VH Explorer sound

Re: VH Explorer sound

The Destroyer belonged to Chris Holmes?

"Chris used to play a cool Ibanez Destroyer back then and Eddie borrowed it for the Women and Children First album in 1980. "

Wow. Is that true?
 
Re: VH Explorer sound

Get rid of the electronics in that guitar, not just the pickups. The pots are especially bad in those guitars.
 
Re: VH Explorer sound

To get close to his sound (regardless of guitar), you need a stock SLP1959 head, cranked to the max.

Nobody, anywhere on the internet or otherwise can, with any degree of certainty, know what pickups Eddie Van Halen ACTUALLY HAD in his guitars, as he recorded those tracks. Period. End. Of. Story.

I mean, even if you see a cream DSD in a guitar, he allegedly stuck PAF alnico magnets in them. He allegedly used Mighty Mite DiMarzio clones. He allegedly used a Duncan-wound "hot" PAF. He allegedly used a Duncan Custom. He allegedly used stock Ibanez Super 70's or Super Distortions. He allegedly used nails, wrapped in coat-hangers with refrigerator magnets. You see the problems here?
 
Last edited:
Re: VH Explorer sound

To get close to his sound (regardless of guitar), you need a stock SLP1959 head, cranked to the max.

Nobody, anywhere on the internet or otherwise can, with any degree of certainty, know what pickups Eddie Van Halen ACTUALLY HAD in his guitars, as he recorded those tracks. Period. End. Of. Story.

I mean, even if you see a cream DSD in a guitar, he allegedly stuck PAF alnico magnets in them. He allegedly used Mighty Mite DiMarzio clones. He allegedly used a Duncan-wound "hot" PAF. He allegedly used a Duncan Custom. He allegedly used stock Ibanez Super 70's or Super Distortions. He allegedly used nails, wrapped in coat-hangers with refrigerator magnets. You see the problems here?


I feel like Universities should start offering a course in "Brown sound tone chasing".
 
Re: VH Explorer sound

I feel like Universities should start offering a course in "Brown sound tone chasing".

It would not surprise me, given the amazing amount of money people sink into the obsession, getting into tens of thousands in college debt to get "that extra brown" edge.

Yes, I have a Strat with one angled humbucker and a Floyd. Yes, it's partially an homage to EVH, but I ain't painting stripes on it and I'm certainly not going to buy $160 pickups in some attempt to nail a tone EVH abandoned when Jimmy Carter was President.
 
Re: VH Explorer sound

To get close to his sound (regardless of guitar), you need a stock SLP1959 head, cranked to the max.

+ a million. People get so fixated on the pu side of things, then they complain when their Frankenstein pu doesn't sound right through their Pod, Cybertwin, Rectum Frier, or whatever.

If you think about it, Eddie used a Destroyer and Frankenstein on the first album (and maybe other stuff) - two pretty different guitars with, no doubt, different pups, yet they sound pretty similar in the end because he's using the same amp dimed.
 
Re: VH Explorer sound

In a pickup the closest tone i ever got was the custom shop 78 wound to his exact spec by MJ. I am NOT saying thats what he used but it DOES have that tone:)
 
Re: VH Explorer sound

I'm sorry man the sound of the VH explorer in "you really got me"
I can not get the sound out of my head :]

But I do not like just VH also allen collins from Lynyrd Skynyrd
and wayne kramer from MC5 All three my favorite guitarists

What do you think would be best SH-5 or DSD or 59?

and what about the Electronics?

tnx
 
Re: VH Explorer sound

I'm sorry man the sound of the VH explorer in "you really got me"
I can not get the sound out of my head :]

But I do not like just VH also allen collins from Lynyrd Skynyrd
and wayne kramer from MC5 All three my favorite guitarists

What do you think would be best SH-5 or DSD or 59?

and what about the Electronics?

tnx

Of those the 59 or sh5 for the you really got me tone:cool2:
 
Re: VH Explorer sound

This whole thread is pointless...

The clips posted are the STUDIO versions of the songs and that means som many things...

-No idea what pickups are in said guitar.

-No idea what amp is being used

-No idea what the signal path looked like.

-No idea what was done to the raw recordings post tape to the songs dialed in.

and most importantly...

-NO FREAKING CLUE WHAT GUITAR(S) WERE EVEN USED ON THOSE TRACKS FOR SURE...
 
Back
Top