GuitarDistortedRiff
Jump Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Van Halen
Van Halen · 1980s · rock
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Kramer 'Frankenstrat' (custom, maple neck, Floyd Rose, single humbucker, 1984 configuration)
Pickups
Seymour Duncan Custom Shop humbucker (PAF-style, wax-potted, bridge position)
Amp
Marshall Super Lead 1959 100W (run through a Variac, set to ~90V, with dummy load and re-amp to cab)
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup
Studio recording, 1983-1984, for the album '1984'. Guitar is the Frankenstrat with a single bridge humbucker. Amp is a Marshall Super Lead 100W, run through a Variac for the 'brown sound'. Effects are inserted pre-amp and in post-amp dummy load chain. Settings estimated based on era, genre, and typical EVH studio setup. No evidence of live/tour gear for this specific recording.
Amp Settings
Mids7
Bass6
Gain7
Reverb1.5
Treble7
Presence6.5
Effects Chain
- MXR M-117 Flanger · flanger
- MXR Phase 90 · phaser
- Echoplex EP-3 · delay
Kramer Frankenstrat → MXR Phase 90 → MXR Flanger → Echoplex EP-3 → Marshall Super Lead (Variac, dummy load, re-amp to cab)
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Tone Character
- British crunch
- warm and punchy
- tight palm muting
- articulate attack
- percussive rhythm
- high-output bridge humbucker
- not overly saturated
- full and fat
- cutting in the mix
- modest amp overdrive