Van Halen Audio from Donington, 8/18/84

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toomanycats
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PsychoCid wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 8:26 pm
toomanycats wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:44 pm
Tsukiyomi wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:26 pm But wait - there's more... :D

WOW!

Some thoughts and questions.

Imagine being in the audience and having no conception of who Van Halen was, and then they explode into "I'm On Fire". Mind-blown.

That guitar tone! @PsychoCid, what pickup would that likely have been?

Just think, he's using a standard Fender tremolo here. I've read about all the tricks Ed used to stay in tune . . . but still, its hard to believe.
Dear lord. It's 2020 and I'm trying to identify a pickup from 1978 into an arena with who knows what mic via a YouTube video playing through my phone. What has the world come to? :)
Take it as a compliment man. This is the level of EVH specialist expertise knowledge I ascribe to you. :D
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PsychoCid
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toomanycats wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 8:50 pm
PsychoCid wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 8:26 pm
toomanycats wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:44 pm

WOW!

Some thoughts and questions.

Imagine being in the audience and having no conception of who Van Halen was, and then they explode into "I'm On Fire". Mind-blown.

That guitar tone! @PsychoCid, what pickup would that likely have been?

Just think, he's using a standard Fender tremolo here. I've read about all the tricks Ed used to stay in tune . . . but still, its hard to believe.
Dear lord. It's 2020 and I'm trying to identify a pickup from 1978 into an arena with who knows what mic via a YouTube video playing through my phone. What has the world come to? :)
Take it as a compliment man. This is the level of EVH specialist expertise knowledge I ascribe to you. :D
Hahaha, much appreciated. I went back and forth between those two throughout the show. Think I'm more expert on Kramer than EVH though hahaha :)

My first inclination was more like 78. Though at times there is an almost single coil like singing. But the more I listen to Duncan 78 clips, the more it seems to fit.
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Gotta add this one from Montreal in 1984.



Thoughts I had were that, damn that Kramer sounds good, damn they were at their peak as performers, and damn, how the hell did Dave not hurt himself severely between 28:44 and 29:00. How, dammit, HOW?
"I'm not a sore loser. It's just that I prefer to win, and when I don't, I get furious."
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PsychoCid
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Rollin Hand wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 12:35 am Gotta add this one from Montreal in 1984.



Thoughts I had were that, damn that Kramer sounds good, damn they were at their peak as performers, and damn, how the hell did Dave not hurt himself severely between 28:44 and 29:00. How, dammit, HOW?
On Ed: Kramer 5150, Duncan Custom Custom

On Dave: Stretching, and liquor? :)
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toomanycats
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Ah, 1984, the good ol' days . . .

89a4b8c9a6b59f9d2b1aff8fc95467e9.jpg
1984-08-25-Van_Halen_Stockholm_Sweden_1984_5.jpg
last_3.jpg
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PsychoCid
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toomanycats wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:03 am Ah, 1984, the good ol' days . . .


89a4b8c9a6b59f9d2b1aff8fc95467e9.jpg


1984-08-25-Van_Halen_Stockholm_Sweden_1984_5.jpg


last_3.jpg
Okay now Alex's jeans are out of fashion but will come back. They probably still work for walking around Venice Beach.

Ed's pants, though... :)
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PsychoCid wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:26 am
toomanycats wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:03 am Ah, 1984, the good ol' days . . .


89a4b8c9a6b59f9d2b1aff8fc95467e9.jpg


1984-08-25-Van_Halen_Stockholm_Sweden_1984_5.jpg


last_3.jpg
Okay now Alex's jeans are out of fashion but will come back. They probably still work for walking around Venice Beach.

Ed's pants, though... :)
Hey, it was the 80s.....
"I'm not a sore loser. It's just that I prefer to win, and when I don't, I get furious."
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Yeah, but Dave would be beaten to death if he showed up today at a "protest" dressed in those patriotic Rocky IV shorts. Ooops . . . did I say that? :o
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Rollin Hand wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 8:56 am
PsychoCid wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:26 am
toomanycats wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:03 am Ah, 1984, the good ol' days . . .


89a4b8c9a6b59f9d2b1aff8fc95467e9.jpg


1984-08-25-Van_Halen_Stockholm_Sweden_1984_5.jpg


last_3.jpg
Okay now Alex's jeans are out of fashion but will come back. They probably still work for walking around Venice Beach.

Ed's pants, though... :)
Hey, it was the 80s.....
I bought a pair remarkably like that right on Venice Beach when I was living out that way in the late 90's! :D
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I posted this video on the old AGF over a year ago and it fell on deaf ears. Seriously, there wasn't a single comment or reaction.

For me this is eleven minutes and sixteen seconds of the most incredible guitar playing I've ever heard. Ed is like an expressionist painter, no rules, just pure free form improvisation. But then he goes full on Clapton at 2:20. Seriously, that's the sound of Ed and Alex back in their living room in Pasadena in 1971 trying to imitate Cream. Don't you recognize that melody at 2:47? That's Cream's version of "Sitting On Top of the World." Then it's back to Eddie mode, preaching in the unique vocabulary and language he created on the instrument, showcasing his most celebrated riffs and licks.

