Inside: EVH's touring EVHIII amp head pics I took yesterday

[Erock]

well thanks, he's a huge inspiration. And always will be.

yea he and Matt Bruck are pals, they are great guys, both of them. Wolf is really cool too. People talk lots of nonsense about Ed, I think he's one of the sweetest, most generous dudes around.

Matt took this pic on the roof of 5150:

http://www.evhgear.com/artists/artist.php?id=31

that's awesome Pete. I'm a little younger than the guys that grew up in the era where Ed changed the game, but I've always respected him as one of the legends. I got a whole new appreciation for the kind of person he is though after Dimebag's funeral, that was all class.

 

[echodrive]

I spent 45 seconds over at the metroamp forum and found something I have read awhile back. Here is the link and a quote from Dave Friedman on the subject:

http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3521

David Friedman

Very simple. Rudy leiren told me personally. Flange phase echoplex into a marshall with variac to 90 into only one cab. The univox echo or whatever was only patched into the chain for eruption he also used a eq for eruption. Eq was also occasionally used for tone shaping with amps that did not sound as good. This was the core setup. As more vol was needed more amps were added and more cabs but sill only one per amp. There really is nothing more to it. Lots of sustain and feedback from the sheer vol of it all. Now ed was always experimenting and still does to this day so there might have been some mishaps along the way like tubes melting etc. No lying just things not explained the right way out of a lack of technical knowledge.

Well here is what i was told by Rudy Leiren his long time tech. This was just last week. His setup was flanger phaser echoplex amp. His main 100 watt was used on everything. The bias was turned all the way up and the variac was set to 91v. into only 1 cab. There is a pic of the early days with a 50 watt and a vox. He told me the 50 was a back up to the 100 and the vox was a last ditch back up. He often borrowed amps for his back ups. In fact he told me a story that at a party they were playing ed blew a fuse in his main amp and did not have a backup and had to rum home to get a fuse while the band was playing. After this he always made sure he had a backup. Now Rudy said the eq pedal was used only for certain guitars or sometimes when he used rental gear that sounded bad. Also the univox echo was patched in by hand for eruption only and then was taken out of the chain after. Later there was another cab on Mike side that was driven from another amp they used a splitter to do this. As time went on more cabs where used and so where more amps. The amps would only drive one cab though. Now he did say ed was always trying shit but would always come back to this set up. This info follows everything ed has ever said to me personally. Also when 84 hit he changed his set up to H&H power amps and some different effects etc. He still used a cab off the head though no load resister. The Load resister came for the 5150 tour.

This is total bullshit. 90 volts?

 

[petethorn]

I spent 45 seconds over at the metroamp forum and found something I have read awhile back. Here is the link and a quote from Dave Friedman on the subject:

http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3521

David Friedman

Very simple. Rudy leiren told me personally. Flange phase echoplex into a marshall with variac to 90 into only one cab. The univox echo or whatever was only patched into the chain for eruption he also used a eq for eruption. Eq was also occasionally used for tone shaping with amps that did not sound as good. This was the core setup. As more vol was needed more amps were added and more cabs but sill only one per amp. There really is nothing more to it. Lots of sustain and feedback from the sheer vol of it all. Now ed was always experimenting and still does to this day so there might have been some mishaps along the way like tubes melting etc. No lying just things not explained the right way out of a lack of technical knowledge.

Well here is what i was told by Rudy Leiren his long time tech. This was just last week. His setup was flanger phaser echoplex amp. His main 100 watt was used on everything. The bias was turned all the way up and the variac was set to 91v. into only 1 cab. There is a pic of the early days with a 50 watt and a vox. He told me the 50 was a back up to the 100 and the vox was a last ditch back up. He often borrowed amps for his back ups. In fact he told me a story that at a party they were playing ed blew a fuse in his main amp and did not have a backup and had to rum home to get a fuse while the band was playing. After this he always made sure he had a backup. Now Rudy said the eq pedal was used only for certain guitars or sometimes when he used rental gear that sounded bad. Also the univox echo was patched in by hand for eruption only and then was taken out of the chain after. Later there was another cab on Mike side that was driven from another amp they used a splitter to do this. As time went on more cabs where used and so where more amps. The amps would only drive one cab though. Now he did say ed was always trying shit but would always come back to this set up. This info follows everything ed has ever said to me personally. Also when 84 hit he changed his set up to H&H power amps and some different effects etc. He still used a cab off the head though no load resister. The Load resister came for the 5150 tour.

