It's 100% a FLANGER - you must hit it on and off on the last 3 notes as mentioned, Its tuned specifically to give you this "vowel" tone. This is the magic of Ed. He was a always popping things in and out to fool the listener. Try setting your flanger for only those three notes...you will have a big smile on your face. Trust me! ( by doing this it sounds exactly like the record , not kind of...but Exactly ! HAVE FUN ! )
You may think it was weird that the pedal was only turned on as an accent to those last couple notes, but Eddie was not a conventional effects user, he was always experimenting and trying new things. It's also ran before the amp. therefore making the effect come off a bit more subtle, which is why we are having this argument in the first place, it's hard to tell. It's the flanger in the intro, and this is proven when you get to the solo, which is absolutely the phase 90, and it sounds completely different than the tone on the 3 note tagline. These specific flangers sound completely different from the MXR Flanger, therefore will skew the results. That being said, the 95 sounds fuckin killer for that part
the phaser is on, set with what i call the eddie van halen setting, and the flanger is also turned on (also called the eddie van halen setting) for the last four notes of the first section of the riff then off.
MXR Phase 90 for the lead parts and the solo's. MXR flanger for only the C-B-C notes in the intro. The reason the sound is so hard to nail is because everytime he kicks in the flanger for those notes you are in a different part of the flangers sweep so to say.
Phaser. Flanger on Unchained, I use the same phaser setting on almost all my patches. Its not up for debate, if people are debating they just don't know. My favorite Van Halen deep dive is Curt Mitchell's early 90s Van Halen Method. He gets a couple things wrong (because no one knew then), but the tech stuff is great and this stuff is covered in detail
@@jye_24 You sure wrote a lot for not knowing much of anything regarding audio engineering. It is, in fact, not both a phaser & flanger. Look up Pete Thorn's video on the Brown Sound. In the middle of the video, he switches on ONLY an MXR Flanger during the 3-2-3 on the A string, and this guy most likely has the very BEST/most accurate EVH tone that anyone has ever gotten, besides the man himself. There's a huge issue with your theory and that is that you cannot possibly align the LFOs in both the flanger & frequency pedals perfectly.
Yeah? Tell that to people like Pete Thorn who've spent hundreds of hours speaking with Eddie's actual audio engineers, producers, road crew, and has videos here on TH-cam that would make you cry with how good his accurate EVH tone is. In one of his Brown Sound videos, you can find a part around the middle where he plays Ain't Talkin 'Bout Love using a flanger on it's own, and it is by far the closest that ANYONE besides Eddie has gotten to that sound. Gives me chills to hear it.
In the intro of Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love, that is a flanger for the last three notes. There is some phasing in the solo, but a more clear comparison is the intro for Atomic Punk, which is definitely a phaser and Unchained which is definitely a flanger.
With all these isolated tracks, you can clearly hear the effect kicking in only on the riffs, not the intro part. Ed, did that a lot. Just like on Eruption, when the phaser was added, right before going to the big open G chord. And songs like On Fire, or I am the one, you hear him kicking on the Flanger just for short riffs. Or on Atomic Punks where he triggers that gnarly delay to stack up quickly to really double or triple time the sound he’s making rubbing his palm on the strings.
Flanger kicks on during the low notes on the intro, the quiet whispery part is delay and FLANGER. The solo sections is phase shifter. Hard to tell, but he may be riding out the outro with the phase shifter on, the very ending riffs when he dive bombs the low E, he kicks on a Flanger. How do I know? I have listened and played this song ever since it came out. You can clearly hear that sharp sweep into girgling modulation of the MXR FLANGER. The Phase Shifter is slower sweep, not as sharp sounding but used during soloing bits If you think the intro notes are a phaser, make sure to buy an MXR Flanger and try it. Most of the tune is straight screaming Marshall Plexi and all its luscious nuances to the harmonics.
Exactly. Eddie said himself that the Phase 90 took the edge off his guitar tone so he almost exclusively used it to dress up certain parts of a song, or soften it up so it wasn't so ear-piercing. It has a definite hi-cut in it, or maybe a low-pass really high up.
It does sound like a phaser to me. Also,I think it sounds like combination of phaser and flanger ,or maybe a modded phaser 🎸👍 Great point : a flanger can be used and it still sounds great
Respectfully, im not sure why you would think he didnt turn stomp boxes on and off on the fly. MXR phase 90 script on all the time. Set very low (less than his usual 9:00 position.) MXR Flanger kicked on and off on the accents on low e string for all of intro and breakdown.(similar to Unchained intro) During verses he kicks it on and off intermittently on accents throughout. Flanger settings are (approx) 11 oclock on first 3 knobs and regen knob off. (Setting he used pretty much all the time..hence the little white button the EVH Flanger)
Ok. I understand yourpoint of view. However,if you were to use that same logic, then you would also have to say he didnt kick it on for the THREE Drop D notes in Unchained 😉😁
@@RobertWJackson This is a pretty weak argument to make. Those 3 notes make a tremendous difference in this song, so I'd say that's worth it? He was certainly competent and coordinated enough (as he was previously the drummer in he very early days) to hit the timing on the flanger at the perfect times to make the effect happen. I can't believe you made this video (and have or will make others?) about this topic when there are professionals in the industry who've proven it beyond a shadow of doubt that there is a flanger kicked on for the 3-2-3 lick in the riff. And a phaser kicked on for 1 or 2 short parts later in the song. Please please just listen to the isolated/raw guitar track and you will change your mind and stop continuing to push this myth.
I defer to your expertise when it comes to anything and everything about pedals! You have forgotten more about pedals than I will ever know. Thank you for giving us this video for those that insist on debating this. Please keep the videos coming!!!
The intro is actually clean with a tight echoplex tape delay, and a flanger on the accent notes at the end. Listen to it with a quality set of headphones. Being a real tape delay, it causes a slight coloring, but you can hear the tight repeat. From everything I've read about Eddie, he used the Phase 90 primarily to add depth to solos like an auto-wah (he didn't have an actual wah pedal on his board in '78).
Is it a possibility that it could be the echoplex/reverb on the intro could be affecting the sound of the phaser? I think it's a phaser as well, but the echo is doing some strange stuff with the tone. We'll prob never know 100% for sure, EVH was always kinda protective of his tone secrets. Great video as always Robert!
It’s a Flanger on those last three low notes. It doesn’t sound right here because the type of flanger matters. I tried that TC and it didn’t get the MXR sound. I’ve used flangers in various modelers/profilers but they aren’t right either. There’s an issue of character but also the timing of the sweep. // Seems pretty obvious that there’s a different effect only on those three notes. If we perceive some effect on the entire riff-I dunno-maybe there’s also light phase, too, but I think it’s just the Echoplex.
An Echoplex does not have the parameters, especially the settings for timing, to make that kind of sound. I've used several in the studio I work at. It's most certainly a flanger. I believe an MXR MX-117. One question you have to consider is if it was in the chain before the signal reached the amp, after the amp, or post-recording on a mixing desk bus track.
You can’t leave the pedal on for the whole lick. He only kicked it on for those last two notes. It’s a flanger, and you have to use the MXR flanger. Same settings as Unchained and when you kick it on for those two notes you’re there. The phaser is the solo.
It's a lot easier to hear it if you go listen to the isolated guitar track, you hear the phaser during the solo and in the breakdown where he's turned down ("Plead for it baby!") you hear the phaser on the ungated guitar very clearly. The flanger on the 3 note lick in the intro and on the two chucks on the breakdown.
@@goodknight37 yeah man. Eddie has been known to BS about the stuff he used. He's always trying to throw people off. But I did see a live performance and had a clear view of his Pedalboard. He had both the phaser and flanger on his board. And he was clearly using a wah on the end of the riff
@@wally-001 Dawg were you crossfaded at that concert because that's the most ridiculous shit I've ever heard lol. There's no way to turn a wah pedal on without rocking it all the way forward first, so it would have to START that part with the frequency pass at the high end, which is very inconsistent and not happening in every instance of the song in the studio version. MAYBE he used it live but I find that hard as hell to believe because that would just sound awful, and that's unheard of, even from the engineers that recorded him, for him to use a wah during this song.
Interesting video. I wonder if we'll see another video like this. Enjoyed hearing the differences in the Phasers and Flangers and how they can affect a riff regardless of the debate at hand. Thank you once again for the content, Robert. Keep up the great work!
Phaser at the beginning, but you can definitely hear a flanger on part near the end(As The E chord rings the sweep filter of a flanger is unmistakable). At times 3:32-3:35 of the song(goes into jet flange territory, swoosh) idk..
Ahhhhhh the Joyo Classic Flanger, or as I call it "the one I kept!" MXR Phase 90 is my bet even though I dont hear that up and down effect like you hear on say Sweet's "Yesterdays Rain". Plus there is that EVH Phase 90 sig model.
Phaser for most of it, the 2 notes that are accented (C-B-C)--he would literally kick the flanger on for just those two notes and then turn it off. There's plenty of footage of him doing this. Technically it's Phaser + Flanger for the two accented notes. I've used a momentary flanger for this purpose because it's only 1 tap and hold as opposed to hitting the switch twice.
Hi Robert, great video trying to clear up some misconceptions. First, you are right, it was a Phase 90, not a flanger. The sound of it is unmistakeable. For proof positive, and this was straight from Eddie himself in 1980, when he had his first major interview with Guitar Player Magazine (which I avidly read at the time) he said he used the Phase 90 on "Atomic Punk" and achieved the "swoosh" sound on the intro by rubbing the heel of his picking hand rapidly over the strings. Comparing that, and "Ain't Talkin' Bout' Love", the sounds are identical, even with different playing technique. Eddie, to be honest, wasn't boisterous about effects, he kept them to a minimum, actually, he got most of them with his hands, besides the trem and making his amp "brown sound". And during that time, the Script Logo Phase 90 was the only MXR one available. But as far as a Phase 90 goes today, and I'm not patting Eddie on the back, I think his signature Phase 90 is a much better sounding effect, and you can switch between Block and Script modes. I honestly prefer it's Block mode, to me, it hits a bit harder, with a lot more "swoosh".
I had a MXR Flanger my long lost father gave me when I was 16 back in like early 1991. I thought awesome because I had the Cherry Lane Tablature books to the first 2 Van Halen albums. I think they described EVH's early gear set up saying he used the MXR Flanger. It was a real noisy pedal, only could run off the wall no battery, and just had way too much SWOOSH no matter how I set it. I didn't know there was a MXR Phaser back then but being there just wast much pedal effects in the 70's it had to be the phaser effect
Yeah, It sound like Eddie only used the Phase 90 when he finished the riff on the A string (4 notes). - Edit, I mixed up Phaser with Flanger, he used a flanger for the last 4 notes
I use to own a script phase 90 and 100 back in the 70s(I’m 60!) and they amazing things for a teenage guitar God wannabe.I distinctly remember EVH saying in Guitar Player mag at the time that he used a Phase 90.Where are my pedals today??All my gear got stolen with my wagon in the 90s including my 65 Strat that made Rory Gallagher’s Strat look mint.
I don't believe you can just set and forget the Flanger or Phaser. It seems like it is off in the beginning and then on at the end of the riff. You also need a good amount of reverb and a short delay. As for whether it is a Flanger or Phaser, I will never come close to playing like Eddie, and I like the sound of a Flanger, so that's what I usually play.☺☺☺
Definitely phaser But … MAYBE HE ONLY USE IT IN INTRO SPECIFICALLY CBC Robert you listen to the isolated guitar track on TH-cam especially a couple of times or many times you will definitely hear where the phaser is used and that got to got to bleed baby part is when the Flanger is kicked in towards end of song I think he has the echo Plex on the whole song but the modulation effects are in different places and you also can cause that affect with finger vibrato and a slight bend on the C note in the intro that’s how I play it because I don’t have any effects but I know how to hear them I can see how this debate draws guitarists and musicians in. ITS REALLY GOT ME NOW!
I believe the phaser is on for the core sound. I believe he temporarily toggles The flanger on so that the last three notes of the riff will stick out in the intro. He toggles the Flanger on every time it comes to those 3 notes within that riff, and it is off for the rest of the riff.
If you’re going to leave the effect on through the entire lick then the Phase 90 is your best bet. If you want to play it like Eddie then you apply a flanger at the appropriate time. Unchained is a good example. If you leave the flanger on throughout the entire riff you’ll ruin it.
I just listened to the song again because I thought maybe I was missing something. Nope. It’s clearly a Flanger, and it’s also clearly on the last four notes of the main riff. I don’t understand why there’s any debate.
Definitely a Phase 90. How I tell the difference between phasing and flanging is that a phase pedal is very dry sounding and a flange has a 'wet' tonality.
Flange, Phase, and Chorus pedals have a lot of overlap in their ability to sound like each other, so it depends on what pedals you own. If it makes a "whoosh," it's probably a Flanger like Unchained. If it has more of a "warble," then it's a Phaser like "Ain't Talkin Bout Love." And nobody's clicking pedals repeatedly during studio recordings. They are either mixing in a "wet" amp with the Phaser in and out, or EVH had a volume pedal controlling when you hear the Phaser. It's too smooth to be a pedal clicking on and off. Listen to it with headphones and you'll hear multiple amps being mixed in and out, meaning the Phaser can be left on the entire time with a separate volume control.
@@RobertWJackson A slapback delay can be done on a tape. Tape machines were used to create delay effects as early as the '40s, and made it very famous, thanks to Elvis, in the '50s. Slapback only means that you only get 1 repeat of anything -- no continuing echos after that. The speed doesn't matter really either, it's usually tight at sub ~120 ms, though EVH's was usually slower and set based on quarter or eighth notes.
It agree that it's a Phase pedal, Robert. And I definitely agree that he is one of the last,true guitar heroes!! But don't get mad at me because I do believe he did click the pedal on and off during that part of the song and I think I saw it being done by a TH-camr called Durap and I think he is one of the most accurate EVH Tribute guitar players on the interweb. Go check him out if you haven't already...he's incredible from his playing all the way done to Eddie's tone! Great topic ,by the way!!
EVH set the bar several times higher for 80's players but he really only dominated guitar virtualocity from 1978 to maybe 1987. After that Yngwie, Via, Shawn Lane, Jason Becker Michael Angelo Batio, Satriani picked up the slack Eddie left because he really just did the same bag of tricks after the first Sammy Hagar VH record 5150. He even backed off on technic in the 90's enormously. If you listen to anything after the 5150 album there just isn't anymore growth or progress in Eddie's musicianship. Even his stage guitar solo was the same in 2015 as it was in 1986.
I have a Phase 95 it has 3 distinct sounds. One being a Phase 45 so you get lot for your buck. I find the argument that a Phase 90 is better a non starter. First I owned an original years ago. Secondly for example if you do not have EVH's guitar, amp and PU and then play VH tune, than the 95 is going to sound as close.
From what I read in a past interview about 30 years ago, I believe it was an MXR script phaser set at the 9 o-clock position. The MXR EVH phaser nails the sound perfectly. Also remember, the tone is in the fingers. How he picked and fretted made a huge difference. EVH changed the sound of rock music forever. Only Via, Nuno, Wylde, Malmsteen, Lynch, Broderick and Freidman could compete with him and they come no where close. EVH was the true pioneer and GOD of hard rock and metal. His amps, guitars, pickups and pedals that were sold to the masses set the bar for the rest to follow.
I saw them open for Black Sabbath on their Technical Ecstasy tour. After their set my best friend asked me what I thought, "I'm not sure about that Jim Dandy tipoff singer but that guitar player is a MONSTER!" And so he was.
I didn’t either. I just happened to discover it when arguing about it with somebody else. (It got a little heated and I may or may not have overreacted by blocking him. LOL) I actually posted about it in a couple of different Facebook groups, and I was surprised at how many different answers I got. The majority of people seem to agree with me that it’s a Phase 90, but it’s not really a VAST majority.
It seem's to me that the rock star party culture that thrived from the 60s through the 80s was tainted badly by the 90s after so many of the stars had died or told all these horror stories about drug addiction, squandering millions of dollars and having to come back up from rock bottom. What was left were a lot of guitar players that could party like the pros but not play or incredibly great guitarists who were introverts that don't party, can't mix catchy riffs with blazing technique and are unable to mesmorize huge crowds because they never left their mom and dad's basenent. Having the right blend of technique, persona and dilligence will never happen again like Eddie Van Halen was able to cultivate through his being. If it does it will not be from the old boomer mold of sex, drugs & rock 'n roll that fueled the dreams of the fans from back then. I was born in 1975 and I think while I was growing up the world became it's most obnoxious which lead to all the political correctness, liberals & conservatives becoming even further divaded and people looking down on most rock stars for their weakness instead of exhaulting them because of their great music.
EVH being the last true guitar hero ? Iv got no problem agreeing with tht . If hes not iv no idea who it wld be . Im easy , it's a phaser . Love the channel .
Creo que con Phaser se escucha muy exagerado el efecto y no igual, con flanger es más parecido a la versión del Disco, si lo ajustas bien podrías obtener un sonido igual con flanger.
Exactly, Eddie switched the effect in and out during that intro. How is it that Mr. Wolf here is the only one to point that out? Having the pedals on the whole time makes this whole test useless. Oh and, Eddie used an MXR Flanger for the intro. How are all you guys convinced this is a phaser? Listen to the original track and then go listen to Unchained where Eddie punches the effect in and out just like he does here. It's the same pedal, the same MXR Flanger.
100% a flanger HOWEVER, and this is never talked about in any forum or anywhere else....you must use a flanger with a HARDWIRE BYPASS. That means that the flange will still cycle even when the pedal is switched off. Then you time the sweep to go up on the three note turn around then timed to sweep down on the next engage. And yes, he is doing a three note 'quick engage", he did something similar in Unchained. th-cam.com/video/tlwBDVZCR3A/w-d-xo.html
My nitpick with this song isn't about phase or flange (which ARE similar micro-time-delay, moving comb filters, one is just more original-signal-obliterating than the other). My pointless gripe is that EVERYONE on TH-cam plays it by forming a cowboy chord and strumming a slow arpeggio black and forth, letting the notes ring. This kills the percussive attack and sudden damping of the real thing. VanHalen is not playing a folk song. He is STABBING with each note. This needs to be played like a riff, pulling the fretted note off to suddenly dampen it. It is not just a fat picking hand lounging on the bridge to damp out the sustain. The cowboy chord method completely misses the PERCUSSIVE effect that makes this part stand out.
