Mike Soldano talks about EVH's Marshall

[JohnSykes]

Hi guys. I love these threads. Sorry but I don't post much so this is going to be long. Heres my two cents. In the early 90's, I saw a guy playing in a club here in Salt Lake, two nights in a row, in a band with my ex singer. To this day he had the best tone I've ever heard. I asked his tech, and he was using two Jose modified Marshalls. I finally found Jose's phone number in a November '88 issue of Guitar Player magazine, that I still have. I called him up and asked him if he'd work on an amp for me. He apologized and stated that he'd had a heart attack and retired and wasn't taking on any more work. I stayed in touch with him for a while and we became friends. Eventually he told me that he'd do a couple heads for me. I ended up driving down to California three or four times and took two heads with me. The first time I went to his house, I asked him if he'd do one of my heads the same as Eddie's. He told me that Eddie's sound had more to do with how he was using his heads, rather than what he had done to them. He drew a diagram on a piece of paper right in front of me, he explained that he ran one distorted Marshall and one clean Marshall and ran them both at the same time. One or both of them had slave outs. That he said, along with all of his effects, was Eddie's sound. He was from Chile, and had a heavy accent, so he pronounced it Yeddie.

I have right in front of me a Young Guitar interview from 1978. Here's a direct quote, "When I record, I use two cabinets. One with Celestions, the other with JBLs AND TWO MARSHALL HEADS. I run them full blast on stage and in the studio." Maybe that's why that tone sounds so gainy to some and just like a dimed Plexi to others. I think everybody is right. I agree that one Plexi that he pulled out and showed to everybody was mostly stock. A lot of the threads are fixated on that one head. That was probably his first one, and probably was his favorite. But he clearly stated that on that first world tour he used six heads. If you took a Friedman Marsha BE, which gets really close to that sound for some, it has the same amount of gain stages as a Jose modded Marshall - which isn't a lot of gain. And it also has that 330 MF cap in it that everyone's talking about that was in Eddie's main head.

I have pics of me and Jose in his front room - and pics of my ex and Jose in his front room, if anybody would like to help me figure out how to post them. While I was down there I also got to spend all day at a guys condo that played guitar in the DLR band. Rudy either helped him set up his rig or was his tech, I don't remember. He had extensive experience and knowledge about how to achieve that sound. Out of all the info I've heard over the years about the VH1 sound, Nitro's info is the most accurate (in my opinion). He might not have good grammar, but it seems like to me he has been researching this for a long time and he has talked to people a lot closer to what went on than most. He's the only person besides myself that's ever stated that they knew where Jose lived. Remember folks - this is all a long time ago, and it was easier to get info from techs before Eddie brought out that one Plexi and said that Jose didn't really work on his amps.

Anyway, I only got to know Jose for a few years before he passed, and he was a really really nice guy. He didn't try to sell me anything. In fact before he retired, he was charging $400 bucks to do a head. Which I didn't think was a lot for all the work he did. He also sent me a bunch of Phillips Sylvania 6CA7s because he knew he did not need them anymore. The whole time I knew him, he was dying and he knew it. He didn't really want the work and he didn't need the money. I like to think that he did those two heads for me because he liked me and he knew what a huge fan I was of his. It took two years for him to get them done. In the middle he called me and he said "I want you to know that these are the last two heads I will ever do in my life". A while after that he called and said he was sorry but he was too sick and he was not going to be able to finish them. I never got talk to to him again. A long time after that his daughter Maria called me and said he had finished them, got my address and shipped them to me. I don't really have a way of knowing if they were the last two heads that made it out of his shop, but wouldn't that be wild if that were true. Somebody had to be the last.

I think Jose said he toured with VH for four years. They were working on a prototype head together. Eddie switched to Soldono's when Jose got sick. If I were trying to decide if that tone sounds like a stock plexi, a Jose Modded Marshall or both, I would listen to the Pasadena Civic center show. There he has what sounds to me like the tone without the studio processing. How about them 25 watt Soldono's? Steven.

Cool read

 

[Chubtone]

Hi guys. I love these threads. Sorry but I don't post much so this is going to be long. Heres my two cents. Steven.

Yes, great post. Thank you.

 

[Rogue]

Hi guys. I love these threads. Sorry but I don't post much so this is going to be long. Heres my two cents. In the early 90's, I saw a guy playing in a club here in Salt Lake, two nights in a row, in a band with my ex singer. To this day he had the best tone I've ever heard. I asked his tech, and he was using two Jose modified Marshalls. I finally found Jose's phone number in a November '88 issue of Guitar Player magazine, that I still have. I called him up and asked him if he'd work on an amp for me. He apologized and stated that he'd had a heart attack and retired and wasn't taking on any more work. I stayed in touch with him for a while and we became friends. Eventually he told me that he'd do a couple heads for me. I ended up driving down to California three or four times and took two heads with me. The first time I went to his house, I asked him if he'd do one of my heads the same as Eddie's. He told me that Eddie's sound had more to do with how he was using his heads, rather than what he had done to them. He drew a diagram on a piece of paper right in front of me, he explained that he ran one distorted Marshall and one clean Marshall and ran them both at the same time. One or both of them had slave outs. That he said, along with all of his effects, was Eddie's sound. He was from Chile, and had a heavy accent, so he pronounced it Yeddie.

I have right in front of me a Young Guitar interview from 1978. Here's a direct quote, "When I record, I use two cabinets. One with Celestions, the other with JBLs AND TWO MARSHALL HEADS. I run them full blast on stage and in the studio." Maybe that's why that tone sounds so gainy to some and just like a dimed Plexi to others. I think everybody is right. I agree that one Plexi that he pulled out and showed to everybody was mostly stock. A lot of the threads are fixated on that one head. That was probably his first one, and probably was his favorite. But he clearly stated that on that first world tour he used six heads. If you took a Friedman Marsha BE, which gets really close to that sound for some, it has the same amount of gain stages as a Jose modded Marshall - which isn't a lot of gain. And it also has that 330 MF cap in it that everyone's talking about that was in Eddie's main head.

I have pics of me and Jose in his front room - and pics of my ex and Jose in his front room, if anybody would like to help me figure out how to post them. While I was down there I also got to spend all day at a guys condo that played guitar in the DLR band. Rudy either helped him set up his rig or was his tech, I don't remember. He had extensive experience and knowledge about how to achieve that sound. Out of all the info I've heard over the years about the VH1 sound, Nitro's info is the most accurate (in my opinion). He might not have good grammar, but it seems like to me he has been researching this for a long time and he has talked to people a lot closer to what went on than most. He's the only person besides myself that's ever stated that they knew where Jose lived. Remember folks - this is all a long time ago, and it was easier to get info from techs before Eddie brought out that one Plexi and said that Jose didn't really work on his amps.

Anyway, I only got to know Jose for a few years before he passed, and he was a really really nice guy. He didn't try to sell me anything. In fact before he retired, he was charging $400 bucks to do a head. Which I didn't think was a lot for all the work he did. He also sent me a bunch of Phillips Sylvania 6CA7s because he knew he did not need them anymore. The whole time I knew him, he was dying and he knew it. He didn't really want the work and he didn't need the money. I like to think that he did those two heads for me because he liked me and he knew what a huge fan I was of his. It took two years for him to get them done. In the middle he called me and he said "I want you to know that these are the last two heads I will ever do in my life". A while after that he called and said he was sorry but he was too sick and he was not going to be able to finish them. I never got talk to to him again. A long time after that his daughter Maria called me and said he had finished them, got my address and shipped them to me. I don't really have a way of knowing if they were the last two heads that made it out of his shop, but wouldn't that be wild if that were true. Somebody had to be the last.

I think Jose said he toured with VH for four years. They were working on a prototype head together. Eddie switched to Soldono's when Jose got sick. If I were trying to decide if that tone sounds like a stock plexi, a Jose Modded Marshall or both, I would listen to the Pasadena Civic center show. There he has what sounds to me like the tone without the studio processing. How about them 25 watt Soldono's? Steven.

Cool story. It's cool you became friends. Jose seemed like a nice guy.

Still no definitive answer, though.

 

[Rogue]

Thats why i never had a mod done by jose when he explained to me that there was no mod performed on the first album(the tone that everyone is after,overdrive-distortion type of pedal was used,from jose) i didnt bother.

 

[Stramm8]

Are you just making this shit up or did you forget there was an internet?

Nice.

