@@AllenGarberGuitarFun yeah I’d like to see what he says on the topic as well. It would mean that a huge part of Ed’s technique and style would be almost from the fact that he had to work around the limitations of his homemade guitar by playing a certain way. Then it just stuck.
@@Patcd89 You can read through my thread and read through the old interviews and you will see exactly what Eddie said on the subject. Except the way he described the process was to bring the guitar back into tune after left hand bends with a quick jerk “up” on the bar. In reality, he really did a quick jerk “down” with the bar to get the guitar back in tune just as Chip described and as I have been saying online for over 12 years.
Thank You Thank You THANK YOU!!! For posting this!!!!! I read years and years ago where Ed described a small portion of this in a magazine, but this THE FULL BUG. I will be setting up trems on my strats for sure this weekend!!!! …….and of course THANK YOU EDDIE !!!!!
@@blaineedwards8078 It was essentially the same distance from the bridge as a Les Paul bridge humbucker is even though it was slightly slanted in the Frankenstein. He used a single bridge humbucker because he couldn’t achieve a good neck pickup sound while having the bridge pickup set up for tones that he liked. At the time, he claimed that he had to sacrifice the sound of either the bridge pickup or the neck pickup to get either to sound good. He also claimed that he couldn’t figure out how to wire the other two pickups in the Frankenstein, so he just left them out and wired just the bridge pickup straight to the Volume pot.
It really is great to see Chip visually demonstrating exactly what Eddie described in the old interviews and the little bits Eddie NEVER said in public. This is an incredible video.
Thanks, Chip, for taking the time to share this excellent story and knowledge. I'm looking forward to trying this setup in my new 78! Please keep sharing the stories and wealth of knowledge.
Awesome! So many hours put in to achieve that tone & action again before any of this hardware was available to the public, i mean he invented it for christs sake. His legend just grows more everyday, Thankyou Edward for steering guitar down a phase 90 path that changed electric guitar forever.
Purchased this guitar and have two red relics for different tunings. I was upset because I just kept timing it every few minutes. Thanks for this video…it really helped!
Thank you so much for this info, I have a 30 dollar yardsale strat I gutted and put a Humbucker in and some locking tuners and set it up this way but I was missing some of the details and now it really rips! It's like half 78 and half Frankenstrat. I know a lot of players set up the Kramer baretta special a similar way and it works great. Its so fun pulling off dive bombs on a 6 screw it feels like I'm doing some forbidden black magic 😂
You know sometimes I wonder if the only thing that ever needed was the locking nut and the stock trem was actually just fine. I have Floyd’s and like them but geez what a crazy contraption they are.
Thanks for the tip on the 6 bridge screws. I’ve said for decades that the vintage Fender style bridge is one of the best systems around. I’ve used Fender Bullets and they stay in tune way better than ball ends, for me at least.
The body serves as a lock at the bridge end. The tunners act as a lock at the other end. You can also tin your strings at the barrels - solder with an iron. The dive bomb puts you back in tune- returns the bridge to the lock position.
I learned this setup from a guy that claimed to have roadied for Hendrix. I've been using on everything from Gretsches to Strats and it always works. You have to think of it in reverse for Les Pauls and non-trem guitars and that also works (there you bend the note to get back into tune). It is just transferring the tension, but is super helpful!
MORE 3-IN-ONE Oil !!! I purchased one of these guitars from Guitar Center. It turns out this "New" guitar had gotten a lot of play as indicated by the severe wear in the strings. So, I have restrung my '78 EVH as indicated in this video. This guitar does not stay in tune, regardless of all the steps (except twisting the ball end). It was a tribute to Ed's and his tech that this guitar stayed in tune at all. I have tried to return this treasure, but over the GC 45 trial period. Good Luck with this!
Ed mentioned this twisting of the ball-ends thing from his very first interviews. But what Chip is not mentioning is that Ed used Fender Bullet-end strings, which renders this process moot. This was confirmed to me by D’Addario (manufacturer of Fender strings) who were told by Eddie himself that he used Fender Bullets and he also went so far as to make sure that Fender included a custom gauged set of Fender Bullets identical to the old bullet strings that he used in the 70s in the expensive ‘78 Eruption and ‘79 Bee replicas. This is why the masterbuilt ‘78 Eruption series and the ‘79 Bumblebee series (though the version of the Bee that series was replicating was the mid 1979 Floyd Rose version which you would clip the ends off of anyway) came with these custom replica packages of Fender 3150XL Bullet strings.
Eddie was the man.. I always have decked my terms on a strat and had the spring tension so that if I did a dive I would go back in tune. Making sure you have the strings stretched and a good nut are so important. Locking tuners get you about 95 percent of the way to a locking setup, but not quite. Still, I don't do tons of trem use, so it works for me. I also play LP type guitar and locking Floyd's / Schallers actually that just work if I really need to do a lot of whammy stuff. ♥️🤘♥️. Thanks for the demo. Very very cool.. ♥️🤘♥️
I have been doing this on my tremolo equipped guitars for just over a year. I didn't even know anyone else did the same let alone EVH himself! Thats so cool!!! That being said, my way is slightly different. On my Strat I do basically what's shown in the video, except I just string the guitar normally and the bridge is slightly floating. But on my Ibanez is where it becomes veeeery different. I like to pull back on the trem so the way I keep it in tune is to tune the string and pull back on the bar until it stays in tune. I do this with every string until the whole guitar stays perfectly in tune. And because of this I can bend the string as much as I want and the guitar almost always returns to perfect pitch. Not to mention I almost never have to tune the guitar unless there are major temperature changes. I could not play it for 1 or 2 weeks and it will still be in perfect tune when I pick it up again. But it depends on what the weather is like. Even if it does go out it's only slightly and you don't even really need a tuner to put it back to perfect tuning.
Holy sh*t! This is what I did on my black strat copy as a kid. The divebomb was the only way to stay in tune. And I put a second hand Super Distortion in the bridge. Always knew Eddie was my brother!
Take note everyone, he’s setting up the guitar in playing position! To be even more accurate is wear the guitar like you are actually playing it as you setup and tune and intonate
It’s so weird, when I started playing guitar I had tuning issues but I managed to set up my guitar to a way that it went straight back into tune with a quick dive bomb 😎
I played this guitar today at Long McQuade. And it's the first-ever guitar that was made in Mexico that would even better than an American-made guitar. First time I've ever seen this. fretboard was outstanding and I'm assuming Fender made it. Sound of the humbucker was really good. I do wish it had a neck pickup as well. Evh is on my shortlist for my next guitar
You forgot the most important part. While you’re tuning, you have to hold your jaw just right. Seriously though, I like to hear first hand insight into what makes Ed’s unique style. RIP Ed.
this is almost exsctly what i did with my strat when i was starting out, i found that heavier gauge strimgs stay in tune when bending better but you nred more springs in the back
Not to be funny, but I've used this technique for every nonlocking trem I've ever had, and it's always worked for me. Divebombing just evens out the tension between the playable part of the string and the bits beyond the nut and saddles. A well lubricated or graphtec nut will help, as well as locking tuners and better string trees, but let's face it: plenty guitarists stayed in tune well enough before these gadgets were invented.
Pardon my ignorance, but what does (blank) wraps up the post mean? Does three wraps up the post mean that the string loops around three times under the hole when it's in tune?
Very interesting history lesson. You'd be changing the guitar, which is probably undesirable considering it's supposed to be a commemoration, but if you slapped some locking tuners on there, it would definitely help.
Locking tuners don’t help keep the guitar in tune. They help make the string changing process faster and easier, but in actuality you only need to attach the strings to the tuning post normally and you will achieve the same tuning stability as you will get with locking tuners.
@@AllenGarberGuitarFun "Locking tuners don’t help keep the guitar in tune" They do, it's not a magic bullet, but they do help - especially if you have a tremolo unit of some kind. It's the only reason the Gotoh 510 and Hipshot Contour have any relevance. The locking tuners provide enough stability that you can ditch the locking nut altogether. Mainly because you're eliminating the winding around the tuning peg posts, which are going to be really problematic with the trem units I mentioned, because they both allow for a good amount of movement. You can't deck them like the vintage style trems on the guitar in the video for example.
@@spoonerluv Go to any reputable guitar technician and they will tell you what I’ve told you. Glaser’s, Gruhn’s, every professional guitar technician on the planet knows that what I’ve said is true. The only thing you have to do is install your strings on the tuning post correctly. The locking tuners do not help to keep your strings in tune more than standard tuners if you know how to install your strings properly. Here’s how: ruclips.net/video/IzTpwSHcdrY/видео.html
@@AllenGarberGuitarFun If it were a fixed bridge guitar I would 100% agree with you. But we're talking about floating bridges with no locking nut. Anyone with a brain would understand that having some locking tuners within those parameters would help.
@@spoonerluv If you are speaking about the rarely used and not exactly popular units you are describing, perhaps you have a point. But this video is talking about decked Fender style vibrato systems and the way Eddie used them. There is no question that locking tuners do not help the guitar stay in tune. Again, don’t take my word for it…ask any professional guitar technician. Watch the video I linked. Locking tuners are a useful aid in quick string changes, but they otherwise serve no purpose in keeping any vibrato system in tune any better than standard tuners as long as you install the string on the post correctly. The method that Chip describes here is Eddie’s method for eliminating the need for graduated height tuning posts which are frequently found on locking tuners. I use locking tuners and standard Fender tuners on different guitars. I and every professional guitar technician that you can find will tell you that what I’m saying is true. Whether you choose to float or deck the vibrato system.
All that, and no mention of the action on Ed's guitar? What guage and brand of strings did he use?? It's so essential, why would all that be overlooked!
No. You just keep screwing the claw screws until you can do the widest left hand bends possible on the guitar without the bridge moving. Play the open low E string and leave it ringing…at the same time it is ringing, so a 2 step bend on the B string or the G string. If you hear the pitch of the open low E dip at all, go back and screw the claw screws in further. Keep doing this until the ringing open low E string pitch does not waver at all.