I can't believe this is even a question. It was most definitely an MXR 117 flanger and it was only on the end of the phrase, not the whole thing. Whatever phasing etc. is also there is most likely due to the part being multi-tracked.
You should read the rest of this comment thread and see just how many different answers there are. And then explain to the rest of us why you’re right and so many other people are wrong.
You can get overlap of the two, and that may be what confuses people & Eddie did use both. Use whichever you like-I won’t judge you for it, and many won’t as well. (Although I would agree it sounds more like a phaser)
Read the comments on this video. There’s a bunch of differing opinions including yours, which seems to indicate that MOST people don’t really know for sure, despite what they’ve always believed.
@@RobertWJackson He tends to use the flanger on and off quickly for short parts like fills and the last part of this intro. The phaser mostly for solos. He said in an interview he'd use the phaser during solos in the early days to make the guitar stand out in the mix. On Fire and Atomic Punk come to mind as you can hear the flanger used on and off only a couple seconds on a few parts.
It's curious how you so quickly dismissed the "on for only the last 4 notes" theory. I've thought it was a flanger kicked on for just those 4 notes since I first heard it over 40 years ago. Why would you consider this possibility "nonsense?" He did the exact same thing on the riff for Unchained.
It just doesn’t make sense to me that ANY guitar player would want to constantly tap dance all over their pedalboard while they’re playing ONE simple riff, even Eddie Van Halen. Hell, by the 90’s when they were on the Right Here Right Now tour, he didn’t even use any effects on that riff at all. I also haven’t been able to find any earlier videos of him playing it live where he was turning flanger OR the phaser on and off specifically for three notes. But the truth is, I don’t think anybody knows for sure. Eddie was known for keeping a lot of his tone secrets a secret. Read the comments thread on this video. There’s A TON of different answers, and there’s nothing to suggest that any of them are any more right than the others, including yours OR mine. NOBODY knows for sure.
@@RobertWJackson Hey Robert, thank you for responding. I didn't realize you were referring to live performances, only the original studio recording. Live, I'd have to agree, I've never seen him doing any pedalboard tap dances. But I distinctly do recall reading about the intermittent use of the effect on both ATBL as well as Unchained in an early 80s article from Guitar Player or Musician, though I've no evidence other than that recollection and what my ears have always heard. Anywho, keep up the great channel, I've always enjoyed your point of view.
I AM referring to the original studio recording. However, the original studio recording wasn’t captured on video, so that only leaves live performances to refer to as the next best thing. I admit that’s not the most accurate representation, either, because there are plenty of artists who don’t play a specific riff or song live the same way they did when they originally recorded it. Regardless, just read all of the different answers on this comment thread. I’m now convinced that nobody knows for sure. What’s even more interesting are the comments from people attacking me simply because I’ve challenged them on their beliefs regarding the matter, forced them to consider other possibilities, and now they’re pissed.
Just ask Pete Thorn. He has a vid explaining this exact thing. He's even got posts on forums explaining it. Just, because you can't kick the pedal on and off for 4 notes doesn't mean no one else could. Because that's EXACTLY what Ed did. AND I ALWAYS READ IT WAS BOTH. 🤣
It's 100% a FLANGER - you must hit it on and off on the last 3 notes as mentioned, Its tuned specifically to give you this "vowel" tone. This is the magic of Ed. He was a always popping things in and out to fool the listener. Try setting your flanger for only those three notes...you will have a big smile on your face. Trust me! ( by doing this it sounds exactly like the record , not kind of...but Exactly ! HAVE FUN ! )
You may think it was weird that the pedal was only turned on as an accent to those last couple notes, but Eddie was not a conventional effects user, he was always experimenting and trying new things. It's also ran before the amp. therefore making the effect come off a bit more subtle, which is why we are having this argument in the first place, it's hard to tell. It's the flanger in the intro, and this is proven when you get to the solo, which is absolutely the phase 90, and it sounds completely different than the tone on the 3 note tagline. These specific flangers sound completely different from the MXR Flanger, therefore will skew the results. That being said, the 95 sounds fuckin killer for that part
its just not the intro is so clearly a phaser, but in my opinion he also has a flanger on subtly for the intro
Exactly
The effect (flanger or phaser) should only be engaged during the C,B,C notes or 3,2,3. It wasn’t used during the entire lick.
Correct!
I've always thought it was an MXR flanger...play the riff with a MXR Micro Flange and you'll hear what you're missing
phaser on the solo, flanger on the riff
the phaser is on, set with what i call the eddie van halen setting, and the flanger is also turned on (also called the eddie van halen setting) for the last four notes of the first section of the riff then off.
Hmm, maybe you're right
MXR Phase 90 for the lead parts and the solo's. MXR flanger for only the C-B-C notes in the intro. The reason the sound is so hard to nail is because everytime he kicks in the flanger for those notes you are in a different part of the flangers sweep so to say.
Just Listen to Pete Thorn play it with a flanger:
th-cam.com/video/sTIHC86sDZo/w-d-xo.html
Phaser. Flanger on Unchained, I use the same phaser setting on almost all my patches. Its not up for debate, if people are debating they just don't know. My favorite Van Halen deep dive is Curt Mitchell's early 90s Van Halen Method. He gets a couple things wrong (because no one knew then), but the tech stuff is great and this stuff is covered in detail
It was a flanger on ATBL as well.
@@jye_24 You sure wrote a lot for not knowing much of anything regarding audio engineering. It is, in fact, not both a phaser & flanger. Look up Pete Thorn's video on the Brown Sound. In the middle of the video, he switches on ONLY an MXR Flanger during the 3-2-3 on the A string, and this guy most likely has the very BEST/most accurate EVH tone that anyone has ever gotten, besides the man himself. There's a huge issue with your theory and that is that you cannot possibly align the LFOs in both the flanger & frequency pedals perfectly.
Yeah? Tell that to people like Pete Thorn who've spent hundreds of hours speaking with Eddie's actual audio engineers, producers, road crew, and has videos here on TH-cam that would make you cry with how good his accurate EVH tone is. In one of his Brown Sound videos, you can find a part around the middle where he plays Ain't Talkin 'Bout Love using a flanger on it's own, and it is by far the closest that ANYONE besides Eddie has gotten to that sound. Gives me chills to hear it.
