Very interesting Episode Allen, and a welcome surprise to the series. I have really enjoyed the RWTD Podcast over the last couple of years and look forward to every new episode. Several, I have revisited.
For those who would be interested, I'll attach a link to my dissertation. It maybe worth a glance and to checkout the bibliography. It's a good collection of research, and possibly a draft to a future publication:
Rock Guitar: Individuality, Creativity, and Musical Expression From Edward Van Halen to Guthrie Govan (1978-2021)
Yes indeed I am! I’m a Peterson endorsed artist and they had heard of my research on Ed’s tuning offsets using my Peterson strobe tuners and they approached me. Eventually, they created their “EVH” preset using the tuning offset that Ed’s last tech Tom Weber used on the Roth reunion tours. Tom and Matt Bruck gave those offsets to my pal writer Chris Gill who published them in the March 2016 issue of Guitar World and Peterson lifted those offsets specifically for the “EVH” preset. This was confirmed to me straight from Peterson. The “EVH” preset offset only relates to the Roth reunion tours and does not match any specific offset that Ed ever used prior to 2007 when the first Roth reunion tour commenced.
Dweezil - excellent episode, I really enjoyed this one. Allen - it was good to hear you being interviewed and for you to grace us with your knowledge and expertise.
Thanks very much Gareth! I’ve learned so much from others and that has helped me grow exponentially…hopefully I can help do the same for someone else as I continue to try to learn more from Ed and the smart players I’ve been lucky to learn from! Dweezil has created a great platform for all of us guitar playing Eddie fans and it was a real pleasure to chat with him and play some guitar too…Dweezil did a great job of editing it so that I sound a lot better than I am and I’m also grateful for that!
While I enjoyed the insider view of how the album was done there were times I thought Shanks comes across... Let's just say I think he comes across as the typical "Joe Hollywood" producer. Whether it was Dweezil asking him if he knew former VH producers and his answer was an emphatic "I don't care!" or him talking how VH differentiated themselves "in the beginning from other bands like Ratt and Motley Crue" (Van Halen released "1984" when Ratt released their first album, and "Fair Warning" when Motley's first albumemerged)... Also felt at times like he thought Dweezil was trying to get dirt out of him and really reactionary... When Dweezil asks him to get back to his recollections of the songs he literally makes a snoring sound... Sounds like it was just some gig for him. I wish Templeman had done that album.
I can understand this point of view listening to this interview at face value, but it's good to know that working with artists can be a challenging job, sometimes--in ways that might not be immediately apparent.
Especially when what you say in an interview can be misinterpreted by the fans, by the artist, by the person interviewing you, etc.
I found his transparency on that subject refreshing yet deferential to his professional relationships. It's not an easy tightrope to walk when everything you say can get a public opinion microscope put on on it immediately.
Hey Champ! Thanks for the new episode! Hope you and the family are well. I interviewed Mick Jones ( producer for 5150 ) back in 2000 ( I was a camera operator for Foreigner when they played in Reno ). I can confirm that Mick was brought in as an " overseer " but mainly worked with Sammy/Edward on " Dreams " & " Love Walks In " in terms of the vocal performances and the editing of " Dreams " itself. Great episode with John. BTW, digging through some pics and found these little gems. Enjoy!
Interesting episode - but really - who hurt this guy? He’s so guarded about everything. The editing (the need for it) was obvious. Everything, from his full on retreats and unwarranted defensiveness, to assuming you were trying to sandbag him, must have been a real task…. Well done - but man what a workout.
Maybe a little too much insider baseball without the reveal - but we certainly got something new from him. He needs to decompress and let some of this stuff out and get out of his own way.
But again - well done. I know the cast is most likely drawing to a close - my hope is you keep it going. Thanks Dweezil.
I really enjoyed the Shanks episode…he’s really smart and lucid and I appreciate his recollections more than the record!
Dweezil and Shanks are right on about the “Bullethead” intro…it is the Dunlop/EVH Flanger with a cocked Dunlop/EVH wah-wah along with the delays that were mentioned. This was the same intro device (minus the wah-wah) that was used in the original versions of “Bullethead” and it is the same Flanger setting on the “Outta Love Again” intro. Edward revealed these settings for “Bullethead” intro/“Outta Love Again” intro to Guitar World’s Chris Gill back in 2015 which got published in a 2016 issue of Guitar World. These two intros were the only deviation from Edward’s standard setting on the MXR Flanger. It’s simply the same setting except the “Speed” knob is maxed out:
Here’s the “normal” setting which was copied by Dunlop for the “EVH” button on the Dunlop/EVH Flanger:
The fact that Edward used the Dunlop/EVH Flanger and the wah on the intro to the ‘A Different Kind of Truth’ version of “Bullethead” makes it sound A LOT different than the well known flanger/feedback intro to “Outta Love Again” and the early live versions of “Bullethead” which was of course the original Reticon chip MXR Flanger with feedback.
