Van Halen Letterman 1985 Clips

[echoplexi1974]

I don’t know if someone has posted these clips before but I made mp3 sans all of the talk in between Eddie’s jamming with the late night band. How the hell did he get that tone? Sunshine Of Your Love is sick…!!! Fat, tight, and the right amount of cut. How in the hell….?
https://soundcloud.com/echoplexi1974/va ... letterman1
https://soundcloud.com/echoplexi1974/va ... letterman2

[Strat78]

Never heard the whole thing like that, the sunshine snippet was spooky good. But that is basically what a straight up 12xxx with no bells or whistles sounds like! Goose bumps every time I plug in.

[Tone Slinger]

Yep, definately indicative of the 12xxx there what perplexes me about that tone was the volume reduction. Most things that can lower volume on a stock 1959/1987 affect that 'tight/cut'. The super low voltage thing (which I believe Ed did) has more bloom and sag than the tone Ed has there. The pilot light is off. He possibly reamped that 12xxx, which was running at low voltage(dimmed pilot light), into some load, that compressed it a bit, then into a Solid State H&H power amp. I dont see any of that back there though. Maybe it was though. I actually like the tone of David Brays Mod1 in respects to getting at a tone fairly similar to that (brown plexish with good cut and tightness) just a 'hint' of that slightly more modern (80ish) type tone, WITHOUT going TOO far, like a cascaded Mod5 type spec.

[matttornado]

Or maybe he had the variac turned down so low, that the pilot light wasn't lit.

Does anyone know how far the variac has to be voltage wise before the pilot light goes out?

Obviously he wasn't cranked real loud like he would be playing a van halen show.

It sounds like low volume too.

[matttornado]

into some load, that compressed it a bit, then into a Solid State H&H power amp. I dont see any of that back there though.

Yeah, I seriously doubt he go through all that just to play on letterman for a bit. IMO he has his amp variaced down real low, hence the pilot light being off or so dim it can't be sceen.

Probably that simple.

[Tone Slinger]

Yeah, but when you do that (take the voltage WAY down) you definately LOSE that tight/cut that the op mentioned.

The pilot light was either(blown)out, or there was a more complex set up,or the 12xxx half stack was just there for the looks and he was using another amp (combo?) that Jose built him. Ed was talking about working with Jose on an amp back in that '84/85 timeline

[echoplexi1974]

You can definitely hear the echoplex on the second clip. You can hear it when he stops playing and the repeat of the echoplex reveals itself. Maybe he was going old-school brown sound on that show. No chorusing/harmonizer, just guitar/echoplex/amp.

How could he abandon that tone? That is the bomb diggity of all electric tones there imo. I wish he would go back to that. I'm dreaming again....

[rdodson]

Did he take 12301 to NYC? I can't remember. The NYC clip doesn't sound as good as the LA show where he brought 12301 and one of his own stripped cabs.

That "Sunshine" bit is the tone of doom. Just perfect.

I'm of the opinion that this is just variaced WAY down. Not 60 volts, but probably low 80s. Amp was making ~ 25w. Just a loud Deluxe a that point.

[dirtycooter]

80-85volts and my pilot light says ... seeya.
I think Clapton Sunshine tone goes hand in hand with the brown sound. Theres a youtube clip of a peacemaker doin vh very nicely then he breaks into spot on sunshine tone too as well.
I am certainly of the opinion this is just variaced and not reamped here too.

One thing I notice is how raw, straight up, clear, and simple it sounds at this point. Its as if he had totally mastered the rig by this time and rfined it it to a T. No noise or other junk-just straight up perfect tone here with no fx either. It has just enough gain and no more and no less.

[Strat78]

I think it is sick that our ears are all hearing the same thing in that Sunshine clip, its a sound that stops us dead in our tracks! Sounds like the amp was cooking a little harder at that point, I'm sure Ed was gradually creeping the volume up over the length of the evening.

[dirtycooter]

Check this out-VH and then some Sunshine-seems to go together like peas and carrots
Maybe Eds love for Cream lead him to seek out that tone first and he stumbled onto his own brown sound from chasing that tone -now this is a theory that kinda makes sense somewhat

[youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3slvGOhS_A [/youtube]

[Strat78]

Here are some other angles, looks like it is just the head and cab, sounds like it too, oh, look how big the studio is , still he probably just pulled a couple tubes and thats it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=502K0Rzqkm8

[matttornado]

He's got to be using the variac even though it's not visible.

[rgorke]

Here are some other angles, looks like it is just the head and cab, sounds like it too, oh, look how big the studio is , still he probably just pulled a couple tubes and thats it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=502K0Rzqkm8

In this clip they ARE in SoCal so Ed showing up with a cabinet and head in the front seat of his Lamborghini is perfectly feasible. Even room for the Echoplex and variac in the trunk or hood or wherever the opposite of the where the motor is in those cars.

[fivecoyote]

That was awesome, tx much for doing and posting. My 2c to contribute is...I don't hear that weak, one-coil-doesn't-register Frankie pickup To me that sounds hotter. Could be just the amp but....