Did Dave Friedman find the josé mods behind Van Halen 1 ?

[Nashville Riff Co]

I wonder how Rhoads would have evolved both in his playing and his gear - would have been interesting.

your whole post was really cool to read but on this specific point, both Grover Jackson and Bob Daisley have independently confirmed (on their respective tone talk shows), that Randy wanted to leave Ozzy's band and just go back to his school/learn more guitar.

Bob even went far as sharing that Ozzy sucker punched Randy when Randy told him thats what he wanted.

Obviously we never got to find out the end of that beautiful story (cut too short) but it would have been fascinating. He might have just faded into the background never to be heard from again!

 

[anomaly]

The Metallica Jose was stolen in Boston on their first east coast gigs so DF ain’t reverse engineering it from the ether.

I think the tone on kill em all kinda sucks to be honest, I know it's a Jose Marshall but it sounds like shit.

 

[jabps]

your whole post was really cool to read but on this specific point, both Grover Jackson and Bob Daisley have independently confirmed (on their respective tone talk shows), that Randy wanted to leave Ozzy's band and just go back to his school/learn more guitar.

Bob even went far as sharing that Ozzy sucker punched Randy when Randy told him thats what he wanted.

Obviously we never got to find out the end of that beautiful story (cut too short) but it would have been fascinating. He might have just faded into the background never to be heard from again!

Yes, Bob's book is great. Actually there is a great Facebook group out there with some great interviews with Andrew Klein who was one of the guys working on the film biography that got shut down, lots of good stuff there. It's the called The Great Randy Rhoads Truthers Society. Yeah that's what I meant by I wonder what his path would have been, if he stayed in rock how would his gear progressed, does he go full blown school etc... We'll never know except hearsay. Was clear in the end, especially with some of the interviews with Klein that Rhoads couldn't get away from Ozzy and Sharon fast enough though.

Sadly, not fast enough. Btw/ I had tickets to his last show in Knoxville but the guy who was supposed to go his parents wouldn't let him. Couldn't get anyone to go with me and as cool as my parents were they weren't letting me make that drive alone. Although I was a senior we had just had a classmate killed driving and all the parents were on edge.

 

[Nashville Riff Co]

Yes, Bob's book is great. Actually there is a great Facebook group out there with some great interviews with Andrew Klein who was one of the guys working on the film biography that got shut down, lots of good stuff there. It's the called The Great Randy Rhoads Truthers Society. Yeah that's what I meant by I wonder what his path would have been, if he stayed in rock how would his gear progressed, does he go full blown school etc... We'll never know except hearsay. Was clear in the end, especially with some of the interviews with Klein that Rhoads couldn't get away from Ozzy and Sharon fast enough though.

Sadly, not fast enough. Btw/ I had tickets to his last show in Knoxville but the guy who was supposed to go his parents wouldn't let him. Couldn't get anyone to go with me and as cool as my parents were they weren't letting me make that drive alone. Although I was a senior we had just had a classmate killed driving and all the parents were on edge.

damn dude, what a show to miss, but agreed it was for all the right reasons

 

[shar-vell Dan]

I'm a huge Rhoads fan. I remember the first time I heard Randy - now I had started playing guitar the year before VH1 dropped. At that time we were all so into Kiss, Queen, Rush, I mean learning something from Lifeson was like you had conquered middle earth or something back then.

Then Ed drops and immediately to all of us, he became the guy, the guy that took over from Jimi in the hierarchy. He was literally so advanced nobody had a clue or hint of what he was doing. Thing was though it was all about the playing, none of us back then really thought about the guitar tone(s) of any player. Brian May's tone sounded different from Scott Gorham who sounded different from Ace who sounded different from Nugent who sounded different from Schon who sounded different from EVH. It was all about the playing and it was all good to us. I mean the recipe was simple, a Marshall or decent amp, OD pedal and do your best back then.

Then Randy hits and for me as a player, changed my path. I was content being the Rhythm player in my little bands at that time. Rhoads hits and it would be 25 years before I would share the guitar spot with another player. Still though, at that time in 1980 tone was not a factor to any of my friends that were players.

