Since your last video I have been anxiously awaiting your next. I was starting to get depressed. I considered joining an all non-binary death metal band that did reworked covers of Duran Duran songs. Times were dark. My energy was dark. I was struggling with 2022 as you have struggled with "1984" Just as I was ready to pull the proverbial curtain..............YOU released this video. Stars are back in alignment. My bbq pit is cooking excellent hickory smoked food. I'm getting nearly 22mpg in my work van. All is right with the world. Thank you.
It's cloooooose. But, the highs don't "blister" and sparkle the way Ed's did. It's a very distinct characteristic. There can be only one. But, this is damn close.
@@e.l.norton I think they scooped mids out in the studio and boosted some high end. Ed does sound "stringier" in the dry tracks, but the gain composition here is very similar.
George mentioned previously in a past Metro ll video he was going to have someone who plays Ed’s style do a future demo . He found the best possible source . Fantastic ! Thanks Jim
Just incredible, Jim! And equal props to George! The Metro-II proves once and for all that copping Ed’s thing is 90% player. Settings, speakers, mic placement, groove, feel, swing. For someone like you who has all that dialed in, the Metro-II is like a magic Time Machine.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that. And yes, your "take" is pretty correct. That's why I wanted to stress that you can't "buy Ed in a box." However, this amp is fantastic. And if you do even a 1/3 of what I recommend, you'll be closer than most.
I was in 9th grade when VH1 arrived a student brought in the LP he worked at a local music store and told everyone this was new and that we had to hear it that nobody sounded like this! The teacher allowed it and everyone's jaw dropped in aww of EVH........a 100years from now people will still be connecting things together and forensically attempting to dial in Edward.
He certainly hooked me, and from the looks of it all of you, too. There's a reason - the style, the sound, the songs...he just put it all together in one, amazingly talented package.
Thanks, Jim! Really solid tone info, as always! I just received mine (s.n. #018) a few days ago, and I mean yeah...the 12301 channel is obviously the main draw, BUT the (blendable) normal and 12380 channels are equally as over-the-top in their own way. George really made sure that this is a total rock and roll machine. Thank God the master volume sounds great. Running it with Scumback BM75-16-65W Blackback clones, and it sounds great!
Glorious sound! The amp itself is killer but its the reverb and the harmonizer that's the icing on the cake. It's a huge part of most of Van Halen's tone. Without it just sounds dull.
I bought one when the pre sales started… I knew I couldn’t afford it in the end (yet) but George’s amp is amazing. And jimmy you’re the right man for the job!!! So many people have so many good =V//= amp sounds lately… You, George, Ossie, the coco Hot dog! Keep on jimmy!! 🕊✌🏻🫵🏻
Really like Georges amps and his work. I am a sub of his channel and seen all his vids in the development of this amp. This amp is very versatile and covers a lot of area. My favorite EVH tones are VH II and WACF. I used to favor VH I but these days prefer the cleaner, clearer and warmer VH II tone.
@@jegauss I was in a band with Robbin Crosby of RATT a few years before he joined them, and when our band wanted Amps, Robbin got ahold of Eddie and bought four Stacks of Marshalls and a Custom Bass stack from the band from thier 1979 Tour. Two of the amps were 1970 Organge Tolex Plexi's and four Orange Tolex Marshall Cabs, Two Variachs, an older 1969 Black Plexi head, an Orange 1977 100wat SLP head and two Black Marshall Cabs. So i had the actual experience of playing and recording with two guitarists using those wonderful Marshalls, Robbin also bought an Eventide Harmonizer which really gave him a stand out sound. I believe at least one of those Amps were used on RATTS Out Of The Celar album. Anyway thought you would be interested in some history conected to Van Halen. Our band was called Mac Meda (Formerly Secret Service/Aircraft) from San Diego, we moved up to LA in 1980 played the same rock circuts, We have a few songs on RUclips under Mac Meda.
Impressively done. He had differences in tone with each album. When he did the Sammy tunes he sacrificed something in his move to wet dry wet. You are incredibly good. There was a time I would have been envious. I am chasing aspect of his playing and equipment. Good luck sir.
I don’t think there is anyone on the planet who has invested more time and energy into deciphering Edward’s tone and playing. Thank you Jim for being such a tone scientist! And thank you George, for building such and incredible amp, I know a lot of blood sweat and tears have gone into this creation. Well done!
Let me just ignore the amp and call out how great my man is at Ed’s patented pick slide/power slides! And look at you nailing the screaming harmonic in “You Really Got Me”…I hate you but I love you buddy! EXCELLENT job with “On Fire”, especially the main riffs and verse…I’ve revamped many things in my transcription of “On Fire” and the chorus “echo chords” especially. I’m currently working with the engraver on it now and I’ll send it to you as soon as it is complete!🙌🏻
Jim! Greetings from Down Under legend 🇦🇺 🤘Yeah as soon as George posted on his channel about this new MK 2 and I watched it all..... I just KNEW I have to have this amp! Your playing and super duper deep diving on this video is amazing, as always.. George and I have been emailing a little, and I can't WAIT to get my paws on it down here. Thanks again Jim, hope all is well :) Hos
Hey Simon! Thank you! And no sir, you are the "legend." 😉 Yes, you've gotta get this amp! You'll absolutely love it. I've still got the prototype sitting here, but I boxed it up because I don't want to "spoil" my other amps - actually, George thinks my main amp is really, really close - I do, too. George is sending me new transformers (output and mains), and once I put those in, it will most likely get me 99.9% there, with that amp. And, now that I think about it, George and I were having a conversation about how this amp is just taking off with orders, and he mentioned "a guy down under, that is perfect for this amp," and really wants to get one, but the shipping is like $1,800.00. I hope you guys can figure all of that out - you've gotta get one! Take care, stay safe!
@@jegauss Aww thank you Jim, you're too kind lol. And yes, I've always loved the sound of your main amp too... sounds killer!! Will be very interesting to see what you think when you put the new transformers in! (no doubt you'll do a video on that?!) Yes shipping amp heads from Oz to US is not cheap, but we can definitely get it down way lower than $1800... we'll figure it out :) Thanks again Jim, be well sir.. hope to catch up in person one day in the future 🙏🤘
Your 68 clone has got THE magic, I wouldn't change a thing. MM tranny's can be a little modern sounding but the ones you have are well broken in (over 10 years of use if I'm not mistaken), they have a very musical creaminess and articulation. plus the 400 output from the PT is delivering just the right amount of sag when you dig into the strings. If the 1203-80 ML PT George is sending you has the two 152-152 secondaries, you can just hard wire those for 410, which will have a nice sag as well. Nothing efficient about a good old turret board with all that extra wire and solder but that's where part of the magic comes from if you ask me.
