Van Halen 5150 Tone Breakthrough

ledhalen45

ledhalen45

Member
So I've been a huge fan of the 5150 tone from Van Halen's 1986 Album of the same name since I've heard it. It's been the most enigmatic tone I've ever heard and I've always tried to recreate it. I think I finally made a break through and would love feedback on where I've gotten so far. Going straight into my Apollo Interface with the 1084 Channel Strip set flat, as well as going through a pultec with some 8k boosted at 1.



 
Very good and so so close!!! love it! Can you share what amp and cab you set on?
I made a preset more in the F.U.C.K. vain that with my EBMM axis sounds very good, not spot on, but good for me ( bedroom play )
 
ledhalen45 said:
So I've been a huge fan of the 5150 tone from Van Halen's 1986 Album of the same name since I've heard it. It's been the most enigmatic tone I've ever heard and I've always tried to recreate it. I think I finally made a break through and would love feedback on where I've gotten so far. Going straight into my Apollo Interface with the 1084 Channel Strip set flat, as well as going through a pultec with some 8k boosted at 1.



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Is that a Fractal?
Share the preset?
 
Hell yeah, sounds great man! Really nailing the cadence of his playing too! :fire:

Uelef said:
Isn't it a bit too harsh? And I am missing a real tube compression feeling …
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I was initially thinking the same, but it could also be the "in the mix" vs "in the bedroom" approach to dialing in the sound. Those are usually much different, with the former being a bit more "brittle/thin/harsh" to accommodate the width of the band, along with a bump in mids/high-mids to poke out a bit more.
 
Uelef said:
Isn't it a bit too harsh? And I am missing a real tube compression feeling …
Click to expand...
Definitely feeling it’s a bit too harsh as well, this is just the closest I’ve gotten so far. There’s a certain roundness and smoothness to the top end of Eddie’s guitars on the album. I’ve been trying the best I can to get it right in the amp block, and I agree that it’s on the brighter side.

As far as the detuning method, I definitely feel like I have that nailed. After stumbling on this breakthrough, it seems that Eddie flips between a number of different methods to detune depending on the album. But the amp tone can definitely improve.
 
ledhalen45 said:
Definitely feeling it’s a bit too harsh as well, this is just the closest I’ve gotten so far. There’s a certain roundness and smoothness to the top end of Eddie’s guitars on the album. I’ve been trying the best I can to get it right in the amp block, and I agree that it’s on the brighter side.

As far as the detuning method, I definitely feel like I have that nailed. After stumbling on this breakthrough, it seems that Eddie flips between a number of different methods to detune depending on the album. But the amp tone can definitely improve.
Click to expand...
Couple of things you could do is consider adding a PEQ after the cab and cut some high-end. Some folks have a set frequency they use each time they do this, but the best way is to loop your riff on the axe and use your ears to set the right freq. Another is to check out the "smoothing" in the cab block itself. Something of an "ah ha!" moment for most folks looking to smooth out an otherwise great sound.
 
that album and track in particular , for me, is also a gold standard. That was the first album that I started listening to VH when i was about 15. My brother gave me the tape and that was it for me. I also run through an apollo and have the 1084 flat in my chain as well ha! Would love to hear about your amp setup/settings!!!!! I've been relearning some VH songs this week. Finally getting the nuances on drop dead legs. realized I had been playing it wrong all these years

the tones on that album used to mystify me ...like the cleaned up parts on Best of Both Worlds. me trying to roll off the volume on the bridge pickup or use split coil but then learning that he used a Strat apparently. no wonder it sounded so clean not to mention that their tunings are all over the place! I'd always try to play along and wonder why even my eb tuned guitar was off. I don't think Ed ever bothered with an actual tuner. I read they mostly just tuned to eachother.
Speaking of 5150 era and Live Without a Net...apparently is the tone Joe Satriani is aiming for for the Best of All Worlds Tour.
 
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