This is total bullshit. 90 volts?

you are kidding- right?

My SL68 clip in this thread- variaced to 90v, with bias cranked on the amp.

 

[HeimBrent]

I will never open another EVH-related thread again. EVER. This is just crazy.

I don't believe you!

Me neither.

 

[echodrive]

I spent 45 seconds over at the metroamp forum and found something I have read awhile back. Here is the link and a quote from Dave Friedman on the subject:

http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3521

David Friedman

Very simple. Rudy leiren told me personally. Flange phase echoplex into a marshall with variac to 90 into only one cab. The univox echo or whatever was only patched into the chain for eruption he also used a eq for eruption. Eq was also occasionally used for tone shaping with amps that did not sound as good. This was the core setup. As more vol was needed more amps were added and more cabs but sill only one per amp. There really is nothing more to it. Lots of sustain and feedback from the sheer vol of it all. Now ed was always experimenting and still does to this day so there might have been some mishaps along the way like tubes melting etc. No lying just things not explained the right way out of a lack of technical knowledge.

Well here is what i was told by Rudy Leiren his long time tech. This was just last week. His setup was flanger phaser echoplex amp. His main 100 watt was used on everything. The bias was turned all the way up and the variac was set to 91v. into only 1 cab. There is a pic of the early days with a 50 watt and a vox. He told me the 50 was a back up to the 100 and the vox was a last ditch back up. He often borrowed amps for his back ups. In fact he told me a story that at a party they were playing ed blew a fuse in his main amp and did not have a backup and had to rum home to get a fuse while the band was playing. After this he always made sure he had a backup. Now Rudy said the eq pedal was used only for certain guitars or sometimes when he used rental gear that sounded bad. Also the univox echo was patched in by hand for eruption only and then was taken out of the chain after. Later there was another cab on Mike side that was driven from another amp they used a splitter to do this. As time went on more cabs where used and so where more amps. The amps would only drive one cab though. Now he did say ed was always trying shit but would always come back to this set up. This info follows everything ed has ever said to me personally. Also when 84 hit he changed his set up to H&H power amps and some different effects etc. He still used a cab off the head though no load resister. The Load resister came for the 5150 tour.

This is total bullshit. 90 volts?

you are kidding- right?

My SL68 clip in this thread- variaced to 90v, with bias cranked on the amp.

Partially kidding... Running any tube amp at 90 VAC isn't a good idea at all. The tube heaters need a feed of 6.3 volts, so you really wouldn't want to run it any lower than around 110 to 112 volts. Tube amps are actually meant to to run at 110/220 VAC. There's no real benefit to that, other than creating a bit of sag to the overall performance. It simulates a tube rectifier effect. This was not uncommon, and it certainly wasn't something EVH came up with.

I run my amps between 110 and 118 VAC with EL34 bias of around 32ma/v. Obviously my cathode-bias rig does not. Running 500 ohm grid-stoppers with EL34's really helps get the power-tubes into orbit! Just need to watch for red-plating if you're running at 120 VAC at high levels with the 500 ohm R's. You have to know to that EVH said a lot of things that weren't true - or at least only partially true. He didn't want other players trying to duplicate his rig... Who would?

When you decrease the input pressure (voltage) - you increase the current (amperage) pull at the transfomer. Amperage creates heat - excessive heat destroys the transformer. Running any amp that's not specifically designed to handle such abuse is full-hearty at best. The benefits are mild, and the wear on the components can destroy your cherished Marshall amplifier.

