Suggest A Good EVH Style Humbucker

[Stramm8]

To build on CP5150's point, some of Ed's best tones IMHO have come from relatively weak PAFs. Now, his iconic tones are from the Shark w/a A8 Ibanez Super 70 (Jamie's Crying, RWTD, YRG), or whatever was in the Frank when VH1 was recorded (and there is much speculation about that). But I do know that Girl Gone Bad, Hot For Teacher and Drop Dead Legs were all his '58 V with the stock PAFs (long magnet A2 but maybe A4). These would have been in the high 7s dc resistance. Also, the solo on "Push Comes to Shove" on Fair Warning is one of his vintage Les Pauls with the stock PAF.

Furthermore, Ed used the V again on Top of the World. The amp is the biggest part of the gain aspect with the pickup providing the tone foundation. For me, give me the tone on Girl Gone Bad. That is the absolute top for me, and not surprisingly very similar to his hero Clapton's Cream tone from Wheels of Fire.

I'm with these guys: VH tone has more to do with the amp and the way you play. That said, I like all the EVH pickups. The Frankenstein is great in strat as well as the Wolfgang(I have one in my Frankenstein). I also loaded a set of Wolfgangs in an SG and that sounded great too.

 

[Rdodson]

I used to do some work (very little and unpaid but was cool) for the band.

Agree, Girl Gone Bad is some really killer tone. I've always loved how he sounds on that track.

Had no idea that the solo on Push Comes to Shove was played on a Les Paul. Did you pick this up from an interview somewhere? I think that is the coolest solo he has ever recorded, but I always assumed it was done on the Frank.

 

[jape23]

Motor city pickups 2nd degree black belts. I hear they get a great VH tone!!!

I've got a 2nd Degree BB in my Charvel. I think it's more Diver Down (Hang Em High, Where Have All the Good Times Gone etc) type of tone than any other VH stuff.

It's got really good articulation, but sometimes I feel like it's a bit more spongy than I want. For reference, here's a short clip I made of the 2nd Degree Black Belt in a CS Charvel (alder body).

https://app.box.com/s/3kf5n45c9jcq46buphkvzyt22blnl881



It would be great to get some feedback from those who've got some experience with the duncan 59/Custom hybrid in terms of how it compares to the 2nd degree black belt.

 

[jape23]

I used to do some work (very little and unpaid but was cool) for the band.

Agree, Girl Gone Bad is some really killer tone. I've always loved how he sounds on that track.

Had no idea that the solo on Push Comes to Shove was played on a Les Paul. Did you pick this up from an interview somewhere? I think that is the coolest solo he has ever recorded, but I always assumed it was done on the Frank.

That's very cool. Thanks Ron.

 

[SQUAREHEAD]

I used to do some work (very little and unpaid but was cool) for the band.

Agree, Girl Gone Bad is some really killer tone. I've always loved how he sounds on that track.

Had no idea that the solo on Push Comes to Shove was played on a Les Paul. Did you pick this up from an interview somewhere? I think that is the coolest solo he has ever recorded, but I always assumed it was done on the Frank.

More information, Ron!

 

[Jayy]

You want EVH style but limit it to A2?

My favorite EVH sounding pickup is the Duncan 59/Custom Hybrid. It just kicks ass. The Duncan Custom is great too.

Weren't you speaking highly of some boutique brand a few years back for "that" tone?

Yes, the Arcane Brownbucker, which was a boutique version of the Duncan 78 (that cost $40 less than the Duncan) with an A5 magnet instead of the A2. I liked that pickup better than the Duncan '78 because the A2 magnet can be a little soft and saggy in the lows and with a cranked EL34 amp, I don't need something else giving me soft and saggy.

Then I tried a Duncan 59/Custom Hybrid and like one or two other guys on the forum throughout history, I changed my mind and found something I liked better.

Which is a good thing because Arcane has pretty much dried up completely for any stores or customers trying to buy their products. They are so busy building OEM stuff for manufacturers that they have basically just become an OEM supplier. They won't even return my emails or phone calls for a year and a half now and completely ignored my 24 piece order from November 2014.

I have been tempted to switch the A2 out of my CS '78 and try an A5 in it's place. After reading what you say about the Arcane Brownbucker I may just have to go ahead and try it!

 

[SavageRiffer]

Duncan SH-11 Custom Custom maybe?

I personally prefer the DiMarzio Norton for that EVH bite, but since it's mid/high output and A5, it's no contender...

