With the recent passing of Eddie Van Halen Popular Mechanics has reposted an article by EVH about some of his hacks and a short history about how he got started in DIY.
You might enjoy reading his exploits in sound. I like his variac hack. 🙂
Eddie Van Halen Dead at 65: How the Rock Legend Hacked His Guitar
You might enjoy reading his exploits in sound. I like his variac hack. 🙂
Eddie Van Halen Dead at 65: How the Rock Legend Hacked His Guitar
I've always wondered about the variac hack also. I didnt know whether he used it to raise or lower the voltage. The article explains that he initially had the amp set to 220 - liked the sound - then used the variac as a "volume control". This points to him using it to lower the AC voltage input to the amp. "Brown sound"...
I've thought there might be something to lowering just the B+ with a variac (or some other means) while leaving the tube heater voltages intact. I tried using a second transformer to "buck" the B+ winding which worked, allowing a hotter bias current without all the voltage to kill the tubes via power dissipation. Run that transformer from the variac and you should be able to drop the B+ variably.
A real engineer would do it electronically, versus "mechanically" with the variac. How about a joystick on the amp face, one direction B+ to the output tubes, the other bias current - with the little red LED that comes on when you exceed the SOA of the tubes.
So easy to imagine, so hard to do. I like Eddie's tenacity with realizing the DIY modification ideas he came up with. I'm sure that was part of his playing ideas as well.
I've thought there might be something to lowering just the B+ with a variac (or some other means) while leaving the tube heater voltages intact. I tried using a second transformer to "buck" the B+ winding which worked, allowing a hotter bias current without all the voltage to kill the tubes via power dissipation. Run that transformer from the variac and you should be able to drop the B+ variably.
A real engineer would do it electronically, versus "mechanically" with the variac. How about a joystick on the amp face, one direction B+ to the output tubes, the other bias current - with the little red LED that comes on when you exceed the SOA of the tubes.
So easy to imagine, so hard to do. I like Eddie's tenacity with realizing the DIY modification ideas he came up with. I'm sure that was part of his playing ideas as well.
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"I like Eddie's tenacity..."
His experimentation, techniques, success and longevity as a rock star all demonstrate that tenacity.
Thanks for the link, Pano. That's a side of Eddie I wasn't aware of.
His experimentation, techniques, success and longevity as a rock star all demonstrate that tenacity.
Thanks for the link, Pano. That's a side of Eddie I wasn't aware of.
Agreed. I'm not even a fan of electric guitar, but I admire his tenacity and willingness to get the sound he wanted - digging it out with screwdriver, dipping in in hot wax, no varnish, putting his amp a dimmer, whatever it took. Real DIY spirit.
Oh wow, wading into what is sometimes a contentious topic on guitar forums, Eddie's rig! 😀
He pretty much gave up his secrets for this article Eddie Van Halen Reveals Secrets Behind His Live Rig: Guitars, Amps, Effects and More | Guitar World
although the free online version is terrible, the print version had excellent pics and diagrams.
Why it's controversial is that early in his career he would jealously guard his secrets against copycats and spies, intentionally saying untruths about his rig and even leaving decoys in it. As with everything on the internet, once it's out there, it never dies. But of course late in his career he was more forthcoming, probably to boost EVH sales once it became a big brand.
I think I'll go out and work on some guitar stuff this PM with all this motivation!
He pretty much gave up his secrets for this article Eddie Van Halen Reveals Secrets Behind His Live Rig: Guitars, Amps, Effects and More | Guitar World
although the free online version is terrible, the print version had excellent pics and diagrams.
Why it's controversial is that early in his career he would jealously guard his secrets against copycats and spies, intentionally saying untruths about his rig and even leaving decoys in it. As with everything on the internet, once it's out there, it never dies. But of course late in his career he was more forthcoming, probably to boost EVH sales once it became a big brand.
I think I'll go out and work on some guitar stuff this PM with all this motivation!
That online article, it covers the newer sound and that isn't really like the original VH sound like when he was playing around LA in the 70's. I have read a lot of the EVH interviews talking about the amps and mods and have concluded most are just disinformation, and some of them contradict each other. Not sure if that was intentional, but I think it was.