It keeps the as straight as possible cause when you wind it regularly the string will twist .. you can’t see it cause obviously it’s so small to see the radius of string
Hey guys great video ,very interesting . Can I request EVH bass's in the Future ?! I Love Wolfs gray/Black striped bass with the 2 J pick up set up ,from VH days . since I'm a broke Musician ,I would settle for a Solid color import model . THX .
You can get them from D’Addario (who manufactures Fender’s strings), but you have to buy some different sets and mix and match to get them. Or you can have custom sets made by Stringjoy or Curt Mangum strings. And Eddie actually used bullet end strings in his Fender vibrato equipped guitars when they were available. Bullets are a Fender intellectual property and no other manufacturer can make them. D’Addario made replicas of the original 3150 XL bullet strings that Eddie actually used to be included with the masterbuilt ‘78 Eruption and ‘79 Bumblebee replicas on Eddie’s personal instruction. But that is the only way you can get them in a single package. I create my own correctly gauged sets by mixing from Fender Bullets and the Jimi Hendrix bullet sets…this the only way to get the actual bullets in the correct gauges as Eddie used.
@@KurtS5150 Bullets? Or standard ball end? The D’Addario Balanced Tension set is the closest. D’Addario is the manufacturer of Fender/EVH brand strings and that set is in the correct original gauges except for the B string which is a .012 instead of the original .011. But if you want what Eddie actually used in the bullet ends, you would have to do what I do which is combine the Fender bullets with the Fender/D’Addario Jimi Hendrix series.
Amazing video! Maybe more of Ed's "secrets" will start coming out. This info is gold! With the mention of the decked trem, can someone explain why the Wolfgang Specials and Standards have Floyds that aren't flush to the body? They are pulled back frequently, but the front of the trem his raised so it's not parallel to the body.
Might be to not damage the finish on those guitars under the front the of the Floyd, however I set my Wolfgang and 5150 series up with the bridge flat and parallel so it can’t be pulled up. D-tuna doesn’t work well with the Floyd not parallel or flat also.
@@5150saturn Thanks for that. Did you have shim the neck? I have had two Wolfgang Specials: Ltd Edition Ash--which was perfect out of the box--and the Ltd Edition Sassafras. The latter I can't quite get flush and parallel but maybe I need to spend more time with it. I've had people tell me to shim the neck but that makes no sense because Ed wouldn't have designed any of the EVH guitars any other way. Just seen so many of them in the stores and the front of the Floyd is higher than the back and I would just shake my head. My Sassy actually came that way from the factory. Doubt the USA models ever had that issue but could be wrong.
@@JosephChavez from EVH my 5150 series showed up like that too, I just lowered the bridge posts until it was flat and made my truss rod adjustment accordingly, I have heard typically Floyd’s set up in a EVH fashion require a shim frequently to get proper action and a few of my guitars do have shims under the neck. To keep the action low in the high frets it may be necessary. Try it out!
I'm curious. If he was utilizing the tremolo as a means to get the guitar back in tune...what exactly was wrong with his set up to when he bends a string the guitar go so badly out if tune? Its extremely creative and genius but I'm just wondering what im missing here.
Hi all , I recently bought this guitar and i noticed that the tremolo arm is quite hard and stiff with the bridge completely touching the body and is difficult to dive bomb I had to loosen the tremolo springs and consequently the bridge raised from the body Any one has found the same?
@@Hex3DPatreon Edward explained it in many interviews going back to 1978. He thought by twisting the ball end (or actually the bullet end because Eddie generally used Fender bullet end strings in his vintage style Fender vibrato equipped guitars) as he cranked the tuning machine, he would relieve any “cross tension” or tension perpendicular to the direction that the string was being tightened created by the string being pulled by the tuning machine. He reasoned that the string was like a “rubber band” and he thought that keeping the string from twisting by moving it from the ball/bullet end as he was cranking the tuning machine would help the guitar stay in tune. As Chip demonstrates, you hold on to the ball/bullet end and twist while cranking the winder as long as you can until finally you let go of the ball/bullet end and the string seats itself in the block. Then you tune as normal. Again, Eddie described this in interviews going back to 1978, but no one in the public knew exactly how he did this until Chip’s demonstration/explanation here. This whole video is pretty monumental for those of us who have studied Eddie’s playing intently. To have things that Eddie spoke of actually demonstrated and explained in detail with VIDEO to accompany the words is just incredible. Yet there’s no telling how much that “twisting” method worked to help keep the Fender vibrato system in tune. It might have done nothing. It was, however, undeniable that this “twisting” process was part of Eddie’s methodology when setting up his Fender vibrato equipped guitars. For more information on Eddie’s use of the vintage style vibrato system and some useful tips from myself, please read through my forum thread on the subject here: www.vhlinks.com/vbforums/threads/66343-Van-Halen-Fender-Vibrato-System-Use-amp-My-Tips-For-Keeping-It-In-Tune
Watch the part of video where he describes this technique and pause it when the subtitle appears@ 2:45 , it goes by pretty fast. Supposed to stop string twisting.
