TonesMatch
On Fire — Van Halen1 / 2
Original RigYour Adaptation
GuitarDistortedRiff80% confidence

On Fire Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Van Halen

Van Halen · 1970s · rock

studio

Original Recording

Guitar
Homemade 'Frankenstrat' (Strat-style body, maple neck, single humbucker, Floyd Rose prototype or vintage Fender tremolo)
Pickups
Seymour Duncan Custom Shop 'PAF-style' humbucker (rewound, wax-potted, high output, bridge position)
Amp
Marshall Super Lead 1959 100-watt (late '60s, run through a Variac at reduced voltage, into Marshall 4x12 cabinet with Celestion G12M Greenbacks)
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup (hardwired humbucker)

Studio recording, 1977-78. No pedals in front except Echoplex EP-3 tape delay. Amp cranked, Variac used to drop voltage for increased saturation. No effects loop. Pickup selector hardwired to bridge humbucker. No chorus, flanger, or phaser on this riff section. All effects are preamp-in, not post or in mix.

Amp Settings

Mids
6.5
Bass
5.5
Gain
8.5
Reverb
0.5
Treble
6.5
Presence
6

Effects Chain

  • Maestro Echoplex EP-3 · delay

Guitar (Frankenstrat, bridge humbucker) → Maestro Echoplex EP-3 (tape delay) → Marshall Super Lead 1959 (cranked, Variac) → Marshall 4x12 cabinet

Tone Matcher

Match This Tone to Your Gear

Tell us your guitar and amp — we’ll calculate the exact settings translated to your specific rig.

Adapt to MY Gear →

7-day free trial · Cancel anytime.

Tone Character

  • explosive and harmonically rich
  • tight, percussive attack
  • singing sustain
  • raw, saturated overdrive
  • aggressive bridge pickup bite
  • British crunch
  • dynamic response to picking
  • touch-sensitive
  • slight tape echo ambience
  • classic late-'70s hard rock

Notes & Caveats

  • ⚠️No direct numeric amp settings for 'On Fire' found; settings estimated based on multiple sources describing Eddie Van Halen's typical Marshall Super Lead setup for the first album.
  • ⚠️All effects are preamp-in; no effects loop or post-processing except studio reverb/ambience.
  • ⚠️No evidence of chorus, flanger, or phaser on the riff section; only tape delay (Echoplex) is used and is audible.
  • ⚠️Pickup selector was hardwired to bridge humbucker; no neck or middle pickup used.
  • ⚠️Settings are for studio recording, not live.
  • ⚠️Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Eddie Van Halen's 'On Fire' riff tone is classic 'brown sound'—high gain but not modern metal, with strong mids, moderate bass, and clear but not piercing treble. The amp (likely a variac'd Marshall) was set for punchy mids and presence, with minimal reverb as per early VH production.

Sources