I do like a lot of parts on this record. I like Wolf’s sound a lot in general. I think the drums sound great. Many will complain about the brick-walling on the final version of the album…I don’t care. The record is what it is. I’m glad it happened and there’s a lot here to appreciate though I don’t dig it as a whole. My taste, and I don’t begrudge anyone who really likes it!
"Shanks" for the latest episode, Dweezil! Just too bad he overstates everything -- much like his production-style. So obvious + overdone, it's a pancake instead of a crepe. imho.
"Say something once, why say it again?" - David Byrne, 1977
I knew there was a reason I started listening to ADKOT yesterday and today! Hell Yes Dweezil!!!! Can’t wait to listen to this episode. This is the album that should have come after FW. It kicks ass!
JAMIES CRYIN SECRET:I recently found something I’ve never heard anyone talk about vh. In Jamie’s cryin, right before the line “she said give me, give me a call sometime” at 1:04 Alex messes up and goes to the chorus drum beat instead of back to the pre chorus beat and then catches his mistake at the perfect time and falls right in. If you listen you’ll catch it. It really shows that the song was written in the studio and how they played live
In my opinion, for whatever that’s worth, this guy is a bit lost. He’s committed to the idea that re-amping was done. My cohorts on the MetroAmp forum and others have essentially ruled this out. I think the guy in this video decided that re-amping was “The Secret” and then looked to try to find some reasoning for that to be so rather than looking at the evidence and letting that guide him to an answer.
Hey gang, the newly released Brian May boxset edition of the Starfleet project has the complete sessions featuring lots of additional takes with Ed, including different solos to what were originally released in '83. It's awesome! I bought the set but it's also on Spotify.
-Dweezil, maybe Brian would want to chat about it?
Hey Dweezil, loving the Fractal Presets you've released thus far. Curious if you have plans to release any more? Looking forward to the next episode too. Thanks!
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Very interesting Episode Allen, and a welcome surprise to the series. I have really enjoyed the RWTD Podcast over the last couple of years and look forward to every new episode. Several, I have revisited.
For those who would be interested, I'll attach a link to my dissertation. It maybe worth a glance and to checkout the bibliography. It's a good collection of research, and possibly a draft to a future publication:
Rock Guitar: Individuality, Creativity, and Musical Expression From Edward Van Halen to Guthrie Govan (1978-2021)
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6qh4d3f0#main
Very cool Roxy! I’ll have to take more time to digest all that, but I appreciate the detail! I look forward to digging in further!
Allen's episode was awesome and should make it up to those whose episodes were less of a deep dive. Looking forward to Pete as well, great stuff.
Allen, are you familiar with the "EVH Sweetened" setting on the Peterson Strobo tuners? What group of songs do they align with ( if any)?
Yes indeed I am! I’m a Peterson endorsed artist and they had heard of my research on Ed’s tuning offsets using my Peterson strobe tuners and they approached me. Eventually, they created their “EVH” preset using the tuning offset that Ed’s last tech Tom Weber used on the Roth reunion tours. Tom and Matt Bruck gave those offsets to my pal writer Chris Gill who published them in the March 2016 issue of Guitar World and Peterson lifted those offsets specifically for the “EVH” preset. This was confirmed to me straight from Peterson. The “EVH” preset offset only relates to the Roth reunion tours and does not match any specific offset that Ed ever used prior to 2007 when the first Roth reunion tour commenced.
Fun interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbgI3J59ZZc
Dweezil - excellent episode, I really enjoyed this one. Allen - it was good to hear you being interviewed and for you to grace us with your knowledge and expertise.
Thanks very much Gareth! I’ve learned so much from others and that has helped me grow exponentially…hopefully I can help do the same for someone else as I continue to try to learn more from Ed and the smart players I’ve been lucky to learn from! Dweezil has created a great platform for all of us guitar playing Eddie fans and it was a real pleasure to chat with him and play some guitar too…Dweezil did a great job of editing it so that I sound a lot better than I am and I’m also grateful for that!
While I enjoyed the insider view of how the album was done there were times I thought Shanks comes across... Let's just say I think he comes across as the typical "Joe Hollywood" producer. Whether it was Dweezil asking him if he knew former VH producers and his answer was an emphatic "I don't care!" or him talking how VH differentiated themselves "in the beginning from other bands like Ratt and Motley Crue" (Van Halen released "1984" when Ratt released their first album, and "Fair Warning" when Motley's first albumemerged)... Also felt at times like he thought Dweezil was trying to get dirt out of him and really reactionary... When Dweezil asks him to get back to his recollections of the songs he literally makes a snoring sound... Sounds like it was just some gig for him. I wish Templeman had done that album.
I can understand this point of view listening to this interview at face value, but it's good to know that working with artists can be a challenging job, sometimes--in ways that might not be immediately apparent.
Especially when what you say in an interview can be misinterpreted by the fans, by the artist, by the person interviewing you, etc.
I found his transparency on that subject refreshing yet deferential to his professional relationships. It's not an easy tightrope to walk when everything you say can get a public opinion microscope put on on it immediately.