Do you consider Guitar Player magazine from that era a better source than a 2012 ebay auction trying to generate high bids? if so, you may care what Steve Vai says to Guitar Player in 1986 about his TWO BEST MARSHALLS that were stolen from the rehearsal studio after EEAS was recorded and they were prepping to go on tour.


Steve Vai's Stolen Guitars

- Stolen Guitar Inventory - (GP 10/86 )

"Most of my guitars were ripped off this June [1986] from the rehearsal studio [for the DLR Tour] in Pasadena." - Steve Vai (GP 10/86 ). All except his green Charvel, his main ax, were stolen "Thank God I had that one with me" he sighs. "I keep it with me all the time. But all the others are gone. They were left locked up in a theater in a big giant container... left overnight. They just went in ther and snip-snip." (GW - 3/87)
•"The guitar from the Yankee Rose video with all the holes in it; it sort of looks like intergalactic puke. I designed it, and Joe Despagni made it for me."
•Jackson - Yellow "Steve Eye" with Eyeballs and pyramid.
•Guild - Custom made 24-fret pink zebra stripe
•Guild - Custom made 24-fret cream white
•Ibanez prototype - "Pukey green Ibanez that has like a pink-green-black snakeskin front"
• Valdez Stratocaster - Rootbeer with scalloped neck. This wasn't a real (Fender) strat but similar to a Strat and was made for me by Valdez in Hollywood. It was the only one I really cared about that got stolen. (Steve Vai 11/2002)

- •"Two best Marshalls"

•"Guitar cords"

Guitar World (1/87) had further coverage of the stolen guitars. Steve's longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis commented on the details of each missing ax:

First: "Eyeball "Steve Eye" - yellow Jackson soloist. The finish has Steve's personal design of a pyramid with an eye in the middle and the number seven on each outside corner. Loaded with a Floyd Rose tremolo and custom-wound DiMarzio pickups, this is one of the axes seen on the "Yankee Rose" video." (found - see below)

Second: "The second was a custom-designed green swiss-cheese guitar built for Steve by Performance Guitars of Hollywood. The bdy was metallic green withholes carved through the body and various sizes and colors. There's a handle carved in the body as well, to enable Steve to hold the ax and play with one hand. Loaded with a gold Floyd Rose and one humbucker, this beauty also shares the spotlight in the "Yankee Rose" video."

Third: "a pink and black tiger-striped Guild 284 Avitor with left handed headstock. This axe had a Floyd Rose, two EMG humbuckers and one EMG single-coil in the middle position. The serial # is HC100788."

Forth: "a white Guild 281 Flyer, serial # HC101025. This guitar was built for Steve to use while touring with Alcatrazz. It's loaded with a Floyd Rose, two EMG humbuckers and one EMG single-coil."

Fifth: "an Ibanez two-humbucker Strat styled ax with a flourescent snakeskin print for a finish. No further descriptions were given. This ax was used as a backup."

- "Steve's custom rebuilt Marshalls were missing as well. Two 100-watt heads rebuilt by Jose Arredondo; Vai commented; "Those amps weren't especially loud, but they had a great tone; they won't be easily replaced." "


So yeah, I'll keep making stuff up hoping that none of you guys know how to do a Google search. Here's another one I made up from Guitar Player mag 1988:

- Guitar Player, May, 1988, Vai's setup for the Skyscraper album and tour:

So, following the signal chain:
Marshall 100 watt head (year unspecified), modified by Jose Arrendondo.
Out to Bob Bradshaw rack, featuring:
Boss SD1 Super Overdrive, Roland sde 3000, Yamaha 1500 delay, Ibanez Reverb 1000, Eventide H3000 Harmonizer, Eventide 2016, TC Electronics Stereo Chorus, Yamaha SPX90, Drawmer Noise Gate then into a Carvan power amp (unsecified) with Marshall cabinets featuring 30 watt Celestion speakers.

And more Steve Vai/Jose Arrendondo connection nonsense imagined by me.

- Passion and Warfare, Vai authorized transcription book, in the equipment section he lists the main amps for the majority of the album being "any one of seven Marshall 100W tube heads, all modded by Jose Arrendondo."

So uh, yeah. That Lee Jackson amp was the turd of his Marshall collection. That's why he sold it. And he obviously was never into Jose mods at all, amassing 7 of them by the time he recorded Passion and Warfare.