Really from my recollection tone didn't become a factor in my orbit of friends and fellow musicians until the whole LA thing hit hard in '83. Suddenly it seemed everyone was scrambling for their own tone myself included.

Anyway all this thesis aside, really no comparison after the fact in EVH's tone and Rhoads. Looking back I loved how Rhoads sounded on Diary, still do but Ed's tone speaks for itself as it's essentially spawned an entire amp industry. I wonder how Rhoads would have evolved both in his playing and his gear - would have been interesting. I know this in my old age, I am truly grateful for getting to experience all these players as they hit first hand. May, Rush, Lizzy, Journey, EVH, Rhoads etc.. first hand as it happened. I can truly say from the time I picked the guitar and tried to learn from all of my influences till about the early 90's was the most fun I ever had as a player.

I had never wanted any guitar other than a Les Paul. I had actually "made" my own out of a broken SG neck & Hondo LP body. Gigged with it for 5 years then donated it to a kid starting out.
If you were to tell me in the 1970's & 80's if i cut off my rt arm i could have a cream color Les Paul Custom today you'd be looking at a one arm man.
Music / GP's it was never a competition with me. So much/many organically home grown stars to chose from.
I knew Neal Schon was exceptionally gifted and leagues above most.
Most of what i hold dear in music is slipping away from me as most things do.
I love it all.

 

[jabps]

damn dude, what a show to miss, but agreed it was for all the right reasons

Yeah I think about that all the time. Met a guitarist in college, we became good friends who was from Knoxville who saw the show and of course, it was the greatest thing he ever saw. Ugh. But yeah, my senior class was hell on wheels and parents kinda went on lockdown trying to get us to graduation. I remember I ended up working that night, driving home flipped on the radio and Who's Crying Now by Journey was playing, they then announced he had been killed. They followed with some Ozzy stuff. Still every time I hear that Journey song it reminds me of Rhoads.

 

[7704A]

Looking back I loved how Rhoads sounded on Diary, still do

Your comment made me go back and listen to it again, and after that turn up my 4104 a bit to see if I could cop a similar tone. Fun morning of tone appreciation.

 

[Nashville Riff Co]

Yeah I think about that all the time. Met a guitarist in college, we became good friends who was from Knoxville who saw the show and of course, it was the greatest thing he ever saw. Ugh. But yeah, my senior class was hell on wheels and parents kinda went on lockdown trying to get us to graduation. I remember I ended up working that night, driving home flipped on the radio and Who's Crying Now by Journey was playing, they then announced he had been killed. They followed with some Ozzy stuff. Still every time I hear that Journey song it reminds me of Rhoads.

yea dude i can remember exactly how it feels. funny how we associate certain sights, sounds and smells with those key moments!

just making it to graduation...lol lived that one with friends too!! nothing mixes like muscle cars with too much power and teenagers lol

what a life he lived in the few short years he got!

 

[shar-vell Dan]

And then Angus and the lads down under blew a hole in the Ozone.

 

[ZEN Amps]

37:17 is the purest rock n' roll ever created. Three chords, no lead work and just crushing. Hail the Young brothers.

 

[jabps]

yea dude i can remember exactly how it feels. funny how we associate certain sights, sounds and smells with those key moments!

just making it to graduation...lol lived that one with friends too!! nothing mixes like muscle cars with too much power and teenagers lol

True, my car was a black '78 Trans Am, four on the floor ala Smokey and the Bandit with an Alpine Stereo/Power Amp and speakers lol. Total cliché. I worked my rear off to buy that car and fix it up in 1981. I used to walk home from school and the guy that originally owned it parked it near the street, I'd walk by everyday, told my friends I'd buy it one day and I did lol.

Cars, guitars, music - fun time growing up when you actually had to be social instead of social media.

 

[Nashville Riff Co]

True, my car was a black '78 Trans Am, four on the floor ala Smokey and the Bandit with an Alpine Stereo/Power Amp and speakers lol. Total cliché. I worked my rear off to buy that car and fix it up in 1981. I used to walk home from school and the guy that originally owned it parked it near the street, I'd walk by everyday, told my friends I'd buy it one day and I did lol.

Cars, guitars, music - fun time growing up when you actually had to be social instead of social media.

