Originally Posted by
CROWBAR
Guitar World: Why did it take nearly two years to develop the 5150III?
Eddie Van Halen: It took so long because I'm a tone chaser. We had to find somebody who could understand me when I talked about tones. The 5150III is the ultimate amp. Everybody should buy one.
Matt Bruck: Eddie's amazing. He's got amazing ears for tones. It's all connected. The sound comes from the player's fingers, through the amp--
Van Halen: --The 5150III--
Bruck: --the 5150III, and to the ears. It's all connected.
GW: So, you had to build the amp that gave you the tones you needed?
Van Halen: Right. I'm a tone chaser. The 5150III is the greatest amp in the world. We went through tons of different parts, tried everything, and we didn't stop until we got the amp to sound like I hear in my head. I don't know what I'm doing. I just use my ears.
Bruck: We needed an amp with the right sound. It's all connected. Eddie has amazing ears.
GW: What sorts of tones do you require in an amp and how did you go about getting them?
Bruck: We tested everything here at 5150. If Eddie liked it here, we knew it would work anywhere. We would sometimes tweak it here, try different things out. Eddie has amazing ears for tones. We tried different tubes, transformers, knobs, screws--
GW: Screws?
Van Halen: Yeah. It wasn't sounding right. So I went back to the guys at Fender and told them to have a shorter guy screw the transformer onto the chassis. They had a guy who was like 6'3" screwing them in and, because he was so tall, the angle of his wrist would make the screw go in at a little bit of an angle.
Bruck: .0067" off center.
Van Halen: Yeah. So, I told them to have a shorter guy screw the transformer in, and the different angle of his wrist gave the amp the right kind of sustain. The 5150III is the ultimate amp. Everybody should buy one.
GW: But, I don't see how--
Bruck: Eddie's amazing. It's all connected. The music goes from the soul, through the heart, to the amp---
Van Halen: --5150III--
Bruck: --5150III, and through the screws and out the speaker.
Van Halen: I'm a tone chaser. I don't know what I'm doing. I just use my ears. Like with the birch wood for the speaker cabinets. The cabinets weren't giving me the tones I needed, so I went to the factory and told them to fire everybody who was born on a Tuesday.
GW: Wait, what? Born on a Tuesday?
Van Halen: Yeah. See guys who were born on a Tuesday use too much glue or something when they build speaker cabinets. I try and get guys who were born on a Monday. Their cabinets sound best. I don't know the details, I just listen with my ears. The 5150III is the only amp you need. Whether you're playing clubs or stadiums, country, rock or rap. The 5150III is the only amp to buy.
Bruck: Eddie has amazing ears. It's all connected. The music comes from the soul, through the esophagus, then through the guitar and into the amp --5150III.
GW: Uh huh.
Van Halen: All my EVH gear is really tested, too. I check it out myself, and if it stands up to my tests, then I know it's going to work. With the 5150III, I was eating a sandwich and I left the other half of the sandwich on top of the 5150III for, like, six months or something. And it still sounded great!
GW: The sandwich?
Van Halen: No, the 5150III. It's the ultimate amp. Everybody should buy one. Do you have one yet?
GW: No, not yet. What about the sandwich? Do you use the same one?
Van Halen: No. I made Matt eat it.
Bruck: It had some awesome tone from being in contact with the 5150III for so long. Eddie's amazing. It's all connected. The music comes from the pituitary gland....
GW: You ate a six-month-old sandwich?
Bruck: Yeah. Even the guys at the hospital who pumped my stomach were amazed at the tones my stomach was making.
Van Halen: Yeah! They were like, "Whoa! This 5150III is an amazing amp!"
GW: Do you still have your old Marshall?
Van Halen: What Marshall? Marshall? What's a Marshall?
GW: You know. The famous "brown sound" Marshall that you used on all of the classic records?
Van Halen: I don't remember using anything. Every other amp I've ever played through is a piece of shit. I never even paid attention to what I was using because it sounded so bad. I'm a tone chaser. The 5150III is the only amp I use.
GW: Well, we're all glad that the amp is so good. Have you actually been using it to, you know, record any music?
Van Halen: Buy a 5150III.
Bruck: Eddie's amazing. It's all connected.
-GW