EVH Brown Sound!!

Dax-The-Ax · Post by **Dax-The-Ax** » Fri Aug 20, 2004 7:22 pm

I noticed George sold "Brown Sound" boards, anyone know what components are changed? Just curious.

Post by **VelvetGeorge** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 5:09 am

Hey Dax, do you mean the board that has the "supposed" EVH specs?

No one who tries those specs seems to find it very brown sounding. I still find the stock late '67/early '68 circuit to do the brown sound best.

George

Dax-The-Ax · Post by **Dax-The-Ax** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 10:42 am

Yeah, i know my board sounds pretty killer, the volume is full at about 3 and the rest just add beautifulness! I read on the net that Ed ran his head into a dummy load, then into his effects, into a power amp and then to speakers. All at a Variaced 90 Volts. I don't know if i believe all that.

Country Boy Shane · Post by **Country Boy Shane** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 11:54 am

Ya there are about a million theories on what EVH did use. Some people say that he Variac'd up to 140V but that has to be bullshit. I remember seeing something about how he loaded up his speaker cabinet. I believe 2 of the speakers were Greenbacks and the other 2 were either EV or JBL. I guess this was a way of mixing speaker breakup with a cleaner speaker sound. Eh, whatever. I'm sure lots of people have nailed the sound by their own means.

I think the secret ingredient (besides the plexi) was the pickup. They are sorta hot, but at the same time they are very dynamic and controllable. I remember working at Guitar Center and trying out those Peavey Wolfgang guitars with the EVH custom wound pickup. It sounded dead on. That guitar may be butt ugly, but it does sound and play like no other!

5150loveeddie · Post by **5150loveeddie** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 12:47 am

Your pick up should have a dc resistance of 8.5K just like an old PAF 59, and try to use an Alnico 2 magnet.... right there you should get that VH early vibe Brown sound.......

Typical Early Edward Van Halen Studio Setup:

MXR e.q. set up as midboost (* only occasionally used depending on the guitar)
Marshall plexi Super Lead, unmodified, although simple modifications such as a cascaded input stage or added gain through capacitor/resistor exchanges may have been made.
Ohmite VARIAC set to approximately 90 Volts A/C
Dummy Load
MXR Flanger
MXR Phase 90 (** This was sometimes put in front of the amp instead of after the dummy load)
Echoplex EP3
(***Equalization sometimes added prior to power amp)
H & H power amp
Various Marshall cabinets (sometimes two, sometimes four) used with various Celestion and JBL speakers

Dax-The-Ax · Post by **Dax-The-Ax** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 2:04 am

Would the effects go before or after the dummy load? Would the dummy load have to have an effects loop or something in it? You would be coming out of the dummy load with a speaker cable, right? I didn't think you could run pedals with an un-shielded cable. The set-up confuses me a bit.

5150loveeddie · Post by **5150loveeddie** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 11:03 pm

HEY! BTW I've just changed the two .022uf Zoso caps in the phase inverter section (had the stock 69 PTP before...) and replaced them with .1uf's Zoso's and WOW nice warmer sound and mids improvement with little less top ends

5150loveeddie · Post by **5150loveeddie** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 11:10 pm

Hey! Dax go read at: http://www.legendarytones.com/brown_sound.htm

This site is really awsome lots of good info on how to operate a 1959 etc, and it is own by the guy who put together the Time Machine Boost in conjonction with Robert Keeley.....read on.........JF

Necrovore · Post by **Necrovore** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 8:05 pm

I'm still really undecided about nailing this "Brown Sound" everyone talks about all the time. Could it have possibly been that Ed just multi tracked his rhythms ala Jimmy Page? Eddie has always been notorious for saying he never wanted anyone else to cop what he was doing. I think that what has led to the mystique of his album tones.
I have never heard a reliable recording of one of their old live shows to see if the tone was the same as the studio. Reliable meaning a soundboard tape or home video. I say this because I used to be a big time Iron Maiden freak and Maidens live sound was edgier and heavier than any of their studio tones.
Also Ed's tone shouldn't be all that hard to figure out. when the 5150 amps first came out I checked one out and using a Les Paul straight into the 5150 head and cab I couldn't find any other tone besides his. Figure A/B'ing the circuitry between an early 5150 and an early Marshall super Lead schematic should put you on a good start.

Trem Abuser · Post by **Trem Abuser** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 7:13 pm

I, like so many others, would like be able to achieve the fabled and elusive "brown" sound. But I am not interested in chasing EVH's tone through thick and thin to get "his" tone. For me, the late 60s/early 70s Marshall tone is probably close enough.

Clearly, this is a subject where there is plenty of "lore." Everyone has an opinion but it seems there are few clear-cut answers.

Having said that, are there recommended changes to the stock plexi kit to get the "brown" sound? Are there special modifications or something?

Thanks,
Scott

Post by **VelvetGeorge** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 7:49 pm

Having said that, are there recommended changes to the stock plexi kit to get the "brown" sound? Are there special modifications or something?

Thanks,
Scott[/quote]

Just turn everything on "10". Maybe lower for the bass and/or presence.
Play through some low wattage Celestions and you're going to be in the ball park.

Getting closer has been the quest of a few guys on this forum. And the topic in many threads. Take a look.

George

Country Boy Shane · Post by **Country Boy Shane** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 8:51 pm

I remember Gnugear made his 50watt sound almost exactly like the "brown sound". Talk to the man...

Trem Abuser · Post by **Trem Abuser** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 8:57 pm

VelvetGeorge wrote:Just turn everything on "10". Maybe lower for the bass and/or presence.
Play through some low wattage Celestions and you're going to be in the ball park.

Getting closer has been the quest of a few guys on this forum. And the topic in many threads. Take a look.

George

Yes, I believe I've read every post on this board, plus a whole lot of HC threads on the subject. As I mentioned, its a source of plenty of lore and confusion.

I was just wondering, as I had not seen a definitive answer, whether I should order special parts when I scrounge up the money to order a plexi kit, or is it all contained in the stock plexi? I think I'll probably just stick with the stock parts, unless I'm told otherwise.

Thanks,
Scott

Post by **VelvetGeorge** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 9:30 pm

Scott, I advise starting with the stock circuit. Once everything works properly then we can tweak from there. You can reflect different era circuit by changing only a handfull of components.

George

Trem Abuser · Post by **Trem Abuser** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 2:44 pm

George - sounds like a good idea. Plus, I have to learn how to walk before I can run.

Scott

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