of guitars that cost what they cost to make and market so he could finally end up with what he wanted. Everyone gets so wrapped up in his tone from the first album but conveniently leave out the part where he wasn't satisfied with it or else he would only ever have replaced parts as needed to keep the same stuff going. His guitars and his music were the evidence of his journey through this life. and his tone chasing adventures.

Whenever anyone says that his best tone was on Mean Streets (for example), I always ask "Really? Well, then, why did he change it?" Clearly he had no idea what he was doing.

You should def. buy the Frankenstrat replica if you can afford it. I would.
 
USMC_Trev said:
henever anyone says that his best tone was on Mean Streets (for example), I always ask "Really? Well, then, why did he change it?" Clearly he had no idea what he was doing.
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My counter to this is purely anecdotal but I’ve noticed even with my modeler (and kemper stage when I had it) that my ears often just like to switch it up to hear a different eq from a different tone. I have a few main go to presets and tones for gigs but I’ll often try new presets because my ears get bored. It happened with tube amps for me as well. One week I’d love my tube amp sound and then two weeks later, my ears would find it boring. I think our ears just pick up on different EQs at different times and it helps my playing when I listen to that
 
Chewie5150 said:
I think once you scratch that first itch of tinkering around /modding you're hooked. Always wondering ...what if i change this or that...EVH just took that to the max
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Yes the WWEVHD credo, I think of it every time I tinker on a guitar. My personal favorite tones BTW are probably the first 4 albums, it was all so raw and in your face at least to me. I still dig the stuff after but it did get a little over processed with the Eventide's and I listed to it all on a regualr basis.
 
Rich5150 said:
Yes the WWEVHD credo, I think of it every time I tinker on a guitar. My personal favorite tones BTW are probably the first 4 albums, it was all so raw and in your face at least to me. I still dig the stuff after but it did get a little over processed with the Eventide's and I listed to it all on a regualr basis.
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Me, too. I listened to 5150 all the way through again today and his tone is so much more
compressed, and as a result, sounds less dynamic and alive to my ears.

Listening to Fair Warning and 5150 back to back and it is quite stark, in my estimation.
 
unix-guy said:
Just because his ideal tone may have changed doesn't mean my ideal version of his tone did ;)
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That's a legitimate standpoint. In my opinion it's kinda stuck in neutral and perhaps prevents people from enjoying everything he did - which, let's be honest, a lot of people do. They are terminally stuck in Women and Children Firstitude forever.

There is scientific precedent for it. Studies have shown (according to Adam Neely) that musically, we're all permanent magnets for whatever we were listening to at about hte age of 14 +/- a year. So, whatever that was, that's just who you are forever. For me, that was OU812 and everything else in the 1987-1989 timeframe. Look at these lists, they're amazing. I don't feel bad at all.

1987
1988
1989
 
Good videos about EVH! It is funny how people (we) seek to replicate something that was cheap (by necessity), and experimental. But that speaks to the influence that our guitar heroes had on us and we like the opportunity to feel a connection. In the end, it does underscore the fact that your journey is your own and there's no magic gear that turns you into a legend. Plus, as with Ed's journey, your tastes change over time and it's always a pursuit in development. That's what makes things fun.

And it's "Mean Street". There's only one "s" in "Street" and it's at the start. I still don't get why 90% of the time I hear it mentioned, it's referred to as "Mean Streets". Even Michael Anthony called it that on Howard Stern the other week. When the plural-street-people sing along do they sing "This is home...this is mean streets"? :tearsofjoy: Perhaps we should petition to change it officially. Since I'll never be able to play it, I just nail the hell out of the title. :tearsofjoy: #SaidInJest #Perhaps
 
USMC_Trev said:
There is scientific precedent for it. Studies have shown (according to Adam Neely) that musically, we're all permanent magnets for whatever we were listening to at about hte age of 14 +/- a year. So, whatever that was, that's just who you are forever.
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I don't know if it's true for everyone but it certainly is for me.
When I was 15, VH1 was released. I tend to gravitate to my rock favorites that were released between 1975-1979.
 
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USMC_Trev said:
That's a legitimate standpoint. In my opinion it's kinda stuck in neutral and perhaps prevents people from enjoying everything he did - which, let's be honest, a lot of people do. They are terminally stuck in Women and Children Firstitude forever.

There is scientific precedent for it. Studies have shown (according to Adam Neely) that musically, we're all permanent magnets for whatever we were listening to at about hte age of 14 +/- a year. So, whatever that was, that's just who you are forever. For me, that was OU812 and everything else in the 1987-1989 timeframe. Look at these lists, they're amazing. I don't feel bad at all.

1987
1988
1989
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Relevant to my previous comment, just because the earlier VH tones are my favorite doesn't prevent me from enjoying his later stuff at all.

In fact, when I listen to Van Halen (or really, any music) regardless of when it was recorded, I'm enjoying (and listening to) the music (songs, vocals/melodies, riffs, etc) way before the tone of the guitar comes into the picture...
But I agree - what you listen to during those formative years does tend to "lock in"
 
USMC_Trev said:
That's a legitimate standpoint. In my opinion it's kinda stuck in neutral and perhaps prevents people from enjoying everything he did - which, let's be honest, a lot of people do. They are terminally stuck in Women and Children Firstitude forever.

There is scientific precedent for it. Studies have shown (according to Adam Neely) that musically, we're all permanent magnets for whatever we were listening to at about hte age of 14 +/- a year. So, whatever that was, that's just who you are forever. For me, that was OU812 and everything else in the 1987-1989 timeframe. Look at these lists, they're amazing. I don't feel bad at all.

1987
1988
1989
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I actually never died from loving Fair Warning
the most, though. Maybe it'll happen tomorrow. 🤣
 
CodePoet said:
Good videos about EVH! It is funny how people (we) seek to replicate something that was cheap (by necessity), and experimental. But that speaks to the influence that our guitar heroes had on us and we like the opportunity to feel a connection. In the end, it does underscore the fact that your journey is your own and there's no magic gear that turns you into a legend. Plus, as with Ed's journey, your tastes change over time and it's always a pursuit in development. That's what makes things fun.

And it's "Mean Street". There's only one "s" in "Street" and it's at the start. I still don't get why 90% of the time I hear it mentioned, it's referred to as "Mean Streets". Even Michael Anthony called it that on Howard Stern the other week. When the plural-street-people sing along do they sing "This is home...this is mean streets"? :tearsofjoy: Perhaps we should petition to change it officially. Since I'll never be able to play it, I just nail the hell out of the title. :tearsofjoy: #SaidInJest #Perhaps
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Thank you for topping the list of 100 ridiculous things people get blown up about. 🥳 🤘:cool:

If this is your beef with people you truly have a great life, Sir! Definitely not living on the Mean Streets, are you? 🤣
 
Balance tone is the Evolution for sure , but Fair Warning is just so powerful, and at the time it came out, blew my mind even more than VH1
for me Fair Warning is EVH, and it was "the" EVH album, no doubts
 
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