"Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

[pittbull]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

No I havent,I do believe that the pickup was close to the strings.Here is another question,when did the Gibson dirty fingers pickup come out.

[pittbull]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

I just found out that the Gibson Dirty Fingers pickup came out in the 80s,so Ed couldnt have used it for Van halen 1.

[Ed Hunter]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

No I havent,I do believe that the pickup was close to the strings.Here is another question,when did the Gibson dirty fingers pickup come out.

Yeah the string keep chirpin against the polepiece so he had to have
whatever pu pretty close, the dirty fingers was out in the
early 80's according to gibson.
oh how i admire those guys that put in a tone zone and call it a day! LOL!

[IanBallard]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

We're not even sure he used THAT amp on the first record. Some have said, since Sunset has loads of amps available, he could have used a 50w which would have resulted in a more gainy sound at the same cranked volume. With the same guitar, he could have switched to his 100w amp on the second records and get that more smoothed out, almost AC/DC quality on the second record and WaCF. He may have also gone back to (or pulled tubes on his Holy Grail) on Fair Warning to get the heavier, more growly sound we hear there. Who knows?

Besides, the original WIND is documented, but the actual magnet may have changed. Remember Seymour didn't originally use an A5 for his JB, so perhaps Ed's pickup had an A5 for the first record or something with a tighter, heavier bass response. Maybe it was a Mighty Mite ceramic. But Eddie will still tell you to this day, it was "A Gibson PAF", so whatever....

[IanBallard]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

One thing that convinced me about the possibility of him using a hotter ceramic is the recording of eruption. after the A chord those notes are too tight and compressed to be a PAF type. unless he used a A8 or a ceramic in the PAF?

There's also the use of 6CA7 tubes, which are closer to a 6L6 tone than a typical EL34.

[Ed Hunter]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

There's also the use of 6CA7 tubes, which are closer to a 6L6 tone than a typical EL34.

I have those in my slp 100 watter

[pittbull]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

Well I believe it was one of these 3 things,Mighty Mite Screamer pickup,Dimarzio Super Distortion or a Gibson PAF that was wound very hot by Ed.

[pittbull]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

I also for got to Ed earlier,amp wise that Van halen 1 sounds like a 50 watt vs. a 100 watt.A 50 watt is going to break up quicker then a 100 watt.Van halen II definitly sounds like a 100 watt.

[IanBallard]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

I have those in my slp 100 watter

I'm getting a set of JJ 6CA7's for my combo.... mostly to get better cleans.

[Ed Hunter]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

I'm getting a set of JJ 6CA7's for my combo.... mostly to get better cleans.

I use them cause thats what the guy who modded my plexi put in it. LOL!

[Ed Hunter]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

I also for got to Ed earlier,amp wise that Van halen 1 sounds like a 50 watt vs. a 100 watt.A 50 watt is going to break up quicker then a 100 watt.Van halen II definitly sounds like a 100 watt.

VH1 tone to me is 50 watter as well, not just the earlier breakup but a few other things as well the 50's have more of a abrasive grit overall. at least the ones i have played. I am selling my plexi to get one of those new YJM plexi's, hot damn they smoke for a out of the box marshall! if there was ever a tone that was so not yngwie its that amp! LOL!!

[MetalManiac]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

VH1 tone to me is 50 watter as well, not just the earlier breakup but a few other things as well the 50's have more of a abrasive grit overall. at least the ones i have played. I am selling my plexi to get one of those new YJM plexi's, hot damn they smoke for a out of the box marshall!

PM me on your Plexi.

[Ed Hunter]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

PM me on your Plexi.

sorry but thats already got a buyer, my friend had dibs as soon as i told him i wanted a YJM, i am just waitin on him to cut me a check then i go pickup my new marshall at GC! cant wait friday is gonna become funday!

[IanBallard]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

VH1 tone to me is 50 watter as well, not just the earlier breakup but a few other things as well the 50's have more of a abrasive grit overall. at least the ones i have played. I am selling my plexi to get one of those new YJM plexi's, hot damn they smoke for a out of the box marshall! if there was ever a tone that was so not yngwie its that amp! LOL!!

There's no photos of his rig on the first record, but there are pics from the second session and there's definitely 4 big-bottle 6CA7's in there. The dudes at the MetroAmp forums seem to be convinced of a 1987 used on the first record, or the Holy Grail with pulled tubes. Combine more breakup of a 50w with the more "6L6" quality of 6CA7's and you have a bassier, tighter and more growly response... no matter what pickup he was using.

When my guitar had a stock Custom Custom in the bridge, I was at a local shop that has a 5150 combo and I tried it out and I can tell you, the bass response was anything but "loose" with that 6L6 powered amp and I got the same, more bassy response out of an Engl Fireball with the same A2-powered guitar. Sounded TOTALLY different than my EL34-powered amp at home. So the tubes and the amount of available gain pushing them, will certainly change the tone significantly.

[Jakek5150]

Re: "Seymour Duncan Special Van halen pickup 1979"

sorry but thats already got a buyer, my friend had dibs as soon as i told him i wanted a YJM, i am just waitin on him to cut me a check then i go pickup my new marshall at GC! cant wait friday is gonna become funday!

Be sure to make a post about the YJM. I'm very interested in reading some reviews on that one. Maybe include some sound clips, please?