I cannot emphasis enough the importance of this amazing and highly significant audio document.

“There are only two means of refuge from the miseries of life: Music and Cats!” Albert Schweitzer
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toomanycats wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 5:54 pm I posted this video on the old AGF over a year ago and it fell on deaf ears. Seriously, there wasn't a single comment or reaction.

For me this is eleven minutes and sixteen seconds of the most incredible guitar playing I've ever heard. Ed is like an expressionist painter, no rules, just pure free form improvisation. But then he goes full on Clapton at 2:20. Seriously, that's the sound of Ed and Alex back in their living room in Pasadena in 1971 trying to imitate Cream. Don't you recognize that melody at 2:47? That's Cream's version of "Sitting On Top of the World." Then it's back to Eddie mode, preaching in the unique vocabulary and language he created on the instrument, showcasing his most celebrated riffs and licks.

I cannot emphasis enough the importance of this amazing and highly significant audio document.

* presses play for a shower serenade *
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Okay so I listen to that and see Picasso, Van Gogh, Clapton... Young, raw talent just steaming out of Ed's ears

At the same time I can see why it'd be harder for an average music fan to get into. Have you seen Amadeus? "The ear can hear only so many notes in the course of an hour..." Or whatever 😂

This one came up for me right after though and MAN does it have that 80s groove you wouldn't expect to hear EVH over but it's golden.





The second one sounds like ADKOT album but with better tone. Btw maybe an unpopular opinion... I think Wolfgang's are tone killers. Not killer tone monsters, but tone killers. :|

In the second clip he's playing a Ripley, which would have a Bartolini pickup. And yet it still sounds like that scratchy half dying guitar sound. His amp was just ridiculous magic, I suppose.
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PsychoCid wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:33 pm Okay so I listen to that and see Picasso, Van Gogh, Clapton... Young, raw talent just steaming out of Ed's ears

At the same time I can see why it'd be harder for an average music fan to get into. Have you seen Amadeus? "The ear can hear only so many notes in the course of an hour..." Or whatever 😂

This one came up for me right after though and MAN does it have that 80s groove you wouldn't expect to hear EVH over but it's golden.





The second one sounds like ADKOT album but with better tone. Btw maybe an unpopular opinion... I think Wolfgang's are tone killers. Not killer tone monsters, but tone killers. :|

In the second clip he's playing a Ripley, which would have a Bartolini pickup. And yet it still sounds like that scratchy half dying guitar sound. His amp was just ridiculous magic, I suppose.

I really liked that Donut City offering and hadn't heard it before. Do you think it would have still existed had 'Beat It' never happened a year or two earlier?

Interestingly to me at least, this whole period seemed a bit experimental. Not long before this, Eddie had guested on Brian May's 'Star Fleet Project' of course, including 'Let Me Out' and the Clapton tribute 'Blues Breaker' (starting at about 8'06" and 15'20" respectively)

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PsychoCid wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:33 pmt

The second one sounds like ADKOT album but with better tone. Btw maybe an unpopular opinion... I think Wolfgang's are tone killers. Not killer tone monsters, but tone killers. :|

In the second clip he's playing a Ripley, which would have a Bartolini pickup. And yet it still sounds like that scratchy half dying guitar sound. His amp was just ridiculous magic, I suppose.
I dunno, my Wolfgangs sound pretty good to me. I also love the necks. The problem is, many want that big, warm-yet-mean sound Ed got on the early albums, and they don't do that easily.

That said, over on the Halen.com forums when they existed, I heard recordings of a VH cover band doing MeanStreet. The guy used a Peavey Wolfgang Special and nailed the tone. His amp?

A Marshall Valvestate head. Yeah.

Of course the new Wolfgangs are very bright. Someone once told me that a hot wound A2 pickup would be all mids and really bright. Yep, that's the Wolfgang. Add in the very bright and fizzy 5150III amps, and that sound ain't brown.

I just chalk it up as Ed is doing something different now. Remember: 1984 was 36 years ago.
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Rollin Hand wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 9:43 pm
PsychoCid wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:33 pmt

The second one sounds like ADKOT album but with better tone. Btw maybe an unpopular opinion... I think Wolfgang's are tone killers. Not killer tone monsters, but tone killers. :|

In the second clip he's playing a Ripley, which would have a Bartolini pickup. And yet it still sounds like that scratchy half dying guitar sound. His amp was just ridiculous magic, I suppose.
I dunno, my Wolfgangs sound pretty good to me. I also love the necks. The problem is, many want that big, warm-yet-mean sound Ed got on the early albums, and they don't do that easily.

That said, over on the Halen.com forums when they existed, I heard recordings of a VH cover band doing MeanStreet. The guy used a Peavey Wolfgang Special and nailed the tone. His amp?

A Marshall Valvestate head. Yeah.

Of course the new Wolfgangs are very bright. Someone once told me that a hot wound A2 pickup would be all mids and really bright. Yep, that's the Wolfgang. Add in the very bright and fizzy 5150III amps, and that sound ain't brown.