When Guy Hedrick rebuilt Ed's amp, he said that the transformers were trashed! Maybe Ed was doing some experimenting with 90 VAC feed? You (PT) should give Guy a call if you're ever looking for a custom build... He's an amazing personality, and a genius when it comes to designs. He only does custom builds now, as he sold Guytron to Graydon Stuckey of GDS Amplification a couple of years ago.

 

[Lord Toneking]

What a legend, 30+ years later, and people are still ready to throw down over how to achieve his tone, lol, that's awesome.

FWIW Pete, that's about as close as I could ever imagine needing to get, the rest is fingers IMO, and you got em. Kickass.

no one will ever play like him though, he is just THE MAN.

You described it best when referring to his 'swing' Pete. I'd say youre as close to his 'swing' as anybody Ive heard

Have you hung out with Ed? Ever been to his studio?

well thanks, he's a huge inspiration. And always will be.

yea he and Matt Bruck are pals, they are great guys, both of them. Wolf is really cool too. People talk lots of nonsense about Ed, I think he's one of the sweetest, most generous dudes around.

Matt took this pic on the roof of 5150:

http://www.evhgear.com/artists/artist.php?id=31

That's awesome man!

If i could have one wish before I die it would be to play a round of golf with Ed then head back to 5150 for some beers (unless he's on the wagon of course ) , smoke (even though I dont' but would if it was offered ), and loud music....and ten billion questions from me

 

[Stramm8]

I spent 45 seconds over at the metroamp forum and found something I have read awhile back. Here is the link and a quote from Dave Friedman on the subject:

http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3521

David Friedman

Very simple. Rudy leiren told me personally. Flange phase echoplex into a marshall with variac to 90 into only one cab. The univox echo or whatever was only patched into the chain for eruption he also used a eq for eruption. Eq was also occasionally used for tone shaping with amps that did not sound as good. This was the core setup. As more vol was needed more amps were added and more cabs but sill only one per amp. There really is nothing more to it. Lots of sustain and feedback from the sheer vol of it all. Now ed was always experimenting and still does to this day so there might have been some mishaps along the way like tubes melting etc. No lying just things not explained the right way out of a lack of technical knowledge.

Well here is what i was told by Rudy Leiren his long time tech. This was just last week. His setup was flanger phaser echoplex amp. His main 100 watt was used on everything. The bias was turned all the way up and the variac was set to 91v. into only 1 cab. There is a pic of the early days with a 50 watt and a vox. He told me the 50 was a back up to the 100 and the vox was a last ditch back up. He often borrowed amps for his back ups. In fact he told me a story that at a party they were playing ed blew a fuse in his main amp and did not have a backup and had to rum home to get a fuse while the band was playing. After this he always made sure he had a backup. Now Rudy said the eq pedal was used only for certain guitars or sometimes when he used rental gear that sounded bad. Also the univox echo was patched in by hand for eruption only and then was taken out of the chain after. Later there was another cab on Mike side that was driven from another amp they used a splitter to do this. As time went on more cabs where used and so where more amps. The amps would only drive one cab though. Now he did say ed was always trying shit but would always come back to this set up. This info follows everything ed has ever said to me personally. Also when 84 hit he changed his set up to H&H power amps and some different effects etc. He still used a cab off the head though no load resister. The Load resister came for the 5150 tour.

This is total bullshit. 90 volts?

you are kidding- right?

My SL68 clip in this thread- variaced to 90v, with bias cranked on the amp.

Pete, your clip is proof as to what his early set up was like. Dead on Echodrive is a troll and he is going to hold on to his pathetic argument as long as people keep engaging him. Kinda sad

 

[bsp01]

That Echoplex Pre is cool ... anyone have any experience with the Xotic EP3 ?

 

[echodrive]

That Echoplex Pre is cool ... anyone have any experience with the Xotic EP3 ?