In the intro of Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love, that is a flanger for the last three notes. There is some phasing in the solo, but a more clear comparison is the intro for Atomic Punk, which is definitely a phaser and Unchained which is definitely a flanger.
With all these isolated tracks, you can clearly hear the effect kicking in only on the riffs, not the intro part.
Ed, did that a lot. Just like on Eruption, when the phaser was added, right before going to the big open G chord. And songs like On Fire, or I am the one, you hear him kicking on the Flanger just for short riffs.
Or on Atomic Punks where he triggers that gnarly delay to stack up quickly to really double or triple time the sound he’s making rubbing his palm on the strings.
Flanger kicks on during the low notes on the intro, the quiet whispery part is delay and FLANGER. The solo sections is phase shifter. Hard to tell, but he may be riding out the outro with the phase shifter on, the very ending riffs when he dive bombs the low E, he kicks on a Flanger.
How do I know? I have listened and played this song ever since it came out.
You can clearly hear that sharp sweep into girgling modulation of the MXR FLANGER.
The Phase Shifter is slower sweep, not as sharp sounding but used during soloing bits
If you think the intro notes are a phaser, make sure to buy an MXR Flanger and try it.
Most of the tune is straight screaming Marshall Plexi and all its luscious nuances to the harmonics.
Exactly. Eddie said himself that the Phase 90 took the edge off his guitar tone so he almost exclusively used it to dress up certain parts of a song, or soften it up so it wasn't so ear-piercing. It has a definite hi-cut in it, or maybe a low-pass really high up.
It does sound like a phaser to me. Also,I think it sounds like combination of phaser and flanger ,or maybe a modded phaser 🎸👍 Great point : a flanger can be used and it still sounds great
He used a phaser and a flanger. The flanger was used very lightly in the song. Check out the Sunset sound recordings of Van Halen raw tracks .
Respectfully, im not sure why you would think he didnt turn stomp boxes on and off on the fly.
MXR phase 90 script on all the time. Set very low (less than his usual 9:00 position.)
MXR Flanger kicked on and off on the accents on low e string for all of intro and breakdown.(similar to Unchained intro)
During verses he kicks it on and off intermittently on accents throughout.
Flanger settings are (approx)
11 oclock on first 3 knobs and regen knob off. (Setting he used pretty much all the time..hence the little white button the EVH Flanger)
People turn stomp boxes on and off all the time. I just don’t believe that he did so for just THREE notes.
Ok. I understand yourpoint of view. However,if you were to use that same logic, then you would also have to say he didnt kick it on for the THREE Drop D notes in Unchained 😉😁
That’s not the only reason. I’m going to go into more detail in another video.
Ok. Il keep an eye out for your vid 😁
@@RobertWJackson This is a pretty weak argument to make. Those 3 notes make a tremendous difference in this song, so I'd say that's worth it? He was certainly competent and coordinated enough (as he was previously the drummer in he very early days) to hit the timing on the flanger at the perfect times to make the effect happen. I can't believe you made this video (and have or will make others?) about this topic when there are professionals in the industry who've proven it beyond a shadow of doubt that there is a flanger kicked on for the 3-2-3 lick in the riff. And a phaser kicked on for 1 or 2 short parts later in the song. Please please just listen to the isolated/raw guitar track and you will change your mind and stop continuing to push this myth.
Great discussion Robert. Nice breakdown. I agree it sounds like
Phaser
I defer to your expertise when it comes to anything and everything about pedals! You have forgotten more about pedals than I will ever know. Thank you for giving us this video for those that insist on debating this. Please keep the videos coming!!!
The intro is actually clean with a tight echoplex tape delay, and a flanger on the accent notes at the end. Listen to it with a quality set of headphones. Being a real tape delay, it causes a slight coloring, but you can hear the tight repeat. From everything I've read about Eddie, he used the Phase 90 primarily to add depth to solos like an auto-wah (he didn't have an actual wah pedal on his board in '78).
Is it a possibility that it could be the echoplex/reverb on the intro could be affecting the sound of the phaser? I think it's a phaser as well, but the echo is doing some strange stuff with the tone. We'll prob never know 100% for sure, EVH was always kinda protective of his tone secrets. Great video as always Robert!
Definitely the phaser. Thank you Robert. Great subject.
Hi Robert. Are you running your modulation effects before or after your distortion?
🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
It’s a flanger. There’s clearly the feedback parameter in the sound. Just my opinion. The settings on a flanger range from subtle to far-out.
Fun video! I can't get into debates about these things because I have no knowledge of such things. But it's fun to hear the differences.
It’s a Flanger on those last three low notes. It doesn’t sound right here because the type of flanger matters. I tried that TC and it didn’t get the MXR sound. I’ve used flangers in various modelers/profilers but they aren’t right either. There’s an issue of character but also the timing of the sweep. // Seems pretty obvious that there’s a different effect only on those three notes. If we perceive some effect on the entire riff-I dunno-maybe there’s also light phase, too, but I think it’s just the Echoplex.
An Echoplex does not have the parameters, especially the settings for timing, to make that kind of sound. I've used several in the studio I work at. It's most certainly a flanger. I believe an MXR MX-117. One question you have to consider is if it was in the chain before the signal reached the amp, after the amp, or post-recording on a mixing desk bus track.
You can’t leave the pedal on for the whole lick. He only kicked it on for those last two notes. It’s a flanger, and you have to use the MXR flanger. Same settings as Unchained and when you kick it on for those two notes you’re there. The phaser is the solo.
It's a lot easier to hear it if you go listen to the isolated guitar track, you hear the phaser during the solo and in the breakdown where he's turned down ("Plead for it baby!") you hear the phaser on the ungated guitar very clearly. The flanger on the 3 note lick in the intro and on the two chucks on the breakdown.
I always heard it was a phaser. But it definitely sounds more like a flanger to my ears
My ears too.
It definitely is a Flanger
@@goodknight37 yeah man. Eddie has been known to BS about the stuff he used. He's always trying to throw people off. But I did see a live performance and had a clear view of his Pedalboard. He had both the phaser and flanger on his board. And he was clearly using a wah on the end of the riff
Moist.