I’m really hoping you still have it?

 

[harddriver]

Based on your clip I disagree - but it doesn't matter. If you dig a modded SV20 for your VH tones that's cool, there's plenty of ways to get there. I mean if someone can't get ballpark with an 800 or DSL then it's not the amp at fault.

I don't think ampchaser realizes you also have an OG Jose modded Marshall which you have played to directly compare to reach your conclusion about if a stock Marshall Plexi/Superlead can achieve VH1 gain and tone and is more correct to what is heard on VH1 live or recorded. The Jose's sound great but they are their own animal so to speak and they do seem to lose those qualities that the plexi/suprelead possess.

 

[TheBiggestJerk]

At this point discussing what type of headset mic Sammy Hagar used during his solo years would be more interesting


View attachment 379430

That’s funny!!!

 

[DanTravis62]

I don't think ampchaser realizes you also have an OG Jose modded Marshall which you have played to directly compare to reach your conclusion about if a stock Marshall Plexi/Superlead can achieve VH1 gain and tone and is more correct to what is heard on VH1 live or recorded. The Jose's sound great but they are their own animal so to speak and they do seem to lose those qualities that the plexi/suprelead possess.

I don't think he realizes like 90% of members of this forum have owned Jose mods and stock superleads lmfao

 

[Kordoba]

True, my car was a black '78 Trans Am, four on the floor ala Smokey and the Bandit with an Alpine Stereo/Power Amp and speakers lol. Total cliché. I worked my rear off to buy that car and fix it up in 1981. I used to walk home from school and the guy that originally owned it parked it near the street, I'd walk by everyday, told my friends I'd buy it one day and I did

That's kind of the way I did it too. Got my 75 Camaro, upgraded the shifter to a Hurst 4 speed, put an eq in the slot beneath my Alpine, 6x9s in the rear window then jacked it way the fuck up with big tires and Ace's face on the pumpkin.

 

[jabps]

I’m really hoping you still have it?

I wish. I went from that to a Honda CRX, talk about a power difference lol. But I headed off to college and a Trans Am wasn't gas friendly. I mean you could get on it and actually watch the gas needle go down lol. I could fill that CRX up and drive 500 miles. Hey but I did load up that CRX with a bad ass JVC stereo, jammed alot of Dokken during that time. Ahh the days of getting your Crutchfield catalog, second only to the East Coast Music catalogs. Hey I could just barely fit a 4x12 slant in the back.

 

[Matt300ZXT]

Randy's last show was in Knoxville? That's crazy, I'm like an hour from Knoxville.

 

[Amp_chaser]

Yep that's the tone, the bite, the right amount of gain, the attack, the plexi/SL clank, it's all there..... The clip from Mr Zen that proves the stock SL/plexi amp theory once again. I'm sure he will find something that's not right about your clip, like he does all the other clips posted that audibly without a doubt shows a good plexi or superlead get's it done every single time.

We all know the conjecture and theories ad nauseum....It's also possible Ed slaved into another Marshall, Marshall PA amp or any number of slave power amps he used live for VH1 and or ran an EQ up front any number of addtional signal chain items when he wanted more push to the front of the plexi. But all of that other stuff is superfluous to the fact that the core tone and gain is provided by a very good sounding 68 plexi or Superlead and he was able to get THAT tone from other newer Marshall Superleads as well.

Mh the slaving theory is clearly possible for running with the devil that's very close but still likes a small thing. Fot the slaving theory in the japanese book of the 78 tour you can see that eddie already slaved 2203 marshall amps which have way more gain and grit.

I believe you can get those kind of tones while achieving speaker distortion when vol is at max. But did ed really crank his amp in the studio ? He said that when his amp was attenuated it sounded so good. When an amp is attenuated speakers will not give this amount of distortion.

 

[Amp_chaser]

Your amp sounds good but if I'm honest, ZEN's amp above sounds closer and really good / better as well.

Yes i admit it his recording is very good and better than mine. However i really ask myself if the speakers were pushed at max during the recording or if the amp was attenuated because that would have made a big difference. I've heard counteless interviews of eddie saying he hated how loud Marshalls were so i imagine that the amp was perhaps attenuated in some kinda way.