People Think It's a Charvel / Boogie Bodies

[PsychoCid]

But, half of the first album (every song that has no tremolo) is an Ibanez.

You can hardly tell the difference though, if not for the whammy bar. The Strat got it's cut from a half dead humbucker (one coil hotter than the other, hence cuts like a single) while the Destroyer gets it's cut from the alnico 8 "Super 70s" pickups. That is also what became the "Shark" guitar later, which ruined it's tone.



I love my 76 Ibanez Destroyer to death. It can be pried only from my cold, dead hands. But it needs a refret...lol.

Once you have played a Wolfgang, and then the 5150 neck, you realize they're both based on the Ibanez but asymmetrical.

[Tglo]

Wow that is one sweet Ibanez. I had a 1980 Destroyer and I would never cut it up the way Eddie did. Blasphemy.

[PsychoCid]

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[Rollin Hand]

For a long time I have wanted a Epi "negative" Explorer with a maple board. For some reason, I see that as being a guitar I could play VH on. The only reason I don't have one is that the neck is too thick for me.

I would take one of those Ibbys.

[PsychoCid]

For a long time I have wanted a Epi "negative" Explorer with a maple board. For some reason, I see that as being a guitar I could play VH on. The only reason I don't have one is that the neck is too thick for me.

I would take one of those Ibbys.

Man. The single biggest neck I've played in my life, and probably the heaviest guitar too, was an Epi 58 Explorer. The base felt like two necks, and I mean that as an accurate description. I'm told nobody else's 58 had a big neck like mine did though, so who knows. Negative with a maple board sounds pretty cool.

The Ibby Destroyer on the other hand is probably the thinnest neck I've played next to a Jackson. And it's slightly, just so slightly V shaped but you'd hardly ever notice. Totally built for speed.

[toomanycats]

So [mention]PsychoCid[/mention], when exactly did Eddie use the Mighty Mite 1400? That's what I thought was in the shark guitar.

While you were on your hiatus I found a Mighty Mite 1400 in a pawn shop guitar. Double cream, hex heads all around. Still haven't used it yet, though I'm thinking about putting it in the bridge of my Fender Blacktop Strat.

[PsychoCid]

So @PsychoCid, when exactly did Eddie use the Mighty Mite 1400? That's what I thought was in the shark guitar.

While you were on your hiatus I found a Mighty Mite 1400 in a pawn shop guitar. Double cream, hex heads all around. Still haven't used it yet, though I'm thinking about putting it in the bridge of my Fender Blacktop Strat.

To be fair, every guitar he had for the first decade or two probably had a Mite or a Duncan at some point.

However I am inclined to believe the 1400 most famously would have been in the circles guitar.

So, you will want to drop-tune that sucker and play some UNCHAINED.



Double creaminess

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[Rollin Hand]

For a long time I have wanted a Epi "negative" Explorer with a maple board. For some reason, I see that as being a guitar I could play VH on. The only reason I don't have one is that the neck is too thick for me.

I would take one of those Ibbys.

Man. The single biggest neck I've played in my life, and probably the heaviest guitar too, was an Epi 58 Explorer. The base felt like two necks, and I mean that as an accurate description. I'm told nobody else's 58 had a big neck like mine did though, so who knows. Negative with a maple board sounds pretty cool.

The Ibby Destroyer on the other hand is probably the thinnest neck I've played next to a Jackson. And it's slightly, just so slightly V shaped but you'd hardly ever notice. Totally built for speed.

I played an Ibanez Rocket Roll V from the same era, and it doesn't stick out in my mind as as having a thick neck, so it was probably similar. It did stick out for sounding wonderful. Even the owner of the shop said that if he liked Vs, he would have taken it because it sounded so good.

It was $449 CAD in 1989, IIRC, and I was a broke student. Dammit.

[toomanycats]

So @PsychoCid, when exactly did Eddie use the Mighty Mite 1400? That's what I thought was in the shark guitar.

While you were on your hiatus I found a Mighty Mite 1400 in a pawn shop guitar. Double cream, hex heads all around. Still haven't used it yet, though I'm thinking about putting it in the bridge of my Fender Blacktop Strat.

To be fair, every guitar he had for the first decade or two probably had a Mite or a Duncan at some point.

However I am inclined to believe the 1400 most famously would have been in the circles guitar.

So, you will want to drop-tune that sucker and play some UNCHAINED.



Double creaminess
image.png

You mean that "Unchained" was actually played using a . . . gulp . . . ceramic pickup? But it's so organic and "brown" sounding.

[Rollin Hand]

There are also rumours that the pickup was a Dimarzio Super Distortion with A5 magnets. Unless someone gets into the pickups, no one will ever be sure. I think Ed is a little foggy on it himself. Because coke.

[PsychoCid]

There are also rumours that the pickup was a Dimarzio Super Distortion with A5 magnets. Unless someone gets into the pickups, no one will ever be sure. I think Ed is a little foggy on it himself. Because coke.

Yeah. Point being, pickups are one small factor.

Ultimately your final sound will be influenced by

Body wood
Neck wood
Finish on the guitar, thick or thin (huuuuge difference on Kramers)
How well they're attached (6 bolts, anyone?)
Bridge (Ed has used Floyd's, stops, and fenders...just one puzzle pc)
Nut matieral (Ed has used brass nuts, and Floyd lockers)
Pickups
Fret size & material
How you grip the guitar
Which is partially determined by your posture
As well as the length of your strap
The pedals: depending on the album you're going for, but the early sound you're going to need two echoplexes, two EQs, plus phaser and flanger
The amp
The variac
The pick thickness (need 0.60)

Any one piece by itself is kind of useless. What matters is how all the pieces fit together.

If you put the pieces together, and again use the right strap length/posture/grip, and don't forget to play ahead of the beat, you will sound like Ed. Otherwise, not so much.

[toomanycats]

There are also rumours that the pickup was a Dimarzio Super Distortion with A5 magnets. Unless someone gets into the pickups, no one will ever be sure. I think Ed is a little foggy on it himself. Because coke.

Yeah. Point being, pickups are one small factor.

Ultimately your final sound will be influenced by

Body wood
Neck wood
Finish on the guitar, thick or thin (huuuuge difference on Kramers)
How well they're attached (6 bolts, anyone?)
Bridge (Ed has used Floyd's, stops, and fenders...just one puzzle pc)
Nut matieral (Ed has used brass nuts, and Floyd lockers)
Pickups
Fret size & material
How you grip the guitar
Which is partially determined by your posture
As well as the length of your strap
The pedals: depending on the album you're going for, but the early sound you're going to need two echoplexes, two EQs, plus phaser and flanger
The amp
The variac
The pick thickness (need 0.60)

Any one piece by itself is kind of useless. What matters is how all the pieces fit together.

If you put the pieces together, and again use the right strap length/posture/grip, and don't forget to play ahead of the beat, you will sound like Ed. Otherwise, not so much.

One thing you forgot to add to that list, which cannot be as easily quantified as those mere technical specifications, though which is of no less importance, is the profound influence in the depths of a young Ed's soul of "knowing" the twenty-two year Valerie. Knowing" as in "carnal knowledge." What a sweet, sweet thing she was in 1982. Knowing that kind of beauty so intimately, so closely, can either drive a man to madness or inspire him to greatness.

Orange-Coast-Magazine-April-1982.jpg

[PsychoCid]

There are also rumours that the pickup was a Dimarzio Super Distortion with A5 magnets. Unless someone gets into the pickups, no one will ever be sure. I think Ed is a little foggy on it himself. Because coke.

Yeah. Point being, pickups are one small factor.

Ultimately your final sound will be influenced by

Body wood
Neck wood
Finish on the guitar, thick or thin (huuuuge difference on Kramers)
How well they're attached (6 bolts, anyone?)
Bridge (Ed has used Floyd's, stops, and fenders...just one puzzle pc)
Nut matieral (Ed has used brass nuts, and Floyd lockers)
Pickups
Fret size & material
How you grip the guitar
Which is partially determined by your posture
As well as the length of your strap
The pedals: depending on the album you're going for, but the early sound you're going to need two echoplexes, two EQs, plus phaser and flanger
The amp
The variac
The pick thickness (need 0.60)

Any one piece by itself is kind of useless. What matters is how all the pieces fit together.

If you put the pieces together, and again use the right strap length/posture/grip, and don't forget to play ahead of the beat, you will sound like Ed. Otherwise, not so much.

One thing you forgot to add to that list, which cannot be as easily quantified as those mere technical specifications, though which is of no less importance, is the profound influence in the depths of a young Ed's soul of "knowing" the twenty-two year Valerie. Knowing" as in "carnal knowledge." What a sweet, sweet thing she was in 1982. Knowing that kind of beauty so intimately, so closely, can either drive a man to madness or inspire him to greatness.

Orange-Coast-Magazine-April-1982.jpg

Maybe Val is the Mother Mary to the EVH Grail.

[toomanycats]

I can't believe Ed and sweet Val made Wolf. Still waiting for Wolfie's "Chinese Democracy."

[Rollin Hand]

FWIW, i gather from my limited research that a Dunca 59 with a double thick A8 magnet gets you veeeeeerry close to the Super 70. But, of course, the Franky pickup is reputedly an old PAF with an A2 magnet.

Body wood on the Destroyers is key, with the "korina" playing a role. (Was it sen wood? Who knows?).

Agreed with Cid though, it is only one piece of the very complex puzzle.

[PsychoCid]

I can't believe Ed and sweet Val made Wolf. Still waiting for Wolfie's "Chinese Democracy."

Yeah. No further comment needed. Wait...actually I like the actual Chinese Democracy song a lot more than I expect to like Wolfie's stuff. I'm already turned off by is marketing. Way to throw away a name.

FWIW, i gather from my limited research that a Dunca 59 with a double thick A8 magnet gets you veeeeeerry close to the Super 70. But, of course, the Franky pickup is reputedly an old PAF with an A2 magnet.

Body wood on the Destroyers is key, with the "korina" playing a role. (Was it sen wood? Who knows?).

Agreed with Cid though, it is only one piece of the very complex puzzle.

That's pretty much what they were going for, I'd say 59+A8 will probably get in the ballpark.

Frankenstein pickup is A2, yes, BUT it's got one hot coil and one dead coil. Hence it has such a sharp attack, it's basically a single coil without the hum!

[rrobbone]

Still waiting for Wolfie's "Chinese Democracy."

I'll give it a good listen, but not because he's Ed's kid. It'll be because I've liked his work so far. If rumors are to be believed, he had a large part in the sound of VH's Different Kind of Truth. If that is in fact the case, I'll probably like the new album just fine.

With a name like Van Halen, I'd be more concerned that people will expect more Van Halen-y work - and I don't think that's what we're gonna get. He's got attention due to his heritage, but it'll also place him behind the eight ball.

[PsychoCid]

Still waiting for Wolfie's "Chinese Democracy."

I'll give it a good listen, but not because he's Ed's kid. It'll be because I've liked his work so far. If rumors are to be believed, he had a large part in the sound of VH's Different Kind of Truth. If that is in fact the case, I'll probably like the new album just fine.

With a name like Van Halen, I'd be more concerned that people will expect more Van Halen-y work - and I don't think that's what we're gonna get. He's got attention due to his heritage, but it'll also place him behind the eight ball.

I've got a lot of respect for you Rob, so no disrespect intended. That is quite the part I can't swallow.

No one on the planet expects him to be even 1/10 as good as his uncle, let alone his pop. He's had material out for ages and is already a known quantity. Him driving ADKOT, which a liked, is forced. If you were Eddie, you'd let your kid tell you how to cut it as well just for the experience. IE, it was Eddie going "We do it Wolf's way or not at all."

And now for him to claim that oh boy the world is going to hate him for putting out new music, and oh all this drama he and Dave are creating in the news headlines about Ed being able to tour or not. Maybe it's because I'm a marketer, but I can see right through it. Fake, fake, fake.

He's a good musician. Why ruin it with crap marketing? They are building narratives like it's 20 years ago and people are watching Real TV. Tsk.

[Rollin Hand]

Still waiting for Wolfie's "Chinese Democracy."

I'll give it a good listen, but not because he's Ed's kid. It'll be because I've liked his work so far. If rumors are to be believed, he had a large part in the sound of VH's Different Kind of Truth. If that is in fact the case, I'll probably like the new album just fine.

With a name like Van Halen, I'd be more concerned that people will expect more Van Halen-y work - and I don't think that's what we're gonna get. He's got attention due to his heritage, but it'll also place him behind the eight ball.

I've got a lot of respect for you Rob, so no disrespect intended. That is quite the part I can't swallow.

No one on the planet expects him to be even 1/10 as good as his uncle, let alone his pop. He's had material out for ages and is already a known quantity. Him driving ADKOT, which a liked, is forced. If you were Eddie, you'd let your kid tell you how to cut it as well just for the experience. IE, it was Eddie going "We do it Wolf's way or not at all."

And now for him to claim that oh boy the world is going to hate him for putting out new music, and oh all this drama he and Dave are creating in the news headlines about Ed being able to tour or not. Maybe it's because I'm a marketer, but I can see right through it. Fake, fake, fake.

He's a good musician. Why ruin it with crap marketing? They are building narratives like it's 20 years ago and people are watching Real TV. Tsk.

Yes, but that is 100 percent Dave's type of marketing. Any publicity is good, and all that.

I'll listen because I believe the guy is freaky talented. I have seen him playing drums at a young age with pros NOT named Van Halen, and crushing it. I have seen him play bass and sing live. He has the respect of some good musicians.

I can't sort how to post it, but he tweeted a snippet a short time ago, and it sounds surprisingly technical.

Of course the album has been reputedly ready for 2 years now. Is he futzing with it? Is he holding off to spend time with Dad? Any way, I will listen.

[PsychoCid]

Still waiting for Wolfie's "Chinese Democracy."

I'll give it a good listen, but not because he's Ed's kid. It'll be because I've liked his work so far. If rumors are to be believed, he had a large part in the sound of VH's Different Kind of Truth. If that is in fact the case, I'll probably like the new album just fine.

With a name like Van Halen, I'd be more concerned that people will expect more Van Halen-y work - and I don't think that's what we're gonna get. He's got attention due to his heritage, but it'll also place him behind the eight ball.

I'll give it a good listen, but not because he's Ed's kid. It'll be because I've liked his work so far. If rumors are to be believed, he had a large part in the sound of VH's Different Kind of Truth. If that is in fact the case, I'll probably like the new album just fine.

With a name like Van Halen, I'd be more concerned that people will expect more Van Halen-y work - and I don't think that's what we're gonna get. He's got attention due to his heritage, but it'll also place him behind the eight ball.

I've got a lot of respect for you Rob, so no disrespect intended. That is quite the part I can't swallow.

No one on the planet expects him to be even 1/10 as good as his uncle, let alone his pop. He's had material out for ages and is already a known quantity. Him driving ADKOT, which a liked, is forced. If you were Eddie, you'd let your kid tell you how to cut it as well just for the experience. IE, it was Eddie going "We do it Wolf's way or not at all."

And now for him to claim that oh boy the world is going to hate him for putting out new music, and oh all this drama he and Dave are creating in the news headlines about Ed being able to tour or not. Maybe it's because I'm a marketer, but I can see right through it. Fake, fake, fake.

He's a good musician. Why ruin it with crap marketing? They are building narratives like it's 20 years ago and people are watching Real TV. Tsk.

Yes, but that is 100 percent Dave's type of marketing. Any publicity is good, and all that.

I'll listen because I believe the guy is freaky talented. I have seen him playing drums at a young age with pros NOT named Van Halen, and crushing it. I have seen him play bass and sing live. He has the respect of some good musicians.

I can't sort how to post it, but he tweeted a snippet a short time ago, and it sounds surprisingly technical.

Of course the album has been reputedly ready for 2 years now. Is he futzing with it? Is he holding off to spend time with Dad? Any way, I will listen.

I can't believe Ed and sweet Val made Wolf. Still waiting for Wolfie's "Chinese Democracy."

Did I mention how completely fake this was?

Marketers, and anyone, should not lie to the public. For this reason I cannot support Wolfie, but I would have if he'd have just played it straight.

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[rrobbone]

I've got a lot of respect for you Rob, so no disrespect intended.

No worries. No offense taken.

I can see why he'd be worried. Hell, look no farther than VH's own history, with Cherone. VHIII is not a bad album, but it isn't what everyone wanted to hear, so it tanked and the fanbase all but turned on them for a while. It's not their best album, certainly. Neither was OU812, but it was also the first album with a new singer - and a band's development after a lineup change that involves the creative forces within naturally takes some time. I know it's not the popular opinion, but I still think if they had kept Cherone the albums would've rapidly improved - just like they did with Hagar. Only thing I'm sure of is that it wouldn't have ever been the VH the masses wanted. I love Dave and Sammy equally, but I really think it's a shame Gary didn't get more than one crack at it. I wanted to hear that next VH/Cherone effort.

At this point, I'll consider us all lucky if we ever get a new VH album. I kinda doubt we will. I think we only got ADKOT because most of it had been written long ago, a lot of the work had already been done.

He's a good musician. Why ruin it with crap marketing?

Like you, I've loved VH ever since I first heard them. They were my "inspired me to learn music" band. By now we both know not to listen to a fuckin' thing they ever say as far as "news" or their marketing is concerned. I take it all with a very large grain of salt and a "believe it when I see it" attitude towards them. So, situation normal.

I doubt they are actually in charge of their marketing, come to think of it. It's prob some service of their label or some such - whose job is to whip up any frenzy they can to keep their clients relevant. Can't blame 'em. Other than Wolf's eventual album and the EVH brand cranking out a(nother) new mid-priced Frankie relic model, the threat of a tour is all they have to shout about.

I'm not holding my breath for another tour, but if they came to SLC, I'd go.

Judging by the work he's done with Tremonti and Clint Lowery, the kid's a really good bass player. His lines range from better than average to killer on most of the tracks credited to him. I love playing bass along to ADKOT. I'm looking forward to the new album based on the kid's prior work.

[PsychoCid]

EVH is said to have pretty in depth control of his marketing. Situation normal yes, but its up to us to make lying not normal or acceptable.

In fairness, I'm still a little sour that the one time I got to see Van Halen live (and with Dave), Eddie sat down to play his solo. May as well have handed out glasses of warm milk.