EVH tone

[Vincent]

After listening to multiple EVH concert videos / DVDs, I am convinced that there is a certain aspect of EVH's tone that does not come from his current use of 5150s and the Wolfgangs.

I am not sure how to describe it, his tone has a very sweet top end harmonics that just seem to jump right off the guitar. Listen to his tone on 'humans being' during the slow solo bit and you have an idea of what I mean.

So how does he do it? Some might say its in the fingers, but I am pretty sure its got something to do with his amp settings / other effects he utilizes. I must say I got a lot closer to his tone after switching from my MP-1 to my current 5150 head but I am nowhere near that super-hot molten / sustain-rich tone that EVH has. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[mrfjones]

Re: EVH tone

read the other thread where this is being discussed. there are lots of ways you could get real close to that sound, though honestly a cranked marshall and almost any decent guitar (single coils or humbuckers) will give you a very good rock sound.

 

[ledzepp29]

Re: EVH tone

when I was them live Ed's tone was horrible, it was so trebley and ear-piercing, my friend who was obsessed with him even admitted the tone was terrible, it was especially bad when he would do open chords...

 

[aleclee]

Re: EVH tone

I think a lot of it is in his right hand technique. His early amps didn't have a whole lot of gain so he had to really smack the strings to get the kind of distortion he wanted. I think that greatly contributed to the dynamic quality of his tone on the early VH albums.

 

[rspst14]

Re: EVH tone

when I was them live Ed's tone was horrible, it was so trebley and ear-piercing, my friend who was obsessed with him even admitted the tone was terrible, it was especially bad when he would do open chords...

Let that be a lesson kids, wear your earplugs so that you don't damage the upper frequency range of your hearing.

Ryan

 

[Stratcat]

Re: EVH tone

when I was them live Ed's tone was horrible, it was so trebley and ear-piercing, my friend who was obsessed with him even admitted the tone was terrible, it was especially bad when he would do open chords...

This is true, Ed has never really gotten a great tone live like he did in the studio. It is also a fact that Ed drinks booze before and during his shows, and I am sure that does not help his live sound either.

 

[deftgala]

Re: EVH tone

since you guys are discussing Halen, I was wondering if anyone had the same sensation when I heard Van Halen III...

"uh, this album should never have been released, this sucks!" That is hard for me to say, because I generally find good things about every album I listen to, especially by very respected rock bands. But Halen III, oh, man...yikes.

 

[Vincent]

Re: EVH tone

I can honestly say that I am not obsessed with his early VH tone or 'brown sound' as many call it. Rather, I was referring to his later studio/live work in his wolfgang/5150 days. I dunno, but there is something about his later tone that appeals to me, I just can't get over the super-intense harmonic content, it almost sounds like there are several harmony guitars being played very softly.

I agree that VH never got it right with Van Halen III, that was one very sad album - Gary Cherone was just never meant to be...