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It’s safe to say that the guitar community has been trying to recreate Eddie Van Halen’s tone on Van Halen I since it’s debut in 1978. That’s over 46 years of detective work and speculation. If you’re a veteran, welcome… we’re not going to tell you anything that you didn’t already know. If you’re just getting started, counterintuitive as it may seem, this might not be the best place for you to begin. Regardless, we want to give you a chance to play through gear that actually sounds like that first record, a very specific tone not heard on later albums. In early interviews, Eddie hinted that he didn’t care for the sound of his guitar on that first record.¹ In reality, it’s become one of the definitive sounds of rock guitar for many players, old and young, and though a mistake, immortalized as “The Brown Sound.”

The Magic Marshall

The main question on most people’s minds has always been, how did Eddie achieve such an extreme level of distortion out of a non-master volume Marshall? First on most lists is the Variac, used to reduce the voltage supplied to the amplifier, purportedly causing clipping at a lower volume. Next is setting the bias of the amplifier, some say high, while others say low because it might not have been adjusted post-Variac, and still some say it was correctly re-biased at the lower voltage level. Then it all gets mixed up, between EQ pedals and preamp boosts, specific brands of vacuum tubes, not to mention a resistive load placed on the output of the amplifier stressing the transformer to the point of destruction while simultaneously allowing the amplifier to be run at full tilt.

Did we capture any or all of this? No, of course not. But what we do have is an accurate model of a non-master volume Marshall that sounds like it should, with enough gain to spare. We’re of course referring to the 402C Amplifier.

The Speaker Blend

Once out of the amplifier, the next critical element is the speaker cabinet. In this case, and for many guitarists of this era, a blend of two or more speaker cabinets was used to create a distinctive tone that served as a sonic signature. Something that would be hard to duplicate and therefore set them apart on the airwaves. The predominant combination that most suggest is a blend of Celestion Greenbacks and JBL D120s. Of course, that still doesn’t narrow it down. No two speakers sound alike from the same lot, let alone those that were made years apart. And each speaker has a variety of incarnations. This was where our quest really slowed down, until now.

We managed to get a hold of a very particular speaker, the 2×12″ ’77 100W Cabinet, and when blended with the 4×12″ ’73 100W Cabinet, the whole definitely becomes greater than the sum of its parts. It was nothing short of magical when we first heard this combination of cabinets and speakers.

The Guitar

We also think it’s important to mention the guitar, because your guitar is probably not going to sound like ours. That’s one of the reasons why we make recordings, to ensure that you can hear what we hear regardless of the axe you’re using at home. And so in our case, we landed on a Strat with a beefy humbucker in the bridge position, straight not angled, with a modern two-point bridge. There is a thick quality to this tone that did not come through in the custom Frankenstrat builds that we attempted. Suffice to say, any normal Strat with a high-output humbucker in the bridge position is a reasonable starting point.

Everything Else

And that’s it really, the rest is history. We’ve got the EC101C Echo, EQ110 Ten Band Equalizer, PH103A Phaser, and FL101 Flanger to fill out the minor details. To our ear, the core tone is there. No need for fancy delays or reverbs, though we didn’t shy away from using the AMB 400 Plate Reverb. We think that once you strike your first A-chord, new portals will open up transporting you to tone nirvana. The chase is over, so… what are you waiting for?

¹ Rosen, Steve. Tonechaser – Understanding Edward: My 26-year Journey with Edward Van Halen, Robert Smith/API Productions.com, 2022, p. 65, 75.

Slash is a self-proclaimed Marshall man. But what if–and this is the second time this has happened on our tone journey–what if we got down to comparing sounds it was just easier to get there with a Mesa Boogie? Less tweaks, no fuss, and the tone is just there. The last time this happened was with the Ride the Lightning Tone, where all accounts pointed to a Marshall amp being used, but after hours of listening tests, again we just could not deny that it was easier to get closer with a Mesa amplifier… the Mark IIC+ of course.

And it’s no different for this tone. But now, we have some evidence. Oh the evidence:

Here it actually is. For the Use Your Illusion sessions, Slash, or more specifically Adam Day, his guitar tech, explained for Guitar Player how Slash used two amplifiers, one in the studio and one in the control room. The amp in the control room was intended to allow feedback to occur between the guitar and amplifier, something that could not happen if Slash was playing in a different room from his studio setup.

