Van Halen – GuitarInstructor.com
1st VAN HALEN ALBUM
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Van Halen
TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Homemade “Frankenstein” Strat, EVH Guitars, Marshall plexi amps, EVH amps, MXR Phase 90, MXR 10-band EQ
KEY ALBUMS: Van Halen, Fair Warning, 1984
SIGNATURE SONGS: “Eruption,” “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” “Unchained,” “Panama”
HIDDEN GEM: “Drop Dead Legs”
HALLMARK: Eddie’s two-hand tapping and the “brown sound”
Roughly 10 years after Jimi Hendrix turned the guitar-playing world on its ear, a young Dutch kid in Los Angeles was mounting his very own revolution. And just as Jimi forever changed the way the guitar was played and the way it sounded, Eddie Van Halen achieved the same thing, taking it all up a notch in the process.
It begins in 1976, when during Van Halen gigs, Eddie would turn his back to the crowd and play, leaving those in attendance to wonder how on God’s green earth he was making those sounds. It wasn’t long before Van Halen would reveal his “secret” technique to the world: he was using his right hand’s index finger to tap notes directly on the fretboard, for that liquidy, ebullient sound. But even though tapping has become Van Halen’s lasting legacy, his influence and singularity runs far deeper.
Continuing with technique-based innovations, almost all rock guitarists in the ’70s were playing blues-based licks with heavy overdrive to fuel their classic rock songs. Eddie, however, playing those same licks, somehow managed to make them sound heavier, more intense, and more alive. Even his idiosyncrasies have become trademarks; for example, his penchant for quintuplet rhythms has helped define his phrasing. And his use of a simple 1-2-4 finger pattern across all six strings—a pattern having no defined tonality—has resulted in the unofficial moniker of the “EVH scale.”
And then there’s that awesome tone. Commonly called the “brown sound,” Eddie plugged his “Frankenstein” Strat, loaded with a slanted humbucker, into a Marshall plexi head, ran it through a voltage regulator (which allowed him to fully drive the power tubes without the accompanying eardrum-bursting volume), and out through Marshall 4×12 cabs, and a new standard in rock tone was born. Add in his innovative use of the MXR Phase 90, flanger, his secret tone weapon (a MXR 10-band EQ pedal), and his revolutionary employment of the Floyd Rose whammy bar, and you’ve got all the evidence you need to see why Eddie Van Halen sits at the top of the elite guitarists.
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VAN HALEN GUITAR TABS View All
TITLE ARTIST FORMAT PRICE
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love Van Halen Guitar Tab $0.99
Eruption Van Halen Guitar Tab $0.99
Hot For Teacher Van Halen Guitar Tab $0.99
Jump Van Halen Guitar Tab $0.99
Panama Van Halen Guitar Tab $0.99
Runnin’ With the Devil Van Halen Guitar Tab $0.99
Unchained Van Halen Guitar Tab $0.99
You Really Got Me Van Halen Guitar Tab $0.99
Mean Street Van Halen Guitar Tab $0.99
Cathedral Van Halen Guitar Tab $0.99
VAN HALEN VIDEO SONGS
TITLE ARTIST LEVEL PRICE
You Really Got Me Van Halen Intermediate $1.99
RELATED VIDEO LESSONS View All
TITLE INSTRUCTOR LEVEL PRICE
Eddie Van Halen Style Marcus Henderson Intermediate/Advanced $1.99
Eddie Van Halen Licks Greg Koch Intermediate/Advanced $1.99
Two-Handed Tapping Troy Stetina Intermediate/Advanced $1.99
Whammy Bar Tricks Troy Stetina Intermediate/Advanced $1.99
Harmonics Troy Stetina Intermediate $1.99
Fretboard Strength Building John Denner Beginner/Intermediate $1.99
Fretboard Tapping John Denner Intermediate $1.99
Legato Phrasing John Denner Intermediate $1.99
Whammy Bar Techniques John Denner Intermediate $1.99
Rock Licks Troy Stetina Intermediate $1.99
VAN HALEN JAM TRACKS
You Really Got Me Van Halen Van Halen A $0.99
Van Halen Guitar Lessons @ Guitar Instructor
- John Denner Blog
