EVH's Roth-era live setup?

[geetarmikey]

Saw some pics of Eddie's fav Marshall and wall of Marshalls in loads of other pics etc... from back in the day, but I was wondering if anyone knows what the setup with the amps was?

I suppose he wouldn't have taken his fav on the road so would every amp be variac'd live? Was the wall of cabs a prop and he was just using a couple of stacks for his soundor were all the amps on?

 

[paulyc]

3 sets of 4 stacks, when the first set blew they switched to the second, third was backup. All Variac'd and each group of 4 was daisy chained together by the inputs. First 3 or 4 world tours done that way and with the "plywood" pedalboard.

 

[the4thlast1]

Its a bit comical that so many guys still chase the tone Ed got 40 years ago...Sorry no offense but these types of threads usually turn into an argument of know it alls and "experts" on everything Van Halen.

 

[LP Freak]

True, but obviously it's a good tone if it's still being chased

 

[8len8]

Didn't Rddie say in a recent interview that really didn't use variacs like the rumors say?

 

[Racerxrated]

Its a bit comical that so many guys still chase the tone Ed got 40 years ago...Sorry no offense but these types of threads usually turn into an argument of know it alls and "experts" on everything Van Halen.

You're so wrong. I know more than you, and this subject never gets brought up. What do you even mean?

 

[Badronald]

True, but obviously it's a good tone if it's still being chased

Except his tone changed every album, I can't tell you how many tones he actually has there are so many...

True
But but the tones changed on the first few albums and he used the same amp. The recording process progressed so the overall tones changed.
We've all said it many times. It's a fools errand to buy an amplifier based on album tones. There are far too many variables in a recording process.
I can't believe I'm posting in an EVH thread.

 

[messenger]

And the OP is asking about LIVE setup and not studio

 

[Mr. Willy]

I don't care what tone another guy wants to chase. I say equal tone chasing rights to any and all who are seeking their tone.

 

[psychodave]

True, but obviously it's a good tone if it's still being chased

Except his tone changed every album, I can't tell you how many tones he actually has there are so many...

I spoke to someone regarding this very topic. His very educated thought was that Jose installed a simple Master Volume in his famous amp (the one with the hole now plugged up) and provided a detailed explanation of how zeners get whacked with voltage every time the amp is turned on and over time the zeners don't work as originally intended (meaning gain/saturation). Hence why EVH's tone got cleaner and cleaner over the years until the amp had major damage or whatever.

Also...I don't care who says what about his amp or who's been "inside" it, etc. unless they can prove that they were in his amp between the years 1978-1982...when it was still magical. I've read things where people said it was "stock" and they've seen it... lol. Not during those magical years they didn't.

That's my expert opinion

 

[Stramm8]

I'm of the opinion that his main amp was mainly stock. Reason being, I've recently played a 50 watt plexi with everything dimed and it's basically the tone. if you add in the echoplex, the variac etc you could get darn close.

 

[Racerxrated]

True, but obviously it's a good tone if it's still being chased

Except his tone changed every album, I can't tell you how many tones he actually has there are so many...

I spoke to someone regarding this very topic. His very educated thought was that Jose installed a simple Master Volume in his famous amp (the one with the hole now plugged up) and provided a detailed explanation of how zeners get whacked with voltage every time the amp is turned on and over time the zeners don't work as originally intended (meaning gain/saturation). Hence why EVH's tone got cleaner and cleaner over the years until the amp had major damage or whatever.

Also...I don't care who says what about his amp or who's been "inside" it, etc. unless they can prove that they were in his amp between the years 1978-1982...when it was still magical. I've read things where people said it was "stock" and they've seen it... lol. Not during those magical years they didn't.

That's my expert opinion

Exactly. All those great amp minds-Soldano, Suhr, Friedman etc that saw the Magic Marshall all saw the amp WAY after the first 4 VH albums, and any evidence of any mods could easily have been removed with no trace evidence. After all, that plugged hole on the back of the amp during the VHII sessions is evidence of some type of mod.

 

[dpeterson]

But why remove it? why make the amp worse. not many people in line to make their amp sound shittier.

 

[geetarmikey]

It's just something that I've been wondering about - basically how Ed replicated his no.1 Marshall sound in a live setting.

I suppose if his no.1 was stock but variac'd, or with different transformers it wouldn't be too hard to do that with the live amps?

