EVH Early Brown Sound Attempt with Bray Marshall

[Sean_McFly]

So in my last topic I was experimenting with trying to get the Panama brown sound but with a condenser mic. I was given advice to use an SM57 close mic'ed to one of the speakers. I have been doing this for a while just for my own tone (not any specific artist's), so I tried to capture the Panama tone with this setup, and I found it sounded more like the early brown sound than anything else (in fact, this is the closest I've gotten to capturing this tone!), so I made a quick recording. The amp used is my 100w Marshall Plexi modded by David Bray with the Mod1 (speaker cabinet is an original from 1972 loaded with greenbacks). The guitar used is my brand new 2012 Les Paul Traditional 1960 Reissue Honeyburst loaded with Gibson Classic 57 PAF's. It's the warmest, beefiest guitar I own, so I figured it might be the best for Eddie's sound. Please excuse the lack of a Phase 90, MXR Flanger, and whammy bar for certain parts, but most importantly, enjoy! https://soundcloud.com/sean_mcfly/evh-h ... -lp-warmer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Stay frosty, fellas

[bmf5150]

The old greenbacks are great, aren't they...nothing modern made sound like them

[JimiJames]

Sounded great, man ! Mix sounds big.
aww man...no phaser/flanger... o.k. yeah, but, I really wanted to hear those divebomb riffs on that new LP ?

[bmf5150]

I'm listening on crappy headphones on my iPhone,but to me u have something weird with the upper mids??could bd my headphones??

[bmf5150]

I'm listening on crappy headphones on my iPhone,but to me u have something weird with the upper mids??could be my headphones??awesome playing!!!

[Sean_McFly]

I'm listening on crappy headphones on my iPhone,but to me u have something weird with the upper mids??could be my headphones??awesome playing!!!

Thanks for the kind words on my playing, man ! I've spent a while trying to get Eddie's saggy chunk down as well as his very vocal phrasing! And as far as the mids go, well, sometimes over a bad set of headphones, the Bray's mids will get weird, but under most setups the upper mids should sound pretty good! I tried to make sure that was all fixed in the mix when I EQ'ed it! I also personally love a lot of crunch in my mix, so it may just be that lol. I say try a better pair of headphones when you got 'em and take another listen, and if you still hear that, let me know! It may be something I can fix in the mix, or it might just be the tone of the Bray (it's one of his earlier mods) or it might just be my hands, which for some reason always make a setup sound like it's super bright and variac'ed (no joke on the variac thing) hahahahaha

[rgorke]

+1 on the playing, nicely done.

Really sounds like a mod 5. Don't take that as a criticism but that the mod 5 was designed to get Ed's tone at low volumes (and more). Sounds nice and thick and like the way it cleans up.

[Sean_McFly]

+1 on the playing, nicely done.

Really sounds like a mod 5. Don't take that as a criticism but that the mod 5 was designed to get Ed's tone at low volumes (and more). Sounds nice and thick and like the way it cleans up.

Thanks, dude! And I would never take that as criticism! Holy crap that is the best compliment I could have ever gotten about my EVH tone hahaha seriously, I guess that's a real thumbs up to my playing/eq'ing skills, that I could actually make a Bray sound like a Rockstah Mod 5 (RIP Mark/Rockstah, btw) for VH tones, especially because everyone (myself included) says that the Mod 5 gets that brown sound perfectly, so I guess I can say, "mission accomplished"!! Thanks so much for the kind words (I'm relatively new to the forum, so it's a warm welcome)!!

[kennzo5150]

Ahhhhhh yes, thick and meaty warm tight yet mushy.juicy harmonic depth , very nice.

[Sean_McFly]

Ahhhhhh yes, thick and meaty warm tight yet mushy.juicy harmonic depth , very nice.

Haha thanks, dude!! That's exactly what I tried to capture in Eddie's sound! The Bray is certainly a beautiful machine, especially through the '72 original worn-out-greenback-loaded cab (still over the moon I got both the head and cab same day for a killer deal) It's got some killer Lynch and Slash tones, too! Who knows, I may be posting an AFD-style tone clip one day, too ! I still can't believe my third topic on this forum and I've already gotten so many props for my brown sound haha! I guess my slight fanboy nature regarding EVH and the whole band has finally paid off !! Now, I'm gonna sit back, listen to the old hour and a half original Van Halen WB demos (such a treat from Youtube, am I right?)!

[Sean_McFly]

The old greenbacks are great, aren't they...nothing modern made sound like them

Amen to that, dude! I agree wholeheartedly! I have tried this head through several cabs, and even through new greenbacks, and nothing has that great old, worn breakup, sag, warmth, squish, and crunch, and most impotrantly, the ballsy, gut-wrenching soul like those magical old greenbacks do!! To be brutally honest, the bray and marshall cab was my first ever 4x12 cab+head purchase, and my first tube amp to boot ! I really lucked out hahaha

[grockr1]

sounds awesome. ive yet to here a bad bray amp, the guy makes killer amps.

[julkke]

Sounds amazing!

[efraser68]

Very nice clip. To my ear, the Bray mod sounds like it keeps the shimmer whereas my old Mod 5 was a bit darker. The PPIMV would essentially disable the Pres knob. This has just the right amount of gain too, perfect articulation with a PAF. What did you use for verb in post?

[Sean_McFly]

Very nice clip. To my ear, the Bray mod sounds like it keeps the shimmer whereas my old Mod 5 was a bit darker. The PPIMV would essentially disable the Pres knob. This has just the right amount of gain too, perfect articulation with a PAF. What did you use for verb in post?

Hey thanks, dude! I agree with you on the shimmering quality of the Bray at lower volumes! I don't think David uses PPIMV's, because on his website he calls his output level control system his special "wife knob" (which means you can tear it up on the amp while your wife is sleeping lolol), so that might be why the sparkle stays! And thank you regarding the gain amount/articulation! I have the mod1 and it's a relatively low gain mod, and I've always found for this amp in particular, it really shines and sparkles with lower output PAF-style pickups (the highest output I'd recommend for a Bray if you're going for a brown sound is a Super Distortion). Regarding the verb, I use a Lexicon reverb plugin which does an excellent job in replicating the old EMT plates, and it runs through Cubase Le5. If you want a pic of the exact reverb settings or post EQ settings, let me know!
P.S. I heard your 12XXX series EVH clips...spot on, man!! Perfect amount of sag and chunk!