I just chalk it up as Ed is doing something different now. Remember: 1984 was 36 years ago.
Precisely zero of my Peavey, Fender or custom Wolf's have been tone monsters. I don't have faith in the platform. It's also less comfortable than a Strat or Pacer body, even though it still beats a Les Paul.

The Wolfies with no maple top are particularly blah. But I was surprised to find -- the Wolfgang guys on Facebook don't respect the EVH wolf either. They tell people, just get the Peavey they are better. And, my opinion is that's true.

It's also not about the brown sound. It's just a poorly equiped and designed guitar. Maybe the $5000 ones are better?

The neck carve however. Even though it's just a rip off of the 5150 which is a refinement of the Ibanez Destroyer. The neck carve, Ed got right. But only with the Peavey sized frets, not the fender vintage junk :)
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PsychoCid wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 9:47 pm
Rollin Hand wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 9:43 pm
PsychoCid wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:33 pmt

The second one sounds like ADKOT album but with better tone. Btw maybe an unpopular opinion... I think Wolfgang's are tone killers. Not killer tone monsters, but tone killers. :|

In the second clip he's playing a Ripley, which would have a Bartolini pickup. And yet it still sounds like that scratchy half dying guitar sound. His amp was just ridiculous magic, I suppose.
I dunno, my Wolfgangs sound pretty good to me. I also love the necks. The problem is, many want that big, warm-yet-mean sound Ed got on the early albums, and they don't do that easily.

That said, over on the Halen.com forums when they existed, I heard recordings of a VH cover band doing MeanStreet. The guy used a Peavey Wolfgang Special and nailed the tone. His amp?

A Marshall Valvestate head. Yeah.

Of course the new Wolfgangs are very bright. Someone once told me that a hot wound A2 pickup would be all mids and really bright. Yep, that's the Wolfgang. Add in the very bright and fizzy 5150III amps, and that sound ain't brown.

I just chalk it up as Ed is doing something different now. Remember: 1984 was 36 years ago.
Precisely zero of my Peavey, Fender or custom Wolf's have been tone monsters. I don't have faith in the platform. It's also less comfortable than a Strat or Pacer body, even though it still beats a Les Paul.

The Wolfies with no maple top are particularly blah. But I was surprised to find -- the Wolfgang guys on Facebook don't respect the EVH wolf either. They tell people, just get the Peavey they are better. And, my opinion is that's true.

It's also not about the brown sound. It's just a poorly equiped and designed guitar. Maybe the $5000 ones are better?

The neck carve however. Even though it's just a rip off of the 5150 which is a refinement of the Ibanez Destroyer. The neck carve, Ed got right. But only with the Peavey sized frets, not the fender vintage junk :)
I have played one of the USA EVH Wolfgangs from the early tuns and....well, at $3200 at the time it wasn't worth the money. Harmonics leapt out of the guitar, but the smaller frets are NOT my thing. One can get close-enough performance out of the Wolfgang Special. Or out of the Standard which is a crazy good value -- the first time I played one, it was leaps and bounds ahead of the other ones I played that were at a similar price point.

EVH vs Peavey,well, they are different animals. I prefer the EVH neck carve. It feels thinner and more speed friendly. Softer edges too.

As for hardware, I have no problems with what they offer. I put a regular sized brass block on my standard, so the only difference between rhat one and the Korean OFRS is the saddles. The block made enough of a difference. I am unlikely to carve up the body to go bigger. A cosmo black OFR is not out of the question though.

That said, I also think a Strat is more comfy than my Peavey, especially sitting. The Standard has a firearm and belly cut, so it is golden.
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PsychoCid wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:33 pm Okay so I listen to that and see Picasso, Van Gogh, Clapton... Young, raw talent just steaming out of Ed's ears

At the same time I can see why it'd be harder for an average music fan to get into. Have you seen Amadeus? "The ear can hear only so many notes in the course of an hour..." Or whatever 😂

This one came up for me right after though and MAN does it have that 80s groove you wouldn't expect to hear EVH over but it's golden.





The second one sounds like ADKOT album but with better tone.
"Ripley" was completely ripped for the song "Blood and Fire" on A Different Kind of Truth.
“There are only two means of refuge from the miseries of life: Music and Cats!” Albert Schweitzer
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toomanycats wrote: Tue Aug 04, 2020 2:53 pm
PsychoCid wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:33 pm Okay so I listen to that and see Picasso, Van Gogh, Clapton... Young, raw talent just steaming out of Ed's ears

At the same time I can see why it'd be harder for an average music fan to get into. Have you seen Amadeus? "The ear can hear only so many notes in the course of an hour..." Or whatever 😂

This one came up for me right after though and MAN does it have that 80s groove you wouldn't expect to hear EVH over but it's golden.





The second one sounds like ADKOT album but with better tone.
"Ripley" was completely ripped for the song "Blood and Fire" on A Different Kind of Truth.
Ripley tone > Modern tone
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More on threads ... Christmas is coming up guys, so if you're thinking of me keep an eye out for these shades and shirt

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