Riff Tone

Hear About It Later

Van Halen

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarFrankenstrat (homemade Strat-style guitar, maple neck, single humbucker, Floyd Rose tremolo)

AmpMarshall Super Lead 1959 100-watt (run through a Variac, 90V-100V, EL34 tubes, 1968-69 model)

PickupsSeymour Duncan Custom Shop '78 Model Humbucker (PAF-style, wax-potted, bridge position)

Amp Settings

gain8

bass5.5

mid7

treble7

reverb0.5

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

flangerMXR MXR M-117 Flanger

delayMaestro Maestro Echoplex EP-3

Notes

Studio recording, 1981. Amp run through a Variac to lower voltage for increased saturation. No overdrive/distortion pedals; all gain from amp. Effects added pre-amp input, not in effects loop. Frankenstrat with single bridge humbucker, volume knob only.

Tone Character(10)

saturated British crunchtight palm-muted chugsaggressive attackharmonic overtonespercussive rhythmarticulate pick attackrich upper midrangecutting presenceclassic 'brown sound'modulated swirl from flanger

Difficulty

The riff requires tight palm muting, fast and accurate chord changes, and precise timing to match the flanger modulation, making it challenging for most intermediate players.

Sources

Eddie Van Halen's guitar gear: get the tone of the hard-rock icon | Guitar World Copping the “Brown Sound” of Eddie Van Halen | Reverb News Tone Tips: Echo and the Dirty Amp - Premier Guitar

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