Van Halen tone - No Tone Matching!!

Stringtheorist

Stringtheorist

Fractal Fanatic
Anyone got a good Van Halen preset without using Tone Matching? My setup isn't FRFR so I don't use cabs and IRs. Been playing around with the Brit Brown but can't dial it in. Is there a better model for this?
 
I find the Brit Brown to pretty much nail the VH 1/II tone with a little tweaking. However - it reacts *completely* different depending on pickups. Out of several similar guitars (2 Hamer Centaurs and a Diablo - all circa 90/91) with a variety of pickups (Duncans, Dimarzios and Bareknuckles), the Bareknuckle Nailbomb Alnico is the dog that hunts with that particular amp block IMO. That's pretty much my go-to tone for everything (whether I would be using the Axe, Splawn or my old Marshalls). I got pretty close using the HBE in the Ultra but was always left wanting something the HBE didn't have - I ended up using Brown in the Ultra also but the real piece of that puzzle for me was my speakers - I don't run FRFR either so cab speakers is another rabbit hole to venture into... I have my 900 slant loaded with 2 Tone Tubby 40's and 2 WGS Reaper 30's (after a lot of experimentation). The combo of those speakers, cab, pickups and the Brit Brown amp block almost makes me wet myself sometimes :). Can't wait to gig with the II in the rig and it looks like it's gonna be sooner than later since my Ultra bit the dust this past weekend.

I'll connect my laptop and pull the patch in the next few days if you want - maybe it'll help, maybe not.
 
I've had the best luck using the Cameron CH2
not exact but pretty close and very "usable"
 
Cameron high stock pre set,cut the bass ,chorus,digital, rate 99,level23 delay 2290 ,33ms mix 15 then put the enhancer in place of rotary . play panama
sounds good with my mo joe and a evh bare knuckle
 
+1 for Cam 2.

Or try Plexi or JCM800 with Saturation on.

HBE is too thick IMO.
 
I think you need to check out Pete Thorn's SL68 Demo .... I can't post a YT link from work because it's blocked, but I'm sure you can find it. Everything dimed w/his Suhr Sunburst Strat is close enough for me .... He even got it closer by putting an EP-Pre in front ....

IMHO ..., it's everything good about Eddie's tone, but not near as much of the bad ... !

Maybe he'll hook up all up with a TONE MATCH of that sound ... !
 
R.D. said:
I think you need to check out Pete Thorn's SL68 Demo .... I can't post a YT link from work because it's blocked, but I'm sure you can find it. Everything dimed w/his Suhr Sunburst Strat is close enough for me .... He even got it closer by putting an EP-Pre in front ....

IMHO ..., it's everything good about Eddie's tone, but not near as much of the bad ... !

Maybe he'll hook up all up with a TONE MATCH of that sound ... !
Click to expand...
Holy shit. You mean this one, right? Suhr SL68 Handwired amplifier, demo by Pete Thorn - YouTube
That's awesome!
 
R.D. said:
Yup ! That's it ! Monster tone ..., and not just for the VH thing either ....
Click to expand...
I'm trying to figure out which amp model he used to match his SL68. He says in his video it was the "Plexi 2" model but there's no Plexi 2 in the Axe-FX II... Was it deleted from the latest firmware release? Which current model would get me closest? To my ears I'm thinking the Cameron has the sparkle but doesn't have quite the right character. I guess I'll start again with the Plexis but I've not had a lot of luck so far using these to cop a Van Halen tone. Mind you, I'm hardly using the right guitar... I have a PRS HB-II, an ESP CTM-1 and a Strat with a set of Joe Bardens. :/
 
I didn't think of that, I'll have to double check tonight .... I'm guessing he meant to say Plexi-Bright maybe ?

Anyway, keep in mind that the majority of that tone is coming from the custom IR he shot of his studio rig .... That includes the Speaker, two Mics ( 57 & ribbon ), plus his relatively high end Mic Pre and a couple of plug-ins that mimic a Trident Mixing console ( I think ) ....

That's something that I don't think we can re-create in the Axe, without the custom IR ....
 
I've got a pretty good preset going with the Cameron CH2 now, working with Pete Thorn's SL68 demo as a reference. I probably need a proper Superstrat to get any closer though.
 
Last edited:
after listening to this clip in the OP last night I ecided to try the Leggi for a VH tone (I had been using the Cameron and I have one I like although it's not "perfect")
With the Leggi I used the OH SLM 75H cab and I got a surprisingly good VH type of tone.
String Theorist if you have time give that combo a try and see what you think. I used a Ts808 up front wit hthe tone up at around 2:00 with the level at 3:00 and the drive at zero
to "thin out" the leggi a bit.
 
Last edited:
I've had some good results using the plexi treble with bright on, saturation on, bass close to 0, middle almost cranked, presence around 1 o' clock and treb around 3 o'clock. Drive at 7.5 and master at 9.3. You are not using frfr, so the cab would be of no interest to you... But just in case you wanna try it, I happen to like a stereo combination of the 4x12 basketweave g12h30 and g12m25 with no mics.
I've also changed the bright cap to 500pf (closer to a 12xxxx series plexi) and have the amps graphic eq set to a little cut for 500Hz (-3.5) and 1000Hz (-2.5).
With a mono tape delay (320msec) and a nice medium plate reverb, I'm getting really close.
I use an alder neckthrough guitar with BK VHII humbucker in the bridge (kinda hot paf) and an atomic wedge...
For me it works really well...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom