Dix
3 of a Kind
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2019
- Messages
- 733
- Reaction score
- 972
OK.... so I'm 2 days late.... so sue me. It's Christmas... I've been busy. 
Since we seem to have more than a few guitar players here, for the sake of the PCF Guitar (and/or VanHalen) tone nerds here that haven't seen it, Pete Thorn & special guest Dave Friedman did a "deep dive" down the Eddie VanHalen tone rabbit hole on Pete's YouTube channel a little while back.
If you don't know who Pete Thorn is, well, as an LA-based studio musician he's become one of 4 Non Blondes former artist-turned-record producer Linda Perry's go-to guitar guys. & been heard on recordings of Courtney Love & Alicia Keys to name a couple. As a "hired gun" he's toured with the likes of Chris Cornell (Soundgarden/Audioslave) & Melissa Etheridge among others.
Friedman is a now legendary name in the boutique amplifier world. However, before that, Dave had a career as amp guru & live rig builder to the stars. Besides the late EVH, he's built live rigs for the likes of Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), & Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), to name a few.
Sometime around the time of recording "A Different Kind Of Truth", Eddie was unhappy with the sound of his now many-many-times repaired/reworked original 68(-ish) Plexi. ("The" VH head). The same one he used on every recording up to 5150, & maybe some/all of OU812. (jury's still out & likely always will be - For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge/F.U.C.K. was a Soldano) It was Friedman who was tasked with "restoring" it back to EVH/"original" spec. Even with the help of Eddie himself, what may or may not have existed for modifications (if any - done by the late Jose Arredondo) back in 1978 was still something of a guess.
If you want to skip ahead to the amp specs... that starts at 5:30, with part II (the output tubes & bias setting) at 36:35.
In this short clip (joined in progress) Dave relates the story of restoring the amp....
I have my own theories & thoughts about the "EVH Tone", but I probably shouldn't go down that rabbit hole here or I'd be typing all day.
Since we seem to have more than a few guitar players here, for the sake of the PCF Guitar (and/or VanHalen) tone nerds here that haven't seen it, Pete Thorn & special guest Dave Friedman did a "deep dive" down the Eddie VanHalen tone rabbit hole on Pete's YouTube channel a little while back.
If you don't know who Pete Thorn is, well, as an LA-based studio musician he's become one of 4 Non Blondes former artist-turned-record producer Linda Perry's go-to guitar guys. & been heard on recordings of Courtney Love & Alicia Keys to name a couple. As a "hired gun" he's toured with the likes of Chris Cornell (Soundgarden/Audioslave) & Melissa Etheridge among others.
Friedman is a now legendary name in the boutique amplifier world. However, before that, Dave had a career as amp guru & live rig builder to the stars. Besides the late EVH, he's built live rigs for the likes of Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), & Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), to name a few.
Sometime around the time of recording "A Different Kind Of Truth", Eddie was unhappy with the sound of his now many-many-times repaired/reworked original 68(-ish) Plexi. ("The" VH head). The same one he used on every recording up to 5150, & maybe some/all of OU812. (jury's still out & likely always will be - For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge/F.U.C.K. was a Soldano) It was Friedman who was tasked with "restoring" it back to EVH/"original" spec. Even with the help of Eddie himself, what may or may not have existed for modifications (if any - done by the late Jose Arredondo) back in 1978 was still something of a guess.
If you want to skip ahead to the amp specs... that starts at 5:30, with part II (the output tubes & bias setting) at 36:35.
In this short clip (joined in progress) Dave relates the story of restoring the amp....
I have my own theories & thoughts about the "EVH Tone", but I probably shouldn't go down that rabbit hole here or I'd be typing all day.
Last edited:
