Brown Sound Analysis

[WGTP]

All over the net folks in forums like this speculate about how EVH got the Brown Sound.  At Seymour Duncan, it's the EVH pickup, at others, it is the Marshal with the variac.  It's Eddie's Fingers.  Is it possible that Ted Templeman/EVH tweaked the EQ on the board?  Is it a little bit of all of that stuff???

What are the primary elements of the Brown Sound to you?  Do you think it is EQ (if so what frequencies), Harmonic Content, Pick Attack, Valerie Bertonelli, etc.?

[Doug_H]

I'm not getting into this discussion, but if you need an example for reference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1uZSXEICsE


EDIT:

Another good example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJBRldHvsVI
Doug

[MartyMart]

Some of the above ..... but mostly Eddie's talent !!

I was VERY fortunate to see VH on their first UK tour ( '78 ?) supporting Black Sabbath, who I think
kicked them off a few nights later .... they were UNBELIEVEABLE  !! and made Sabbath sound like a
bunch of monkeys !!
Most of my "still long haired" rock buddies would KILL to have see that first tour he heee

MM.

[jonathan perez]

he had used one SLP as a "distortion box", ran it into another SLP, and drove the shit out of it...the variac was used, and helps alot. a dummy load was used, and helps alot. the PAF from a gibson was used, and helps alot. ernie ball rock and roll (9s) were used, and help alot. massive speed and articulation were used, and help alot.

[tungngruv]

Didn't www.legendatytones.com do a pretty extensive look into this? I almost positive they had a really good article about his sound.

http://www.legendarytones.com/brown_sound.htm

[jonathan perez]

right on the nose! 

i used the same technique for about a year...til the 6505 came......

[nelson]

I know this is subjective, but WHY o WHY would you want to sound like that?

I dont appreciate the tone or the playing at all.

Its self indulgent and completely self absorbed.

A bit like this post.

[The Tone God]

Bah Eddie had nothing to do with the sound. It was all David.

I gotcha tone right here baaaaAAAAby!



Andrew

[nelson]

 

[jonathan perez]

there you have it! 

[WGTP]

I guess my question is way to general and stupid.  What I'm trying to get at is voicing or tonal shaping of distortion boxes.  I have been messing with an RC networks at the end of my dual op amp clipping distortion and have found that boosting the highs and the lows just right gets pretty close to what I think of as the Brown Sound.  Of course this is primarily EQ adjustments.  I don't think of the EVH sound as being mid-scooped, or mid boosted.  The highs are usually pretty bright, but I suspect some boost around 400Hz to get that woody sound.

A lot of our tweaking for smoother distortion and less fizz produces a mid-range heavy tone.  I've been using the RC networks to try and "normalize" things a bit.

I guess the question is more what EQ settings do you think produce the "Brown Sound"

[jonathan perez]

thats a very good question...i cant think of the appropriate words quite yet, but "grainy" and "aggressive" are the best words that come to mind....dammit...i wish i knew what i were talking about.

[tcobretti]

The classic VH sound is a plexi with all the knobs turned all the way up.  The Runoffgroove Thunderchief samples sound very VH to my ears.  It's actually a pretty dark guitar sound that isn't all that gainy.  Later he got into the super hi gain SLO kinda thing.

[Johan]

most 100watt marshalls come close to that sound, when pushed with a gibson-style humbuger...IF you turn the master up to 10, and then forget it´s there...but thats just it...you need to be loud...careful micplacement when recording helps too..

johan