I understand that's what he had to do then, because there were no other alternatives but I don't know why anyone would do that now. There are so many other option out there.
The Fender vibrato system sounds better than any other vibrato system, including the Floyd Rose systems. Don’t take my word for it…Eddie has said so many times as has his first guitar technician Rudy Leiren and others.
@@AllenGarberGuitarFun I get that, but even he changed to a Floyd despite the fender bridge sounding better... It just makes for such a hassle everytime you bend a string to have to activate the bar.
@@TavaresProject It wasn’t really a “hassle” for Eddie. He didn’t really change his actual playing style when he switched to the Floyd Rose. The only thing that a Floyd Rose can do that a Fender can’t is to achieve “full-slack” of the strings. Once you get used to it, it really isn’t a hassle.
@@AllenGarberGuitarFun I beg to differ... It's definitely a hassle... Even to Ed himself.. he was always looking for a solution to the problem and basically pioneered it with Floyd Rose. He spoke about it often in interviews.
@@TavaresProject He didn‘t invent the Floyd Rose and he didn’t invent the fine tuner idea as he claimed. I’m saying it “wasn’t a hassle” to him when he was using the Fender vibrato system. He obviously liked the overall tuning stability and full-slack capability of the Floyd Rose and he continued to use them. However, he stated many times that he still preferred the SOUND of the Fender vibrato systems to the Floyd Rose. There isn’t any argument. Remember that the first Van Halen album to feature the Floyd Rose was ‘Women and Children First’, and even then it was used sparingly. The tracks on the first two albums that featured vibrato bar use were done using the Fender vibrato system. There’s a definite sound that you can only get with a Fender and not the Floyd Rose.
![Tee Grizzley - Detroit (Feat. 42 Dugg) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aeKfTtt0x14/mqdefault.jpg)
Could this be the reason Ed incorporated so much dive bombing around his solos, to make it go back in tune for the chords? Mind blown
@@AllenGarberGuitarFun yeah I’d like to see what he says on the topic as well. It would mean that a huge part of Ed’s technique and style would be almost from the fact that he had to work around the limitations of his homemade guitar by playing a certain way. Then it just stuck.
@@Patcd89 You can read through my thread and read through the old interviews and you will see exactly what Eddie said on the subject. Except the way he described the process was to bring the guitar back into tune after left hand bends with a quick jerk “up” on the bar. In reality, he really did a quick jerk “down” with the bar to get the guitar back in tune just as Chip described and as I have been saying online for over 12 years.
the little dippy licks where he taps the bar just a bit are to make it go back in tune.
@@bruzanHD Exactly. You would also hear him do random bar dives in between songs while Dave was jabbering…that’s him getting in tune.
@@AllenGarberGuitarFun This ^ The quick yank up does the trick.
Pure magic. What a genius. Thank you for sharing this, Chip, EVH and Ed!!!
Holy $hit, Ed was a damn genius in every sense of the guitar. RIP EVH and thanks for this video.
This is priceless history and we all heard it in practice in the early VH work.
The fender 5150 iii combo 2x12 is incredible. He really invented a great unique distortion on the blue channel.
That was awesome! It's great that Eddie shared it with you.
Thank You Thank You THANK YOU!!! For posting this!!!!! I read years and years ago where Ed described a small portion of this in a magazine, but this THE FULL BUG. I will be setting up trems on my strats for sure this weekend!!!! …….and of course THANK YOU EDDIE !!!!!
Hey Petey, why did Ed use just a single humbucker and have it so close to the bridge?
@@blaineedwards8078 It was essentially the same distance from the bridge as a Les Paul bridge humbucker is even though it was slightly slanted in the Frankenstein. He used a single bridge humbucker because he couldn’t achieve a good neck pickup sound while having the bridge pickup set up for tones that he liked. At the time, he claimed that he had to sacrifice the sound of either the bridge pickup or the neck pickup to get either to sound good. He also claimed that he couldn’t figure out how to wire the other two pickups in the Frankenstein, so he just left them out and wired just the bridge pickup straight to the Volume pot.
Yes! Amazing video, thank you Chip for sharing! Eddie was a genius ❤️🖤🤍
It really is great to see Chip visually demonstrating exactly what Eddie described in the old interviews and the little bits Eddie NEVER said in public. This is an incredible video.
And now the question everyone has always wanted to know: what was the string height and neck relief that Ed liked?
There is close ups of first tour the strings were laying on the fretboard
Super low action
I was hoping he was going to get to that, lol.
No action or relief. He left out the most important stuff
Thanks, Chip, for taking the time to share this excellent story and knowledge. I'm looking forward to trying this setup in my new 78! Please keep sharing the stories and wealth of knowledge.
Awesome! So many hours put in to achieve that tone & action again before any of this hardware was available to the public, i mean he invented it for christs sake. His legend just grows more everyday, Thankyou Edward for steering guitar down a phase 90 path that changed electric guitar forever.
