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Van Halen tone test! (Patreon)

Published:
2024-01-04 14:50:50
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Ooooh things are getting tasty around here!!! Filming a deep cut Van Halen video today, and I wanted to get your input on these tones. I think it’s pretty doggone close!!! Original probably has less gain, maybe more mids. I can do the dry guitar left/reverb only right thing like the early records did, but I think that would be weird for a lesson video.

Lemme know what tweaks you’d do! Forgive the low production video, made this quickly on my phone.

Setup:

Suhr Modern w/BKP Holy Diver bridge

Carl Martin Plexitone

Marshall 50w Plexi


UA OX, which is also doing the reverb

Files

Previews only

Van Halen tone test

Comments

Michael

Can't wait to check it out for sure.

NYCM&AHole

Spent 45 minutes watching YouTube on the UA ‘68 Lion pedal and the variac’d brown sound was pretty amazing.

LiveLaughJordan

Sounds great Ben! I’d love to jam on those

NYCM&AHole
>>126129533

It’s also cheaper than the plexi you’re using, but this sounds amazing too

American Gwyn

I honestly think it sounds perfect for VH I, II, W&CF, and FW. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Michael Bodan

it's very, very close and sounds great. I agree that the original has slightly more mids and I think he also has what would equate to the presence on a modern amp pushed higher in the original tone.

BrianT

Yes, perfect for the early albums! Awesome!!

Scott Swain

Ohh. I too like nice things.

Barney Wenograd

Tone is great, congrats! VH greatest hits song lessons always welcome. thanks!

Robert Malmgren

tasty, really nice. Awesome, as always. Looking forward to the video!

Randy Fluker

Man this is close! I agree a little more mids/body maybe, but like DOA and House of Pain are spot on. Great job.

Ed Hinchey

Sounds pretty great. I’d love to hear how the UA lion in brown mode does comparatively

Brian Newman

Guy Man Dude! It’s got the ballsy, bitey, juicy, honky, and rawness of those first two albums! A touch more mids maybe? But it sounds pretty spot on to me! Well done my good and faithful servant!

Tye Price

Damn, Son! Stepdad respect for sure!

Art

Super tasty! It sounds great as is Uncle Ben,right on the money actually.

Gregg B.

It sounds great. I would consider slightly less presence and slightly more mids, something is clipping on the very high end but it sounds great. I'm being really picky. Your playing is awesome.

Julio Auto

I probably wouldn't touch it, BUT IF I DID I'd maybe make it a tad thinner, actually. And it looks like I'm the only one thinking in this direction. I listened side by side with isolated track from Running With The Devil (or at least the 1st hit on YouTube for it)

John Horak

That’s sounds great Ben. It may be just a little bright but it could be the pickup? Eddie had a PAF from a 335, didn’t he? I think they were low output.

Joe Barr

Tone chasing is so much fun!!!

Kasper Beuse Fauerby

That's really close, but perhaps not 100% there. I have that same amp, and the 1987x has a crazy amount of body to it and it does that Plexi thing where it generates those overtones in the power section (as I understand it). There are certain low notes, on certain guitars, that I simply cannot get to ring out clear without an overtone. I did my own VH tone search a while back, and got these results (linked). Also not a precise match. I think the reverb they had in the studio does a lot to the overall tone, and I seem to remember they were also tuned a little bit sharp compared to standard 440? All in all I think the original records, VH1 and VH2, are both a bit brighter than what I got. https://soundcloud.com/kasper-fauerby/van-halen-running-with-the-devil-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/kasper-fauerby/van-halen-beautiful-girls

Samuel Brockmann

" I can do the dry guitar left/reverb only right thing like the early records did, but I think that would be weird for a lesson video." No, I'd love a video on that.

Jimmy old school

It sounds great uncle Ben sounds like I just dropped the needle on my old albums you remember them right?

Keith Fine

Sounds dam close! I'm digginn it 😎👍🏽🎸

Jason

Yeah that’s really damn close!

Paul Devenney

As a core sound its amazing (and I'd love a modeller-agnostic discussion on how to get there). I'd say that the **reverb** EVH has has more high mid/high fizz, and less lower. Maybe consider the value for pre-delay on the reverb too (though I think its just the L/R thing) You could give the lesson while "dry" (easier to present concepts) - but prove the tone/final effect by widening it out to L/R and turning "on" the reverb. Sometimes what you think is played isn't really what's played, and the answer is often a combination of "multiple tracks", "Delay" or "reverb".

David Gillis

Dang that is close if not spot on! Of course the playing is dope as well!

Snake

Pretty close did you put an EQ in front of it (he used an MXR)? There is a ton more reverb (Sunset Echo Chamber on one side) on the album as you know, you need to add that to really see what it sounds like. The Chamber is in stereo so it's mixed with the dry guitar on the other side also. Gain sounds about right, the original was a dimed marshall as you know, with a hidden Jose load resistors inside a speaker cab (the BIG secret), line out to the power amps. So it was the MAX distortion you could get from the preamp and power amp tubes. You're last effort had too much of the Marshall Glassy Treble (which is popular again for some weird reason, never liked it)