Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

I

ImNotMe

New member
Just goofing around on my hd500 and came across a fairly convincing patch I made with my hd500 and Greco les Paul with a super d in the bridge.

Just wanted to let you guys know it doesnÂ’t take an expensive setup to cop a passable evh tone. Please excuse my crummy playing.

IÂ’m using grey nylon picks and 8-38 strings.

https://youtu.be/YoQz5TfzU6E

I’ve got another les Paul and was wondering which pickup would give me a similar tone but I’d like to stay Duncan with this next one.

Also I’m not 100% after his tone, I’m not chasing it. It’s just the closest thing to what I hear in my head when I think ideal guitar tone.
 
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Re: Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

Sounds like you have a cool tone going on there! Can you capture better audio using the outputs on the POD?

As for Duncan pickups, take a look at the SH-5 Custom (or TB-5 if you need the wider spacing). It's not an exact copy of the Super D, but it was originally designed for Eddie in the '70s and it's the closest thing you'll find in the Duncan lineup. Cops a great EVH tone when dialed in.
 
Re: Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

I’ll try and get better audio that was my phone held up to headphones on the looper lol sounds 10x better in person

I’ll have to take a look at the custom
 
Re: Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

ImNotMe said:
I’ll try and get better audio that was my phone held up to headphones on the looper
Click to expand...

:lmao:

That GOD you admitted that!!!!!!

I would think one could (and I'd argue I have) got a pretty decent EVH with a SuperD. That said - you should be able to sculpt nearly any pup into a passable VH sound with that HD500.

A Custom will do VH1-FW pretty well, but as said, with the HD500, so would a 59. For DD, 1984+ I'd go with a Custom Custom.
 
Re: Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

78 Model.

It’s thin and bright and simulates that starved-plate variac sound with amps that aren’t being starved by a variac.
 
Re: Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

masta' c said:
Sounds like you have a cool tone going on there! Can you capture better audio using the outputs on the POD?

As for Duncan pickups, take a look at the SH-5 Custom (or TB-5 if you need the wider spacing). It's not an exact copy of the Super D, but it was originally designed for Eddie in the '70s and it's the closest thing you'll find in the Duncan lineup. Cops a great EVH tone when dialed in.
Click to expand...

Weird, I have an SH-5 and it's pretty dark for EVH sounds. Have it in an epi black beauty with 500k CtS pots.

Could be my amp but I go closer with a Super 2, but best so far has been Rockfield Mafias.
 
Re: Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

Metalhell said:
Hi, I just purchased a Dominator Guitar Pedals “Hellfire” Distortion.]
Click to expand...

Brand new member, 2 identical posts pushing the same pedal on different threads. You know what I'm thinking?

:spam:
 
Re: Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

singlecutarmy said:
Weird, I have an SH-5 and it's pretty dark for EVH sounds. Have it in an epi black beauty with 500k CtS pots.

Could be my amp but I go closer with a Super 2, but best so far has been Rockfield Mafias.
Click to expand...

Well there you go man. It's going to sound dark in a LP vs a superstrat.
 
Re: Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

Masta' C said:
the SH-5 Custom was originally designed for Eddie in the '70s.
Click to expand...
Really? And how do you know?

So, where does it leaves the EVH '78? A Marketing lie?

Something doesn't quite add up... care to explain?

/Peter
 
Re: Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

You and GrilledChickenSalad are two troll peas in a pod, always showing up at the same time to do nothing but criticize.

There's a whole history about the SH-5 that you've obviously missed. Seymour worked with EVH on more than one pickup, including rewinds. The marketing doesn't lie...you two are just poorly informed know-it-alls without a clue
 
Re: Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

Discharged said:
Really? And how do you know?

So, where does it leaves the EVH '78? A Marketing lie?

Something doesn't quite add up... care to explain?

/Peter
Click to expand...

The SH-5 was originally advertised with Eddie’s name (the ad has been posted on here multiple times) and Eddie made Seymour stop. The SH-5 was developed to be a hotter PAF sound to replace the original PAF that went out in his Frankie. The ‘78 model was made to sound like eddies original PAF that died, and the IM-1, which I believe is now the Frankenstein Custom, is closer to what’s currently in it today. At least that’s my understanding.
 
Re: Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

It's out there. Others here have already attested to that. Need more proof? I'm not your dog...ask your boy GrilledChickenSalad to fetch it for you ;)
 
Re: Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

Discharged said:
Really? And how do you know?

So, where does it leaves the EVH '78? A Marketing lie?

Something doesn't quite add up... care to explain?

/Peter
Click to expand...

I posted this info a few years back... I'll repost:

Pics from my own copy of Guitar Player magazine Oct 1979:

GP Oct 79 pg 17 c.jpg
GP Oct 79 pg 17 b.jpg
GP Oct 79 pg 17 a.jpg

Jas Obrecht 1979 interview:

Eddie Van Halen Complete 1979 Interview

Eddie Van Halen said:
Yeah. And also, him selling it and advertising, makes it seem to the fans that I’m selling myself. They don’t know that I’m against it. They think that I’m out for the bucks. That’s not it at all. So it’s kind of a drag. There’s another guy too . . . . See, I’ve rewound my own pickups before, and a guy named Seymour Duncan – you probably know him – I I got pissed at him too. He called me up and said, “Can we use your name for a special pickup?” And I said no. Next time I pick up Guitar Player magazine, there’s a special Van Halen model customized Duncan pickup. So I called him up and said, “What the hell’s goin’ on?” So he stopped, finally. It’s just kind of weird, you know.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Super Distortion - Van Halen Tone Attempt

Thank you, LLL.

That was certainly useful, and enlighting. Man, was Eddie a narcissist, already as a young man! ��
 
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