ampage Tube Amps / Music Electronics	For current discussions, please visit Music Electronics Forum.

ampage archive

Vintage threads from the first ten years

Eddie Van Halen's marshall ques.

:

8/21/1999 6:26 PM
jon	Eddie Van Halen's marshall ques. I know EVH used a 60's marshall.Which one?Some marshalls used KT88's and a weird phase inverter.Others had EL34's and a long tail phase inverter.Also, what voltages did he run?Thanks for your help.

8/21/1999 7:51 PM

I believe he used 6ca7's in the EL34 output which is the American version of the EL34, a little brighter crunch I believe, and as far as voltage, I think he used a variac, set somewhere around 90-96 volts a.c. for a brown sound. I read that also used a Super Lead 100 on the early V.H. and it was pretty much stock, contrary to common belief, but a few years ago it died, and he finally he had it restored, put in good new parts, and she came back to life like the good ol days. But he uses a lot of stuff ya know, Peavey, Marshall,etc.

8/22/1999 11:20 PM
Fj	EVH used a SUPER-LEAD "1959"...w / a variac...

8/23/1999 10:40 AM
Mike Burgundy	According to Ed himself, its a regular, unmodded Plexi, with E尉34愀 , a phase 90 (mounted on a piece of ply)and NO variac, just everything full-on. Source; interview with Dweezil Zappa in GP. Now this might not be true (don愒 give away all your secrets, right?) but it愀 probably as good a guess as, well, guessing... ;-p

8/23/1999 4:47 PM
SpeedRacer	here's a link to some NG discussion stuff and various 2nd and 3rd hand accounts of what he used.. http:\www.cybertrans.comguitarg125.htm

8/23/1999 6:09 PM

It's definitely certain that Eddy used to use Plexi Superleads to get his tone, but he's said lots of conflicting things about whether or not they've had mods, if he used a variac, or used tubes other than EL-34's. He says something different in every interview, and always said he was lying before. This sort of makes me wary about trusting anything he's said in an interview. He was pretty pissed off about people copying his technique or trying to sound like him, so that may have made him lie for so long. In addition he was a complete alchoholic, getting hammered every day until he quit drinking around the time of the last Hagar album or so. He may have just been loaded and screwing around with the interviewers back then, making up crazy stuff and agreeing to whatever they said just for the heck of it. As far as his equipment setup goes, I don't think I'll ever be certain, no matter what the man says. He's may be one of the best guitarist I've ever heard, but the man is a complete nutbar. He fired Diamond David Lee Roth for the I-Can't-Drive-55 guy! How much credibility can Eddy have after that. ;-)

;-)

8/24/1999 2:38 PM

Eddie was giving an interview in some guitar magazine and he said he lied about it being modded by the guy from CA becuase he was a cool guy and wanted to send him some business plus stear people off from his course of tone.

I personlly think he did use a variac since the producer and engineer said he did as well as his road tech for years. The road tech warned that you'd melt down the tubes and "not to try this at home."

it sounds like the amp is stock but running around the lower 400's voltage wise. I think the link that Speed gave in this thread is pretty interesting. There seems to be a lot of stories that do have a great many things in common.

I know he also bought that amp from a club in Pasadena, CA (lord knows if I spelled that right--ha, ha) It was the house amp ther for years and he always used it when they played there.

For what it's worth;

Trace

PS: I also have seen a few pictures of him in the studio for the recording of VanHalen 1 and he had headphones on and a Les Paul! Has anyone else seen this??

Page 1 of 13