rgalpin wrote:That pic is so great! Man I wish someone had snapped a pic during VH I sessions.
I just noticed in this pic that the one cab on the floor with the variac sitting on it is facing away from him. That would be what you would do if that cab was the main cab - high volume - too loud to point directly at a mic'd drum kit (or possibly humans). The one up by his head would be at a volume to make it comfortable to hear DETAIL just loud enough to hear over the drums. Can't remember if we decided this pic was staged. But as unlikely as it seems that they would be laying down tracks with little or no isolation - it's even harder to believe that they would take the time to stage such a detailed shot.
As to whether these Zlozower photos were staged just for the photo shoot, or if they show the actual setup in the studio for the recording of VH2, here are a couple of quotes that are very convincing in support of the latter.
First this quote from user Trace from the old ampage.org board from March 2000 who spoke directly to Ted Templeman about the recording of Van Halen's first album:
I spoke with Ted Templeman once at an AES show and he said all he used on the first album (for gain) was the amp and he (Ted) recommended the variac because they all wanted to play in the same room together. This way he didn't have to play as loud to get the gain he wanted and it would cut down on the leakage.
Whether it's true or not that Ted "recommended" the variac is debatable, regardless Ted states that Ed used his variac for volume reduction in the studio for the recording of VH1 so they could all record in the same room.
Then there's this:
Creem(May 1982): Do you use it(variac) in the studio as well?
EVH: Especially in the studio. I've used these Ohmite things since we've played the clubs.
Considering these quotes I'm convinced that these photos do show the actual setup for the recording of VH2. Ed's got his variac right there in easy reach to keep his volume at just the right level for recording in fairly tight quarters.
It is too bad no photos have surfaced from the VH1 sessions, but to me these quotes suggest that the studio setup for the recording of VH1 would likely have looked very similar.