Ed's Knob

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leadguy
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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by leadguy » Sun Feb 07, 2010 7:03 am

So it all starts making a bit of sense if Ed got his number 1 Plexi with the knob in 1977.

Ed was supposed to have got his number 1 Plexi in 1970 when he was 14/15 but whatever amp Ed bought from the Pasadena Rose Palace was not the number 1 with the knob.

It explains why Ed's boots from 1974/75 sound like a conventional Marshall with a loose bottom end and nothing special.

It explains why Ed's gear (and it is Ed's gear with a few later overdubs) on the 1976 Gene Simmons demos sounds different.

Ed was collecting heads and probably selling heads right up to VH1 (and after).

Looks like he gets the wooden Plexi after the Gene Simmons demos and his number 1 Plexi with the knob sometime between the start of 1977 and May 1977.

All Plexi heads are not created equal.
"When your swinging, Swing some MORE" ~Monk

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rgorke
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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by rgorke » Sun Feb 07, 2010 9:32 am

leadguy wrote:Maybe a cascade mod but I personally don't think it's needed but some do.

Ed's not going straight into the amp. There is a FET buffer just before the amp and it's a high impedance buffer and the frequencies coming out the other side of the buffer hit the amp in a different way than if there were no FET buffer. The FET buffer doesn't have to have much gain or any gain to do this.

If a FET buffer is used at the end of the chain right before the amp and the amp is variaced down to 90v and the amp is dimed then there is probably no need for a cascade mod IMO.

And no Plexi is really identical to another as there are too many variables but most Plexis fall within a common sort of gain but there will be exceptions of Plexis with very poor gain and Plexis with very good gain as compared to the usual Plexi gain.

There is the power supply section, the preamp section, the phase invertor section and the power section and all can vary somewhat due to Marshalls designs and components.
And I hate to burst you guys bubble on the EVH amp on the 1st album, but this will make some of you cry. A local player named Dave here in Torrance sold Ed his 100w amp for VH1. It was a plain old stock 68 Plexi, Ed came over to try it out, he ran his pedals in front of the amp with Franky. He brought over just a couple of pedals, the MXR flanger/phase 90 (whatever the hell it's called), a Boss OD pedal, and he forgot the other one. This is around 1977, according to Dave.

Not sure when VH1 came out I knew I was living in Texas at the time, moved back to Cali in late 78. I know the cover band I was in at the time was rehearsing "Running with the Devil" to do in our set.

Ed tried the amp out through an old basketweave cab that Dave had. Ed wanted to buy that, too, Dave wouldn't sell it. He recalls it had G12M's in it.

So the basic Ed rig is:

Franky, rewound PAF
68 100w plexi, stock
His pedals
Marshall basketweave cabs w/G12M's.

Basically your whole late 60's Marshall stack or 1/2 stack, pedals, Franky and Ed's fingers.
About Ed's supposed number 1 amp with the knob at the back.

Here are some photos from 1976/1977 and I can't seem to see the supposed number 1 amp with the knob at the back.

http://www.musikfoto.com/rockpics.php?t ... an%20Halen" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The photos are from 2 different gigs probably late 1976 for the top photos and early 1977 for the bottom photos.

In the top photos Ed seems to be just using one standard Marshall looking head.

In the bottom photos he's got the wooden Plexi as well probably as a back up.

But the supposed number 1 amp seems to be in this May 27-29 1977 photo.

Image

Image

So maybe Ed did get the supposed number 1 amp with the knob at the back sometime in 1977.