I gotta say your VH Videos are just killer keep them coming! That amp is awesome too, I have a 78 JMP might have Dave mod it for me. Catch ya on the next one.
Jim, amazing playing and demo!! I love the fact that you’re doing this for George pro bono. Very generous! Your VH vids are just flat out incredible! Now, I do want to critique just a little 😁 The Metro sounds good BUT I’m 99.9% sure George didn’t voice the MKII with the intention of having the master volume maxed out. He measured the frequency readings on his 68 plexi cranked to 10 and applied those measurements to the MKII via the correct component values to achieve those frequency readings all controlled by the Master Volume. So, at moderate to reasonable high volumes, you get his cranked plexi sound. With this amp’s volume on 10, it’s going to be thick as a milkshake. Luckily it still sounded good like you had it setup obviously, but not meant to be used this way either. And why the -90v? It’s already built in….
Hey Brent! First off, thank you! I very much appreciate the kind words, and the "critique." But, I must correct you - George and I talked about this before I did the demo. So, the MV is voiced the same through it's entire "travel," - however, when it's full up, it's essentially out of the circuit - and, there is no built in variac on this model - he runs the mains / plate voltages at wall voltage - this is also obvious if you look at the back panel of the amp where the bias ports are - he's got it printed that bias is to be set at 32mA. Which happens to be the perfect (medium, not hot) dissipation for a 465 - 470 VDC mains / plate voltage on a '68 plexi, plugged into the wall...so, long story short, running it full out, with the variac, mimics what Ed was doing...the MV is a great tool, and George's design is incredible - but the amp is also made to run full up. 😉
I agree with Brent Pearcy ^^^ Jim , I know you were trying to go for historic - accuracy but George's mk2 amp was made with a master volume from inception and that's likely why this amp along with very very few others are able to get "brown" enough without going the traditional 4 hole 68 SLP replica route I.e George's amp here, David Bray coco50 and here in canada Glen Morris's new "UK 68 brown out " amp... these are the only 3 high quality 1 man - show amp builders I know doing such a thing anyway. ^ * Ive seen dozens of videos of eddies tone done the old way, yours being like the mecca of all evh brown sound walk throughs lol BUT only David bray has shown that his amp the coco50s master volume gave a pretty damn good VH tone without having to he cranked to 10" so I was just a tad bit disappointed that we didn't get to see it here from you with George's metroplex mk2.. * Maybe you can do a part 2 of some VH riffs using George's metrpolex mk2 the way it was created so is mortals can get an accurate representation of just how good the amp can ACTUALLY do early VH at reasonable volumes please ?? * Cranking an amp like this to 10 when George worked painstakingly for years to make the circuit work with a master volume, lower plate voltage / heaters and internally biased to 90v already feels like it defeats the purpose to treat this amp like your 68 EVH super lead replica or the typical 4 hole marshall w a variac and other parts of the chain etc. * Does that make sense ? This comment wasn't supposed to be a dig in any way I appreciate your dedication to the VH brown sound quest 100% I just couldn't help but feel like this was a bit of a round- about - way to demo an amp that has a master volume and all the EVH DNA made to work with it. Thanks for all that you do Jim and hope you see this, curious to hear your thoughts Cheers from niagara Canada - Adam 🙏🤟
Jim I just saw your comment for Brent above ^^^ I stand corrected lol thanks for that breakdown Jim although I'm pretty sure George has not shared those specific details in his video when running his MK2 on the 12301 channel. I watched his full 40 ish minute detailed launch video of the MK2 and when he covered the "unofficial " VH voiced channel IIRC he stated that the MV is meant to sound good at reasonable volumes so cranking it might be historically accurate ala the way we know Eddie did it BUT for all of us who cannot try the amp yet is there anyway you can PLEASE do a short follow up video playing some VH riffs but play around with the master volume and other controls to demo the amp at more *Reasonable volumes *? I have a fryette PS100 attenuator ( I think it's the best one out there for retaining 95% of the original tone ) so cranking it won't be a problem but what im wondering more so is if it can truly sound great much like a bray coco50 with its MV at manageable volumes. Lmk if you see this. Thanks alot , cheers Jim 🤟🙏
Jim, single-handedly legitimizes RUclips. He's so informative, and inspiring. The irony is that George can't even get his amps to sound like this....at least not in the videos I've seen. (or I would've purchase one a LONG time ago). Not knocking the guy or his products, just saying I've never heard his amps sound anything like this. But, the second this popped in my recommended videos I knew Jim would pull the best out of this amp. I'm sure George knew it too. But, I digress.... It's interesting that you were able to get that 57 to sound that good in the strat. It sounds better to me than the red Frankie. I put a Rebel Yell in my MIM bridge, and it sounds terrible. My apologies if you answered this in the video already, but if the amp is wide open, are you running it through an attenuator, or is the speaker cab in another room? Thanks for another mind-bogglingly good video.
Thank you! Very kind words! I've never played the Rebel Yell pickup, so it's tough for me to comment on that one...for me, I just try to match the pickup to the guitar / amp and signal chain...But, for these VH things, I try to go with what we think is "historically correct" and then back track from there. So, it's a slightly different thought process. As far as the amp wide open - no attenuator, and yes, the speaker cabinet was in the SAME room - it was facing away from me, and then baffled on the back side by a piece of leather furniture. And honestly, at 90 volts, 15-20 away, not facing, it wasn't that horrible. Plus, I don't play for long. If I were playing for more than 8-10 minutes at a time, I'd pop in some ear protection - I've lost enough hearing over the years, so I'm pretty careful these days...
@@jegauss Wow...OK, that's interesting. I missed that you were running it at 90volts. I'll go back and re-watch it. Was there a moment when you were lowering the voltage? Maybe that's why George's own videos don't sound like this. When I say "this", I don't mean cop'ing Eddie's tone per-se. Just that in his videos, the amp sounds very "loose" to me. These days I'm after a tight, mid-focused, percussive, biting tone. Probably why, to this day, I gravitate towards the crunch channel on an SLO. But, I digress.... Thanks for sharing, Jim. Watching you never gets old.
@@phillamoore157 good questions and observations - so no, I started with the amp at 90 volts and left it there. I mentioned it in the video and showed a digital readout of the voltage setting - and, I always tend to think that the amp(s) get a little looser when the variac gets turned down. Check out the addendum video I did for this. Some guys were a little frustrated that I ran the amp wide open and used the variac. So, I had some tracks that I had previously recorded - no variac, and the MV set to about 3-1/2. The amp sounds a little tighter. And also, I was playing through the VH channel - which is thicker and fuller to begin with. If you play through the stock ‘68 Plexi channel it’s cleaner and brighter / tighter. Hope that helps….
@jegauss Welcome back JIMMM!!! When it comes to this crazy EVH rabbit hole, you're the BEST out there. And you're a great player too. Such a pleasure watching these videos. Makes me very happy watching and hearing your videos and all the hard work you put into them. THANK YOU! I'm on the verge of buying either the 50 or 100 Mk2. Amp sounds phenomenal. I think this video will push some sales for George! Anyways Happy Holidays to you and your family. Good luck with the 1984 stuff. Looking forward to that!
Thank you, Rik! Very much appreciated! I think you can't go wrong with either the 50 or the 100. I think George thought the 50 might be a bit "sweeter," which is kind of the way 50s have always been...but honestly, you can't go wrong. Good luck!
Yeah the Gibson pu's are great! I use a Gibson 7.6K 490R with a small bar A5 and it really zeros in on the old 60's T top tone like the 61 P.A.F EVH pulled from his 335. The 490's and the 57's come stock with the A2 but the small bar A5 sounds better to me.
It is tough to describe - but you always hear that word "fat" when it comes to a guitar sound - the single notes on the lower strings are "fat." It's a great amp!
In George's demo he keeps apologizing for his playing and says at one point that he was going to find someone that does VH to demo the Ed side. He couldn't have chosen better.
Sounds absolutely amazing! Honestly, the highest compliment that I can give, is that if I close my eyes while listening to this, it sounds like i'm hearing isolated tracks from the album(s). Absolutely amazing playing and tone!
Sounds great, you did a fantastic job with the tones and the playing! Thank you for doing this and sharing it! It must have been SO loud in that room with the amp cranked all the way up LOL. I can't wait to get mine, I'm hoping before Christmas, but it'll be close. Thanks again!
Thank you very much! I had the cabinet facing the other way, and then baffled on the back side - so, it was loud, but not unbearable. Plus, the 90v variac setting knocks that volume down a little, too. Anyway, I think you're going to love that amp when you get it. Congratulations!
Killer sounding amp and playing 👍 👍. The black back Celestions aren't the same they have a plastic voice coil that tends to sound more harsh/brittle bright than the warmer/browner 😉 sounding paper voice coil in the green backs
Thank you! And thanks for the info - I didn't know they were different. I've always been told they were identical - just a supplier change on the plastic "cup" on the magnet....interesting...
Jim , I hope Sammy brings you out with them at some show, ?????????. Did you reach out to him yet? I hope so, I can say on behalf of us all, WE’d LOVE to see you do something as a guest player ….EVH would be proud!!!!
Thank you for watching! Yes, I've considered IRs and Kemper profiles - I'm certainly not against doing any of that, it's merely a matter of time for me. I don't have enough of it! But hopefully, in the new year, my schedule opens up a little...
Thank you! And yes, VH 1 had a lot more done in post than the subsequent albums...probably one of the reasons that Ed always said he hated that guitar sound on the first album.
@@jegauss yeah,The Fair Warning tone has always been my favorite..VH1 was great too,especially when it first came out,but Fair Warning was just THE perfect EVH tone…Can’t wait for your 1984 deep dive..it’s always amazed me how much the sound changed from record to record,even though Ed was using the same amp for all those recordings…That in itself is crazy..Most artists will use a myriad of amps in the studio…Ed used one..
It sounds like quite an amp! Impressed as usual. Of course with how detailed you always are and your playing but, I’m always amazed that you are able to use a tuning that is spot on! Damn that G and B string tango! Quick question, do the Celestions in your cab have pulsonic cones? Marshall purists swear there is no equivalent. Can’t wait for 1984, once it is tamed! And let that George fella know his amp sounds amazing 👍🏻
Thank you! Yes, the amp is really impressive! The tuning thing isn't that tough, just do it by ear...that's all that Ed did...as far as the Pulsonic cones go, I've never had the opportunity to A/B them. I've played through them, but there are just so many factors - for me, I'd have to put them side by side in the same room to form an opinion...
Nice! Great to see you post something!! Been a while! The amp sounds great! Looking forward to 1984 !! Are you playing out anywhere soon . ! I'm in Nashville
Thank you! Yeah, I've been ridiculously busy with what seems like almost everything but music...not gigging lately - just need to get through some business things. Then, perhaps, I'll start playing live again. I miss it....
Amazing as always Jim! I have a 72 Super Lead modded by David Bray that I would love for u to hear. Once I get my studio (finally) set up I will send u some stuff. I think the Met sounds great! Always lookin forward to the next one man!! Keep 'em comin:)
Looking forward to 1984, lots of interesting things to consider like reamping, 4ohm cabinets ect. Exploring parallel wiring 4x12 right now and reamping and am excited about it
I'm thinking the rig is pretty much unchanged - most of the problem comes in to what the heck did they have for gear at 5150. It was ever changing and expanding as they were building the studio - and they were building it as they were recording the album. So that makes it tough to make educated guesses on the recording end of things....but it's always fun!
This just confirmed that I’m going to buying one of these next year. They were in my radar when I saw George post the video on this amp. But I think they sound awesome! One question I do have is what are your flanger settings? They sound perfect. Also are you using a 70s flanger or newer mxr? Thanks and as always amazing videos!
Thank you! Glad to hear it! It's really a great amp! The flanger is the 70s version - the settings are the first 3 knobs at around 11:00 o'clock, and the regen is at 4:00 o'clock - to full - depending on the flanger. Mine has a really strong regen, so it stays at about 4:00 the newer ones tend to be full up.
@@jegauss thanks for the reply! I figured you were using the evh settings on it. When I tried It on mine I could never get it to sound right. But I might have to try turning the regen down on mine. That might be what it needs! Yeah that amp sounds amazing. A lot of the tone comes from the fingers as well I believe! Keep up the amazing videos, can’t wait to check out the 1984 video when it comes out
@@jegauss can't wait to hear it for myself - I just ordered the 50 watt version 🥳 I'm planning on using it with a Captor X load box for recording and bedroom playing, but would like to get a small cab for jamming with friends. Could you recommend a 2x12 cab & driver combination that comes closest to sounding like your 4x12 for "first 4 albums sound" when used on the 12301 channel with master volume turned down to "sensible" levels?
The opening Unchained was really close to the real thing. It got me going. I started slapping my knees playing drums with you, ha. I always wondered how Ed got the flange sweeps so perfectly in songs like Unchained or Mean Streets. Did he stick those sweeps in during post or did he just luck out and got it live?
Thanks Marc! The "reverb" is actually the Sunset Sound Chamber from the Sunset Sound Plug-in - studio 2's chamber - and the Harmonizer is the Eventide H910
@jegauss I know your very humble when it comes to this stuff but to be blunt and honest, the sound and tone is so close to the record that it's kinda crazy how well you reproduce it. I don't think you give yourself enough credit.
To me there's only a few guys that can nail the tone- Jim Gaustad, Top Jimi the profile maker and pete thorn. It's amazing how many internet guys think their tone is dead on but it's way off. You can just feel it when the tone is exact Eddie.
Hey Barry! Thank you! I don't have the 250K pot in there, but that's only because of the quiet part in Panama (the "reach down between my legs part") For some reason, the 500K gets more "chewy" as you back it down. The 250K doesn't behave quite the same way - but for Fair Warning, I think the 250K would work equally as well. It would help to darken the overall tone just a bit - which, I think it could use, based on this recording, and trying to match the actual album tone....but, really, don't get too hung up on the pot value. An extra 10-20 ft of guitar cable will get you essentially the same end result. Good luck!
@@jegauss thank you for taking by the time to share your wisdom! I have rolled pickups in my swamp ash Frankie, and everything just seems too sharp/bright- and I’m looking for that real FW warm PAF sound..time to break out the long cables again 👍🏼
I don't know if you go up into the non-DLR eras of chasing the tones, but I'd be incredibly curious to see how much things changed in the later years. All the lush chorus and amp changes... so different.
I own a Metroplex. Hands down best amp I’ve ever played.
I don't doubt it! George makes great stuff!
Since your last video I have been anxiously awaiting your next. I was starting to get depressed. I considered joining an all non-binary death metal band that did reworked covers of Duran Duran songs. Times were dark. My energy was dark. I was struggling with 2022 as you have struggled with "1984" Just as I was ready to pull the proverbial curtain..............YOU released this video. Stars are back in alignment. My bbq pit is cooking excellent hickory smoked food. I'm getting nearly 22mpg in my work van. All is right with the world. Thank you.
😂
😂
Ben! You win! Best, best comment of the bunch! I even read it to my wife...she giggled, too.
@@jegaussWe missed you Jim
👍🏻
That's sounds DEAD on! AMAZING tone. Metropoulos knows how to make a Marshall better than Marshall can.
Agreed.
Thank you!
It's cloooooose. But, the highs don't "blister" and sparkle the way Ed's did. It's a very distinct characteristic. There can be only one. But, this is damn close.
@@e.l.norton I think they scooped mids out in the studio and boosted some high end. Ed does sound "stringier" in the dry tracks, but the gain composition here is very similar.
I’m frankly impressed with how in-depth your quest to completely decipher Eddie’s tone has been. 1984 is indeed pretty hard.
Thank you - and yes, indeed - 1984 is a tough one.
40 years of the album launch today!! perfect timing for a tasty new vídeo from Jim detailing the 1984 tones :) :)
Hard to believe that in just a few short years Van Halen 1 record will be 50 years old and we are still loving every minute of it !
I know.....it's an amazing piece of art...
@@jegauss JIMMMM!!!! Happy to see you back!
Killer bro , I’m learning the riffs from your videos!
George mentioned previously in a past Metro ll video he was going to have someone who plays Ed’s style do a future demo . He found the best possible source . Fantastic ! Thanks Jim
Thank you! Very kind....and much appreciated!
Damn this demo is going to lead to some. Serious sales. These are the best " overall" Eddie tones I have heard from one amp.
And it's got 12380. George's amp. George's sounds equally as good.
George is just such a great guy, I hope it does get him a bunch of sales. It's really a great amp - very fun to play!
Just incredible, Jim! And equal props to George! The Metro-II proves once and for all that copping Ed’s thing is 90% player. Settings, speakers, mic placement, groove, feel, swing. For someone like you who has all that dialed in, the Metro-II is like a magic Time Machine.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that. And yes, your "take" is pretty correct. That's why I wanted to stress that you can't "buy Ed in a box." However, this amp is fantastic. And if you do even a 1/3 of what I recommend, you'll be closer than most.
These Videos should be in the Musem with Eddies amp stack and guitar, people would love it
There is no doubt that is the closest EVH tone possible period !! Amazing stuff as always. Thankyou sir !!
Thank you!
I was in 9th grade when VH1 arrived a student brought in the LP he worked at a local music store and told everyone this was new and that we had to hear it that nobody sounded like this! The teacher allowed it and everyone's jaw dropped in aww of EVH........a 100years from now people will still be connecting things together and forensically attempting to dial in Edward.
Wow. A teacher let you play a record for the class? That would never happen nowadays. I missed out.
My 7th grade music teacher played us VH1. I was floored.
At least 100 years. He was ground breaking and changed manufacturing of guitars, pickups etc.
He certainly hooked me, and from the looks of it all of you, too. There's a reason - the style, the sound, the songs...he just put it all together in one, amazingly talented package.
Absolutely stunned with the tone and the playing. It's the best I've heard since seeing Van Halen play at the US festival in 1983.
Wow! Thank you for that! Very much appreciated!
Yep George's amps are the gold standard when it comes to Plexi / Superlead clones. Which is why you don't see a lot of them on the used market.
Agreed!
Thanks, Jim! Really solid tone info, as always! I just received mine (s.n. #018) a few days ago, and I mean yeah...the 12301 channel is obviously the main draw, BUT the (blendable) normal and 12380 channels are equally as over-the-top in their own way. George really made sure that this is a total rock and roll machine. Thank God the master volume sounds great. Running it with Scumback BM75-16-65W Blackback clones, and it sounds great!
Hey Johnny! Thanks for watching! But you knew already! It's a killer amp - and you're right, it's just not the 12301 side.....
Glorious sound! The amp itself is killer but its the reverb and the harmonizer that's the icing on the cake. It's a huge part of most of Van Halen's tone. Without it just sounds dull.
Thanks! And yep, the amp really is spectacular...
Ive heard a lot of these tone comparisons over the years. This is perhaps the best!!!
Thank you! - Honestly, it's the closest one I've heard, too (and I've done a few 😉)
0:06 - Unchained
4:31 - Sinner’s Swing
6:02 - Hear About It Later
11:04 - Dirty Movies
12:18 - Mean Street
Stuff like this is why I love RUclips. Outstanding tones Jim and the attention to detail with the playing is inspiring mate.
Thank you very much! I appreciate that!
I bought one when the pre sales started… I knew I couldn’t afford it in the end (yet) but George’s amp is amazing. And jimmy you’re the right man for the job!!!
So many people have so many good =V//= amp sounds lately…
You, George, Ossie, the coco
Hot dog!
Keep on jimmy!!
🕊✌🏻🫵🏻
Thank you, Jamie! You're going to love this amp when you get it - Congratulations!
Really like Georges amps and his work. I am a sub of his channel and seen all his vids in the development of this amp.
