What's up with all the EVH lovers here? To me he is just a glorified tap guitarist.

[mikesr1963]

If you weren't there at the birth of his greatness in 78, you simply can't understand. He will always rule the guitar world.

[Dirty South Al]

What pickup did EVH use on VH1? 1.PAF 2.Super Distortion Type What album did EVH use the EVH Frankenstein pickup on? Is the Custom Custom the same as the EVH Frankenstein? What Kind of Pickups are in the Ernie Ball EVH?

 

 

1. sort of, paf parts and rewound really hot.

2. wasn't a super distortion but it's hot.

3 eddie used what he used in the studio and no one really knows for sure which guitars.

4. custom custom is in no way near the same of eddies rewound paf pickup

5. hot like like his original in output but many were not accepting that eddie would use such hot pickups and were left scratching their heads thinking he used a normal paf.

 

can of worms here but this is my veiws.

[Scott Abene]

 

As far as his first album, Edward took a PAF out of a Gibson ES 335 and rewound it.

 

 

I do not believe this for a second. Ed admits to knowing very little about guitar electronics which is why he left the single coil in frankie un-attached.

 

That original PAF pickup is probably hot because Ed connected it to a 250k pot...

[Meowy]

As far as his first album, Edward took a PAF out of a Gibson ES 335 and rewound it.

Yes and the lore says he used surfboard wax to pot it

[Dirty South Al]

I do not believe this for a second. Ed admits to knowing very little about guitar electronics which is why he left the single coil in frankie un-attached. That original PAF pickup is probably hot because Ed connected it to a 250k pot...

 

 

Scott it was rewound. It's one of those things that makes some go no way but Fender dropped the ball on that when they were doing those replicas. Eddie admitted rewinding it a long time ago but has since been mum on the subject but Fender screwed up with those "ghost" pickup pictures in Guitar World a few years back and that's when it was obvious that eddie told the truth about rewinding it. and i heard from a good source that it was a 300k pot with that really hot pickup.

[Scott Abene]

 

Scott it was rewound. It's one of those things that makes some go no way but Fender dropped the ball on that when they were doing those replicas. Eddie admitted rewinding it a long time ago but has since been mum on the subject but Fender screwed up with those "ghost" pickup pictures in Guitar World a few years back and that's when it was obvious that eddie told the truth about rewinding it.

 

 

I would like to see the actual Ed quote on this...

[Meowy]

I find it difficult to beleive that Ed rewound it. Have you ever wound a pickup? It's hard to do badly, (winding thousands of feet - ~5,000 turns of wire or more - of thinner than human hair wire on an extremely oblong bobbin - two bobbins for a humbucker) let alone with a result that gives the tone Eddie got. it would be more believeable that he had it rewound by a tech.

But maybe Eddie was that millionth monkey on a typewriter that rewrote MacBeth

[Scott Abene]

Alright... This makes more sense but does not tell us if it is a. true or b. the PAF in Frank

 

Eddie has used a variety of pickups including Gibson PAF's, 1970s Mighty Mites, DiMarzios and Ibanez Super 70s. Eddie was using Mighty Mite pickups in 1977 club photos, just prior to the recording of the first Van Halen album. Mighty Mite pickups were OEM pickups made by Seymour Duncan [26] and were copies of DiMarzio Super Distortion pickups and can be identified by their lack of bobbin holes. Seymour Duncan started advertising pickup rewinding services In late 1977/early 1978 [27] and apparently rewound a Gibson PAF for Eddie around the early 1978 period.[28]

[Dirty South Al]

it was in an old magazine where he talked about getting wire from radio shack to make it hotter. i have talked to another winder who knew for sure and he told me some interesting stuff about talking with Wayne Charvel who confirmed it to him that it was hotter than a hot paf and that eddie messed with the pickup with different wire. Now the original ghost pickup that fender photographed with a mm on it showed the pickup reading nothing but that was not the case. this is a real crazy debatable until the sun don't shine subject but I just say trying a hot pickup in a guitar set up like his was back then in front of a plexi will make you a believer. the tone he had can't be had had with a 9k pickup without something extra pushing the front or lets say a real hotter pickup.