There are photos of the supposed number 1 amp with the knob at the back from the Japan 1978 tour and then the VHII studio photo.
The "Fender" sticker on that neck headstock looks funny. I mean it looks like it is in a weird location. Maybe it is the perspective. Also, I thought that somone, Strat78 maybe, had determined that that white pickup was a Mighty Mite.
"If you make a mistake, do it twice and smile and let people think you meant it." Jan Van Halen.

leadguy
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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by leadguy » Sun Feb 07, 2010 10:14 am

I take it that you are talking about these photos http://www.musikfoto.com/rockpics.php?t ... an%20Halen" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yeah the logo looks fake and the white pickup is a Mighty Mite but where is Ed's number 1 amp with no Marshall logo?
It's not there at the Whiskey or Starwood gigs in late 76/early 77 so looks like he ain't bought it yet.
"When your swinging, Swing some MORE" ~Monk

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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by leadguy » Sun Feb 07, 2010 10:31 am

Late 1976/early 1977

Image

Image

May 27-29 1977

Image

Late 1977 after VH1

Image
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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by leadguy » Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:49 am

The Vox is probably borrowed for the club date. It appears and then disappears.
Ed has to have backup amps, Echoplexes and guitars and he also seemed to have liked the look of 4 cabinets and multiple heads on the club stage (Spinal Tap Syndrome) but might be actually using only one cab.
In one of the photos above Ed is using only one head (takes 2 heads to slave) with 3 cabinets on stage.
A lot of cabs and heads looks good.

"Rudy told me the 50 was a backup to the 100"
Both those heads seem to be in the May 27-29 1977 Mumps photo and the borrowed Vox is added for the late 1977 photo.

“Well here is what I was told by Rudy Leiren Ed's long time tech. This was just last week. Ed's VHI setup was MXR flanger-MXR phaser-Echoplex-amp. His main 100-watt was used on everything. The tube bias was turned all the way up and the variac was set to 91 volts into only one cab.

“There is a pic of the early days with a 50-watt head and a Vox head. Rudy told me the 50 was a backup to the 100, and the Vox was a last-ditch backup. Ed often borrowed amps for his backups. In fact, Rudy told me a story that at a party they were playing, Ed blew a fuse in his main amp and did not have a backup and had to run home to get a fuse while the band was playing. After this he always made sure he had a backup.

“Rudy said the EQ pedal MXR 6-band was used only for certain guitars or sometimes when he used rental gear that sounded bad meaning NOT on VHI?!. Also the Univox echo located in the practice bomb! was patched in by hand for Eruption only, and then was taken out of the chain after.

“As time went on post-VHI, more cabs were used and so were more amps. The amps would only drive one cab, though.
“He did say Ed was always trying new things, but would always come back to this setup.

“This info follows everything Ed has ever said to me personally. Also, when ‘84 hit he changed his setup to H&H power amps and some different effects. He still used a cab off the head, though no load resistor. The Load resistor came for the 5150 tour.”
"When your swinging, Swing some MORE" ~Monk

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vanhalen5150
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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by vanhalen5150 » Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:45 am

I'm not sure why some think this guitar is Franky. It's clearly a "sunburst" Strat or Strat copy like a Tokai.
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leadguy
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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by leadguy » Mon Feb 08, 2010 9:14 am

That's Ed's previous Strat from 1976/early 1977.

He ditched the Sunburst body and the neck and pickguard went onto the black Strat body (end of May 1977) which is very likely to be the B&W Franky body.

Image

That Sunburst body and neck are probably Japanese as Ed mentions he has about a dozen Japanese Strat copies in one early interview and the Sunburst body might even be Basswood.
It doesn't look like it's got much grain which Basswood Strats tend to look like.

Wouldn't it be funny if VH1 was recorded with a Japanese Basswood body Strat copy with a Mighty Mite distortion pickup as Ed could have easily gone back to the Sunburst Strat configuration at anytime in 1977 if he wanted to.
Just change the pickguard back onto the Sunburst body from the black Strat and put the rosewood neck back on to the Sunburst Strat and put in the white Mighty Mite and it's back.
"When your swinging, Swing some MORE" ~Monk

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plexified
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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by plexified » Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:55 pm

:shock:
1234.jpg
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looks like a similar gear layout from the new years gig in '77. Its on the side hard right . Those stacks look a little too 'well kept' to be young Halens , musta been the headliners . I bet Ed turned them up and ' slaved em like a rental' :lol:

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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by vanhalen5150 » Mon Feb 08, 2010 3:18 pm

I like the plastic milk/soda crates under the drum riser. Now thats old school.
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leadguy
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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by leadguy » Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:57 pm

The photos of Ed with the black silk? jacket are probably from early 1977 and the other photos of Ed in a white shirt are from late 1976.
The Musikfoto person put up the dates on a Ebay auction once but I don't think the photographer really knows.
In fact both the white shirt and the black silk? jacket dates might be from early 1977. Ed seems to be wearing the back silk? jacket in a picture with the black Strat around the end of May 1977 with a flower.