This amp is very versatile and covers a lot of area. My favorite EVH tones are VH II and WACF. I used to favor VH I
but these days prefer the cleaner, clearer and warmer VH II tone.
I agree - I didn't want to make the video over an hour long 😉 I figured I'd hit the two most "favored" sounds - FW and VH 1
@@jegauss Yes i can understand wanting to keep the vids length down and am sure the amp will do the VH II and WACF tones with ease! 👍
Jim, with every video I’m so impressed by your dedication and attention to detail with Ed’s sound! Each and every video im just blown away!
Thank you! That's very much appreciated!
@@jegauss I was in a band with Robbin Crosby of RATT a few years before he joined them, and when our
band wanted Amps, Robbin got ahold of Eddie and bought four Stacks of Marshalls and a Custom Bass
stack from the band from thier 1979 Tour. Two of the amps were 1970 Organge Tolex Plexi's and four
Orange Tolex Marshall Cabs, Two Variachs, an older 1969 Black Plexi head, an Orange 1977 100wat SLP
head and two Black Marshall Cabs. So i had the actual experience of playing and recording with two
guitarists using those wonderful Marshalls, Robbin also bought an Eventide Harmonizer which really gave
him a stand out sound. I believe at least one of those Amps were used on RATTS Out Of The Celar album.
Anyway thought you would be interested in some history conected to Van Halen. Our band was called
Mac Meda (Formerly Secret Service/Aircraft) from San Diego, we moved up to LA in 1980 played
the same rock circuts, We have a few songs on RUclips under Mac Meda.
Impressively done. He had differences in tone with each album. When he did the Sammy tunes he sacrificed something in his move to wet dry wet. You are incredibly good. There was a time I would have been envious. I am chasing aspect of his playing and equipment. Good luck sir.
I don’t think there is anyone on the planet who has invested more time and energy into deciphering Edward’s tone and playing. Thank you Jim for being such a tone scientist! And thank you George, for building such and incredible amp, I know a lot of blood sweat and tears have gone into this creation. Well done!
Let me just ignore the amp and call out how great my man is at Ed’s patented pick slide/power slides! And look at you nailing the screaming harmonic in “You Really Got Me”…I hate you but I love you buddy!
EXCELLENT job with “On Fire”, especially the main riffs and verse…I’ve revamped many things in my transcription of “On Fire” and the chorus “echo chords” especially. I’m currently working with the engraver on it now and I’ll send it to you as soon as it is complete!🙌🏻
Allen, you know that means a bunch coming from you - thank you! I look forward to that transcription!
Man you take that outro of Hear About it for granted, some of Ed's greatest melodic playing. Awesome job Jim.
Jim! Greetings from Down Under legend 🇦🇺 🤘Yeah as soon as George posted on his channel about this new MK 2 and I watched it all..... I just KNEW I have to have this amp! Your playing and super duper deep diving on this video is amazing, as always.. George and I have been emailing a little, and I can't WAIT to get my paws on it down here. Thanks again Jim, hope all is well :) Hos
Hey Simon! Thank you! And no sir, you are the "legend." 😉 Yes, you've gotta get this amp! You'll absolutely love it. I've still got the prototype sitting here, but I boxed it up because I don't want to "spoil" my other amps - actually, George thinks my main amp is really, really close - I do, too. George is sending me new transformers (output and mains), and once I put those in, it will most likely get me 99.9% there, with that amp.
And, now that I think about it, George and I were having a conversation about how this amp is just taking off with orders, and he mentioned "a guy down under, that is perfect for this amp," and really wants to get one, but the shipping is like $1,800.00. I hope you guys can figure all of that out - you've gotta get one! Take care, stay safe!
@@jegauss Aww thank you Jim, you're too kind lol. And yes, I've always loved the sound of your main amp too... sounds killer!! Will be very interesting to see what you think when you put the new transformers in! (no doubt you'll do a video on that?!)
Yes shipping amp heads from Oz to US is not cheap, but we can definitely get it down way lower than $1800... we'll figure it out :)
Thanks again Jim, be well sir.. hope to catch up in person one day in the future 🙏🤘
Your 68 clone has got THE magic, I wouldn't change a thing. MM tranny's can be a little modern sounding but the ones you have are well broken in (over 10 years of use if I'm not mistaken), they have a very musical creaminess and articulation. plus the 400 output from the PT is delivering just the right amount of sag when you dig into the strings. If the 1203-80 ML PT George is sending you has the two 152-152 secondaries, you can just hard wire those for 410, which will have a nice sag as well. Nothing efficient about a good old turret board with all that extra wire and solder but that's where part of the magic comes from if you ask me.
I gotta say your VH Videos are just killer keep them coming! That amp is awesome too, I have a 78 JMP might have Dave mod it for me. Catch ya on the next one.
Thank you!
Jim, I am a burnt out Van Halen head and that tone is giving flash backs to the days of thunder when Van Halen albums were played day and night!
I'm a little burnt out, too....but I keep coming back to it 😉
@@jegauss You do a killer job Jim!
Wonderful playing as always and gosh George build amazing amps , Greg Germino’s LV 55 another beautiful wonderful option 👌
Thank you, and I agree 100% about George and Greg!
Jim, amazing playing and demo!! I love the fact that you’re doing this for George pro bono. Very generous! Your VH vids are just flat out incredible! Now, I do want to critique just a little 😁
The Metro sounds good BUT I’m 99.9% sure George didn’t voice the MKII with the intention of having the master volume maxed out. He measured the frequency readings on his 68 plexi cranked to 10 and applied those measurements to the MKII via the correct component values to achieve those frequency readings all controlled by the Master Volume. So, at moderate to reasonable high volumes, you get his cranked plexi sound. With this amp’s volume on 10, it’s going to be thick as a milkshake. Luckily it still sounded good like you had it setup obviously, but not meant to be used this way either. And why the -90v? It’s already built in….
George???? Haha
I guess the -90 was the extra icing on the cake ?
Hey Brent! First off, thank you! I very much appreciate the kind words, and the "critique." But, I must correct you - George and I talked about this before I did the demo. So, the MV is voiced the same through it's entire "travel," - however, when it's full up, it's essentially out of the circuit - and, there is no built in variac on this model - he runs the mains / plate voltages at wall voltage - this is also obvious if you look at the back panel of the amp where the bias ports are - he's got it printed that bias is to be set at 32mA. Which happens to be the perfect (medium, not hot) dissipation for a 465 - 470 VDC mains / plate voltage on a '68 plexi, plugged into the wall...so, long story short, running it full out, with the variac, mimics what Ed was doing...the MV is a great tool, and George's design is incredible - but the amp is also made to run full up. 😉
I agree with Brent Pearcy ^^^ Jim , I know you were trying to go for historic - accuracy but George's mk2 amp was made with a master volume from inception and that's likely why this amp along with very very few others are able to get "brown" enough without going the traditional 4 hole 68 SLP replica route I.e George's amp here, David Bray coco50 and here in canada Glen Morris's new "UK 68 brown out " amp... these are the only 3 high quality 1 man - show amp builders I know doing such a thing anyway.
^
* Ive seen dozens of videos of eddies tone done the old way, yours being like the mecca of all evh brown sound walk throughs lol BUT only David bray has shown that his amp the coco50s master volume gave a pretty damn good VH tone without having to he cranked to 10" so I was just a tad bit disappointed that we didn't get to see it here from you with George's metroplex mk2..
* Maybe you can do a part 2 of some VH riffs using George's metrpolex mk2 the way it was created so is mortals can get an accurate representation of just how good the amp can ACTUALLY do early VH at reasonable volumes please ??
* Cranking an amp like this to 10 when George worked painstakingly for years to make the circuit work with a master volume, lower plate voltage / heaters and internally biased to 90v already feels like it defeats the purpose to treat this amp like your 68 EVH super lead replica or the typical 4 hole marshall w a variac and other parts of the chain etc.
* Does that make sense ?
This comment wasn't supposed to be a dig in any way I appreciate your dedication to the VH brown sound quest 100% I just couldn't help but feel like this was a bit of a round- about - way to demo an amp that has a master volume and all the EVH DNA made to work with it.
Thanks for all that you do Jim and hope you see this, curious to hear your thoughts
Cheers from niagara Canada
- Adam
🙏🤟
Jim I just saw your comment for Brent above ^^^ I stand corrected lol thanks for that breakdown Jim although I'm pretty sure George has not shared those specific details in his video when running his MK2 on the 12301 channel. I watched his full 40 ish minute detailed launch video of the MK2 and when he covered the "unofficial " VH voiced channel IIRC he stated that the MV is meant to sound good at reasonable volumes so cranking it might be historically accurate ala the way we know Eddie did it BUT for all of us who cannot try the amp yet is there anyway you can PLEASE do a short follow up video playing some VH riffs but play around with the master volume and other controls to demo the amp at more *Reasonable volumes *?
I have a fryette PS100 attenuator ( I think it's the best one out there for retaining 95% of the original tone ) so cranking it won't be a problem but what im wondering more so is if it can truly sound great much like a bray coco50 with its MV at manageable volumes.
Lmk if you see this. Thanks alot , cheers Jim
🤟🙏
Jim, single-handedly legitimizes RUclips. He's so informative, and inspiring. The irony is that George can't even get his amps to sound like this....at least not in the videos I've seen. (or I would've purchase one a LONG time ago). Not knocking the guy or his products, just saying I've never heard his amps sound anything like this. But, the second this popped in my recommended videos I knew Jim would pull the best out of this amp. I'm sure George knew it too. But, I digress.... It's interesting that you were able to get that 57 to sound that good in the strat. It sounds better to me than the red Frankie. I put a Rebel Yell in my MIM bridge, and it sounds terrible. My apologies if you answered this in the video already, but if the amp is wide open, are you running it through an attenuator, or is the speaker cab in another room? Thanks for another mind-bogglingly good video.
Thank you! Very kind words! I've never played the Rebel Yell pickup, so it's tough for me to comment on that one...for me, I just try to match the pickup to the guitar / amp and signal chain...But, for these VH things, I try to go with what we think is "historically correct" and then back track from there. So, it's a slightly different thought process. As far as the amp wide open - no attenuator, and yes, the speaker cabinet was in the SAME room - it was facing away from me, and then baffled on the back side by a piece of leather furniture. And honestly, at 90 volts, 15-20 away, not facing, it wasn't that horrible. Plus, I don't play for long. If I were playing for more than 8-10 minutes at a time, I'd pop in some ear protection - I've lost enough hearing over the years, so I'm pretty careful these days...
@@jegauss Wow...OK, that's interesting. I missed that you were running it at 90volts. I'll go back and re-watch it. Was there a moment when you were lowering the voltage? Maybe that's why George's own videos don't sound like this. When I say "this", I don't mean cop'ing Eddie's tone per-se. Just that in his videos, the amp sounds very "loose" to me. These days I'm after a tight, mid-focused, percussive, biting tone. Probably why, to this day, I gravitate towards the crunch channel on an SLO. But, I digress.... Thanks for sharing, Jim. Watching you never gets old.
@@phillamoore157 good questions and observations - so no, I started with the amp at 90 volts and left it there. I mentioned it in the video and showed a digital readout of the voltage setting - and, I always tend to think that the amp(s) get a little looser when the variac gets turned down. Check out the addendum video I did for this. Some guys were a little frustrated that I ran the amp wide open and used the variac. So, I had some tracks that I had previously recorded - no variac, and the MV set to about 3-1/2. The amp sounds a little tighter. And also, I was playing through the VH channel - which is thicker and fuller to begin with. If you play through the stock ‘68 Plexi channel it’s cleaner and brighter / tighter. Hope that helps….
@@jegauss Excellent info....thanks, again Jim. I'll definitely check out that addendum video. 👍
Great stuff Jim - you are definitely a curator of Edward's style and gear
My friend…George knocked it out of the park and so did you! I’m on my third viewing…sounds so good!
Thank you, Allen! Very, very much appreciated (I know your discerning ears...😉). The amp is just terrific!
Jim, amp sounds outstanding! Always appreciate the deep dive and the dedication. #EVH
Thank you!
The VH1 tone is spot on! Glad to see you back Jim!
Thank you, James!
Great tones and playing as always! And a great sounding amp indeed! Looking forward to the 1984 video🤟🏻 Thanks Jim!!
Thank you!
That sounds unbelievable! Killer playing dude!!!
Thank you!
@jegauss Welcome back JIMMM!!! When it comes to this crazy EVH rabbit hole, you're the BEST out there. And you're a great player too. Such a pleasure watching these videos. Makes me very happy watching and hearing your videos and all the hard work you put into them. THANK YOU! I'm on the verge of buying either the 50 or 100 Mk2. Amp sounds phenomenal. I think this video will push some sales for George! Anyways Happy Holidays to you and your family. Good luck with the 1984 stuff. Looking forward to that!
Thank you, Rik! Very much appreciated! I think you can't go wrong with either the 50 or the 100. I think George thought the 50 might be a bit "sweeter," which is kind of the way 50s have always been...but honestly, you can't go wrong. Good luck!
I am listening on a phone but this is by far the best representation of the sound that I've ever heard.
Those upper glassy nuances are amazing.
