early VH sound

S

stayfrosty1978

New member
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.
 
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.
 
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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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Re: early VH sound

stayfrosty1978 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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

 
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Re: early VH sound

Kamanda~SD said:
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.
Click to expand...

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,
 
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.
 
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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
 
Re: early VH sound

stayfrosty1978 said:
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,
Click to expand...

Plexi style head is a cool idea, especially if going for a more genuine look....in which I suggest hitting the gym and fitting into one of those jumpsuits! hahaha

I am in an AC/DC tribute band and I bring my half or 3/4 stack to every gig. I also have my attenuator hidden behind as well, tone and the look! And if the venue is big enough the attenuator is just bypassed anyways.
 
Re: early VH sound

Red_Label said:
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...

Click to expand...

Sounds excellent and the price;)
 
Re: early VH sound

I don't know about amps under $700 that do that tone, but if you want the real tone, get:

- Marshall Superlead plexi-style circuit amp (doesn't have to be an actual Marshall)

- 6CA7s for powertubes (EHX makes great new-manufactured ones)

- At least a 5A variac; drop voltage to around 90-100v, then bias amp as you normally would

Then add in front:

- A real (not fake like the EP Booster) EP3-style (Maestro Echoplex) preamp that uses a TIS58 running at ~22-24 volts
 
Re: early VH sound

LLL said:
I don't know about amps under $700 that do that tone, but if you want the real tone, get:

- Marshall Superlead plexi-style circuit amp (doesn't have to be an actual Marshall)

- 6CA7s for powertubes (EHX makes great new-manufactured ones)

- At least a 5A variac; drop voltage to around 90-100v, then bias amp as you normally would

Then add in front:

- A real (not fake like the EP Booster) EP3-style (Maestro Echoplex) preamp that uses a TIS58 running at ~22-24 volts
Click to expand...

For this exact purpose I run a Bugera 1960 Infinium with a quad of JJ 6CA7s into a Jet City Jettenuator (not far off from the big resistor Ed used) into a 4x12. I haven't gotten a Variac, yet.

The crux of the amp is that it's a 1959SLP circuit with Randy Rhoads mods. I bypass the PPIMV and plug into the upper left input (bright and normal jumpered). I dime EVERYTHING then adjust bass and bright volume to taste. Ed didn't always run the bright at 10. Dropping it to 7-8 actually adds sparkle due today the way the bright cap works.

It gets REALLY close. The rest of it is how you play the guitar. Get the right feel and you're there.

I've been surprised how much of a beating this particular model of Bugera can take. Never would have guessed before. I've had mine since the summer. A guy named Blix over at TGP and MetroAmp.com has had the same amp for a few years and doesn't go easy on it. He's posted tons of clips of it.

Sent from my VK810 4G using Tapatalk
 
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