Well, at least you're citing your references. I stand corrected. It still doesn't mean jack shit. Just because Steve Vai had a Jose modded amp doesn't mean EVHs were modded; in the sense that everyone seems to define a "Jose modded" amp as. The evidence (cited in just this thread ) of that just isn't there. The evidence to me suggests that the #1:

1) Had some variations in the circuit but nothing too far out of spec
2) Jose added slave out and possibley a standby switch
3) He used a variac to bring down the voltage
4) He raised the bias
5) He ran a phase 90, flanger, an echoplex and an eq in front of the amp
6) Various well-known amp experts including Jose himself all say it was basically stock
7) EVH said it was basically stock
8) A stock variac'd plexi can pretty much nail the tone

The only evidence that the amp was modded significantly are the claims by Nitro, an anonymous, redacted quote you provided and your opinion. I'm not an amp expert so if the differences in the circuit that you won't share out of respect for your source (which I totally get) would be considered a significant modification or a typical "Jose" mod, then I would definitely concede that its modded.

Was there a master volume added or clipping diodes or some other typical Jose-style mod? I say hell no.

 

[Stramm8]

I asked him if he'd do one of my heads the same as Eddie's. He told me that Eddie's sound had more to do with how he was using his heads, rather than what he had done to them. He drew a diagram on a piece of paper right in front of me, he explained that he ran one distorted Marshall and one clean Marshall and ran them both at the same time. One or both of them had slave outs. That he said, along with all of his effects, was Eddie's sound.

How exactly does this line up with Nitro's "research"? The amp was basically stock; it's how he was using them. Am I missing something??

 

[nitro]

Rogue why did you only post part of what I said in your last post,there is more to that post you only took a part of it.I know what your trying to do.Find it all and then post it.

 

[nitro]

Stramm explain the knob/pot in the back of Eds amp...........

 

[nitro]

When Bob Bradshaw was building Eds rack in 86,Bob even said that they were modded by Jose.Is Bob a liar to all the doubters to and that was in 1986 before suhr or Soldano looked at Eds amp which was in the 90s.....

 

[Rogue]

Rogue why did you only post part of what I said in your last post,there is more to that post you only took a part of it.I know what your trying to do.Find it all and then post it.

Thats why i never had a mod done by jose when he explained to me that there was no mod performed on the first album(the tone that everyone is after,overdrive-distortion type of pedal was used,from jose) i didnt bother.

http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=15606&start=15

They are your words dude. 100%. So he told you there were no mods done to the amp, but at some other point he told you he put in a master volume which you conclude to as part of a gain increase mod, the latter you stuck too but not the former, for some reason.

So which was it? Not modded first album with a pedal or modded? It can't be both not modded and modded.

 

[Rogue]

When Bob Bradshaw was building Eds rack in 86,Bob even said that they were modded by Jose.Is Bob a liar to all the doubters to and that was in 1986 before suhr or Soldano looked at Eds amp which was in the 90s.....

He didn't record the first album with a Bradshaw rack. Did you know he used more than one amp on tour? Really? Yeah, its true.

First records, recorded tone. Focus.

 

[nitro]

Thats correct 1986 is when bradshaw did Eds rack and said(Bob Bradshaw) that Eds amps were modded by Jose.Van halen 1 was recorded in 1977 and released in 1978.What dont you understand.As for Jose modding Eds plexi whith a master volume it was modded toward the end of the 78 tour.I was going to send Jose a 72 superlead to have modded to achieve Eds first album sound and Jose explain to me and I quote "when Van halen recorded van halen 1 I didnt perform any mods to Eds plexi at the time,Ed did use sometype of overdrive-distortion unit to get that sound".Edward talks about a custom distortion pedal in a 1978 japanese interview,it was never brought up again. Rogue you can check all of my old posts even on other sites and I say the samething.No need for me to make up anything.I should have at the time sent that 72 superlead to Jose it would be highly collectable.If you like search the 1978 Van halen japan tour Eds gear photos and you can see the back of Eds amps(8-heads I believe) and the one with the knob/pot is toward the bottom.Rogue you really have no clue what so ever,this is now a game. Sad deal.........