 

[Meowy]

I seriously doubt that Radio shack sold 40 gauge or thinner pickup or magnet wire. Anything heavier gauge (lower #) would allow for less winds (given its larger diameter) and an overall warmer tone and lower output, not a hotter sound. Makes absolutely no sense

[Dirty South Al]

yeah, i started rewinding pickups with a crank style setup until I broke open a sears sewing machine and built my first crude winder. today I wind about 6-10 pickups a day, that would be about 20 bobbins. it's not that hard and Eddie was not as dumb or lazy that some will make you believe back then. Ed was a notorious tweaker back in the day. Seems like pickup rewinding would have been his forte'

I find it difficult to beleive that Ed rewound it. Have you ever wound a pickup? It's hard to do badly, (winding thousands of feet - ~5,000 turns of wire or more - of thinner than human hair wire on an extremely oblong bobbin - two bobbins for a humbucker) let alone with a result that gives the tone Eddie got. it would be more believeable that he had it rewound by a tech. But maybe Eddie was that millionth monkey on a typewriter that rewrote MacBeth

 

[vikingrat]

EVH wrote some GREAT fun songs.

[Dirty South Al]

radio shack used to sell DIY effects and wire back in the day. way before the radio shack you see today.sometimes common sense is not so common to some. it's ok.

I seriously doubt that Radio shack sold 40 gauge or thinner pickup or magnet wire. Anything heavier gauge (lower #) would allow for less winds (given its larger diameter) and an overall warmer tone and lower output, not a hotter sound. Makes absolutely no sense

[Scott Abene]

I ran a plexi and variac in the the late 70's via a super distortion and got tons of output even through my strat with single coils too.

 

The variac has something to do with the sound for sure because it allows you to crank the amp at a lower voltage. Not good for tube life or transformer but I was young and dumb and loud. Attaching a humbucker to a 250k pot would also crank the output no?

[Scott Abene]

radio shack used to sell DIY effects and wire back in the day. way before the radio shack you see today.sometimes common sense is not so common to some. it's ok.

 

I miss that radioshack... The one that sold porcelain switches and any wire gauge... and tubes

[Cyprusg]

I think he had his moment as King of the Hill, and now he represents a generation that can't let go of him. By admitting that he's a relatively average guitar player, by today's standards, people who were influenced by him are admitting that his contribution and hence their 'hero' and subsequent contributions (of their own), are there again relatively average by today's standards. There are 17 year old kids doing things that EVH could never approach (and sadly, I can't either). I know that not everyone agrees; some people still think that Jerry West was the best basketball player ever... It's ok, because I respect and tolerate other people's opinions, even if I choose to respectfully disagree. I enjoy some of the music he made.

 

 

That's crap. It's a hell of a lot easier to take what someone else did and improve upon than it is to be truly original like Eddie was. Look, I can't say I like more than maybe 3 VH songs, but in his prime he was still better than 99.9% of guitarists out there even today. Those 17 year olds have it easy, they can go online and learn every technique out there and just repeat what has been done before. But probably more important, music is not like basketball, it's not a competition. When you get to level that EVH is at there isn't a "best".

[Meowy]

radio shack used to sell DIY effects and wire back in the day. way before the radio shack you see today.sometimes common sense is not so common to some. it's ok.

I am old enough to remember Tandy and how diverse Radio shack inventory used to be. But there's not that much practical use for 40 ga+ wire for a retailer to stock it. Again I may be wrong, but I'll remain skeptical of these myths

[Scott Abene]

TANDY!!!

 

and who would name a brand: REALISTIC ?

 

What crap that was

[Dirty South Al]

a variac is a killer. i hate em. get a plexi, get a good hot 19-20+k pickup / 300-500K pot installed into a strat style guitar with a trem. plug into a good plexi. hook up your favorite delay and a good mxr90 and turn that sucker up. Crank out some riffs and try it out for yourself.

