#Best pickup for Van Halen 1?

69 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

tacit nebula
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I'm making a partscaster so I need to find a pickup asap! Anyone got anything in mind?

rough hare
tacit nebula
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yes

nocturne light
rough hare
nocturne light
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Put realistic any would really do

tacit nebula
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like, not bad but better options out there

nocturne light
tacit nebula
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True, but might as well get a good one if I can

nocturne light
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Most pickups are good

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You can play Van Halen on a Seymour Duncan invader and get Van Halen or Gibson paf

rough hare
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However if you want closest to what he used Gibson paf

pure haven
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Where are you located; what is your budget, and what is your rig?

dawn pier
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PAF inspired

nocturne light
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@blissful kettle this is evh shit right up your alley

blissful kettle
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Half of the album was Maxon Super 70s in the Destroyer

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The other half was the Frank with a patent sticker pickup, 63ish from an ES33X

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The issue with most EVH voiced pickups is that they account for what was done after VHI

nocturne light
blissful kettle
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Correct

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Those are higher output

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Uneven coil

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Which is what Seymour did to his paf after the first tour

nocturne light
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Damn I thought those would be classic evh

blissful kettle
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Well they are in the sense that they account for most of the history of the guitars

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But VHI was recorded before that

nocturne light
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True

pure haven
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Yeah, it seems that the average guitarist's knowledge of EVH history declines as the number of EVH-ish products increases.

nocturne light
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Don is like the #1 evh nerd ik so

pure haven
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I was referring Don's EVH knowldge in contrast to what he discussed here:
#1221546876197802044 message
I find it odd that EVH's history is not better known all these years later, in contrast to the way history tends to become more accessible over time.

blissful kettle
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It's difficult to follow

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So many swaps and confusion from interviews

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after the first tour, story goes the patent sticker pickup in the Frank was 'damaged'

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Seymour did a rewind, and did his mod at the same time

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hotter on one coil

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being how hot Van Halen was after their breakout first tour, Seymour renamed it to the 'Eddie Van Halen pickup'

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Ed politely asked him to stop, and he did

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but keeping in mind that the first album and tour happened before this

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that pickup didn't last that long, Ed started to experiment with Mighty Mites, DiMarzios

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PAF and Super Distortion style voicings

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VH II was recorded with the Seymour modded pickup

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VH I was pre-mod, as discussed

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WACF was mostly Chris Holmes' Destroyer, which was a twin to Ed's - he, of course, chopped it up at the end of '77 after recording VH I but before the tour, and felt it lost it's edge

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so he borrowed the intact Holmes Destroyer, which was one of two sold at the same store at around the same time as when Ed bought his

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the Frank might be on WACF, and if so had a DiMarzio PAF

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the Bee is definitely on WACF with a DiMarzio Super Distortion

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so, all of this is to say, ask moreso what song you want to get a pickup for

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because he used several different pickups and guitars from song to song

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that also speaks to a greater point of the gear and recording methods being the more important factor here

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if you can't tell which pickup is on which song, then it probably doesn't matter what pickup you get for your guitar

tacit nebula
blissful kettle
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Not when the album was recorded

tacit nebula
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Ah

lyric dome
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I like nerding over pickups

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But it really doesn't matter THAT much

lyric dome
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Which was my favorite EVH tone outside of his live tone with Musicmans

hasty yew
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I'd recommend a seymour duncan '78 model. It's the result of a custom pickup project Eddie got them to make for him back in the day. Don't own one personally but the reviews on them make them appear worth while.

blissful kettle
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It's a good pickup but, again, was done after VHI was recorded so not exactly conducive to the VH I tone

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But if we're going by previous discussion, it shouldn't matter unless your ear can appreciate that different songs have different guitars and pickups

tacit nebula
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I think I'll go for a Pariah Pasadena White pickup

pure haven
blissful kettle
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the Pariah Destruction 70 was designed for my Shark kits I used to do back in the day

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Sean's a good guy