Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

[ZeroCool]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

1. On Youtube there are 20 people at least that get that sound in .with all different kinds equipment..why do people not think it is unattainable.....any difference could made up in studio reverb, flange, mic placement.

That sound is all over the internet..?????

Very true! EVH did change his gear frequently and still retained the "PAFness/ Brown Sound" throughtout. He seems to go back to 43 gauge wire. Ive never tried a Custom 5 but "maybe" EVH did. "Maybe" he liked the Custom tone, but the magnet wasn't working with his sound, so he changed to an A2. Who knows?! But, making $$$ and having great guitar techs availiable, he could have easily bought every pickup on the market and test each one out with his tech. I'm sure it would've cost him less than 1 night at a strip club!!

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

The whole EVH argument is like when everyone was "convinced" that SRV's pickups were over-wound because there was no way he could get that sound with stock pups.

Well guess what, they were stock and yes he could.

100 different ways to get Ed's early sound, pick one and move on.

 

[Varg]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Actually not so much. If you pay attention there are only a couple that come in here and chump their nuts around like chimpanzees in a poo fight over the whole EVH 1 thing.

Yes, thats true, I was just noting how many on here like to talk about EVH, whereas on My Les Paul forum its Slash they seem to talk about so much.
At the end of it all, only Slash sounds like Slash and only Eddie sounds like Eddie. Im all for trying to get a somewhat similar sound but the amount of threads Ive read here about EVH is madness!

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Very true! EVH did change his gear frequently and still retained the "PAFness/ Brown Sound" throughtout. He seems to go back to 43 gauge wire. Ive never tried a Custom 5 but "maybe" EVH did. "Maybe" he liked the Custom tone, but the magnet wasn't working with his sound, so he changed to an A2. Who knows?! But, making $$$ and having great guitar techs availiable, he could have easily bought every pickup on the market and test each one out with his tech. I'm sure it would've cost him less than 1 night at a strip club!!

Suffice it to say, the "Custom" line and his "Frankenstein/IM1" pickups are not "exactly the same", the Custom 5 would be similar to what he had in his Kramer. The IM1 is 14+k with an A5, as is the C5. Obviously the subtleties will be different because the wind formula is different, but if you have a poplar or basswood guitar like the Kramer and you want that "Live Without a Net" tone, that's a cheaper way to go than the Custom Shop.

 

[pittbull]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Edgecrusher,what ideas,what are talking about.

 

[jimo]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c67EW13Hspk

 

[pittbull]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Good sounding plexi clone but it still needs alittle more crunch-gain for the first van halen album sound.

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Here is VH's amp with a stock super 70, thats a lot of gain going on there from a super 70? something is in that signal chain other than guitar/super 70/marshall plexi.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Here is VH's amp with a stock super 70, thats a lot of gain going on there from a super 70? something is in that signal chain other than guitar/super 70/marshall plexi.

Very cool- listen right at 1:11- sounds like something kicked on there- and I don't mean just rolling up the volume on the guitar as it's instantaneous.

And again at 1:50/1:51- it's either a pickup switch going from neck to bridge, though it doesn;t quite sound right for that, or it's a pedal kicking on.

 

[pittbull]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

No question about it,van halen 1(first album) sound is the most aggressive out of all the van halen recordings.Tubes can only distort so much, there is something in front to achieve that type of distortion.I hear more of a 50 watt with something in front to push it,I dont hear a 100watt.

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

I have not heard ONE other player get a plexi to sound like that!
these clips i hear while some are good they do not match that tone.
He is using using something to push the plexi into more gain.

 

[pittbull]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

For some of the BS you hear that "Its just a stock cranked plexi using a variac to lower the voltage to 90 volts and the 6ca7 tubes",My ass........Many guys have tried that including me your not going to achieve that type of distortion.I remember reading some of Nitro's post at the metro site and the Rockstah amp site that he had conversation with Jose Arrendondo(Eddie early amp tech) and that Jose did explain to him that Eddie did use some type of overdrive-distortion pedal for that recording of van halen 1 and then for the recording of van halen II Ed did use a master volume that was installed by Jose on his plexi.The overdrive-distortion unit was not used for the recording of van halen II.You can hear the difference from van halen 1 to Van halen II,Van halen 1 is much more aggressive then van halen II,you can hear it.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Sounds like a pre-amp pedal to me, as there is almost no color or tonal chnage like you'd get from a TS, MXR D+, or DOD250 (typical peds of the day) just a fairly significant instantaneous increase in gain.

I suspect it could also be someone pulling/flipping a switch at the amp to cascade the two channels.

He has the bass rolled nearly off I'd gather- and high input one- does not sound like a jumped channel-too bright/thin.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

After listening to it further- the gain boost coincides with him turning on the Phase 90- being that those old Phase 90s suck output, he probably had it boosted internally

 

[pittbull]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Even cascading channels is not going to achieve that type of gain-crunch-distortion.There is something up front to push it.The phase 90 is a coloration pedal it doesnt add gain.There is no phase 90 on running with the devil.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Even cascading channels is not going to achieve that type of gain-crunch-distortion.There is something up front to push it.The phase 90 is a coloration pedal it doesnt add gain.There is no phase 90 on running with the devil.

Are you kidding me?? the Phase 90 is all over that clip.

If you really don't hear it, then I am convinced that you have lost your mind with this stuff.

And yes you can have them internally boosted- talk to some pedal guys who build them.

 

[pittbull]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Phase 90 ????? where....

 

[JeffB]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

LOL. Its on everytime the chorus comes in.

The whole ALBUM has the Phase 90 all over it- sometimes blatantly, sometimes very subtle.

 

[pittbull]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

The phase 90 is not used on running with the devil,its used for Eruption,atomic punk(the begining of),Ed used it for solos(some).

 

[JeffB]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

OMG, what a joke. You are clueless dude- if you cannot hear the Phase 90 on there, then you may as well give up on trying to approximate anyone's tone..cos you don't have the ears for it.