The musician promoted a revolution on his instrument not only through the way he played, but also through the way he configured his instruments
Passed away in 2020, Eddie Van Halen He was a genius not only at playing the guitar. The extremely curious musician was also very interested in the equipment and initially kept secrets about the amplifiers he used, even having to tell a lie to avoid frequent questions about them.
The iconic artist used tube amplifiersin which the valves have the task of amplifying the sound and, when they are saturated, generate a type of distortion called guide. It’s a very common sound in rock, but Eddie found a different approach, managing to play very clearly without losing weight.
In 1978, the year the band’s first album was released, Van Halenthe musician gave a famous interview to the American magazine Guitar player (go Igor Miranda’s website). Asked – probably for the umpteenth time – about the “secret” of his sound, the musician responded exactly like this increased the voltage of your amps to further saturate the tubes and achieve the desired sound.
Era lie. And this has led to many people burning their equipment. The tactic was exactly the opposite: he really decreased the tension to get that sound.
In 2017 (almost four decades later), during an interview at the institute Smithsonianhe recalled how he came up with the idea to reduce the voltage of the amplifier. It all started with his dream amplifier:
“I worked in a music store delivering pianos and organs. One day a 100-watt Marshall amplifier arrived and I really needed it, so I worked all summer to buy one. It was so loud that I did everything from leaving it on his back until he lies on the floor.”
When Eddie found out there was another Marshall amp for sale in his area, he thought it might be different. So, he bought the other product. He explains:
“Well, it certainly was different, because when I turned it on it didn’t work. What I didn’t realize was that the product came from England and was set to 220 volts. It took a long time to heat the tubes to half voltage, so when I started playing I thought the sound was amazing, but it was very quiet. By doing this I noticed I could control the amp with the voltage.”
Thus came the discovery: with a Variac transformer he could control the voltage. This was done with the original amplifier – and the sound called “brown sound” was born, which consisted of an amplifier almost running out of power.
“I slowly lowered the voltage from 110 volts to 100. The lowest I ever got was 60. It depended on where we played, it was between 60 and 100, depending on the environment. The sweet spot was 89 volts.”
The inventive Eddie Van Halen
This wasn’t Eddie Van Halen’s only bizarre creation in the guitar world. The musician also modified his instruments, always looking for a better sound. He even believed that manufacturers placed pickups in a position that wasn’t the best and then made changes, positioning them more at an angle.
He also created a device called the D-Tuna, which rapidly changes the tuning of the lowest string (the mizona), dropping it to a lower pitch. Over time, the system evolved and began to be integrated into all Wolfgang guitars sold by his official brand, EVH.
+++ READ MORE: The sad final moments of Eddie Van Halen, narrated by Alex
+++ READ MORE: Slash’s take on Eddie Van Halen
+++ READ MORE: The amount of unreleased material left by Eddie Van Halen is impressive
+++ to follow Rolling Stone Brasil @rollingstonebrasil on Instagram
+++ to follow the journalist Igor Miranda @igormirandasite on Instagram
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