 

[lespaul6]

I dont know but there is a video of him playing on david letterman through a Marshall head and I dont care if its 50 watts there is no way he would get that level of preamp distortion- at that volume- from a stock 4 holer... just sayin

 

[Chester Nimitz]

True, but obviously it's a good tone if it's still being chased

Except his tone changed every album, I can't tell you how many tones he actually has there are so many...

I spoke to someone regarding this very topic. His very educated thought was that Jose installed a simple Master Volume in his famous amp (the one with the hole now plugged up) and provided a detailed explanation of how zeners get whacked with voltage every time the amp is turned on and over time the zeners don't work as originally intended (meaning gain/saturation). Hence why EVH's tone got cleaner and cleaner over the years until the amp had major damage or whatever.

Also...I don't care who says what about his amp or who's been "inside" it, etc. unless they can prove that they were in his amp between the years 1978-1982...when it was still magical. I've read things where people said it was "stock" and they've seen it... lol. Not during those magical years they didn't.

That's my expert opinion

Im with you Dave i know what that plug in the back panel was and nobody ever saw that amp back then.

It was a PPIMV with echoplex & MXR 10 band maxed on running with the diablo, coupled with really good studio mastering.

I had also read in the 78' GP interview that Van Halen did a Japan gig around the first album and PanAm lost all of Eddies Marshalls on the return flight.

There's a Samurai with EVH's "A" rig of 60's/70's Marshalls somewhere.

He practically has a different rig every studio/touring session each year as do alot of rich famous millionaire musicians.

 

[Racerxrated]

I dont know but there is a video of him playing on david letterman through a Marshall head and I dont care if its 50 watts there is no way he would get that level of preamp distortion- at that volume- from a stock 4 holer... just sayin

I remember thinking the same thing when I saw this a while back. Let's face it, Ed is into gain and tinkering with everything possible. Why wouldn't he try to add as much gain as he could? Look at all of his amps since he used an SLO. Gain gain and more gain. I know JMPs and Plexis have a sweet gainy tone when cranked, I've owned a few. But that Letterman video is NOT a cranked Marshall, yet there it is. More gain than any cranked Plexi or JMP NMV I've played.

 

[charvelstrat81]

I dont know but there is a video of him playing on david letterman through a Marshall head and I dont care if its 50 watts there is no way he would get that level of preamp distortion- at that volume- from a stock 4 holer... just sayin

I remember thinking the same thing when I saw this a while back. Let's face it, Ed is into gain and tinkering with everything possible. Why wouldn't he try to add as much gain as he could? Look at all of his amps since he used an SLO. Gain gain and more gain. I know JMPs and Plexis have a sweet gainy tone when cranked, I've owned a few. But that Letterman video is NOT a cranked Marshall, yet there it is. More gain than any cranked Plexi or JMP NMV I've played.

I agree that why it takes a BRAY 4550 or a FREIDMAN to get that tone
neither of those are the same as a bone stock 1200 series super lead.
Something is going on with that plexi when he used it back then and for whatever reason He does not want it known?
I would just buy a bray or a freidman if i were after his old tone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPoywq6BTlo

 

[psychodave]

I dont know but there is a video of him playing on david letterman through a Marshall head and I dont care if its 50 watts there is no way he would get that level of preamp distortion- at that volume- from a stock 4 holer... just sayin

I agree. That amp would need to be cranked... have TONS of hiss with a pedal.


I did play Chris Merren's 67 plexi and that amp had a lot of gain stock... but needed to be cranked. I played it through a quad of 20 watt celestions in a pin stripe cab. Tone was glorious.

 

[psychodave]

I dont know but there is a video of him playing on david letterman through a Marshall head and I dont care if its 50 watts there is no way he would get that level of preamp distortion- at that volume- from a stock 4 holer... just sayin

I remember thinking the same thing when I saw this a while back. Let's face it, Ed is into gain and tinkering with everything possible. Why wouldn't he try to add as much gain as he could? Look at all of his amps since he used an SLO. Gain gain and more gain. I know JMPs and Plexis have a sweet gainy tone when cranked, I've owned a few. But that Letterman video is NOT a cranked Marshall, yet there it is. More gain than any cranked Plexi or JMP NMV I've played.

I agree that why it takes a BRAY 4550 or a FREIDMAN to get that tone
neither of those are the same as a bone stock 1200 series super lead.
Something is going on with that plexi when he used it back then and for whatever reason He does not want it known?
I would just buy a bray or a freidman if i were after his old tone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPoywq6BTlo

Just my .02, but that bray clip isn't very close. Closest I've heard is Al Estrada's rig... even more than Rockstah's (RIP).