What do you think of Ed's VHIII live tone here in 1998?

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harddriver
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Squarehead brought this subject up in another 5150 thread so I found this video and I do find it to be different than his standard 5150 tone, granted it is drier without the Eventide Micropitch but it does sound crunchier with more upper mids/highs bite. What do you hear?


1991 Dallas Texas show...
 
I love it . I watch this concert a lot . The tones all in that long cable
 
I think his tone is raw and uncompressed in a kilelr way unlike an EVH amp
 
I like it but I think the sound of that era has to be the chorus/ micro pitch. It suits those songs better.
 
I guess it’s one of those things, if you were there, it was really, really good… Very punchy with huge mid range crunch.
But, the way they mixed this recording it sounds a ‘little’ like a Wah pedal half open…
I still like it though, the high-mid-range is where my hearing loss has occurred so, it probably doesn’t bother me as much as you guys! L O L
 
marvcus said:
Nope. Nasally mids. The OG 5150 was way better
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Personally I liked the OG 5150 better than the II, was my main amp for years.

That said I saw them three times with 5150's and the third time on the III tour was one of the two best live guitar tones I've ever heard.

I could just never get the II to work for me for some reason.
 
jabps said:
Personally I liked the OG 5150 better than the II, was my main amp for years.

That said I saw them three times with 5150's and the third time on the III tour was one of the two best live guitar tones I've ever heard.

I could just never get the II to work for me for some reason.
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Yes, me too… I saw Van Halen in 91 and 95 and then in 98 and 98 (III Tour) was definitely the best tone…
 
One of the reasons I liked the 1998 Van Halen III tour tone so much is that it seemed very raw and simple, without all the Chorusing and pitch modulation effects, which his tone was drenched in, in 1995…
Some people like that, I guess like anything, it’s subjective, I hate it.

Here’s a snippet from 1995 with that chorus, pitch modulation tone.

 
SQUAREHEAD said:
One of the reasons I liked the 1998 Van Halen III tour tone so much is that it seemed very raw and simple, without all the Chorusing and pitch modulation effects, which his tone was drenched in, in 1995…
Some people like that, I guess like anything, it’s subjective, I hate it.

Here’s a snippet from 1995 with that chorus, pitch modulation tone.

Click to expand...

Was this an OG 5150 in the 1995 Amsterdam clip or a 5150II? When did the 5150II amps come out? Like i said maybe it it the more raw dry tone that I like in the VHIII clips but i seem to remember the 6505 being a little smoother. I have never played a 5150II to compare so I didn't think it ventured too far away from the OG5150 but there seems to be a difference at least to my ears.

I have a feeling Ed cranked the master volume and barely cracked the preamp gain is my theory on how he used the 5150's just for dry then to the H&H V800 for the wet. I found a 1997 EVH rig layout showing this and I tried to post it but it would not post.

I had a USA 6505 for awhile and found it to be a bit smooth, but that 5150II VHIII clip is all kind of raunchy in a good way IMHO.... I traded the 6505 for a Rivera K-TRE. I enjoyed both of those amps but I went back to my Marshall's after the honeymoon period wore off....:dunno::LOL:
 
‘95 is also the II’s
In 95 he used the 60w combos for cleans and the heads for crunch.
 
SQUAREHEAD said:
‘95 is also the II’s
In 95 he used the 60w combos for cleans and the heads for crunch.
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Got it!:2thumbsup: So we know we are comparing apples to apples in the clips...........minus the micropitch.
 
These were his settings on the original Peavey in 1992…

5DCAF274-B5C6-48BA-8BC1-E290D03E0523.jpeg
 
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harddriver said:
Got it!:2thumbsup: So we know we are comparing apples to apples in the clips...........minus the micropitch.
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Slight correction. 5150 IIs came out in 1998/1999. 1995 tour was OG 5150 heads for dirt and combos for clean.

I think MTV did a special in 1995 and also did a Road Rules episode where you can see some gear. Been a while ha
 
marvcus said:
Slight correction. 5150 IIs came out in 1998/1999. 1995 tour was OG 5150 heads for dirt and combos for clean.

I think MTV did a special in 1995 and also did a Road Rules episode where you can see some gear. Been a while ha
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Hehehe, I stand corrected.
Yes, you’re right👍
To this day, I have never played the second version…
 
SQUAREHEAD said:
One of the reasons I liked the 1998 Van Halen III tour tone so much is that it seemed very raw and simple, without all the Chorusing and pitch modulation effects, which his tone was drenched in, in 1995…
Some people like that, I guess like anything, it’s subjective, I hate it.

Here’s a snippet from 1995 with that chorus, pitch modulation tone.

Click to expand...



fucking A, this is the best tones ive heard from him or anyone. im gonna have to bust my chorus pedals out and try some things. that dosent sound drenched at all to me its just perfect
 
SQUAREHEAD said:
One of the reasons I liked the 1998 Van Halen III tour tone so much is that it seemed very raw and simple, without all the Chorusing and pitch modulation effects, which his tone was drenched in, in 1995…
Some people like that, I guess like anything, it’s subjective, I hate it.

Here’s a snippet from 1995 with that chorus, pitch modulation tone.

Click to expand...

I totally agree, it's the first time since the 5150 we heard a non micropitched tone, almost twelve years.

As to you hating the micropitched Ed tone, I happen to like both tones so I am easier to please.................:yes::2thumbsup:
 
His tech said The reason for his SD-1 was just to keep the signal strong because he was using extremely long cables (see ‘98 VHIII Live Video)
 
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