Riff Tone

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Van Halen

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarKramer 5150 (Frankenstrat-style, custom build, maple neck, Floyd Rose tremolo, single humbucker)

AmpMarshall Super Lead 1959 100W (modded, with Ohmite Variac, EL34/6CA7 tubes)

PickupsSeymour Duncan Custom Shop humbucker (PAF-style, wax-potted, bridge position)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass6

mid6.5

treble7

reverb1.5

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

phaserMXR MXR Phase 90

flangerMXR MXR Flanger

Notes

Studio recording, 1983-1984, for the album '1984'. Guitar is the Kramer 5150 (Frankenstrat) with a single bridge humbucker. Amp is a Marshall Super Lead 1959, modded and run through a Variac. No distortion pedal, just amp gain. Effects include MXR Phase 90 and MXR Flanger. No chorus or delay on the riff section. No evidence of live/tour gear for this studio recording.

Tone Character(10)

British crunchtight palm mutingaggressive bridge pickup attackhigh-output humbucker claritypercussive and articulateslight phaser swirlclassic 'brown sound' midrangedynamic, touch-sensitive responsemodded Marshall amp saturationbright and cutting

Difficulty

The riff requires tight palm muting, syncopated rhythm, and fast chord changes, making it moderately challenging for intermediate players.

Sources

Eddie Van Halen's guitar gear: get the tone of the hard-rock icon | Guitar World Eddie Van Halen's Guitar Gear, Frankenstrat & Pedalboard | Equipboard 10 Stompboxes That Changed the World - Premier Guitar Copping the “Brown Sound” of Eddie Van Halen | Reverb News

This tone has been researched 3 times by the community

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