The REAL way to play Runnin' With the Devil by Van Halen! Weekend Wankshop 173
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
- unclebeneller
instagram @BenEllerGuitars
Skype lessons? email BenEllerGuitars@gmail.com
Yo guys! On weekend wankshop 173, Uncle Ben Eller here is gonna decode another classic riff for y'all! I've seen SO MANY bad and inaccurate covers and tabs for Runnin' With the Devil by Van Halen off their classic debut Van Halen 1 album (which is, by the way, one of the most perfect records ever made)!!! This isn't a terribly hard riff to play, but there's a few key points most people notice. I'll also show you the Eddie secrets for perfect slides and palm mutes.
Using my ancient Ibanez RG550 with Fishman Fluence Classic pickups into my Kemper Profiler, which is running those awesome Top Jimi "Brown Sound" profiles, which are INCREDIBLE!!! Probably the most fun i've ever had with my Profiler. Go buy em NOW!
Also, for those of you reading this, i took an extra step while making this video.... let me know if its worth the extra time it takes! I ran my guitar into Logic and recorded it while filming, then synced that track of guitar to the video itself. Usually i just use the camera mic capturing the guitar tone in the room. This new approach definitely sounds better, but does it make the video exponentially better for you all? Let me know, i aim to please!
Sorry Ben, but if you listen to the isolated guitar track, he's clearly grabbing the B string on those first two chords too.
MrMustard sir, you are not wrong
No worries, Uncle Ben! I've used your channel to learn how to play so many riffs and solo bits. You blew my mind by slowing down Blackened and I've been here since. Just thought I'd give a friendly correction! Keep wanking!!
Only after the first time. First time through is just the power chord.
Mark Caraway No, he does it the first time too. Listen closely to the isolated track and it's 100% in there from the start.
This is true, and you should also flatten the B string to make it less dissonant. Eddie would do it on songs where the B string is used for major thirds like this. I usually tune the B string by holding down the 3rd fret, so for a song like Runnin' With the Devil that's in half-step down tuning, the 3rd fret of the B string should read right on C# on your tuner. You'll notice playing open the tuner will read it flatter than Bb. It sweetens up those triad chords. Try playing that meaty open chord in "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" using this tuning (open across D, G, and B strings). It sounds killer!
Holy cow, I've actually been playing it right.
Badly, but right. :D
wrong actually, hes not playing it accurately in the video lol
Possibly, but since I suck I was already including the second string on the first two chords sometimes anyway. B)
Haha, badly is always preferred over "wrong"!
Here is the actual tuning on the album version:
1st string: Eb +12.7 cents
2nd string: Bb +26.9 cents
3rd string: F# +34.6 cents
4th string: C# +35.0 cents
5th string: Ab +35.0 cents
6th string: Eb +26.7 cents
What does the “cents” mean?
@@alfredhitchcock4406 1/100th of a half-step. One half-step is equivalent to 100 cents.
hey man very helpfull info!! i was looking for a long time to find the correct tune in that song, and that tuning feets very well! also pete thorn make a video for running with the devil tune! from where did you get this info, do you know some else song eddie use diffent tuning ? thx!
@@Theofanis1000 I’m probably the only person in the world who has been studying, finding and notating Eddie’s tuning offsets for nearly every recording since at least 2010. I’ve seen Pete’s video and it is not accurate to what Eddie actually did. For more information on Eddie’s many tuning offsets, please read through my forum post on the subject here: www.vhlinks.com/vbforums/threads/62695-Van-Halen-tunings-with-Peterson-strobe-tuner-reference
Also, you can see my article and complete transcription of “Eruption” in the February 2021 issue of Guitar World here: drive.google.com/file/d/1IZ8SmwiHgBqKJ9o3WcDLOP-kUcqhaWD2/view?usp=sharing
@@AllenGarberGuitarFun All very true. Eddie seemingly tuned his guitar to itself; never ever truly E flat or in the 440 Hertz realm.