Great Demo Jim! I've got one coming before Christmas, I think. Damn I love that '57 Classic pickup. Great playing!
Yeah the Gibson pu's are great! I use a Gibson 7.6K 490R with a small bar A5 and it really zeros in on the old 60's T top tone
like the 61 P.A.F EVH pulled from his 335. The 490's and the 57's come stock with the A2 but the small bar A5 sounds better to me.
Thank you, Marc! And congrats on the new amp that's on it's way! You're going to love it!
Good to see ya Jim! Yea that amp sounds great! That duncan 78 sounds good too!
Thank you!
I had goosebumps through the entire video. You nailed every one of them. Amazing. Wow!
I love it! Thank you!
Its hard to describe sounds with words…but to me it’s the snarl and growl but still sounds clear…thats what I’m hearing…sounds awesome…nailed it 👍
It is tough to describe - but you always hear that word "fat" when it comes to a guitar sound - the single notes on the lower strings are "fat." It's a great amp!
Great vid Jim ! Always awesome playing and love the big room with all the gear !!
Thank you!
This is the closest I’ve heard on RUclips. Holy crap!!!😮
Thank you! It's a great amp, for sure!
@@jegauss
I bet you can really feel the sag when you dig in and a physical attachment to the produced tone!!!
You’re so lucky!!!
Wish I had one!
Dang Jim your vids are like an Ivy League education on EVH! Love it, keep em coming
Great video and every demo on here sounds the closest ive ever heard to the real thing Jim! Thanks for putting this out for fans and guitarist!
Thank you! And, you're very you're welcome! And thank you for watching!
Omg, I love watching your videos! Jim, you're a super star! Thank you for posting these clips and please keep them coming. Absolutely amazing!!
Damn !!! Unbelievable tone , And you are an Amazing player!!!!!!
Thank you! Very much appreciated!
In George's demo he keeps apologizing for his playing and says at one point that he was going to find someone that does VH to demo the Ed side. He couldn't have chosen better.
Thank you!
Sounds absolutely amazing! Honestly, the highest compliment that I can give, is that if I close my eyes while listening to this, it sounds like i'm hearing isolated tracks from the album(s). Absolutely amazing playing and tone!
Thank you! Very kind, and much appreciated!
You got Eddy down, Fantastic job!!
Killer video, Jim! Amp sounds great. Great playing, as well.
Thanks! Yeah, the amp is pretty special.
Always appreciate your videos Jim!
Thank you, Derryl!
As always, superb playing and incredible tone from Jim. Mean Street is one of my all time VH favs. What an epic rhythm on that song.
Thank you, Max!
Wow. Outstanding amp and your playing once again. Thanks Jim.
Thank you! I appreciate it!
Sounds great, you did a fantastic job with the tones and the playing! Thank you for doing this and sharing it! It must have been SO loud in that room with the amp cranked all the way up LOL. I can't wait to get mine, I'm hoping before Christmas, but it'll be close. Thanks again!
Thank you very much! I had the cabinet facing the other way, and then baffled on the back side - so, it was loud, but not unbearable. Plus, the 90v variac setting knocks that volume down a little, too. Anyway, I think you're going to love that amp when you get it. Congratulations!
Amazing playing and tone, Jim!
Thank you!
You never disappoint! Thanks for the new video.
Thank you! Appreciate that!
Jim, Once again I`m completely blown away! You have this down to a science!! George built me an amp many years ago, wish I held on to it!
Thank you! Very much appreciated! And yes, I've never played a bad amp from George....all of them are really good.
I’ve been struggling with 1984 for the last four years…the book doesn’t leave my nightstand.
Sounds awesome! I’ve always wanted to try a metropoulos.
Thank you! George hasn't made a bad amp yet, and this one is spectacular!
This is an amp that Eddie would agree to put it in his backline in my opinion! 🎯
Very possibly, but he went to that fizzy sounding thing.....I think he just went away from this sound, for whatever reason.
Killer sounding amp and playing 👍 👍. The black back Celestions aren't the same they have a plastic voice coil that tends to sound more harsh/brittle bright than the warmer/browner 😉 sounding paper voice coil in the green backs
Thank you! And thanks for the info - I didn't know they were different. I've always been told they were identical - just a supplier change on the plastic "cup" on the magnet....interesting...
Fantastic video ! Thanks Jim. This Greco Explorer sounds amazing with the amp !
Thank you, Saul! Yeah, I love that Greco - I think it might just be my favorite.
Amazing, your playing is insane......❤
Jim , I hope Sammy brings you out with them at some show, ?????????. Did you reach out to him yet? I hope so, I can say on behalf of us all, WE’d LOVE to see you do something as a guest player ….EVH would be proud!!!!
Ha! Thank you! Nope - haven't spoken to Sammy yet.....
@@jegauss well let’s get on it!!!!!!!
holy smokes! great playing. love it
Thank you!
THANKS! A commendable run through of a great amp!
This is wild Jim, because I had posted a comment on one of your 1984 pre-b- sound quest vids asking if you had seen the George demo of this amp.
I think I remember that....at that point, George and I had probably starting talking about doing something this video....
@@jegauss Sounds fantastic. George builds kick ass amps! No love lost for your Brown Sound 68' either.
Jim thanks so much for all your research and willingness to share!
Have you thought of creating IRs? Would buy them in a heartbeat!
Thank you for watching! Yes, I've considered IRs and Kemper profiles - I'm certainly not against doing any of that, it's merely a matter of time for me. I don't have enough of it! But hopefully, in the new year, my schedule opens up a little...
That sounded fantastic,especially the Fair Warning stuff…Good stuff!!
Thank you! And yes, VH 1 had a lot more done in post than the subsequent albums...probably one of the reasons that Ed always said he hated that guitar sound on the first album.
@@jegauss yeah,The Fair Warning tone has always been my favorite..VH1 was great too,especially when it first came out,but Fair Warning was just THE perfect EVH tone…Can’t wait for your 1984 deep dive..it’s always amazed me how much the sound changed from record to record,even though Ed was using the same amp for all those recordings…That in itself is crazy..Most artists will use a myriad of amps in the studio…Ed used one..
Awesome demo !! Someone send this amp to Satriani …..
And Jim’s hands too. Haha
Ha! And Thank you!
@@jegauss oh yeah great playing btw Greatly enjoy your vids 👍
Sounds great Jim. you get a lot closer to that sound than I do.Always enjoy it and look forward to your vids.take care.bue
Thank you Christian!