This is amazing on so many levels. Legend we have only read about, thanks Chip for sharing this!!!
#EVH4ever
🔴⚪️⚫️ 👑
Holy shit. Even this is so well thought out. It's stuff like this that really makes Eddie the greatest ever.
Purchased this guitar and have two red relics for different tunings. I was upset because I just kept timing it every few minutes. Thanks for this video…it really helped!
Thank you so much for this info, I have a 30 dollar yardsale strat I gutted and put a Humbucker in and some locking tuners and set it up this way but I was missing some of the details and now it really rips! It's like half 78 and half Frankenstrat. I know a lot of players set up the Kramer baretta special a similar way and it works great. Its so fun pulling off dive bombs on a 6 screw it feels like I'm doing some forbidden black magic 😂
Awesome video Chip, thanks for this insight into how Eddie did this!
You know sometimes I wonder if the only thing that ever needed was the locking nut and the stock trem was actually just fine. I have Floyd’s and like them but geez what a crazy contraption they are.
Thanks for the tip on the 6 bridge screws. I’ve said for decades that the vintage Fender style bridge is one of the best systems around. I’ve used Fender Bullets and they stay in tune way better than ball ends, for me at least.
Thank you for explaining this Chip! Talk soon!
The body serves as a lock at the bridge end. The tunners act as a lock at the other end. You can also tin your strings at the barrels - solder with an iron. The dive bomb puts you back in tune- returns the bridge to the lock position.
I learned this setup from a guy that claimed to have roadied for Hendrix. I've been using on everything from Gretsches to Strats and it always works. You have to think of it in reverse for Les Pauls and non-trem guitars and that also works (there you bend the note to get back into tune). It is just transferring the tension, but is super helpful!
Amazing! It just amazes me how someone could be pure genius! Eddie truly is the greatest!!!
🤘🤘🤘🤘 so cool to see Chip doing these
Great tutorial. And thank you EVH and Chip. Cheers!
MORE 3-IN-ONE Oil !!!
I purchased one of these guitars from Guitar Center. It turns out this "New" guitar had gotten a lot of play as indicated by the severe wear in the strings. So, I have restrung my '78 EVH as indicated in this video. This guitar does not stay in tune, regardless of all the steps (except twisting the ball end). It was a tribute to Ed's and his tech that this guitar stayed in tune at all. I have tried to return this treasure, but over the GC 45 trial period. Good Luck with this!
PRS screws help tremendously and allow bridge float. The twisting of the ball end was new to me. 👍
Ed was a genius. Didn’t know about the dive bomb thingy
I do a modified version of this and it does work!
EVH Gear for LIFE!
Eddie was such a genius, who would have thought of spinning the ball end through the block.
Ed mentioned this twisting of the ball-ends thing from his very first interviews. But what Chip is not mentioning is that Ed used Fender Bullet-end strings, which renders this process moot.
This was confirmed to me by D’Addario (manufacturer of Fender strings) who were told by Eddie himself that he used Fender Bullets and he also went so far as to make sure that Fender included a custom gauged set of Fender Bullets identical to the old bullet strings that he used in the 70s in the expensive ‘78 Eruption and ‘79 Bee replicas. This is why the masterbuilt ‘78 Eruption series and the ‘79 Bumblebee series (though the version of the Bee that series was replicating was the mid 1979 Floyd Rose version which you would clip the ends off of anyway) came with these custom replica packages of Fender 3150XL Bullet strings.
Eddie was the man..
I always have decked my terms on a strat and had the spring tension so that if I did a dive I would go back in tune. Making sure you have the strings stretched and a good nut are so important. Locking tuners get you about 95 percent of the way to a locking setup, but not quite. Still, I don't do tons of trem use, so it works for me.
I also play LP type guitar and locking Floyd's / Schallers actually that just work if I really need to do a lot of whammy stuff. ♥️🤘♥️.
Thanks for the demo. Very very cool.. ♥️🤘♥️
How many springs do you use on your tremolo?
@@RayzaEFC I think it's four on the guitar with the decked trem. It's screwed in quite a bit too.
@@hoosierdaddy2308 thanks for the reply mate
I thought to myself "If he breaks out the 3 In 1 Ill laugh my ass off"..
Then you did. Awesomeness!
I have been doing this on my tremolo equipped guitars for just over a year. I didn't even know anyone else did the same let alone EVH himself! Thats so cool!!!
That being said, my way is slightly different. On my Strat I do basically what's shown in the video, except I just string the guitar normally and the bridge is slightly floating. But on my Ibanez is where it becomes veeeery different. I like to pull back on the trem so the way I keep it in tune is to tune the string and pull back on the bar until it stays in tune. I do this with every string until the whole guitar stays perfectly in tune. And because of this I can bend the string as much as I want and the guitar almost always returns to perfect pitch. Not to mention I almost never have to tune the guitar unless there are major temperature changes. I could not play it for 1 or 2 weeks and it will still be in perfect tune when I pick it up again. But it depends on what the weather is like. Even if it does go out it's only slightly and you don't even really need a tuner to put it back to perfect tuning.