If you read between the lines, what we really think is happening is that the Marshall needed to be near full volume to achieve the best tone, without pedals, however the Mesa Boogie could be overdriven at lower volumes. It would make sense then that the Marshall would be in the studio, and the Mesa would accompany Slash in the control room for better separation, as well as to enable the aforementioned feedback. Additionally, since the Mesa could achieve good tone at lower volumes, the amount of desired feedback could be controlled by changing the master volume.

We think most of the tracking on these sessions used a blend of the Marshall and Mesa setups. In fact, it’s undeniable during listening tests. Why did Slash end up using a Mesa? Maybe Slash liked the sound of Izzy’s setup and wanted to try it out for himself, maybe they needed a second amp to experiment with live feedback and didn’t want to rent another one, or maybe Slash–who lost his favorite SIR Marshall from the first record–didn’t necessarily like the sound of the new one and wanted to spice things up. Who knows. But what we do know is that you now have this tone at your fingertips, so hot it’ll bring you right next door to hell.

UZI

Though Diagram #1 mentions the Mark III, the VG802C Amplifier comes in extremely close, being only a few tweaks away. When run through the VG 4x12HBA 250W ’85 Cabinet blended with the VG 4x12A 100W ’67 Cabinet, the sound is unmistakable.

• VG802C Amplifier
• 4x12HBA 250W ’85 Cabinet
• 4x12A 100W ’67 Cabinet

Uzi Lead

In order to get enough separation from the core tone, we dialed in to the VG 4x12HBA 250W ’85 Cabinet exclusively, you could also experiment with the other cabinet as well. We then added the AMB400 Plate Reverb to bring out your leads in the mix and voilà.

• AMB400 Plate Reverb

¹ Diagram 1. Slash’s Live Feedback Studio Setup. From “Welcome to the Equiment Jungle,” by Rick Eberly, 1991, December, Guitar Player, p. 44. Copyright 1991 by Guitar Player.

It’s no secret that R.E.M. were looking for something different during the recording of Monster. They had just come off of a run of very successful albums, but the band felt they were lacking in the rock department. Enter Monster. Peter Buck is not known as a guitarist that’s into lots of gear. Buck typically chooses to lay back on most tracks and serve the song. The best way to indulge in Buck’s playing is to focus on the chord voicing and rhythm, let the tone engulf your ears, and simply rock out. Monster is a perfect example of great vintage tone, with amps cranked and guitars strumming away, let’s take a look at some key components you’ll need to achieve this tone.

First and foremost, the amp. We think the amp used on this record was it’s centerpiece. It’s as if Buck decided to focus on one amp and explore all the sonic possibilities that this amp could provide, each track featuring a different facet of the amp–sometimes multiple. It’s been said that Buck played through Silvertones, Fender Twins, Vox AC30s, and Mesa Trem-o-verbs over the years¹, all confirmed via live performances, but there’s not much information as to what went on in the studio. To our ears, we definitely hear an Alnico speaker which either indicates a Vox AC30 or potentially a Silvertone head into a Vox cabinet. For this, we’ve dialed in the VG302E Amplifier with the VG 2×12″ 30W ’67 Cabinet. But that’s not the full picture. There is a distinct mid-boost that is not present in most amplifier tone stacks. For now, we’re satisfied using the EQ106 Six-Band Equalizer. We’re running this into the Normal channel which is typically dull and bassy, but with the mid-boost, things brighten up and you can instantly hear Buck coming through your speakers as you strum those huge chords.

With the basic tone dialed in there are only two more elements, Tremolo, and lead tone. The Speed control for the Vibe-Trem channel on the VG302E Amplifier nearly perfectly matches some of the performances on Monster, in the Slow and Fast settings. It adds to the likelihood that Buck was using an AC30 all over this record. For lead tone, we know that Buck has been spotted with a ProCo RAT in his pedal board so we added the DS101A Distortion to cover all bases.

What Frequency?

This core tone is great for rocking out on massive chords, kicking in a lead tone for searing solos, and adding Tremolo when things need some movement.

• VG302E Amplifier
• EQ106 Six-Band Equalizer
• DS101A Distortion
• 2x12C 30W ’67 Cabinet

¹ Peter Buck | Equipboard. https://equipboard.com/pros/peter-buck?gear=amplifiers. Accessed 25 March 2023.