Image

Image

Image

He's got the wooden Plexi and the number 1 and a 50 watt? off stage in the black silk? jacket photos.
I don't know if these heads are in the white shirt photos.

Very interesting, so number 1 can be traced back to early 1977? with the Basswood? Japanese Strat.

He's probably using his heads with the cabs on stage.
Last edited by leadguy on Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:45 am, edited 5 times in total.
"When your swinging, Swing some MORE" ~Monk

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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by leadguy » Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:59 am

Ed's white shirt stage side.

Image
"When your swinging, Swing some MORE" ~Monk

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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by leadguy » Tue Feb 09, 2010 2:40 am

Seems like Ed preferred to spend his money on buying Gibsons and not Fenders.
Seems like he just bought Japanese Fender copies and not real Fenders.

He also seems to have bought the Mighty Mites because they were (probably) cheaper than DiMarzios.

Seems like the Gibson PAF's stayed in his Gibsons until he got more money.

Look at Ed's Fender logo. It looks like a Fender decal that Ed has put on in the wrong position.
Don't forget Ed had a Gibson decal on the maple neck so he had access to decals.

Image

Image

The grain

Image

"Do you own any stock factory-made guitars?


Yeah, I have a new Gibson ES-335, and two ‘58 Les Paul Jrs — a single-cutaway and a double-cutaway. I’ve got a whole load of Japanese Strat copies. I also just two vintage Les Pauls — a’59 flame top and a ‘58 gold top. "

http://www.fuzzybogart.com/?p=600" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"GP: Where did you get the hardware for your main Strat-style guitar?

EVH: Ah, it was actually the old '58 Strat. I took the vibrato tailpiece out. Like with new Fenders, the vibrato tailpiece isn't half as good as the original old ones. So I took that out of the '58 and went to Charvel and bought a heavier piece of wood. And I really like wide necks. I hate skinny necks. I like them real flat and wide, almost like a classical guitar. They're thin...I don't know how to explain it. They're real wide up and down, but thin the other way. "

http://www.vhlinks.com/pages/interviews ... 122979.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The 58 Strat Ed is talking about is the Burst (Japanese) Strat above and the pickguard and hardware and rosewood neck got transferred to the Black Strat body which he got from Wayne Charvel and it is the B&W Franky body.
When Ed picked up the maple neck from Wayne Charvel is anybodies guess but if Ed had the maple neck when he bought the Black Strat body as the common story goes, then why is the rosewood (Japanese) neck on the Black Strat body and not the B&W Franky's maple neck.
It would seem like he picked the maple neck from Wayne Charvel after the end of May 1977 and before October the 8th 1977 but picked up the Black Strat body from Wayne Charvel before the end of May 1977.

Image

Image

The Destroyers different pickup covers.
The stock Destroyer pickup cover is shiny and is in the neck.

Image
Last edited by leadguy on Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:46 am, edited 5 times in total.
"When your swinging, Swing some MORE" ~Monk

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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by jape88 » Sat Feb 13, 2010 7:17 am

Think this has been posted before... but just came across it in one of my mags... sorry if it has.
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vanhalen5150
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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by vanhalen5150 » Sat Feb 13, 2010 7:27 am

Never seen that dude!

The bottom body looks like the 5150.

Hmmmm, one tube missing......here we go..... :lol:
Last edited by vanhalen5150 on Sat Feb 13, 2010 8:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ed's Knob

Post by Good Guest » Sat Feb 13, 2010 12:51 pm

Ha looks like Eddy had a 7T8 preamp... :lol:

Doesn't that pic shake things up...the amp wouldn't work without that tube unless he did a one wire mod from the input of v2 to the output of v2...maybe he was using it as a power amp part in a slave setup..or maybe a preamp only. Wonder if that is the only pic in existence showing v2 missing.

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