Gaustad at it again...Fair Warning deep dive

  • Thread starter Thread starter SpiderWars
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F$%n crazy!! Jesus he really gets that tone. The amount of time and work he puts in is unbelievable. Have to respect his dedication.
 
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Just an incredible tone. I must be a product of my era, but this guitar tone is just so, so damned good. Plenty of gain and compression for leads, but such glassy articulation and string separation at the same time. This is music. I have zero use for the ultra modern drop Q chugga chugga guitar sounding like bass and kick drum combined.
 
Why do most Ed fans target his VH II guitar tone? In terms of DLR era tones, VH II was his least impressive.
 
Mark Skid said:
Why do most Ed fans target his VH II guitar tone? In terms of DLR era tones, VH II was his least impressive.
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I get ya. The VH-II tone definitely came across as having less ‘sizzle’ and for sure, Ed’s effects were not as pronounced on VH-II as they were on the first album. But that said, there is something warmer, darker, more ‘organic’ more ‘woody’ about the VH-II tones than the sizzlier, gainier, ‘nastier‘ tones on the first album.

At least that’s what I ‘thought’ until I heard the raw track of Eruption on the Sunset Sound video that circulated earlier this year. That track - to my ears, anyway - sounded exactly like what I hear on ALL of the VH-II album: a bit less gain, a bit less ‘sizzle’, a bit more ‘organic’ - all which tells me that whatever we are hearing as the ‘difference’ between Ed’s VH-I and VH-II tone was happening at the board with EQ and FX. The raw guitar ‘tone’ on those 2 albums was remarkably similar.

Personally, I love the idea of being able to pull off my trickiest lead work with less gain and compression. But as the gain rolls off, its almost like losing consecutive hands in strip poker - you start to feel a bit exposed and overthink every note! I love that woody, articulate, percussive tone on VH-II. In my wildest dreams, I can play through that rig and sound good.
 
Fascinating. FW is my holy grail tone, and I gotta say this cat really gets it nailed.

Also nice to see something different from the older EVH tone chases.

Biggest surprise to me was the use of the G12t-75's in the cab. To me they were always harsh and grating, but with the Marshall so spongey with the Variac it makes sense to add some cut and clarity to things.
 
M@tt C said:
Biggest surprise to me was the use of the G12t-75's in the cab. To me they were always harsh and grating, but with the Marshall so spongey with the Variac it makes sense to add some cut and clarity to things.
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I don't understand what he meant there. Those speakers weren't made yet when Fair Warning was recorded.
 
I've experimented with Ed's alleged 90VAC line-in protocol... I call BS. I also owned a Mojave "Dirty Boy" head w/onboard variac, dedicated tube heater xformer and on-the-fly biasing. To my ears, Ed was running his rig between 110VAC and 115VAC. Using a variac doesn't affect tone at all. It creates attack and release time latency via slowed capacitor recharge time. The "magic" we're hearing on VH I was created using Ed's hands and excessive power tube compression.
 
SpiderWars said:
I don't understand what he meant there. Those speakers weren't made yet when Fair Warning was recorded.
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Good sleuthing Sherlock Spider....:p

I know Celestion made a 150 watt Sidewinder speaker in 1983/1984 because I owned an 84 combo amp with one. . I remember seeing G1270's in the 80's so The G1270 was early 80's I can't find a birth date on them. I'm not sure when the T75 watt started being made but according to a quick search I found this....

The G12T-75 first appeared in 1985, as the new version of the G12M-70. Curiously enough, this speaker is in production until today and is found almost everywhere, also being used in the current Marshall 1960A and 1960B cabs. It's offered in both 8ohms and 16ohms.

For the G1265 this is direct from Celestion....

Originally created in the late 70s using more modern materials and techniques for a higher power handling the G12-65 is widely regarded as one of the best guitar speakers ever produced for use in a 4×12 cabinet. With its fast attack and tightly controlled low end the G12-65 had become a firm favourite with hard rock players by the early 80s. The precisely tuned mid-range and crisp defined top-end contribute to an aggressive crunch sound that punches through the mix while the mid-range warmth and detail give weight and depth to single notes.
 
Mark Skid said:
I've experimented with Ed's alleged 90VAC line-in protocol... I call BS. I also owned a Mojave "Dirty Boy" head w/onboard variac, dedicated tube heater xformer and on-the-fly biasing. To my ears, Ed was running his rig between 110VAC and 115VAC. Using a variac doesn't affect tone at all. It creates attack and release time latency via slowed capacitor recharge time. The "magic" we're hearing on VH I was created using Ed's hands and excessive power tube compression.
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He seems to capture the specific Fair Warning tone somehow doesn't he?

I enjoy this guys forays into the lore and he has methodical mind and reason for his experimentation.
 
harddriver said:
He seems to capture the specific Fair Warning tone somehow doesn't he?

I enjoy this guys forays into the lore and he has methodical mind and reason for his experimentation.
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I can't tell using my laptop speakers. I'll check it out later using my JBL speaker.
 
Cool stuff. His tone still seems to be missing clarity and "pop" to the strings. Could likely be that he's not using "new" speakers (meaning he doesnt have access to the original speakers EVH used "as new")

I still cringe when people play the intro to Mean Street wrong. I had a friend who could play it perfectly and would do it on a Gibson hollow body jazz guitar. People would freak out.
 
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As much as I love Thorn's deep dive videos, this guy almost goes a step further with everything and those frigging tones are a joy to listen to. I would take any of his tones and be happy the rest of my days.
 
He seems to capture the specific Fair Warning tone somehow doesn't he?
- harddriver

I listened on a pair of decent speakers, and yes, he has done a great job approximating. Neat hobby.
 
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