My dog died today and I am pretty bummed and ready to get home to deal with the family tear fest. So I am respectfully pulling out of this eddie debate before it gets crazier but yall be nice and remember that yalll are right to being a little skeptical when it comes to the added Eddie tone BS. The stuff that I mentioned, I have tested it out and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. try it all yourselves before you throw it to the garbage and see.

[Dirty South Al]

I miss that radioshack... The one that sold porcelain switches and any wire gauge... and tubes

 

 

me too, me too. it was a wire's geek heaven.

[Scott Abene]

God Speed on the K9...

 

It can be rough

[BoneNut]

Well, there you go billybilly.

You started a multi page {censored} storm like a nice little troll, about an artist that in his prime, was one undoubtedly a creative and innovative guitarist.

Please explain the motive or satisfaction for doing this so I can understand. Did you win something? Are you more notorious on these forums after this thread? Do you feel better about yourself now? Are you finally cool?

Next time I see your butt ugly avatar, I'll skip to the next thread.

[Dirty South Al]

skeptical is always ok in my eyes but maybe when it comes to something so easy as this is, you may be missing out on something that you may be able to learn from by trying it yourself. Understand that I speak from experiance too and a lot of testings and facts under my belt and if I choose to share something with you, try it out and if you feel I am wrong, then tell me how and why after you have tested this yourself. I will be more than happy to offer you and Scott something via PM for you to try and then you guys can tell me what your thoughts are. I have to go now, it's going to be a long night.

take care.

I've dabbled as well with a drill and a homemade jig, so I'm bringing some experience to my point, not talking theory. I don't doubt that Eddie could have done it, but I really question that he did - and with the results of his signature tone. I am old enough to remember Tandy and how diverse Radio shack inventory used to be. But there's not that much practical use for 40 ga+ wire for a retailer to stock it. Again I may be wrong, but I'll remain skeptical of these myths

 

[Meowy]

a variac is a killer. i hate em. get a plexi, get a good hot 19-20+k pickup / 300-500K pot installed into a strat style guitar with a trem. plug into a good plexi. hook up your favorite delay and a good mxr90 and turn that sucker up. Crank out some riffs and try it out for yourself. My dog died today and I am pretty bummed and ready to get home to deal with the family tear fest. So I am respectfully pulling out of this eddie debate before it gets crazier but yall be nice and remember that yalll are right to being a little skeptical when it comes to the added Eddie tone BS. The stuff that I mentioned, I have tested it out and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. try it all yourselves before you throw it to the garbage and see.

 

 

First and foremost, sorry for the loss of your pet. That just sucks.

 

I've wound a handful of pickups, but gave it up because of the tedium and crappy eyesight. I don't doubt your results for a second, but I don't think an 18 year old kid would have pulled that off, especially without the informational resources we have at our disposal today

 

To wind a 20K pickup youre probably using 6000+ turns of 43-44 gauge per bobbin. I don't have the specs anymore but Im guessing from memory. Even with a decent winder (even a good MacGyver winder) it takes a fair amount of practice to wind that tight, even and clean without breaks or loops. 43-44 gauge takes a bit hunting to find on the internet, let alone in a lone storefront in 1977 SoCal.

[Dirty South Al]

First and foremost, sorry for the loss of your pet. That just sucks. I've wound a handful of pickups, but gave it up becasue of the tedium and crappy eyesight. To wind a 20K pickup youre probably using 5000-6000 turns of 43-44 gauge per bobbin. I don't have the specs anymore but Im guessing from memory. Even with a decent winder (even a good MacGyver winder) it takes a fair amount of practice to wind that tight and clean without breaks or loops. 43-44 gauge takes a bit hunting to find on the internet, let alone in a lone storefront in 1977 SoCal.

 

 

Ok, no problem. You have a good day and thanks for the condolences.