RIP, Uncle Garber.
^
He had a short life, but he gave me so much of my life I can’t help but be extremely grateful my Uncle Alex was here for as long as he was!
Congrats, Garbeaj!
Thanks so much Benjamin! It was great fun!
Here is some great footage of VH live in 1984 at Donington.
No idea why they removed it!! Looks like it went pretty much viral within the guitar community.
Reposted:
Hey Champ! Thanks for the new episode! Hope you and the family are well. I interviewed Mick Jones ( producer for 5150 ) back in 2000 ( I was a camera operator for Foreigner when they played in Reno ). I can confirm that Mick was brought in as an " overseer " but mainly worked with Sammy/Edward on " Dreams " & " Love Walks In " in terms of the vocal performances and the editing of " Dreams " itself. Great episode with John. BTW, digging through some pics and found these little gems. Enjoy!
Hi Dweezil,
Thank you for the great Shanks episode. Loved every minute of it.
Interesting episode - but really - who hurt this guy? He’s so guarded about everything. The editing (the need for it) was obvious. Everything, from his full on retreats and unwarranted defensiveness, to assuming you were trying to sandbag him, must have been a real task…. Well done - but man what a workout.
Maybe a little too much insider baseball without the reveal - but we certainly got something new from him. He needs to decompress and let some of this stuff out and get out of his own way.
But again - well done. I know the cast is most likely drawing to a close - my hope is you keep it going. Thanks Dweezil.
I really enjoyed the Shanks episode…he’s really smart and lucid and I appreciate his recollections more than the record!
Dweezil and Shanks are right on about the “Bullethead” intro…it is the Dunlop/EVH Flanger with a cocked Dunlop/EVH wah-wah along with the delays that were mentioned. This was the same intro device (minus the wah-wah) that was used in the original versions of “Bullethead” and it is the same Flanger setting on the “Outta Love Again” intro. Edward revealed these settings for “Bullethead” intro/“Outta Love Again” intro to Guitar World’s Chris Gill back in 2015 which got published in a 2016 issue of Guitar World. These two intros were the only deviation from Edward’s standard setting on the MXR Flanger. It’s simply the same setting except the “Speed” knob is maxed out:
Here’s the “normal” setting which was copied by Dunlop for the “EVH” button on the Dunlop/EVH Flanger:
The fact that Edward used the Dunlop/EVH Flanger and the wah on the intro to the ‘A Different Kind of Truth’ version of “Bullethead” makes it sound A LOT different than the well known flanger/feedback intro to “Outta Love Again” and the early live versions of “Bullethead” which was of course the original Reticon chip MXR Flanger with feedback.
I do like a lot of parts on this record. I like Wolf’s sound a lot in general. I think the drums sound great. Many will complain about the brick-walling on the final version of the album…I don’t care. The record is what it is. I’m glad it happened and there’s a lot here to appreciate though I don’t dig it as a whole. My taste, and I don’t begrudge anyone who really likes it!
"Shanks" for the latest episode, Dweezil! Just too bad he overstates everything -- much like his production-style. So obvious + overdone, it's a pancake instead of a crepe. imho.
"Say something once, why say it again?" - David Byrne, 1977
Really enjoyed having John sharing a rarely experienced process with all of us. Thanks John and Dweezil. Home run.
I knew there was a reason I started listening to ADKOT yesterday and today! Hell Yes Dweezil!!!!
Can’t wait to listen to this episode. This is the album that should have come after FW. It kicks ass!
JAMIES CRYIN SECRET:I recently found something I’ve never heard anyone talk about vh. In Jamie’s cryin, right before the line “she said give me, give me a call sometime” at 1:04 Alex messes up and goes to the chorus drum beat instead of back to the pre chorus beat and then catches his mistake at the perfect time and falls right in. If you listen you’ll catch it. It really shows that the song was written in the studio and how they played live
Did anyone see this Youtube video about the brown sound? He gets extremely close to it, probably the best I've heard in a long time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5p4O1ZTZGM
In my opinion, for whatever that’s worth, this guy is a bit lost. He’s committed to the idea that re-amping was done. My cohorts on the MetroAmp forum and others have essentially ruled this out. I think the guy in this video decided that re-amping was “The Secret” and then looked to try to find some reasoning for that to be so rather than looking at the evidence and letting that guide him to an answer.
Hey gang, the newly released Brian May boxset edition of the Starfleet project has the complete sessions featuring lots of additional takes with Ed, including different solos to what were originally released in '83. It's awesome! I bought the set but it's also on Spotify.
-Dweezil, maybe Brian would want to chat about it?
Hi! Subscribed RWTD on December 2020. Still no Helix presets. Why the delay?
Hey Dweezil, loving the Fractal Presets you've released thus far. Curious if you have plans to release any more? Looking forward to the next episode too. Thanks!
Dweezil states on the site he is making Fractal bundles for his favourite tones, so hopefully more will be on the way soon.