ITO Tones rockstah posted

[vanhalen5150]

Wouldn't the Ep3 increase the noise? Or do you you mean just with the eq boosted at 1.6K?

[Good Guest]

That's some good info right there GG .......Good thing you un-banned yourself to share this.......

I was banned but I thought it was permenent ..turned out to be temporary..it was my first banning..it sucked.

Wouldn't the Ep3 increase the noise? Or do you you mean just with the eq boosted at 1.6K?

For some reason the ep3 seems to match or like the mxr 6band more than a straight gutar into the mxr.It does reduce noise levels feeding the mxr..try it. Now when the mxr feeds the ep3 it is noisy ..clipping and harsh..I realy don't like that tone, but that could depend on some other factors also ie: type of plexi circuit etc.

Yes definatley the less sliders involved the better. Having the mxr boost that way also allows you too max out the bass in the amp without the muddyness that some have a problem with when maxing out the tone control and the amp.

I'm going to check out the you tube new years clip that leadguy posted and see what kinda spectrum it has for those 2 stinging notes..later

[Good Guest]

OK it's becoming obviuos now that there is a 1.2 ish Khz boost going on as well as well as a 400hz and a 1.8khz one. I'm going to have to say that 1.2 khz can't be ignored it seems to be in all of them , the 400hz is on the 6band and the clip isn't as good quality as others ..that can cause frequencies like the 400 hz to pop out as crowd noise and tape flutter can cause a 1.8 khz instead of a 1.6 khz.....One last test and that's the iso clip of ITO ...

If it too has that 1.2 khz I'll do the gyrator math ..post a schematic of that part of the 6 band and recommend a change to get 1.2 khz from the 800 hz slider.....call it the "Rob mod"

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[leadguy]

Ed could have used the MXR for some things but a lot of other things can produce frequency spikes as well.

[Good Guest]

Ed could have used the MXR for some things but a lot of other things can produce frequency spikes as well.

True ... but to have that one frequency stick out above all others in virtually every clip is interesting. Rgalpin noticed what he called the "sting "....I was just checking out Ralle's and Rockstashs ITO clips and found that Rockstash has a slight 1 khz boost happening BUT they both also have a massive 600hz tone darkening spike in all of em....and litterly nothing in the above 2Khz department....that may be where jbl's come into play...Ed has plenty happening in those high frequencies..but nothing compared to the 1.2 khz...Of course I'm just looking at the ITO tone and nothng else, and finding the spike throught the tune like Rockstash has noted.

Ed had 2 ge 10's and one mxr 6band and possibly another 6band ..that is one helluva lot of eqing...if he had a differant setting for each song, that would be a science in itself ,but for now the ITO tone is looking like a eq boost.

Here is the spectrum for that pair of notes from the ISO guitar track: Again a undeniable 1.2 khz super boost! The 2khz psescence was really caught by the mic pres in this spectrum...."Hot Rob Stinger Mod" to follow tomorrow...an easy as pie 1 part change...complete with pic

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[Good Guest]

Normally I wouldn’t entertain this but Rgalpin and Rockstash have exceptional hearing when it comes to EVH tones and a very unique ,descriptive ways of relaying the info. It's like that old wood gundy commercial where everyone freezes when he talks.

OK Some interesting things about the mxr 6 band ..before we start…The 800 Hz slider values equals a calculated value of 786.52 Hz which is allowable (within2%) for the targeted frequency of 800hz….and is why all mxr 6 bands from that era sound slightly different. The capacitors value can drift and even more so over time to 20% amounts and those small amounts can add up and cause drastic frequency changes.

What we are going to do is change 1 capacitor to a .047uf value and turn the 800hz slider into a 1.2 kHz slider. The calculated value from this change will be 1.25 kHz and is a respectable range.

You don’t need a vintage mxr to do this change any one will do…they are all carbon copy’s of the original anyways but parts are all different quality , hence mojo changes.

Besides you just want your mxr so it is boosting the right EVH frequency anyways..for the “ I’m the One” tune. The mod is so simple it would be very sad to see a company formed to soak people over such a simple change. So here it is. FREE

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[rgalpin]

this is turning into an awesome study... !

cocked wah = eq boost

that is so obvious now that you point it out. and right there at 1.2 in all those examples.