 

[Stramm8]

Stramm explain the knob/pot in the back of Eds amp...........

It's neither. According to Suhr it was most likely a standby switch. I think it had something to do with the slave out deal but I don't know. And neither do you

 

[nitro]

Its wasnt even there when suhr or Soldano seen the amp which was in the 90s.The hole where the mod was which was filled with a screw should have been there,if it wasnt then that wasnt THE amp.Guitar Player magazine in the 90s had a centerfold of Eds plexi front and back it also showed the serial # which was 12301.Any tech at that time could have said "it was on my bench for service and the serial # was 12301".Do you understand what Im saying.They could have looked at a amp that Ed sent them but was it THE amp."According to suhr",suhr didnt know or see the mod or if it was THE amp.The mod was no longer there.Your going by what they(suhr-Soldano)seen in the 90s.

 

[Rogue]

Thats correct 1986 is when bradshaw did Eds rack and said(Bob Bradshaw) that Eds amps were modded by Jose.Van halen 1 was recorded in 1977 and released in 1978.What dont you understand.

Yes, 1978 came before 1986. Eddie wasn't using a Bradshaw racks when he recorded in 1977. It has nothing to do with it.

As for Jose modding Eds plexi whith a master volume it was modded toward the end of the 78 tour.I was going to send Jose a 72 superlead to have modded to achieve Eds first album sound and Jose explain to me and I quote "when Van halen recorded van halen 1 I didnt perform any mods to Eds plexi at the time,Ed did use sometype of overdrive-distortion unit to get that sound".Edward talks about a custom distortion pedal in a 1978 japanese interview,it was never brought up again. Rogue you can check all of my old posts even on other sites and I say the samething.No need for me to make up anything.I should have at the time sent that 72 superlead to Jose it would be highly collectable.If you like search the 1978 Van halen japan tour Eds gear photos and you can see the back of Eds amps(8-heads I believe) and the one with the knob/pot is toward the bottom.Rogue you really have no clue what so ever,this is now a game. Sad deal.........

So NOW we're getting to the truth. VHI was NOT modded. That is the one you are harping about over and over. Everyone here has shown you clips of plexi's getting that that level of gain, add a variac that compresses and sags the amp, a couple pedals and an EP up front boosting the signal, and it's plausible how he go that tone with an unmodded plexi.

But no, you kept demeaning everyone as silly or unknowledgeable, and as it turns out you at one point believed the amp was unmodded and using a pedal up front for VH1.

Perhaps being a little more truthful in your posts instead of a condescending asshole would be of benefit?

 

[lespaul6]

I always thought he used something to drive the plexi for those first two albums... he liked amps that "played themselves" and he didnt have to fight with. Its crazy to think he would use/experiment with all those time based effects but never try an overdrive? anyway.. what do I know

 

[nitro]

Eds amp was modded toward the end of the 78 tour you and others still cant explain the knob/pot in the back.Im very truthful your just playing a game and it very laughable.The back and forth fight is about if Eds amp was modded and the answer is yes at one time.Bod Bradshaw said in 1986 that Eds amps were modded by Jose when Bob was putting together Eds rack.

 

[Rogue]

Eds amp was modded toward the end of the 78 tour you and others still cant explain the knob/pot in the back.Im very truthful your just playing a game and it very laughable.The back and forth fight is about if Eds amp was modded and the answer is yes at one time.Bod Bradshaw said in 1986 that Eds amps were modded by Jose when Bob was putting together Eds rack.

No, you're playing a game. A troll game. You're the only one pretending no one has responded to the back of the amp.

FACT: Nitro says VHI unmodded plexi with pedals.

Thread over.

 

[RACKSYSTEMS]

I'm really not going to get into this but he used many amps on tour right? So you would think if there was gain mods done they all would be done that way right? Or ay least some right? Ok well I went through about 12 amps that have been around since 78 tour. What did I find?? Slight tone modifications and that's it. Jose also put remote standbys on some of them and heavy duty impedance selectors. Now did the number one amp have a gain mod at one time ? Maybe. Did it stay? No. We're all the others basicly a stock amp yes. I mean there were some mods to them. So yes you could say they were modified. Have fun with this. Dave

 

[Gearhog]

http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=24704

Don't know if this is true or not but its always been one of my favorite reads.