I am a new AX8 user, so I recently bought 3 of Rocco's patches. One of them was based on the September, 1977 recorded Van Halen debut album. With the assistance of Rocco, and info on this forum, the Van Halen patch works 100% as intended.
Edward's playing on that debit was way ahead of its time. It combined the blues influences of Eric Clapton, unusual melodic runs of Alan Holdsworth, and a distinctive guitar effects tone that was not even close to any other guitarist up to that point.
I much prefer EVH's playing to Malmsteen. I like Malmsteen's playing when he did short solos in the pop metal late 1980s to mid 1990s tracks. I subscribe to the less is more category. I also like Warren DeMartini's playing, who was heavily influenced by Van Halen.
I use a Jackson DK2 Pro with Seymour Duncan 5-way switch pickups fitted as standard. Amplifier is a Blackstar HT-40. Some of my influences include AC/DC, Billy Squire, Van Halen, Dokken, Ratt, Saraya, The Babys, Sweet, Queen, Thin Lizzy, Def Leppard, and Cheap Trick.