Holy sh*t! This is what I did on my black strat copy as a kid. The divebomb was the only way to stay in tune. And I put a second hand Super Distortion in the bridge. Always knew Eddie was my brother!
You can put little pickup springs around the screws under the knife edge of the tremolo. It helps alot for tuning stability.
What do you mean?
Take note everyone, he’s setting up the guitar in playing position! To be even more accurate is wear the guitar like you are actually playing it as you setup and tune and intonate
Cool vid. Great guitar setups are as interesting and as important as the guitars themselves
Bad ass to infinity. Thank you Chip!
I'd opt for Fender Bullet strings for that guitar. They don't get hung up in the bridge channels at odd angles like ball end strings do.
What a lesson!
It’s so weird, when I started playing guitar I had tuning issues but I managed to set up my guitar to a way that it went straight back into tune with a quick dive bomb 😎
Damn. Can you imagine the hours of thinking and trying that he spent to get this 6 min. video down to such a science.
Awesome to see it.
In Definitely Going To Using That Set On Mine Awesome Thanks Eddie An Chip American Icons
I played this guitar today at Long McQuade. And it's the first-ever guitar that was made in Mexico that would even better than an American-made guitar. First time I've ever seen this. fretboard was outstanding and I'm assuming Fender made it. Sound of the humbucker was really good. I do wish it had a neck pickup as well. Evh is on my shortlist for my next guitar
Thank you so much for this , genius brother 🙏
Wow! Thanks man… this is awesome information! :)
awesome stuff !Clear explaination
Interesting. I would have never thought of that.
Great video!
Eddie was a genius. How exactly does twisting the ball work and how does the dive bomb snap it back into tune ?
It reduces the twisting that happens when you wrap a string around the tuning post.
Locking tuners ?
it makes you really concentrate on the playing when the balls are twisted, hence you stay in tune
You forgot the most important part. While you’re tuning, you have to hold your jaw just right.
Seriously though, I like to hear first hand insight into what makes Ed’s unique style. RIP Ed.
I’m speechless!!
Awesome!
Que clara la tenia EVH 😢❤
He my hero I followed him from the release of the first record the GOÀT
this is almost exsctly what i did with my strat when i was starting out, i found that heavier gauge strimgs stay in tune when bending better but you nred more springs in the back
mind blown- wow just wow
I've been doing this since the '80s it works
Not to be funny, but I've used this technique for every nonlocking trem I've ever had, and it's always worked for me. Divebombing just evens out the tension between the playable part of the string and the bits beyond the nut and saddles.
A well lubricated or graphtec nut will help, as well as locking tuners and better string trees, but let's face it:
plenty guitarists stayed in tune well enough before these gadgets were invented.
Jeff Beck for one, his intonation is second to none
FINALLY!!! Thanks!
We are so fortunate to have locking trems today. Add a trem-stop and you never go out of tune.
True. But, the tone of the Fender bridge is unique for Ed's style. The Floyd's do sound different.
Wow! Awesome!
I always wanted a VH guitar without a Floyd, so I was stoked to see this guitar, sadly EVH only offer lefties with Floyds 😕
EVH what a genius!
boss tu12 i still use and have mine!💜
Replace with Peterson ! :)
Pardon my ignorance, but what does (blank) wraps up the post mean? Does three wraps up the post mean that the string loops around three times under the hole when it's in tune?
Very interesting history lesson. You'd be changing the guitar, which is probably undesirable considering it's supposed to be a commemoration, but if you slapped some locking tuners on there, it would definitely help.
Locking tuners don’t help keep the guitar in tune. They help make the string changing process faster and easier, but in actuality you only need to attach the strings to the tuning post normally and you will achieve the same tuning stability as you will get with locking tuners.
@@AllenGarberGuitarFun
"Locking tuners don’t help keep the guitar in tune"
They do, it's not a magic bullet, but they do help - especially if you have a tremolo unit of some kind. It's the only reason the Gotoh 510 and Hipshot Contour have any relevance. The locking tuners provide enough stability that you can ditch the locking nut altogether. Mainly because you're eliminating the winding around the tuning peg posts, which are going to be really problematic with the trem units I mentioned, because they both allow for a good amount of movement. You can't deck them like the vintage style trems on the guitar in the video for example.
@@spoonerluv Go to any reputable guitar technician and they will tell you what I’ve told you. Glaser’s, Gruhn’s, every professional guitar technician on the planet knows that what I’ve said is true. The only thing you have to do is install your strings on the tuning post correctly. The locking tuners do not help to keep your strings in tune more than standard tuners if you know how to install your strings properly. Here’s how: ruclips.net/video/IzTpwSHcdrY/видео.html
@@AllenGarberGuitarFun If it were a fixed bridge guitar I would 100% agree with you. But we're talking about floating bridges with no locking nut. Anyone with a brain would understand that having some locking tuners within those parameters would help.