@@wally-001 Dawg were you crossfaded at that concert because that's the most ridiculous shit I've ever heard lol. There's no way to turn a wah pedal on without rocking it all the way forward first, so it would have to START that part with the frequency pass at the high end, which is very inconsistent and not happening in every instance of the song in the studio version. MAYBE he used it live but I find that hard as hell to believe because that would just sound awful, and that's unheard of, even from the engineers that recorded him, for him to use a wah during this song.
I was told in one video that he uses a flanger and kicks a phaser on for a brief second then cuts it off
I think it’s actually the other way around - phaser on all the time, flanger on for the final three notes of the riff.
Interesting video. I wonder if we'll see another video like this. Enjoyed hearing the differences in the Phasers and Flangers and how they can affect a riff regardless of the debate at hand. Thank you once again for the content, Robert. Keep up the great work!
th-cam.com/video/aKejQ1WBybA/w-d-xo.html @ 30:25 mark
Phaser , but flanger on the three last notes.
Phaser at the beginning, but you can definitely hear a flanger on part near the end(As The E chord rings the sweep filter of a flanger is unmistakable). At times 3:32-3:35 of the song(goes into jet flange territory, swoosh) idk..
I never could quite get the amount of effect he had !!!!
Ahhhhhh the Joyo Classic Flanger, or as I call it "the one I kept!" MXR Phase 90 is my bet even though I dont hear that up and down effect like you hear on say Sweet's "Yesterdays Rain". Plus there is that EVH Phase 90 sig model.
Phaser for most of it, the 2 notes that are accented (C-B-C)--he would literally kick the flanger on for just those two notes and then turn it off. There's plenty of footage of him doing this. Technically it's Phaser + Flanger for the two accented notes.
I've used a momentary flanger for this purpose because it's only 1 tap and hold as opposed to hitting the switch twice.
Hi Robert, great video trying to clear up some misconceptions. First, you are right, it was a Phase 90, not a flanger. The sound of it is unmistakeable. For proof positive, and this was straight from Eddie himself in 1980, when he had his first major interview with Guitar Player Magazine (which I avidly read at the time) he said he used the Phase 90 on "Atomic Punk" and achieved the "swoosh" sound on the intro by rubbing the heel of his picking hand rapidly over the strings. Comparing that, and "Ain't Talkin' Bout' Love", the sounds are identical, even with different playing technique. Eddie, to be honest, wasn't boisterous about effects, he kept them to a minimum, actually, he got most of them with his hands, besides the trem and making his amp "brown sound". And during that time, the Script Logo Phase 90 was the only MXR one available. But as far as a Phase 90 goes today, and I'm not patting Eddie on the back, I think his signature Phase 90 is a much better sounding effect, and you can switch between Block and Script modes. I honestly prefer it's Block mode, to me, it hits a bit harder, with a lot more "swoosh".
I had a MXR Flanger my long lost father gave me when I was 16 back in like early 1991. I thought awesome because I had the Cherry Lane Tablature books to the first 2 Van Halen albums. I think they described EVH's early gear set up saying he used the MXR Flanger. It was a real noisy pedal, only could run off the wall no battery, and just had way too much SWOOSH no matter how I set it. I didn't know there was a MXR Phaser back then but being there just wast much pedal effects in the 70's it had to be the phaser effect
0:57 I have the same exact flanger on the right and phaser 90.
Ive always used a flanger with a lil delay. Sounded close enough for the girls i go with. But hey im lucky i can even play that riff lol.
Yeah, It sound like Eddie only used the Phase 90 when he finished the riff on the A string (4 notes). - Edit, I mixed up Phaser with Flanger, he used a flanger for the last 4 notes
I agree with you. It sounds like a phaser.
I thought it was an MXR Phase 90.
I use to own a script phase 90 and 100 back in the 70s(I’m 60!) and they amazing things for a teenage guitar God wannabe.I distinctly remember EVH saying in Guitar Player mag at the time that he used a Phase 90.Where are my pedals today??All my gear got stolen with my wagon in the 90s including my 65 Strat that made Rory Gallagher’s Strat look mint.
I don't believe you can just set and forget the Flanger or Phaser. It seems like it is off in the beginning and then on at the end of the riff. You also need a good amount of reverb and a short delay.
As for whether it is a Flanger or Phaser, I will never come close to playing like Eddie, and I like the sound of a Flanger, so that's what I usually play.☺☺☺
Definitely phaser But … MAYBE HE ONLY USE IT IN INTRO SPECIFICALLY CBC Robert you listen to the isolated guitar track on TH-cam especially a couple of times or many times you will definitely hear where the phaser is used and that got to got to bleed baby part is when the Flanger is kicked in towards end of song I think he has the echo Plex on the whole song but the modulation effects are in different places and you also can cause that affect with finger vibrato and a slight bend on the C note in the intro that’s how I play it because I don’t have any effects but I know how to hear them I can see how this debate draws guitarists and musicians in. ITS REALLY GOT ME NOW!
Both lol idk?
Heres a another possibility , it was done in post.
Sunset sound might reply as well.
We may never know.
But a good video
I believe the phaser is on for the core sound. I believe he temporarily toggles The flanger on so that the last three notes of the riff will stick out in the intro. He toggles the Flanger on every time it comes to those 3 notes within that riff, and it is off for the rest of the riff.
Nah.... it was neither of those. It was just all in his Hands!!... heheh. 😄
Lol I was going to say exactly this but you beat me to it.
Funny as heck.
its a phaser, but during the intro before the other instruments he has a flanger for the last 3 low notes
Its both the flanger is accented at the end of riff
Might be able to contact one of his techs. Would be easier to get that info from them.
He might be using the flanger for the solo though. Definitely an effect being used there.
If you’re going to leave the effect on through the entire lick then the Phase 90 is your best bet. If you want to play it like Eddie then you apply a flanger at the appropriate time. Unchained is a good example. If you leave the flanger on throughout the entire riff you’ll ruin it.
Phaser.. they just turned it up in the mix on the B and C notes
I just listened to the song again because I thought maybe I was missing something. Nope. It’s clearly a Flanger, and it’s also clearly on the last four notes of the main riff. I don’t understand why there’s any debate.
Moist.
Definitely a Phase 90.
How I tell the difference between phasing and flanging is that a phase pedal is very dry sounding and a flange has a 'wet' tonality.
It is settled!
It is?