Looking back, it’s surprising to think that anyone would want to stop Eddie Van Halen from making music in any way possible, but that was the case as we headed into a new decade in 1980. Eddie had established himself as the guitar player of a new era of hard rock, and no one in the group wanted to see him experiment with keyboards, especially their producer, Ted Templeman. Luckily for us, they let this first foray slip on the third album, and we were graced with an extremely gritty sound that to our ears could actually have been a guitar.

Taking a queue from the enormous guitar sound that he had crafted, Eddie ran a Wurlitzer keyboard into the same Marshall amps and effects that he used for guitar. The opening riff is played by banging both hands on a cluster of keys and engaging an MXR Flanger to produce an audible sweeping effect. We’ve recreated this setup with the VG402C Amplifier, 4x12B ’78 100W Cabinet, 4x12A ’67 100W Cabinet, and FL101 Flanger. To our ear, the open top end sounds like Eddie (or more likely Don Landee, the engineer responsible for capturing Eddie’s tone) was blending low-powered vintage speakers in the mix.¹ Additionally, we hear more bass in this tone so we’re using Channel II. It really brings the chunk out in some of those power chords. We also added a separate preset for keyboard since gain and tone needed to be adjusted and tuned to work with keyboard input.

And the Cradle Will Rock… this is a true classic, and we think you’re going to love digging hard into this heavy metal masterpiece. With a plethora of pick scrapes, slides, trills, and a whole lot of whammy bar dives, there’s a lot of ground to cover!!

Romeo

The core tone. Tuned for guitar and ready to rock. With a thick bass and bright, open top end, your palm mutes will thump, power chords will rip, and solos will come screaming out of the speakers.

Wurly

Tuned for keyboards, specifically a Wurlitzer model. Slap on the flanger for that unmistakable sweep, and just grind out some triads for an amazing tone. It’ll sound like a guitar!!

• VG402C Amplifier
• FL101 Flanger
• 4x12B ’78 100W Cabinet
• 4x12A ’67 100W Cabinet

¹ zz666. Explaining Eddie Van Halen’s Rig – By Cristopher Michael. http://forum.metropoulos.net/viewtopic.php?t=21279. Accessed 10 December 2022.

It’s a controversial album for die hard fans. On one hand, it’s the beginning. The first taste of what would become one of the all time greatest metal bands, steeped in the thrash metal scene of San Francisco. On the other hand, the production suffered from a producer and engineer caught in the sound of the seventies. The mixes lack weight, the guitars are too thin, and the drums don’t push air like they should. But… you can hear the bass.

Still, it’s an album that deserves recognition. If not for being the first from Metallica, then for standing apart from the other thrash metal bands of the scene with tight, meticulously crafted songs. Vocals that rip right through your brain, searing leads, and some chunky rhythm guitar.

Let’s talk about the chunky rhythm guitar. It’s been said many times over that Hetfield used a Marshall and a RAT distortion pedal.¹ Though we have been unable to find attribution of this information, we think this is spot on. But running a distortion pedal straight into a Marshall typically sounds terrible. At the time, it would most likely have been a master volume model, and one of the tricks for using distortion pedals with Marshalls–to be discovered time and again by several artists–is to plug into the Low Input. That’s right. Who ever uses the Low Input? Additionally, to our ear, Bass and Treble should be between 5-6, and Middle should be at 0. The first occasion of scooped mids?

Now for the pedal. The RAT distortion was capable of achieving massive levels of gain, but after some experimentation, we think this was dialed back, more like a boost on steroids. Just enough gain to create the chunk that you hear when playing palm muted power chords. And it sounds glorious.

We’ve queued up the VG402C Amplifier, 4x12B ’78 100W Cabinet, and the DS101 Distortion in three distinct flavors.

Militia

Tweak the Edge to blend in more bite and recreate the classic left-to-right pan effect heard at the beginning of Metal Militia.

Horsemen

Next up is a tight crunch meant to satisfy fast palm muting. Crank the distortion and let heads fly.

Fire

For this preset, we attempted to get more gunk. You can hear every nuance when muting, engulfing you in it’s fiery tone. Great for solos.

Don’t forget to push the distortion as hard as you want. We think this is the perfect launch pad for achieving the tone from one of the most revered thrash metal albums!

• VG402C Amplifier
• DS101A Distortion
• 4x12B ’78 100W Cabinet

¹ Let us know if you have a source for this information!