Playing Eruption Like Eddie

[Seshmeister]

I've been playing guitar for 20 years now and a big fan of classic Van Halen.

I was a bit surprised to hear Eddie say on Howard Stern how he played Eruption with no guitar effects.

I've switched off all my effects and I can't work out how to get close to the sound without cheating using delay and a phaser.

Where am I going wrong?

Cheers!

[fast98dodge]

Eddie is notorious for "fibbing" about his equipment and effects...

[Seshmeister]

I don't understand.

Why would Eddie lie about something on national radio when 50% of his fans are guitarists and would know immediately he was talking shit?

That would mean that it's possible he tells lies about other things too?

[fast98dodge]

You gotta be kidding, right???

[Seshmeister]

[swampash]

I've been playing guitar for 20 years now and a big fan of classic Van Halen.

I was a bit surprised to hear Eddie say on Howard Stern how he played Eruption with no guitar effects.

I've switched off all my effects and I can't work out how to get close to the sound without cheating using delay and a phaser.

Where am I going wrong?

Cheers!

Maybe he did play it "with no guitar effects" - I've done a ton of recording sessions over the years and very few if any producers allowed effects at the time of recording, usually just a Marshall or Fender cranked dry. They put all that stuff in at the mixing stage so you don't have tracks with phase cancellations going on in conflict with each other, also compressing tracks with reverb or echo recorded on them make them sound cavernous and there is no way to fix that if it has been 'printed' that way. I imagine he is being perfectly honest, however Ted Templeton put a ton of shit on there, the Phase 90, the Univox Brat echo, reverb, compression....the tapping part is compressed all to hell, it makes the echo 'pop' behind it.

[Majestic]

Ed is a famous liar. You're waaaay behind on that.

[Seshmeister]

Maybe he did play it "with no guitar effects" - I've done a ton of recording sessions over the years and very few if any producers allowed effects at the time of recording, usually just a Marshall or Fender cranked dry. They put all that stuff in at the mixing stage so you don't have tracks with phase cancellations going on in conflict with each other, also compressing tracks with reverb or echo recorded on them make them sound cavernous and there is no way to fix that if it has been 'printed' that way. I imagine he is being perfectly honest, however Ted Templeton put a ton of shit on there, the Phase 90, the Univox Brat echo, reverb, compression....the tapping part is compressed all to hell, it makes the echo 'pop' behind it.

You've clearly never listened to a Van Halen bootleg from 1977. You should. The Pasadena Civic one is great.

You can download it if you register at www.diamonddavidleeroth.com.

Cheers!

[Majestic]

It sounds like your problem revolves around your fingers, regardless of how long you've played. That's not in our hands, pardon the pun.

Ed claims he doesn't use reverb, for instance, yet it's there on EVERY Van Halen track. Yes, he uses twin delays set at different speeds. But there is still studio reverb on it.

There is also an INSANE amount of mixing board treble added to "Eruption", much to Eddie's chagrin.

Anything else is left to your practice habits.

You've left me confused regarding your very mention of Eddie's live performance. His live tone isn't identical to his studio tone, unless you're deaf. His live tone was a clean, "quacky" tone, with clean treble, and bass. No harsh upper-mids, yet no lower mids, etc. In fact, if I had to pick only ONE album that represented his "live tone", I would choose 'Diver Down'.

Naturally, I'm referring to everything pre-1991, when his tone went to H*ll.

[swampash]

You've clearly never listened to a Van Halen bootleg from 1977. You should. The Pasadena Civic one is great.

You can download it if you register at www.diamonddavidleeroth.com.

Cheers!

I've got all the boots...what I was saying is in the studio he may not have recorded with effects. More than likely he recorded the guitar dry and Templeman later added stuff to recreate what Ed had been doing live. Don't get me wrong, I think Ed is lying out his ass.

[axebrian]

It was my understanding that Ted liked the way Ed sounded using his stuff through his rig. If I'm not mistaken, it's in the "Van Halen 101" book, I think?

[m e a n s t r e e t]

Playing Eruption dry ain't gonna happen.

Ed's effects are extensive. I have a 1978 stage concert shot with his plywood pedal/stompbox gear taped on. There are even more recent schematics floating around that shows how to rig his more recent gear.

There are echo/phaser/delay effects (the echo being in the WWII bomb) in perfect harmony with each other on that beautiful track that changed the world. The ending is the result of a delay rate switch being turned all the way down (not a whammy bar as most people think).

Did Ed say he was playing this without effects???

[swampash]

Playing Eruption dry ain't gonna happen.

Ed's effects are extensive. I have a 1978 stage concert shot with his plywood pedal/stompbox gear taped on. There are even more recent schematics floating around that shows how to rig his more recent gear.

There are echo/phaser/delay effects (the echo being in the WWII bomb) in perfect harmony with each other on that beautiful track that changed the world. The ending is the result of a delay rate switch being turned all the way down (not a whammy bar as most people think).

Did Ed say he was playing this without effects???

Around here somewhere I have a CD with supposedly (hey I wasn't there) the original session of Ed playing Eruption that was for the studio version. He played it three times in pieces and the final version was edited from that.
That's why I think the effects were added later...

You are correct meanstreet -

I used to have a Univox EC-80 Brat Echo chamber (Ed had the EC-100 in his WWII bomb) it ran on a miniture 8 track tape that plugged in the back. You adjusted the delay by turning a knob that either sped up or slowed down the capstan motor, that the sound at the end of Eruption...he also uses it extensively on the Whisky A Go Go New Years 1977 boot during Eruption, getting some feedback and cranking that delay knob back and forth.

I will see if I can find those mp3's and post a link.

[swampash]

Okay, here it is in all of its lo-fi glory - this is purported to be the actual session that Ted Templeman 'created' the finished version of Eruption from. Definitely has phaser and a very quick slap echo sound (Echoplex?) along with a ton of plate reverb and the infamous last note. You be the judge.

Eruption session

[Seshmeister]

I better just clarify I was totally joking when I posted this originally in Main before it was moved.

I know it's not the first time Eddie has lied through whats left of his teeth about equipment but hearing him saying how he was so much better than Hendrix because Hendrix relied on effects whilst he never used them, with Eruption blasting out in the background, was just taking his bullshit to a whole new level.

I'm no equipment expert but I could imagine TT maybe adding the studio delay in Eruption but I'm not sure about the other stuff.

My understanding was the whole TT ethos with VH was to get the live sound across and that Eruption was added to the record because he heard Eddie doing his solo spot whilst warming up. I find it unlikely he would then get Eddie to switch off all his effects and then try and recreate them on the mixing desk.

Another example is I don't see how you could add the delay effect in Cathedral in the mix because it would make it so much harder to play.

The reason I mentioned boots is that they prove he's bullshitting in either case. Also proves Eddies total shit about making the solos to songs up in the spur of the moment when in the studio.

None of any of this matters anyway or takes away from the music but it's just irritating that Eddie thinks he can treat all his fans as retards.