@@RobertWJackson yes sir. You have laid the matter to rest.
I think I’m more confused now than I was before I turned on the camera. LOL
@@RobertWJackson lol indeed!
Flange, Phase, and Chorus pedals have a lot of overlap in their ability to sound like each other, so it depends on what pedals you own.
If it makes a "whoosh," it's probably a Flanger like Unchained. If it has more of a "warble," then it's a Phaser like "Ain't Talkin Bout Love."
And nobody's clicking pedals repeatedly during studio recordings. They are either mixing in a "wet" amp with the Phaser in and out, or EVH had a volume pedal controlling when you hear the Phaser. It's too smooth to be a pedal clicking on and off.
Listen to it with headphones and you'll hear multiple amps being mixed in and out, meaning the Phaser can be left on the entire time with a separate volume control.
Add a little slap back delay
Tape delay, actually.
@@RobertWJackson A slapback delay can be done on a tape. Tape machines were used to create delay effects as early as the '40s, and made it very famous, thanks to Elvis, in the '50s. Slapback only means that you only get 1 repeat of anything -- no continuing echos after that. The speed doesn't matter really either, it's usually tight at sub ~120 ms, though EVH's was usually slower and set based on quarter or eighth notes.
Phaser is the correct pedal, but to my ear flanger is badass compared to the phaser
I use to think it was flanger but I tried with phaser years ago. But the riff gets too muffled with a flanger IMO.
It agree that it's a Phase pedal, Robert. And I definitely agree that he is one of the last,true guitar heroes!! But don't get mad at me because I do believe he did click the pedal on and off during that part of the song and I think I saw it being done by a TH-camr called Durap and I think he is one of the most accurate EVH Tribute guitar players on the interweb. Go check him out if you haven't already...he's incredible from his playing all the way done to Eddie's tone! Great topic ,by the way!!
EVH set the bar several times higher for 80's players but he really only dominated guitar virtualocity from 1978 to maybe 1987. After that Yngwie, Via, Shawn Lane, Jason Becker Michael Angelo Batio, Satriani picked up the slack Eddie left because he really just did the same bag of tricks after the first Sammy Hagar VH record 5150. He even backed off on technic in the 90's enormously. If you listen to anything after the 5150 album there just isn't anymore growth or progress in Eddie's musicianship. Even his stage guitar solo was the same in 2015 as it was in 1986.
I have a Phase 95 it has 3 distinct sounds. One being a Phase 45 so you get lot for your buck. I find the argument that a Phase 90 is better a non starter. First I owned an original years ago. Secondly for example if you do not have EVH's guitar, amp and PU and then play VH tune, than the 95 is going to sound as close.
My question is this. What type of guitar was Eddie using to play "Aint Talking 'Bout Love" ?
I believe he recorded that song with his famous Frankenstein Super Strat that he built himself.
@@RobertWJackson O I C
I always thought Phaser pedal.
Me too.
He used both
It was a phaser. The flanger did not sound right. I have to ask: Is that TC Electronic Thunderstorm a decent pedal? Worth picking one up?
Yeah, it’s pretty decent, especially for the price. If you need a flanger and don’t want to pay $150-200 for it, the Thunderstorm is a good option.
From what I read in a past interview about 30 years ago, I believe it was an MXR script phaser set at the 9 o-clock position. The MXR EVH phaser nails the sound perfectly. Also remember, the tone is in the fingers. How he picked and fretted made a huge difference. EVH changed the sound of rock music forever. Only Via, Nuno, Wylde, Malmsteen, Lynch, Broderick and Freidman could compete with him and they come no where close. EVH was the true pioneer and GOD of hard rock and metal. His amps, guitars, pickups and pedals that were sold to the masses set the bar for the rest to follow.
I saw them open for Black Sabbath on their Technical Ecstasy tour. After their set my best friend asked me what I thought, "I'm not sure about that Jim Dandy tipoff singer but that guitar player is a MONSTER!" And so he was.
Hmm, I didn’t know that this topic was a debate...but, I live in a cave!!!
I didn’t either. I just happened to discover it when arguing about it with somebody else. (It got a little heated and I may or may not have overreacted by blocking him. LOL) I actually posted about it in a couple of different Facebook groups, and I was surprised at how many different answers I got. The majority of people seem to agree with me that it’s a Phase 90, but it’s not really a VAST majority.
@@RobertWJackson ...Robert, have you ever seen Jim Gaustad’s channel??...if anyone would know, it would be him...rock on bro!!!
I used to think it was a flanger
Both. You most certainly hear flanger at around 2mins and 4 seconds of the studio track.
He definitely used a phaser in one or two instances during the song like you said, but those 3-2-3 parts in the main riff are solely flanger.
Phaser. Ed said it's a phaser.
Yeah, it's a Phaser.
It seem's to me that the rock star party culture that thrived from the 60s through the 80s was tainted badly by the 90s after so many of the stars had died or told all these horror stories about drug addiction, squandering millions of dollars and having to come back up from rock bottom. What was left were a lot of guitar players that could party like the pros but not play or incredibly great guitarists who were introverts that don't party, can't mix catchy riffs with blazing technique and are unable to mesmorize huge crowds because they never left their mom and dad's basenent. Having the right blend of technique, persona and dilligence will never happen again like Eddie Van Halen was able to cultivate through his being. If it does it will not be from the old boomer mold of sex, drugs & rock 'n roll that fueled the dreams of the fans from back then. I was born in 1975 and I think while I was growing up the world became it's most obnoxious which lead to all the political correctness, liberals & conservatives becoming even further divaded and people looking down on most rock stars for their weakness instead of exhaulting them because of their great music.
None of those sounds is the sound.
For comparison, Pete Thorn at 30:25 mark: th-cam.com/video/aKejQ1WBybA/w-d-xo.html
EVH being the last true guitar hero ? Iv got no problem agreeing with tht . If hes not iv no idea who it wld be .
Im easy , it's a phaser . Love the channel .
I actually don’t agree with that, but a lot of people think that that is the case.
It’s a phaser. Flange affects the frequencies differently. You don’t hear that ring modulation in a phaser.
Really good vid, Robert!
your only supposed to turn it on during the last 4 notes of the riff & it's a flanger !
