Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

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jnew
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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by jnew » Tue Dec 01, 2015 9:21 am

Hmm. I would would have no clue when that would be. :what:
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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by TWANGGG » Tue Dec 01, 2015 2:39 pm

I did some digging trying to figure out when the WB demos were recorded and found this from Ed's first interview with Jas Obrecht in Guitar Player in 1978:
Van Halen's discovery in March 1977-described by Eddie as "something right out of the movies"-came one night when Mo Ostin, then president and chairman of the board of Warner Brothers, and producer Ted Templeman saw their act at the Starwood club in Los Angeles. With Eddie's brother Alex on drums, Michael Anthony on bass, and lead singer Dave Lee Roth, the band recorded 40 songs in three weeks, including "Running with the Devil," a searing guitar solo aptly titled "Eruption," and a remake of the Kinks' classic "You Really Got Me."
So I guess the Mumps/Motels gig photos from early 1977 show that Ed was already using the variac in his rig before they were discovered by Mo and Ted in March.

edit: Kevin Dodds EVH biography states they were discovered in May 1977. :what: If so the gig photos showing the variac were taken well before the WB demos were recorded.

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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by jnew » Tue Dec 01, 2015 3:59 pm

I would agree. My gut tells me Ed was using the variac for quite some time before it all started, but I can't back it up. He had to make that head work for all the clubs and they played quite a bit before all that. 8)
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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by jape88 » Tue Dec 01, 2015 4:35 pm

I'm with Rob on Ted T telling Ed to use the variac, in fact all his gig rig set up to record with ...blue mxr/p90/echoplex/variac, all these were used by Ed before the WB demos. Defo not Ted introducing it to him.

The pics with the Motels in support were only 3 shows at the Whisky in Jan and Feb 77 and Ted's first introduction to the band was in May 77 at the Starwood.

It's documented that the Gene Simmons demos were done in may 76 at Village studios in LA not NY and just two guitar overdubs were done in NY at Electric Ladyland and it was there that VH used Kisses gear to play a live show for Bill Aucion on the chance he'd take the band on.

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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by rgalpin » Tue Dec 01, 2015 9:05 pm

mr.twistyneck wrote:... Now, if you have a 100 watt Marshall, and your heroes play 100 watt Marshalls, really really loud, then you too will want to do that, and the variac isn't some sort of holy grail tone gizmo -it's just a shameful big volume knob that one must employ so as not to be deemed "that guy who plays too damn loud". ... there wouldn't be any need for the Knob of Shame during the Gene Simmons demos...which don't have Le Tone. Fast forward to VH1 sessions, and perhaps Templeman saw/heard what others (and perhaps even Ed) didn't see/hear - just let (or politely insist that) the guy play through his stage rig with his band in the room to get a good record.

All conjecture on my part based on what I've seen here on the board.
Exactly the way I see it. Nicely characterized. "Knob of shame" turned tone PHENOM!!

Fun stuff... what we heard on VH I was just the tip of the iceberg breaching the surface. Cool to think about what was under the waterline... unseen buy an 8th grader sitting in his room listening to a new band on the radio - some guy named Dan Halin? I wrote his name on my desk blotter so I wouldn't forget it. Oh yeah... I wouldn't forget it. :vh:

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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by garbeaj » Tue Dec 01, 2015 9:29 pm

TWANGGG wrote:edit: Kevin Dodds EVH biography states they were discovered in May 1977. :what: If so the gig photos showing the variac were taken well before the WB demos were recorded.
Greg Renoff's Van Halen Rising has the dates at the Starwood when Ted and Mo Ostin "discovered" the band as February 2-3, 1977. The 3rd was a Wednesday and the band was signed the next day, according to the book.
Last edited by garbeaj on Wed Dec 02, 2015 9:56 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by Strat78 » Tue Dec 01, 2015 9:34 pm

Remember that Ed claims he came up with waxing pickups too and invented tab. When was the gig where Jimmy Bates got Ed to show him the variac?

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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by jnew » Tue Dec 01, 2015 11:03 pm

The variac. Greatest mod to a Super Lead, EVER. :lol:
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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by rgalpin » Wed Dec 02, 2015 7:18 am

garbeaj wrote:
TWANGGG wrote:edit: Kevin Dodds EVH biography states they were discovered in May 1977. :what: If so the gig photos showing the variac were taken well before the WB demos were recorded.
Greg Renoff's Van Halen Rising has the dates at the Starwood when Ted and Mo Ostin "discovered" the band as February 3, 1977. This was a Wednesday and the band was signed the next day, according to the book.
Do we all believe the VH Rising book is accurate on this point? If so, that is wildly specific. As in, to the day!

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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by garbeaj » Wed Dec 02, 2015 9:26 am

rgalpin wrote:Do we all believe the VH Rising book is accurate on this point? If so, that is wildly specific. As in, to the day!
Marshall Berle arranged the two nights at the Starwood as a showcase for Ted Templeman. Ted saw the band on the first night (Tuesday 02-02-77), was blown away. Then Ted got Mo Ostin to come to the following night's gig (Wednesday 02-03-77). This sequence is corroborated by Marshall Berle, Ted, Michael Anthony, Donn Landee and Rudy Leiren and interviews with Ed which do not mention the specific dates but do not contradict the memories of those that Greg interviewed. The story is told on Pages 253-259 in Van Halen Rising.

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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by rgalpin » Wed Dec 02, 2015 10:43 am

Well there ya go! Sounds solid to me. This discussion leaves me wanting to know exactly when Ed starting using the variac - now that we have heard what jnew has done with it. Need to start playing "find the variac" and dating pics.

But here's something for the ears: now that we are pinpointing exactly what the variac is adding by hearing jnew's clips, can we hear the bootlegs with "new ears" and identify boots where we think we here "that variac'd tone?"

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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by jnew » Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:22 am

Wait, so I don't get too confused, are we talking about the 2nd variac between head and cab? Because that really has no basis other than the Japan pics of 2 variacs, one of which with some suspect looking duct tape. Unless we're talking about 1 variac between the head and cab with the amp plugged into the wall. :what: Which I have not tried. :scratch:
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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by jape88 » Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:18 pm

Whilst I think James's clips are the biz 8) I personally think the 2 variacs in the Jap pics were used for power into the amp only and the second variac was for the other back-up amp.
In the VH2 studio set up only one variac is visable (well at least as far as I can see).

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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by jnew » Wed Dec 02, 2015 1:15 pm

Yes, this is highly likely. But I just took a really good look at the photo's again and noticed that in the photo of the front of the heads, the variac on the right, it looks like the AC cord has been removed and possibly replaced with a speaker cable under the tape. The AC cord goes straight in to the variac on the left and has a strain relief button that appears to have been manipulated to the variac on the right. Also, the toggle power switch is missing from the variac on the right. And it would not be needed to run between head and cab. I'm not at all saying that any of this is fact. Only suspect in that this could easily be the look of things if it was modified to run that way. 8)
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Re: Old internet article on the recording of Eruption

Post by mightymike » Wed Dec 02, 2015 2:33 pm

I thought the story was EVH plugged a UK model (setup for 240v) into a 120v US plug outlet, and that it sounded good but real quiet.

Then he plugged his USA model into a (half hot) wall plug that was hooked to a dimmer switch. Many houses have bedrooms with a half hot plug wired to the switch on the wall so the lamp by your bed can be turned on and off.

Then someone suggested he try a variac to have precise control.

I thought this was in the club days

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