@@spoonerluv If you are speaking about the rarely used and not exactly popular units you are describing, perhaps you have a point. But this video is talking about decked Fender style vibrato systems and the way Eddie used them. There is no question that locking tuners do not help the guitar stay in tune. Again, don’t take my word for it…ask any professional guitar technician. Watch the video I linked. Locking tuners are a useful aid in quick string changes, but they otherwise serve no purpose in keeping any vibrato system in tune any better than standard tuners as long as you install the string on the post correctly. The method that Chip describes here is Eddie’s method for eliminating the need for graduated height tuning posts which are frequently found on locking tuners. I use locking tuners and standard Fender tuners on different guitars. I and every professional guitar technician that you can find will tell you that what I’m saying is true. Whether you choose to float or deck the vibrato system.
Use sewing machine oil for the nut slots.
All that, and no mention of the action on Ed's guitar? What guage and brand of strings did he use??
It's so essential, why would all that be overlooked!
sharing this video with the guy who calibrates my guitar. there's no way in hell I can do it
Thanks a Lot 🎸👍
I THINK IM JUST GONNA STICK WITH MY FLOYD ROSE 🌹 LOL
Great lesson! Now adjusting of the claw screws? Is there a recommended distance btw the base of the spring claw bracket to the body of the guitar?
No. You just keep screwing the claw screws until you can do the widest left hand bends possible on the guitar without the bridge moving. Play the open low E string and leave it ringing…at the same time it is ringing, so a 2 step bend on the B string or the G string. If you hear the pitch of the open low E dip at all, go back and screw the claw screws in further. Keep doing this until the ringing open low E string pitch does not waver at all.
That was cool .
That is so bad ass
what exactly does twisting the ball end achieve? it's not clear for that step.
It keeps the as straight as possible cause when you wind it regularly the string will twist .. you can’t see it cause obviously it’s so small to see the radius of string
It probably doesn’t do anything.
Mr Tone chaser,King Edward Van Halen.🎸😷👏🤘🔈🔈🔈
Ow why didn’t EVH release a book on setting up guitars!
Pretty classic set up, been doing this for ages thanks to David Gilmour
Hey guys great video ,very interesting . Can I request EVH bass's in the Future ?! I Love Wolfs gray/Black striped bass with the 2 J pick up set up ,from VH days . since I'm a broke Musician ,I would settle for a Solid color import model . THX .
Thank you
Cool guitar, thanks Chip. I wish EVH would make the era correct string selection for this guitar.
You can get them from D’Addario (who manufactures Fender’s strings), but you have to buy some different sets and mix and match to get them. Or you can have custom sets made by Stringjoy or Curt Mangum strings. And Eddie actually used bullet end strings in his Fender vibrato equipped guitars when they were available. Bullets are a Fender intellectual property and no other manufacturer can make them. D’Addario made replicas of the original 3150 XL bullet strings that Eddie actually used to be included with the masterbuilt ‘78 Eruption and ‘79 Bumblebee replicas on Eddie’s personal instruction. But that is the only way you can get them in a single package. I create my own correctly gauged sets by mixing from Fender Bullets and the Jimi Hendrix bullet sets…this the only way to get the actual bullets in the correct gauges as Eddie used.
I currently have sets I have created from D’Addario. I wish EVH would package the correct gage set as an option
@@KurtS5150 Bullets? Or standard ball end? The D’Addario Balanced Tension set is the closest. D’Addario is the manufacturer of Fender/EVH brand strings and that set is in the correct original gauges except for the B string which is a .012 instead of the original .011. But if you want what Eddie actually used in the bullet ends, you would have to do what I do which is combine the Fender bullets with the Fender/D’Addario Jimi Hendrix series.
@@AllenGarberGuitarFun sweet 😬👍🏼
@@KurtS5150 So do you use bullet end or ball end strings in your vintage Fender style vibrato equipped replica?
=VH= FOREVER
Amazing video! Maybe more of Ed's "secrets" will start coming out. This info is gold! With the mention of the decked trem, can someone explain why the Wolfgang Specials and Standards have Floyds that aren't flush to the body? They are pulled back frequently, but the front of the trem his raised so it's not parallel to the body.
Most likely sent that way for Shipping Reasons with Climate Changes and saved the body from getting nicked and dinged
Might be to not damage the finish on those guitars under the front the of the Floyd, however I set my Wolfgang and 5150 series up with the bridge flat and parallel so it can’t be pulled up. D-tuna doesn’t work well with the Floyd not parallel or flat also.
@@5150saturn Thanks for that. Did you have shim the neck? I have had two Wolfgang Specials: Ltd Edition Ash--which was perfect out of the box--and the Ltd Edition Sassafras. The latter I can't quite get flush and parallel but maybe I need to spend more time with it. I've had people tell me to shim the neck but that makes no sense because Ed wouldn't have designed any of the EVH guitars any other way. Just seen so many of them in the stores and the front of the Floyd is higher than the back and I would just shake my head. My Sassy actually came that way from the factory. Doubt the USA models ever had that issue but could be wrong.