The Xotic adds a bit low-end, no matter how you set it. The Pre doesn't.

 

[echodrive]

I spent 45 seconds over at the metroamp forum and found something I have read awhile back. Here is the link and a quote from Dave Friedman on the subject:

http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3521

David Friedman

Very simple. Rudy leiren told me personally. Flange phase echoplex into a marshall with variac to 90 into only one cab. The univox echo or whatever was only patched into the chain for eruption he also used a eq for eruption. Eq was also occasionally used for tone shaping with amps that did not sound as good. This was the core setup. As more vol was needed more amps were added and more cabs but sill only one per amp. There really is nothing more to it. Lots of sustain and feedback from the sheer vol of it all. Now ed was always experimenting and still does to this day so there might have been some mishaps along the way like tubes melting etc. No lying just things not explained the right way out of a lack of technical knowledge.

Well here is what i was told by Rudy Leiren his long time tech. This was just last week. His setup was flanger phaser echoplex amp. His main 100 watt was used on everything. The bias was turned all the way up and the variac was set to 91v. into only 1 cab. There is a pic of the early days with a 50 watt and a vox. He told me the 50 was a back up to the 100 and the vox was a last ditch back up. He often borrowed amps for his back ups. In fact he told me a story that at a party they were playing ed blew a fuse in his main amp and did not have a backup and had to rum home to get a fuse while the band was playing. After this he always made sure he had a backup. Now Rudy said the eq pedal was used only for certain guitars or sometimes when he used rental gear that sounded bad. Also the univox echo was patched in by hand for eruption only and then was taken out of the chain after. Later there was another cab on Mike side that was driven from another amp they used a splitter to do this. As time went on more cabs where used and so where more amps. The amps would only drive one cab though. Now he did say ed was always trying shit but would always come back to this set up. This info follows everything ed has ever said to me personally. Also when 84 hit he changed his set up to H&H power amps and some different effects etc. He still used a cab off the head though no load resister. The Load resister came for the 5150 tour.

This is total bullshit. 90 volts?

you are kidding- right?

My SL68 clip in this thread- variaced to 90v, with bias cranked on the amp.

Pete, your clip is proof as to what his early set up was like. Dead on Echodrive is a troll and he is going to hold on to his pathetic argument as long as people keep engaging him. Kinda sad

Pete's clip is close - but it's in no way "dead-on"! Get the shit out of your ears, you colossal "hand-job" of a man...

 

[marvcus]

When Guy Hedrick rebuilt Ed's amp, he said that the transformers were trashed! Maybe Ed was doing some experimenting with 90 VAC feed? You (PT) should give Guy a call if you're ever looking for a custom build... He's an amazing personality, and a genius when it comes to designs. He only does custom builds now, as he sold Guytron to Graydon Stuckey of GDS Amplification a couple of years ago.

That's cool - but you do realize that EVH's Marshall has been touched by more hands than Pamela Anderson, right?

 

[kasperjensen]

What a legend, 30+ years later, and people are still ready to throw down over how to achieve his tone, lol, that's awesome.

FWIW Pete, that's about as close as I could ever imagine needing to get, the rest is fingers IMO, and you got em. Kickass.

no one will ever play like him though, he is just THE MAN.

You described it best when referring to his 'swing' Pete. I'd say youre as close to his 'swing' as anybody Ive heard

Have you hung out with Ed? Ever been to his studio?

well thanks, he's a huge inspiration. And always will be.

yea he and Matt Bruck are pals, they are great guys, both of them. Wolf is really cool too. People talk lots of nonsense about Ed, I think he's one of the sweetest, most generous dudes around.

Matt took this pic on the roof of 5150:

http://www.evhgear.com/artists/artist.php?id=31

That's awesome man!

If i could have one wish before I die it would be to play a round of golf with Ed then head back to 5150 for some beers (unless he's on the wagon of course ) , smoke (even though I dont' but would if it was offered ), and loud music....and ten billion questions from me

Hell yes... Get Alice Cooper in there too! Would love to play a round with them fellas...