I like this guy's taste because these are exactly the suggestions I had in mind. Actually, and numbered by preference, I'd recommend this:

1. Bareknuckle VHII
2. Dimarzio Norton (you can always swap an a2 or UOA5 magnet)
3. EVH Wolfgang
4. Seymour Duncan Custom 78'
5. Seymour Duncan Custom Custom

The Dimarzio Norton DP160 is my favorite Dimarzio and lends itself incredibly well to the Brown Sound kind of thing. The Bareknuckle VHII is a killer pickup but pricey. EVH pickups are great, you pretty much look no further. The Custom 78' was made to do that sound. I used to have one in a Charvel and compared to the Custom Custom, it was quite bright. The Custom Custom to me sounded similar but more compressed, and has a higher output than the 78'.

When it all boils down though, the Norton is unbeatable. You can swap magnets without drastically changing the tone, so if you want a softer more vintage kind of tone, use an unpolished A2. If you want a weaker A5 kind of thing, try a UOA5. I have gone between unpolished and polished A2 magnets several times, so I want to say that the polished magnets seem to have a slightly higher output and tighter bass. I'm not a real expert on that so I don't know for sure, but that's the impression I get.

 

[Michi]

That's a great lookin' guitar!

 

[lowmantotempole]

Honestly a BareKnuckle VHII or Motor City Pickups Afwayu would suffice.

 

[Rdodson]

Back when Ed left EBMM and went with PV, the Dallas International Guitar Show was right after that and PV had the red prototype at the show. The late Kim Davis, of Point Blank fame, ran the Brook Mays Pro Shop here in Dallas and they sold a ton of PV gear so they kinda ran the PV display. I was at the show and Kim asked me to come up and try out/demo the guitar since I was a studio cat in town who did a bunch of EVH-style work. So, I got up and played for 5 or 10 minutes and drew a crowd. Eddie's business manager (name escapes me now, but she was a tall blonde lady <edit: it was Barbara Page>) was in attendance and immediately asked if I'd like to do more of that. I said "sure".

I ended up writing for the old original Van Halen website with a guy who ran the old "Inside Magazine" (Brad Starks) and being part of the inside staff circle email chain, which was fun. Ed didn't really participate but Scotty Ross and the other guys did. I ended up interviewing Steve Blucher, Wayne Charvel, Lynn Ellsworth, and some others. All really nice people. When the band came to town I got to hang out. That was when Gary was singing and Ed wasn't drinking so it was cool.

Not much more came of the demoing job but the rest of it was cool. Then Ed got weird about the gear stuff being on the website so he had it all taken down. Then I mistakenly said something wrong and Val got mad at me and it was over. But honestly it wasn't a big deal. None of those guys probably even remember me save Brad.

I used to do some work (very little and unpaid but was cool) for the band.

Agree, Girl Gone Bad is some really killer tone. I've always loved how he sounds on that track.

Had no idea that the solo on Push Comes to Shove was played on a Les Paul. Did you pick this up from an interview somewhere? I think that is the coolest solo he has ever recorded, but I always assumed it was done on the Frank.

More information, Ron!

 

[dfrattaroli]

I have this guitar that I built in 2005. Mahogany body and flamed maple top. I put a Steve's Special in the bridge and of all my guitars, that one always sounded more like early VH than anything else I have. No matter what amp I play it through. The only other guitar that made me think of VH when I played it was my Charvel Sam Dimas Pro Mod with the stock Duncan's. I had the tele shaped one in Pagan Gold. Great neck too.

Now my new Kiesel which is such an awesome instrument has my attention and I want to get close to that sound. The Lithiums are nice pickups but just not for vintage/hard rock stuff. They're really good for more modern super tight playing.

 

[charvelstrat81]

It REALLY depends on your Guitar/amp/effects and fingers but IF you want what he used it would be,
Pre 1st record club days= Mighty mite #1300 screamer or Dimarzio super d
VH I = Old Duncan Custom(this became the SH-5)get one from before 1980 if you can
VH II=Duncan 78
WACF=Duncan 78
FW=EVH Frankenstein p'u
DD=EVH Frankenstein p'u
1984=EVH Frankenstein p'u
sorry but after 1984 his tone is not worth talking about

 

[sahlomonic]

Surprisingly, I've found good 'brown sound' success with my Screamin Demon pickup. If you goose the mids on your amp a little and get the gain cooking just right, playing the main riff to Mean Streets sounds pretty damn good. But I also like Peavey Wolfgang pickups, and even Warren DeMartini's sig RTM pickup (sort of like an A2 JB) can do it pretty well in the right guitar.

 

[Anonymous]

Super D

Steve

 

[zz666]

Plus 1 for the Super Distortion