@@JosephChavez from EVH my 5150 series showed up like that too, I just lowered the bridge posts until it was flat and made my truss rod adjustment accordingly, I have heard typically Floyd’s set up in a EVH fashion require a shim frequently to get proper action and a few of my guitars do have shims under the neck. To keep the action low in the high frets it may be necessary. Try it out!
Does anyone know if these guitars are shipping with .008s? I never felt such smooth bends and great playability. My calipers measured close to 8.
Unreal.
they gotta do the Rude guitar and the circle for everybody
I'm curious. If he was utilizing the tremolo as a means to get the guitar back in tune...what exactly was wrong with his set up to when he bends a string the guitar go so badly out if tune? Its extremely creative and genius but I'm just wondering what im missing here.
Hope these guitars come sanded already
DIVEBOMB 🎸
Don't use 3-1 oil, use Teflon it is a better lubricant and lasts a lot longer.
Does it come in a lefty version?
Where can we find this guitar stand for setup ? This is great.
I’ve never seen a guitar tech rest for in playing position…where can that be bought
Hi all , I recently bought this guitar and i noticed that the tremolo arm is quite hard and stiff with the bridge completely touching the body and is difficult to dive bomb
I had to loosen the tremolo springs and consequently the bridge raised from the body
Any one has found the same?
Does anyone know, but was that a brass nut, ive heard that players like John Sykes used such a nut on his LP Custom
I can't tell from the video, but do the strings use the string tree or not?
the twisting the ball underneath while stringing has me a little confused I have to say, what does this do specifically?
This probably doesn’t do anything. It was, however, what Ed did.
@@AllenGarberGuitarFun so I guess the question needs rephrasing.. why did Ed do it?
@@Hex3DPatreon Edward explained it in many interviews going back to 1978. He thought by twisting the ball end (or actually the bullet end because Eddie generally used Fender bullet end strings in his vintage style Fender vibrato equipped guitars) as he cranked the tuning machine, he would relieve any “cross tension” or tension perpendicular to the direction that the string was being tightened created by the string being pulled by the tuning machine. He reasoned that the string was like a “rubber band” and he thought that keeping the string from twisting by moving it from the ball/bullet end as he was cranking the tuning machine would help the guitar stay in tune. As Chip demonstrates, you hold on to the ball/bullet end and twist while cranking the winder as long as you can until finally you let go of the ball/bullet end and the string seats itself in the block. Then you tune as normal. Again, Eddie described this in interviews going back to 1978, but no one in the public knew exactly how he did this until Chip’s demonstration/explanation here. This whole video is pretty monumental for those of us who have studied Eddie’s playing intently. To have things that Eddie spoke of actually demonstrated and explained in detail with VIDEO to accompany the words is just incredible.
Yet there’s no telling how much that “twisting” method worked to help keep the Fender vibrato system in tune. It might have done nothing. It was, however, undeniable that this “twisting” process was part of Eddie’s methodology when setting up his Fender vibrato equipped guitars. For more information on Eddie’s use of the vintage style vibrato system and some useful tips from myself, please read through my forum thread on the subject here: www.vhlinks.com/vbforums/threads/66343-Van-Halen-Fender-Vibrato-System-Use-amp-My-Tips-For-Keeping-It-In-Tune
Watch the part of video where he describes this technique and pause it when the subtitle appears@ 2:45 , it goes by pretty fast. Supposed to stop string twisting.
@@TheBman13298 Yes, that’s what I just explained in my above comment. That is the part we are talking about.
I understand that's what he had to do then, because there were no other alternatives but I don't know why anyone would do that now. There are so many other option out there.
The Fender vibrato system sounds better than any other vibrato system, including the Floyd Rose systems. Don’t take my word for it…Eddie has said so many times as has his first guitar technician Rudy Leiren and others.
@@AllenGarberGuitarFun I get that, but even he changed to a Floyd despite the fender bridge sounding better... It just makes for such a hassle everytime you bend a string to have to activate the bar.
@@TavaresProject It wasn’t really a “hassle” for Eddie. He didn’t really change his actual playing style when he switched to the Floyd Rose. The only thing that a Floyd Rose can do that a Fender can’t is to achieve “full-slack” of the strings. Once you get used to it, it really isn’t a hassle.
@@AllenGarberGuitarFun I beg to differ... It's definitely a hassle... Even to Ed himself.. he was always looking for a solution to the problem and basically pioneered it with Floyd Rose. He spoke about it often in interviews.
@@TavaresProject He didn‘t invent the Floyd Rose and he didn’t invent the fine tuner idea as he claimed. I’m saying it “wasn’t a hassle” to him when he was using the Fender vibrato system. He obviously liked the overall tuning stability and full-slack capability of the Floyd Rose and he continued to use them. However, he stated many times that he still preferred the SOUND of the Fender vibrato systems to the Floyd Rose. There isn’t any argument.
Remember that the first Van Halen album to feature the Floyd Rose was ‘Women and Children First’, and even then it was used sparingly. The tracks on the first two albums that featured vibrato bar use were done using the Fender vibrato system. There’s a definite sound that you can only get with a Fender and not the Floyd Rose.