I can’t believe dude can’t hear that it’s only the last four notes
Creo que con Phaser se escucha muy exagerado el efecto y no igual, con flanger es más parecido a la versión del Disco, si lo ajustas bien podrías obtener un sonido igual con flanger.
FLANGER!! All day long and twice on Sunday. Solo is a Phase 90
@@Mr911Medic yes but with a coral sitar guitar playing at the same time
You are correct sir!
you have to turn it off and on it isnt on all the time
Exactly, Eddie switched the effect in and out during that intro. How is it that Mr. Wolf here is the only one to point that out? Having the pedals on the whole time makes this whole test useless. Oh and, Eddie used an MXR Flanger for the intro. How are all you guys convinced this is a phaser? Listen to the original track and then go listen to Unchained where Eddie punches the effect in and out just like he does here. It's the same pedal, the same MXR Flanger.
Flanger
Phase 90. Willikers. This is a thing?
Apparently.
@@RobertWJackson the flanger is on that little part of Unchained. I figured that out when I first heard it when I was friggin' 12. Golly.
I don't blame you. You know what your ears are telling you and don't want to let that go. Thanks for the video.
100% a flanger HOWEVER, and this is never talked about in any forum or anywhere else....you must use a flanger with a HARDWIRE BYPASS. That means that the flange will still cycle even when the pedal is switched off. Then you time the sweep to go up on the three note turn around then timed to sweep down on the next engage. And yes, he is doing a three note 'quick engage", he did something similar in Unchained. th-cam.com/video/tlwBDVZCR3A/w-d-xo.html
MXR Phase-90 is what I was always told too … recorded in 76-77 means script-logo.
fr start.try using pedals from he 1977-79 era.maybe gt your head tgether with colin ffromcgs guitas
MXR Phase 90 set around 9 or 10 o’clock
Actually both, a Phase 90 at almost 9 o'clock and an MXR Flanger 117, which he activated during three notes.
My nitpick with this song isn't about phase or flange (which ARE similar micro-time-delay, moving comb filters, one is just more original-signal-obliterating than the other). My pointless gripe is that EVERYONE on TH-cam plays it by forming a cowboy chord and strumming a slow arpeggio black and forth, letting the notes ring. This kills the percussive attack and sudden damping of the real thing. VanHalen is not playing a folk song. He is STABBING with each note. This needs to be played like a riff, pulling the fretted note off to suddenly dampen it. It is not just a fat picking hand lounging on the bridge to damp out the sustain. The cowboy chord method completely misses the PERCUSSIVE effect that makes this part stand out.
Moist.
Ain't talkin' 'bout flange,
it's a phaser.
I can't believe this is even a question. It was most definitely an MXR 117 flanger and it was only on the end of the phrase, not the whole thing. Whatever phasing etc. is also there is most likely due to the part being multi-tracked.
You should read the rest of this comment thread and see just how many different answers there are. And then explain to the rest of us why you’re right and so many other people are wrong.
This is the closest I've seen and heard to watching Eddie play it. The tone is amazing.. th-cam.com/video/aKejQ1WBybA/w-d-xo.html
You can get overlap of the two, and that may be what confuses people & Eddie did use both.
Use whichever you like-I won’t judge you for it, and many won’t as well.
(Although I would agree it sounds more like a phaser)
It was the p90. This is so well known. And they put Eddie’s initials on it. And painted it like his guitar.
………..
…………………..HUH???
Eddie said that he liked the MXR phaser because it sounded more like a flanger.
Bro the flanger only on the last 3 notes of the riff come on
k
Never thought this was a debate. It's so clearly a flanger in the intro and phaser in the solo. Please listen to the isolated guitar track.
Read the comments on this video. There’s a bunch of differing opinions including yours, which seems to indicate that MOST people don’t really know for sure, despite what they’ve always believed.
@@RobertWJackson He tends to use the flanger on and off quickly for short parts like fills and the last part of this intro. The phaser mostly for solos. He said in an interview he'd use the phaser during solos in the early days to make the guitar stand out in the mix. On Fire and Atomic Punk come to mind as you can hear the flanger used on and off only a couple seconds on a few parts.
It's curious how you so quickly dismissed the "on for only the last 4 notes" theory. I've thought it was a flanger kicked on for just those 4 notes since I first heard it over 40 years ago. Why would you consider this possibility "nonsense?" He did the exact same thing on the riff for Unchained.
It just doesn’t make sense to me that ANY guitar player would want to constantly tap dance all over their pedalboard while they’re playing ONE simple riff, even Eddie Van Halen. Hell, by the 90’s when they were on the Right Here Right Now tour, he didn’t even use any effects on that riff at all. I also haven’t been able to find any earlier videos of him playing it live where he was turning flanger OR the phaser on and off specifically for three notes. But the truth is, I don’t think anybody knows for sure. Eddie was known for keeping a lot of his tone secrets a secret. Read the comments thread on this video. There’s A TON of different answers, and there’s nothing to suggest that any of them are any more right than the others, including yours OR mine. NOBODY knows for sure.
@@RobertWJackson
Hey Robert, thank you for responding. I didn't realize you were referring to live performances, only the original studio recording. Live, I'd have to agree, I've never seen him doing any pedalboard tap dances. But I distinctly do recall reading about the intermittent use of the effect on both ATBL as well as Unchained in an early 80s article from Guitar Player or Musician, though I've no evidence other than that recollection and what my ears have always heard. Anywho, keep up the great channel, I've always enjoyed your point of view.
I AM referring to the original studio recording. However, the original studio recording wasn’t captured on video, so that only leaves live performances to refer to as the next best thing. I admit that’s not the most accurate representation, either, because there are plenty of artists who don’t play a specific riff or song live the same way they did when they originally recorded it. Regardless, just read all of the different answers on this comment thread. I’m now convinced that nobody knows for sure. What’s even more interesting are the comments from people attacking me simply because I’ve challenged them on their beliefs regarding the matter, forced them to consider other possibilities, and now they’re pissed.
Just ask Pete Thorn. He has a vid explaining this exact thing. He's even got posts on forums explaining it. Just, because you can't kick the pedal on and off for 4 notes doesn't mean no one else could. Because that's EXACTLY what Ed did.
AND I ALWAYS READ IT WAS BOTH. 🤣
Last four notes only. And it’s a Flanger, listen up!