Tips for getting Ed's DLR era sound

[Cathedral]

Originally posted by Brownsound1
Yeah that is true Cathedral, but some people's tone just sucks total ass, so I say use Ed's old tone as a reference point. I gotta admit it would be nice to just be able to dial up the "Van Halen II tone," or the Unchained tone. My tone doesn't sound that much like Ed...probably somewhere between old George Lynch and Jimmy Page. LOL

That's kind of what i did actually, lol...I'm running a modified 5150II half stack right now which is close to his older tone since i am now using EL34's in it as opposed to the 6L6 pieces of shit that sound like the cold ass smegma filled vagina of the Spammy era.

This all came about when i was changing the Pre-Amp tubes which the design really sucks on, and i cracked the circuit board.
Killowatt, my friendly neighborhood electronis guru who has modified a few Kustom amps for me in the eearly 90's suggested letting him screw around with it...I agreed and he gave me back a hotrodded killer sounding amp...
The dude is a genius and really did this amp a world of good, it rips ass now and i have given up the thoughts of selling it.

My Quadraverb GT is still my effects arsenal, but the noise it produces is starting to get on my nerves. I do love the range in tones this set up gives me but i am looking for something quieter and hopefully more versitile.

[BrownSound1]

I'm surprised the Quadraverb is all that noisy...perhaps there is a problem with the unit. I'll tell you what though, I think Lexicon produces the best sounding reverb units on the market. To me a lot warmer than the Alesis stuff, of course they cost a bit more too.

One thing people HAVE to remember, even if you played through Ed's old rig it is still going to sound like you. Equipment is definitely part of it, but the other part is all you...and I mean physically you. The attack of you pick...the way your fingers push the strings...all of these contribute to tone.

[Cathedral]

The GT isn't that noisy, but it has this very low hiss that only i pretty much hear that is getting on my nerves lately. I have owned 3 of these units and they all had it.

I'll check out some Lexicon stuff, there are a few local guys using their stuff that sound really cool and their rigs are super quiet, they just have ego's that i don't feel like climbing in order to talk shop.

Great point about unique sounds from unique individuals also. I can get pretty anal about wanting to accurately represent a bands sound during any given song. I don't even like a vocalist taking liberties with covers if it hurts the delivery of the tune to the crowd. I don't think we should play things note for note, but we tried to at least keep the flavor of the band that wrote it in tact.

[BrownSound1]

LMAO!! It totally pisses me off when the singer doesn't sing the song like it was originally done. I'm like dude, when you sell a million records then you can take liberties...until then you gotta sing it like it was originally done. My old band did a lot of obscure Zeppelin..meaning not the normal radio shit. I would get pissed off when the fucking singer couldn't sound like Plant did. I know that is wrong of me, but damn...I've got to take a stab at sounding like Page...so why shouldn't he try to sound like Plant. LOL

[Cathedral]

A-fuckin-men...Singers have been the single most difficult assholes we have had to deal with. We had one guy that sounded like he was gonna have a coronary with his breathing style during songs that required a lot of wind.

I mean, you know it's time to put out a new ad when the guitarist is giving the vocalist tips on how to deliver a line, lol.

It's an 80's tune, take your high note into a falsetta but blend it so they can't hear the shift, lol. he's like, "What?"

We're like, "You're fired, go home" lol...true story...

[GAR]

Betcha $1000 I could put the Van Halen sound inside an Altoids tin, along with a stereo chorus, echoplex slapback digital delay, reverb, with direct stereo output AND a headphones output.. with active adjustable EQ?

ANY TAKERS?

An older Marshall JMP Super Lead is a good start, but you'll have to add some additional gain stages in the preamp section like Ed did.

.. just because you can buy the same container does not mean you will wind up with the same sound - its just a start.

[Big Troubles]

Originally posted by Cathedral
A-fuckin-men...Singers have been the single most difficult assholes we have had to deal with. We had one guy that sounded like he was gonna have a coronary with his breathing style during songs that required a lot of wind.

I mean, you know it's time to put out a new ad when the guitarist is giving the vocalist tips on how to deliver a line, lol.

It's an 80's tune, take your high note into a falsetta but blend it so they can't hear the shift, lol. he's like, "What?"

We're like, "You're fired, go home" lol...true story...

Funny stuff. Kudos to the new avatar too Cathedral.

[Big Troubles]

I know its unrelated, but there are way too many thread starters for the sake of starting threads, so Id like to ask a dumb question here...(being a newbie and all) Ive been playing for about 7 months, and I've gathered an impressive collection of pedals. Im moving to buying a better quality guitar. I like the Epiphones. But the one I want doesn't have a whammy bar hook up. (realising that this might be better since the bar tends to bend the fuck out of the strings when attached) Is the Epiphone worth the doe, and can I put a custom bar on it, or would that be just dumb?

[Big Troubles]

I can prob pick up a used Epiphone for about $200, maybe $300.
Pawn shop on main street here has tons of good used shit. Old Marshall stacks too.

[Cathedral]

If you want a whammy down the road i'd suggest just getting an axe with one installed on it now.
If you aren't interested in using a bar then go without it and buy another guitar later.
If the one you get isn't routed for a trem then it wouldn't really be worth having it done later.

It's easier to have the trem and not use it then it is to want a trem and not have it, lol.

But, the key to your answer is this "The guitar i want doesn't have one", sooooooooo, You don't really seem to need one, lmmfao.

[Eyes of the Night]

Originally posted by GAR


An older Marshall JMP Super Lead is a good start, but you'll have to add some additional gain stages in the preamp section like Ed did.

.. just because you can buy the same container does not mean you will wind up with the same sound - its just a start.

Thanks broham ... never knew that! Niiice ...

Can you have someone put that in for you or is it easy enough for a peep like you or *I*? ...

Can't we just get a 5150II stack and call it even? ...

[BrownSound1]

The 5150 and 5150 II won't get that early Ed tone as easy as you might think. A big part of the early tone is attributed to the power amp screaming like a virgin because it is cranked full on. If you use a 5150 type of amp, first thing you've got to do is get rid of the Peavey cabinet and put it on a vintage Marshall cab...or the reissue.

There is an amp that gets that tone pretty good...it is called the Peacemaker. It is manufactured by Mojave Amp Works.

Here's the url... http://www.mojaveampworks.com

And one for the Peacemaker... http://www.mojaveampworks.com/1Ampli...PeaceMaker.asp

Be sure to check out the sound clips on the left hand side of the Peacemaker page.

[sambo]

A big part of the sound is 1. the * amp * and 2. a decent humbucker - doesn't necessarily have to be a Seymour Duncan, but it helps. I have a 500K pot in my Strat and these coupled with an original 70's script logo MXR Phase 90 gets the job done. EVH also played aggressively back then, which was vital.

Oh and this type of amp helps... a non master volume Plexi. The older the better, I have heard some bad things about the ones from 2000 onwards, esepcially the 2003 on www.harmonycentral.com.

This is exactly like mine, will post when I get my camera sorted.

Cheers!

[BlimpyCHIMP™]

Originally posted by sambo
Oh and this type of amp helps... a non master volume Plexi.

THE PEACEMAKER IS A BETTER DEAL CUZ THEM VOLTAGE CAPS IS STRONGER N SHIT

PLEXIS - YOU GOTTA REBUILD EM TOTALLY AND GET CHARGED 500-600

ID RATHER BUY NEW

[sambo]

Cheers Blimpy... v.interesting. May have to go check out the Peacemaker. I wonder if I can get one in Australia... nothing on Ebay. http://www.wildwestguitars.com/peacemaker.htm makes interesting reading.. thanks for the heads up..