 

[echodrive]

When Guy Hedrick rebuilt Ed's amp, he said that the transformers were trashed! Maybe Ed was doing some experimenting with 90 VAC feed? You (PT) should give Guy a call if you're ever looking for a custom build... He's an amazing personality, and a genius when it comes to designs. He only does custom builds now, as he sold Guytron to Graydon Stuckey of GDS Amplification a couple of years ago.

That's cool - but you do realize that EVH's Marshall has been touched by more hands than Pamela Anderson, right?

Understood.

Aside from Guy installing a replacement set of transformers, plate voltage adjustment, and a few caps - it's pretty much a stock spec'd amp. The fact is, is that EVH used a VOX AC15 "dimed" into an attenuator as sort of a "distortion box". A VOX 15 watt cathode-bias amp is the perfect amp for that. Ed would tell people that he ran his "Marshall plexi into an attenuator..." Yes, he used an attenuator - but it wasn't his Marshall that he used as the slave amp. Have you ever pushed a Marshall 100 into power-tube distortion using an attenuator? Even at 90 VAC, you can "soak" the output to a certain point... After that it just starts to sound like shit! I haven't found an attenuator that I like yet.

Blankenship makes an extremely cool amp called the "Variplex". It's designed to cop that "brown sound" sag, and can handle voltage variances ranging from 10 VAC up to 120 VAC. Very cool! Definitely one of the best sounding amps I've ever played.

Shit! Now I'm "gassing" for a Blankenship Veriplex...

 

[petethorn]

It was just a Marshall. Variac at 90. 6CA7's. flange, phase, echoplex. Ya do it, ya play in the style, it sounds like it.

? I just don't get the debate anymore.

Why the need to make it more complicated than it really is?

 

[Gainfreak]

It was just a Marshall.

? I just don't get the debate anymore.

Why the need to make it more complicated than it really is?

Because he is having fun trolling

 

[Gorehog]

how much time does one spend searching EVH's tone compared to chasing their own tone?

just wondering.

 

[Gorehog]

Ed would tell people that he ran his "Marshall plexi into an attenuator..." Yes, he used an attenuator - but it wasn't his Marshall that he used as the slave amp.


sounds like you are calling Ed a liar.

 

[Gorehog]

Does anyone have pics or know for certain what type of engine was in the General Lee during the second season of the Dukes of Hazzard? A friend of Tom Wopat's says it's the same engine as the first season, but the car clearly can jump greater distances in the second season

yeh, its the same engine but,a friend of John Schneider told me it was a chevy 424 small block with tons of modifications by Hose B.

google it.

 

[petethorn]

how much time does one spend searching EVH's tone compared to chasing their own tone?

just wondering.

well that's what I'm saying- it's silly!

Why make it hard? It's a marshall with a variac and a few pedals

the hard part (impossible?) is EVH's playing!!

For me it's how I started- learning licks, songs, chasing tones, developing my own thing through being influenced by others.

It's still fun! But hey, I have my OWN sig amp now! And my own record, and style. So to answer your question, I think everyone does it to some degree (even Ed, with Clapton) but hopefully you come into your own at some point and have something to say.

Having said this, it sure is incredibly fun and awesome sounding to crank a plexi or plexi circuit amp! It's just a trade-off, as it's not as easy as a preamp gain, multi channel amp. In EVH's case, 5150III does a respectable job of capturing his tone in a more easily giggable format, but ymmv. He obviously thinks so, too.

 

[Gainfreak]

how much time does one spend searching EVH's tone compared to chasing their own tone?

just wondering.

The quickest way to success in anything is to emulate those that are successful.

When you first start out playing you find out what gear your idols use and then after that you learn to hone in on your own tone.

i know of a lot of guys who have their own sound but would love Eddies tone because it's an assload of fun to play on..and it's a great tone in my humble opinion.