It sounds like quite an amp! Impressed as usual. Of course with how detailed you always are and your playing but, I’m always amazed that you are able to use a tuning that is spot on! Damn that G and B string tango! Quick question, do the Celestions in your cab have pulsonic cones? Marshall purists swear there is no equivalent. Can’t wait for 1984, once it is tamed! And let that George fella know his amp sounds amazing 👍🏻
Thank you! Yes, the amp is really impressive! The tuning thing isn't that tough, just do it by ear...that's all that Ed did...as far as the Pulsonic cones go, I've never had the opportunity to A/B them. I've played through them, but there are just so many factors - for me, I'd have to put them side by side in the same room to form an opinion...
Great job. I'm very interested in this amp your video was very helpful. Great playing.
Nice! Great to see you post something!! Been a while! The amp sounds great! Looking forward to 1984 !! Are you playing out anywhere soon . ! I'm in Nashville
Thank you! Yeah, I've been ridiculously busy with what seems like almost everything but music...not gigging lately - just need to get through some business things. Then, perhaps, I'll start playing live again. I miss it....
@@jegauss I hear you! I live in Nashville area. Been looking for bass and drummer to jam with or more. You think it wouldn't be hard out here? Lol.
Amazing as always Jim! I have a 72 Super Lead modded by David Bray that I would love for u to hear. Once I get my studio (finally) set up I will send u some stuff. I think the Met sounds great! Always lookin forward to the next one man!! Keep 'em comin:)
Thank you! I look forward to hearing those samples! Bray does some killer stuff, too!
Looking forward to 1984, lots of interesting things to consider like reamping, 4ohm cabinets ect.
Exploring parallel wiring 4x12 right now and reamping and am excited about it
I'm thinking the rig is pretty much unchanged - most of the problem comes in to what the heck did they have for gear at 5150. It was ever changing and expanding as they were building the studio - and they were building it as they were recording the album. So that makes it tough to make educated guesses on the recording end of things....but it's always fun!
Awesome job man!
Thanks Johnny!
Excellent as usual, Jim.
Thank you, David!
Nice work Jim as always! Looks like I need to sell a couple amps to get one of these. Why do you this to me 😂
Ha! I hear ya Aaron! Thank you!
This just confirmed that I’m going to buying one of these next year. They were in my radar when I saw George post the video on this amp. But I think they sound awesome! One question I do have is what are your flanger settings? They sound perfect. Also are you using a 70s flanger or newer mxr? Thanks and as always amazing videos!
Thank you! Glad to hear it! It's really a great amp! The flanger is the 70s version - the settings are the first 3 knobs at around 11:00 o'clock, and the regen is at 4:00 o'clock - to full - depending on the flanger. Mine has a really strong regen, so it stays at about 4:00 the newer ones tend to be full up.
@@jegauss thanks for the reply! I figured you were using the evh settings on it. When I tried It on mine I could never get it to sound right. But I might have to try turning the regen down on mine. That might be what it needs! Yeah that amp sounds amazing. A lot of the tone comes from the fingers as well I believe! Keep up the amazing videos, can’t wait to check out the 1984 video when it comes out
Good to see you back
Thank you!
mean street is dialed. well done jim
Thank you, Donnie!
Great video You sound great! Love George's amps. have a DVL-1 and it sounds fantastic.
Thank you, very much appreciated!
All smiles over here dude.
LOVED IT!
Great! Thank you!
Fantastic as always Jim!
Did the Bumblebee ever make it record or was it pretty much Frank/Destroyer until the 5150 showed up?
Thank you! So yes, the Bumblebee made it's only appearance (as far as we know) on WACF - the intro to Fools and the Everybody Wants Some.
I just grabbed a Germino Lead55 LV, but the Metro sounds epic!
That Germino sounds great, too....a little bit of a different animal...right now, I can say George's is the leader of the pack - hands down.
Awesome video jim- i really wanted to hear you play Jamies cying
Thank you! Sorry, I didn't get to that one!
Great stuff Jim. You should have 100x plus the subscribers to your channel at least.
Thank you! And yes, that many subs would be great! I could quit the day job!
@@jegauss wouldn’t that be nice.
Great to see another brown sound video, thanks! That amp sounds really boss 👍🏻
Thank you! And I completely agree!
@@jegauss can't wait to hear it for myself - I just ordered the 50 watt version 🥳 I'm planning on using it with a Captor X load box for recording and bedroom playing, but would like to get a small cab for jamming with friends. Could you recommend a 2x12 cab & driver combination that comes closest to sounding like your 4x12 for "first 4 albums sound" when used on the 12301 channel with master volume turned down to "sensible" levels?
Great job Jim, hope to be in that room again someday.
Thanks Tim! You will be - with a glass of "rot-gut" (or two).
Awesome tone man, cant wait to see the 1984 videos. Question, are you using the EVH switch on the MXR flanger or do you dial it in?
Thank you! I use a vintage MXR Flanger - mine is a '76. So, I dial it in...
The opening Unchained was really close to the real thing. It got me going. I started slapping my knees playing drums with you, ha. I always wondered how Ed got the flange sweeps so perfectly in songs like Unchained or Mean Streets. Did he stick those sweeps in during post or did he just luck out and got it live?
Jim, as usual it sounds great! What are you using for reverb?
Thanks Marc! The "reverb" is actually the Sunset Sound Chamber from the Sunset Sound Plug-in - studio 2's chamber - and the Harmonizer is the Eventide H910
@jegauss I know your very humble when it comes to this stuff but to be blunt and honest, the sound and tone is so close to the record that it's kinda crazy how well you reproduce it. I don't think you give yourself enough credit.
Thanks for another great on Jim!
Thank you!!
To me there's only a few guys that can nail the tone- Jim Gaustad, Top Jimi the profile maker and pete thorn. It's amazing how many internet guys think their tone is dead on but it's way off. You can just feel it when the tone is exact Eddie.
That's sounds great.
Thank you!
Hey Jim! That is the sound!! The SD78 sounds killer for FW tones. Do you still have the 250k pot in there
Hey Barry! Thank you! I don't have the 250K pot in there, but that's only because of the quiet part in Panama (the "reach down between my legs part") For some reason, the 500K gets more "chewy" as you back it down. The 250K doesn't behave quite the same way - but for Fair Warning, I think the 250K would work equally as well. It would help to darken the overall tone just a bit - which, I think it could use, based on this recording, and trying to match the actual album tone....but, really, don't get too hung up on the pot value. An extra 10-20 ft of guitar cable will get you essentially the same end result. Good luck!
@@jegauss thank you for taking by the time to share your wisdom! I have rolled pickups in my swamp ash Frankie, and everything just seems too sharp/bright- and I’m looking for that real FW warm PAF sound..time to break out the long cables again 👍🏼
I don't know if you go up into the non-DLR eras of chasing the tones, but I'd be incredibly curious to see how much things changed in the later years. All the lush chorus and amp changes... so different.