early VH sound

[stayfrosty1978]

Hey guys, im in a Van Halen cover band and im looking for a good amp for under 700$, either head or combo, it doesnt matter, needs an fx loop, and reverb would be nice but not a must, no less than 15 watts and 100 is a bit to much, i play a homemade evh B&W with a Seymour duncan 78 alinico ll pickup, doesnt need to be exactly the sound but passable. Im in st. louis btw. Thanks.

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: early VH sound

Your best bet will be to get some kind of british/plexi style amp.

[Red_Label]

Re: early VH sound

Keep your eyes open and maybe you'll find a deal on the 50 watt EVH amp.

Another option is a British-made DSL50.

[Nacho8807]

Re: early VH sound

I can't recommend the DSL enough. The 40 watt combo sounds about perfect for you. I have one and it's great on either the crunch channel with a boost or the od 1 channel. It's nice and bright like EVH's Plexi was, and it'll let the 78 in your strat really shine since I think it's a pretty dark pickup. I know this firsthand because I too have a strat and had a Frankenstein pickup in it for some time and it nailed the early VH sound to a tee through the DSL. The only drawback is the reverb on mine is kind of lackluster, and that's a big part of the VH sound.

[aleclee]

Re: early VH sound

Another one to check out is the Yamaha T50 or T100. They were designed by Mike Soldano and the preamp is pretty similar to an SLO. One nice feature it had was separate reverb levels for the clean and dirty channels.

The one thing that might be a deal breaker is the FX loop. It's pretty picky about what's in the loop.

[B2D]

Re: early VH sound

DSL50 or JVM205H if you can swing it. If you've get extra cash you can have it Voodoo modded and get a LOT of mileage out of those things.

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: early VH sound

Hey guys, im in a Van Halen cover band and im looking for a good amp for under 700$, either head or combo, it doesnt matter, needs an fx loop, and reverb would be nice but not a must, no less than 15 watts and 100 is a bit to much, i play a homemade evh B&W with a Seymour duncan 78 alinico ll pickup, doesnt need to be exactly the sound but passable. Im in st. louis btw. Thanks.

Do you already have a speaker cab, and is that part of the budget?

[stayfrosty1978]

Re: early VH sound

Do you already have a speaker cab, and is that part of the budget?

i already have a 4x12, sorry, shouldve made that clear lol

[allbutromeo]

Re: early VH sound

Tons of DSLs out there under $700, but I would recommend spending a little more and getting a Marshall Vintage Modern. Currently one at Pittsburgh GC for $850.

[Demanic]

Re: early VH sound

I bet that this would be a good find http://www.musiciansfriend.com/ampli...mbo-amp/h76846

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: early VH sound

I don't MEAN to be "That Guy" but I am so....

If I went to see a VH cover band (If of course you're more of a 'tribute' band). I would be pissed if I didn't see a Marshall, 5150, or a plexistyle/ looking head. Also, combos for VH is a nono for me. I'd be looking into lower wattage heads and maybe even an attenuator because I know big amps can be a little much in some venues.

Saw a guy once who could play his ass off, had a 5150III head....and played through the dinky 2x12 EVH Cab...sounded ok, but man it just didnt feel right.

[Red_Label]

Re: early VH sound

I just picked-up a Ceriatone Chupacabra 50-watt head this morning. Won't arrive until next week, but it should be a PERFECT head for EVH tones. I got it for $800, so it's not far out of your price rance. One of the best amps I've heard for early EVH tones...

[stayfrosty1978]

Re: early VH sound

I don't MEAN to be "That Guy" but I am so....

If I went to see a VH cover band (If of course you're more of a 'tribute' band). I would be pissed if I didn't see a Marshall, 5150, or a plexistyle/ looking head. Also, combos for VH is a nono for me. I'd be looking into lower wattage heads and maybe even an attenuator because I know big amps can be a little much in some venues.

Saw a guy once who could play his ass off, had a 5150III head....and played through the dinky 2x12 EVH Cab...sounded ok, but man it just didnt feel right.

i completely agree, i dont even know why i asked for a combo haha, and depending on the head, if it wasnt a plexi style head i was just going to put it in a plexi style shell, we arent really a tribute band, im not wearing the womens and childrens first jumpsuit or anything lol,

[Van Noord]

Re: early VH sound

Anything that will get you a nice low gain Marshall grunt, then boost that sound with an EQ pedal of some sort.
Look for a used 5150, and either boost the crunch channel or carve something out of the lead channel.

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: early VH sound

I have a Laney AOR 100 Pro Tube head from '86 or '87. Its more of a jcm800 amp, but it does the job and you can find them on eBay really cheap