GuitarDistortedRiff
Beautiful Girls Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Van Halen
Van Halen · 1970s · rock
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Charvel/Boogie Bodies 'Frankenstrat' (custom build, maple neck, single humbucker, Floyd Rose prototype or vintage tremolo)
Pickups
Seymour Duncan Custom PAF-style humbucker (rewound by EVH, bridge position, wax-potted, high output)
Amp
Marshall Super Lead 1959 100-watt (Plexi, late '60s/early '70s, run with Variac at ~90V, EL34 tubes, 4x12 cabinet with Celestion G12M Greenbacks)
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup (single humbucker)
Studio recording, 1979 (Van Halen II sessions). No distortion/overdrive pedals; guitar plugged straight into amp. Effects (flanger, phaser, tape echo) added via pedals in front of amp. No effects loop. Pickup selector: single bridge humbucker only.
Amp Settings
Mids7
Bass6
Gain7
Reverb0.5
Treble7
Presence6.5
Effects Chain
- MXR Phase 90 · phaser
- MXR 117 Flanger · flanger
- Univox EC-80A Tape Echo · delay
- MXR 6-Band Graphic EQ · eq
Frankenstrat → MXR Phase 90 → MXR 117 Flanger → Univox EC-80A Tape Echo → MXR 6-Band EQ → Marshall Super Lead 1959 (Variac, 4x12 cab)
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Tone Character
- British crunch with high-output humbucker bite
- tight palm-muted chugs
- articulate chord voicings with clarity
- punchy and aggressive rhythm attack
- singing sustain on single notes
- percussive pick attack
- slightly compressed, harmonically rich overdrive
- classic 'brown sound' with warm mids
- open, airy high end
- dynamic response to picking strength