Van Halens tone on Panama

Chickenwings

Alnico 6/8
i really dig eddie. What pickup do i need to get his tone on "panama"?
 
Re: Van Halens tone on Panama

i really dig eddie. What pickup do i need to get his tone on "panama"?


he used a mean street pickup made by mean street guitars:



http://meanstreetguitars.com/
 
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Re: Van Halens tone on Panama

But one of the most dramatic rises for Duncan was during the “hair band” era. “It was the Van Halen time,” he said. “I was doing a lot of oddball things for Eddie [Van Halen]. He wouldn’t tell anybody what he had in his guitars, and he was telling people that he was winding his own pickups. But he wasn’t.” If Duncan remembers correctly, Van Halen opted for the JB model pickup, the one he first made for Beck way back when. “To this day, it’s our biggest-selling pickup of all time,” said Duncan. “I can’t comprehend how many we’ve made. It’s probably over 500,000 that we’ve made by now. It’s an amazing amount.”
 
Re: Van Halens tone on Panama

Seems like by 1984 Ed was using the Marshall with 820 ohm/0.68uf on the first preamp stage and a 820 ohm/(0.68uf in parallel with a 470uf) on the second preamp stage cathode resistor/capacitor setup which results in more bass than a 820 ohm/0.68uf on the first preamp stage and a 820 ohm/0.68uf on the second preamp stage cathode resistor/capacitor setup which was most likely used for VH1.

Also Ed was using A2 based pickups and maybe 13-14k pickups and it could be a JB maybe with a A2.
 
Re: Van Halens tone on Panama

Also Ed was using A2 based pickups and maybe 13-14k pickups and it could be a JB maybe with a A2.

a JB that was pulled from one of his kramers had these spec's

Wire Gauge: 44 AWG
Turns: 6800
Magnet: Alnico-V
Resistance @ DC = 16.34Kohms
Resonant Freq. = 5.2Kohms
Inductance @ 1KHz = 8.3Henries
Removed from one of EVH's kramer 5150's tour guitars.
 
Re: Van Halens tone on Panama

a JB that was pulled from one of his kramers had these spec's

Wire Gauge: 44 AWG
Turns: 6800
Magnet: Alnico-V
Resistance @ DC = 16.34Kohms
Resonant Freq. = 5.2Kohms
Inductance @ 1KHz = 8.3Henries
Removed from one of EVH's kramer 5150's tour guitars.

So it pretty much was a stock JB
 
Re: Van Halens tone on Panama

So it pretty much was a stock JB

according to duncan and the guy that built the kramer yes. eddie only built the proto type kramer

guitar-frankad.jpg

the rest were built by paul unkert
guitar-1984sm.jpg

guitar-hotforteacher.jpg

these were the single pickup 5150's
 
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Re: Van Halens tone on Panama

MJ and Frank have both confirmed that he had a Custom Shop "IM1" pickup in the Kramer, which is the same wind but with different wire and a degaussed A5, as the one they made for the Frankie, which has an A2. Basswood or poplar will need a brighter magnet and Ed's tone had less mids on 1984, than on previous records. He may have also had JB's in his backup guitars, hence the one they pulled. They didn't pull the pickup out of his #1 5150 though.

It's likely he used his prototype on 1984, which he also used during the 1983 tour, after he retired Frankie. Was a JB in THAT guitar? Possibly. I'm sure he wanted a bit more oomph but still with the alnico vibe.
 
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Re: Van Halens tone on Panama

Can you people answer the mother loving question!!!!!!

Use a Custom Custom. In an Alder strat or such, with a floyd and a maple neck/board - it's that tone to the bone!
 
Re: Van Halens tone on Panama

If you can't do it with a CC, you can't do it. Stop geeking in a book with it. Play the dammm guitar.
 
Re: Van Halens tone on Panama

Seriously, Fender Floyd Strat and a CC will get you the 1984 tones without even trying...
 
Re: Van Halens tone on Panama

This thread is completely invalid until Ed Hunter contributes.

Panama: gosh darn awesome tone. It sounds like a strat thru a clean channel that got its power tubes goosed all hot and smooth. in my opinion not an easy tone to get, but at least his usesm of the volume knob gived you some clues. ive tweaked and tweaked, and even using the Frankenstein pickup its tricky to get all that chimey stratlike twang clarity and cleanliness on the high strings while getting the hot engine growl on the chords. This is one of the VH tones where i get why some say use a PAF style. Its pretty open and dynamic, not compressed. i find it helps to keep your picking hand economic in attack and motion.

BTW, VH tone chasing can often rival a university education on electrical guitar. Many 13 yr olds discover crankin power tubes, hot wound pickups, DIY guitar mod/repair, echoplex motors, tone control bypass, variac/ hot plates, using slight pinch harmonics to put a shine on notes, "its all in the hands", etc etc etc along this adventurous path so ignore the natives who chuck spears at you for trying to nail a VH tone. Everyone fails yet everyone gains much ( pun intended).
 
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