GG - are you saying you are going to mod an mxr 6 band to get a 1.2 slider?

hey also - think about this - 30 years after the fact and a good bit of hearing loss later imagine ED knowing that his vintage tone requires this 1.2 spike and so he implements it but over shoots the mark b/c his ears aren't what they used to be - what would that sound like? uh - like a cocked wah that is just a little TOO cocked. and that is exactly what i hear in the youtube clips of the 2007 tour.

just sayin'...

[vanhalen5150]

We're making it too easy for the kid's these days.....

Good post GG. I'd probably give that a go on one of those new ones first for sure.

[Good Guest]

this is turning into an awesome study... !

cocked wah = eq boost

that is so obvious now that you point it out. and right there at 1.2 in all those examples.

GG - are you saying you are going to mod an mxr 6 band to get a 1.2 slider?

hey also - think about this - 30 years after the fact and a good bit of hearing loss later imagine ED knowing that his vintage tone requires this 1.2 spike and so he implements it but over shoots the mark b/c his ears aren't what they used to be - what would that sound like? uh - like a cocked wah that is just a little TOO cocked. and that is exactly what i hear in the youtube clips of the 2007 tour.

just sayin'...

Your right on the mark a cocked wah is virtually a sweepable wide band eq boost...Hendrix used to used his wah in a cocked position all the time to boost the mids or the highs in his fuzz face and even Zappa made fun of the trick with lines "Feed back yer fuzztone with your wah wah" in light of how everyone was so memerized by the feedback effects and how he does it...If Ed's hearing is going he may find comfort increasing those frequencies just like a hearing aid. Of course to us it's like ..wtf is he doing with that wah wah.?

Here is neat electronic tidbit...the wah wah has an inductor with the most famous being the fasel...now the mxr 6 band doesn't have an inductor per se..but has what they call a "gyrator " which is in the schematic above (opamp and sourrounding components) the gyrator is a simulated inductor. so you can see how close wah wahs and eq's really are....

[Good Guest]

We're making it too easy for the kid's these days.....

Good post GG. I'd probably give that a go on one of those new ones first for sure.

Thanks ...and go for it ..you'll never look back, when you see the importance of an eq boost in EVH tone. Like I was saying for a big bonus use an ep3 with it and you'll have mojo plus boost....ain't no turning back once you experience that.

Remmenber EVH said he had Jose do things to his MXR boxs ..Just saying

[vanhalen5150]

"Hot Rob Stinger Mod"

[rgalpin]

Remmenber EVH said he had Jose do things to his MXR boxs ..Just saying

man - right or wrong, it certainly does fit together nicely - makes a good case for a jose modded mxr 6 band as a key ingredient in the vh ITO tone.

- Bruce StringSTING!

[rgalpin]

and i think it's important to note that it's not that FREQ 1.2 is MAKING the STING all by itself - it's what that 1.2 FREQ spike does to the amp!! like strat78 said - that spike is making the amp clip when it's hit hard - that's the STING!

so we are def talking about eq in the sig chain - NOT in POST PRODUCTION.

and and and... we are talking about an amp that is living on the edge of clipping all the time so that when you just push it a little harder it clips and barks and stings.

that's awesome! the amp is just hummin' buddy - SIMMERING - add a touch more heat and it boils! NUTZ!!

[Good Guest]

GG - are you saying you are going to mod an mxr 6 band to get a 1.2 slider?

Oh I've already done that and can atest that it's a fantastic EVH frequency, but to actually see the spectrum unfold that you pointed out in your most eloquent style...is proof. I can't wait to hear everyones ITO's now

Jeez even I'm like 10% learned the tune well maybe 20% and making it my winter project....man that frequency also really makes them EVH harmonics jump out too like the tapping part on the mean street intro WORKS!

Is it strat 78 that did that clip a while back with the YRGM solo? I wonder what he's thinking of all this...

[wjamflan]

Hey guys.

Like everyone, I've been busy as hell since Thanksgiving and haven't been around much. I think it goes without saying where I fall in this discussion: Ed used the 6 band live and on VHI. It is his tone b/c it allows you to get the exact tone shape Ed got. He only talked about it sparingly b/c he didn't want others to know that that's where he got his tone from.

No disrespect meant to anyone, but there were no cascades (now accepted wisdom it seems) extra hot ceramic pickups etc. Why? B/c all of the clips that we hear with these things don't have the same tone shape as Ed. They're all in the ballpark b/c of the plexi circuit, but they all miss his distinctive tone.

The only thing I will add is that I believe Dave F. talked about eq in post production a while back. We also had spectrum analysis that showed a huge spike in the 10-12K range if memory serves. I'll have to dig up that post....