For this to work with his bass player, he too had to be tuning off of Eddie each time for studio work. Live, running a set of songs, once tuned, gig was pretty much set.
I've noticed this over 30 years ago as a teen learning riffs and songs. Noticed that the stuff never sounded quite right playing with the album until I would tune off a chord or note in the material I was learning. From there, the material sounded right.
Saw them in 1978 opening for Black Sabbath in Portland Oregon. It was a life changing event.
Funny I saw them as an opener for sabbath in Chicago the same year !
I didn’t know they opened for Black Sabbath. Ironically Eddie called Ozzy and asked if he’d like to be the vocalist for Van Halen.
Same here. Birmingham, Alabama in Boutwell Auditorium.
I also saw them open for Black Sabbath, August 22, 1978 in Milwaukee WI at the MECCA Arena. They opened with Runnin with the Devil, Eddie played it with a white Gibson ES335. He raked the strings behind the nut. Awesome show!
If only that simple life was so simple...
I think most of us who were kids around the time it came out understand why they chose the track to open the record. Firstly, it's really a stadium song, isn't it, and so bound to be a crowd pleaser. But I think the real reason - and you had to be around then to understand this - was how scary the damn thing was. The divebomb, followed by the ominous bass thumping, and then the mysterious piano-string-sounding nut picking, then this ponderous mass, like a giant striding over some hills. It's easy to lump it in now with other "classic rock," but at the time, we thought we were going to hell listening to it.
Jeremy Smetana Hey I wasn't alive back then so I have a question. Did anyone ever say that Van Halen were Satan worshippers?
For us growing up in the late 60's, early 70's that moment came with that first slow bent low F note at the beginning of Iron Man. :D
@@tanner3285 I read something about David Lee Roth walking out of a witchcraft shop, but that's about it.
Very True....lol @@Guitarplayer724
@@Guitarplayer724 F? He is bending the open E string, and in the same time playing an e on 2nd fret d string.
Uncle Ben...teaching is a gift, and i think you have it...your attention to detail and your ability to convey knowledge make you a natural....please do not waste this God given talent sir...and thank you for another great vid!!!....btw, i freakin love that ibanez and that tone is incredible!!!
Got it quickly. but you're spot on with Eddie's nuances in his playing. Probably takes longer to learn a van halen song perfectly than some of the more technical stuff of today.
Do you think you could show the proper way to play "I'm the One"?
Outstanding lesson Ben, thanks. I've played this incorrectly for years. I'd love to see a guitar tab for the song Hang Em High.
Interesting how Eddie plays a lot of Keith-type chords while carefully avoiding the strings that Keith tunes down. It's the beauty and thickness of open G-ish chords while having standard tuning soloing available. I always loved how Unchained was like a Van Halen Brown Sugar as well. He was always creative in borrowing all the right things from so many influences.
Wait, so I was playing it right the whole time time?! Kind of redeems how I butchered Fight Fire with Fire's prechorus riff.
Nice tutorial Ben. Looking at Eddie playing this live recently, in the initial riff, he indeed seems to be playing the barre at the 7th with a hammer-on to the 8th fret B/9th fret D, then move that formation up to the 9th. I'm probably crazy, but on the original recording and on early live recordings it sounds like he's doing a hammer-on/pull-off before moving up to the 9th fret. Thoughts?
I hear it too man i came here thinking he was gonna say something about it
Apparently it’s delay
Eddie is one monster rhythm player, to say the least. I think 80s hair metal has a lot to thank him for.
I think an honorable mention for Vai is in order for his playing on Diamond Dave's solo albums. Some monster guitar playing there as well.
John Gustafsson dude Slip of the Tongue is the ultimate!!!
Hell yeah, I saw Vai twice on tour with DLR. The only other guitarist I ever saw live that amazed me as much as Vai was Yngwie when he was in Alcatrazz.
That old Destroyer belonged to Chris Holmes from Wasp. 🤘🤘
No way?!?! For real?!
@@BenEller I just watched a newer interview with Chris and he told the whole story. It’s on you tube.
@@tonywitt7033 I watched that as well. I had no idea they even knew each other. They seemed like pretty good buds.
I thought Eddie and Chris got Destroyers at the same. Little, both dudes at the same place buying them? I'm probably way off. Who knows.
@@BenEller Eddie had his Destroyer which he used for the album and Chris had his own Destroyer. They each bought theirs at almost the exact same time from the same shop when they were first sold in 1975-1976. Eddie hacked his into the Shark Destroyer just after the recording of the first album and he didn’t like the sound anymore. Then years later in 1979, Eddie borrowed the Destroyer that belonged to Holmes for the recording of ‘Women And Children First’ since it was not hacked up and still had the great tone that Eddie liked in his original Destroyer before he cut it up. The Holmes Destroyer was definitely NOT used on any Van Halen album except for ‘Women And Children First’.
R.I.P. Eddie Van Halen, you bloody legend!
Ben, you talk about the little things that Eddie did and how important they are. But it is these little things(lots of them and his masterful use if them) that sets his playing apart from all the others.
Sammy Hagar disliked this video 56 times😎
Flattening the b string just a tiny bit really brings together those triads higher up on the fretboard. I’ve heard Eddie did this as well. It messes with your open chords a bit but makes a huge difference in accuracy.
true
As proven by the master Phil X lol
It was def behind the bridge....behind the bridge has that distinct sound
Behind the bridge gives that piano sound. Behind the nut does not.
That tone you got is a pretty close approximation to the original on VH1 -- nice job.
Eddy is very percussive, his hammering and pull offs , slides and mutes and notes etc. added to the overall percussive rhythm he has which is why it’s next to impossible to tab accurately and also makes this song harder to play accurately when most think it is so simple.
Agreed, his fingers were super strong. Listen to Spanish Fly for example. Especially after you listen to other classical guitarists try and do it. He's like twice as strong as them and you hear it in the strength of the tap.
Your sound and playing is so mechanical and strained. You're playing the notes but it ain't Van Halen.
I don't know if you've already covered this but if you could get me playing that bloody shuffle feel from 'I'm the One' so that it sounds spot on then I'd be a very happy guitar playing dude!
Millions of guitarists play it wrong EXCEPT for Ben...
I don't know about that right-hand muting stuff. If you watch the live version from 2015 he's clearly using his left hand to mute--including using his thumb to mute the e-string. Conversely his right hand is all over the place--not hugging the bridge at all.
the lesson starts at about 4:20
How about that two-finger right handed tapping thing he sometimes breaks out in during a solo.
Great lesson - Rick Beato also does a great analysis of the whole song on his channel, too. Such a simple song, but so great! THE defining moment of arena rock for the late 1970's.
I hated this song as a kid and loved Eruption.. I hated Jamie's Crying.. It was a chick song .. I fell on love with it later. Thanks Ben .
DVincentW You should listen to Toto if you don't already. They get a bad rap, but Steve Lukather can rip as well.
Eddie got me into Ibanez too. Its weird. The destroyer is a hardrock beast.
CroneRaven1810 ii
It’s the Keef Richards shape!
Good explanation. Eddie was really funky with all the right hand dampening and left hand muffling of strings. It's hard to teach that stuff because it is more personal of the moment and not actually notes. VH early stuff was really funky and groovy, Funkadelic must have been an influence on him and James brown, I know they used to cover Stevie wonder superstition too.
Good info. Also, the 5 things we missed on ATBL was great. The thing about covering Van Halen music in a band is that the audience is very demanding and crtitical. If your band is playing a gig somewhere and you throw in a VH tune, you better play it right!! If you don't, guaranteed there will be at least a dozen or so guys in the audience murmuring to themselves how dare you even attempt to play VH incorrectly! It's weird but guitar players really take ownership of Eddie's guitar playing. I'm glad you are pointing out these small but crucial things about Eddie's playing because I think its these small, seemingly insignificant things that truly illustrates Eddie's genius.
I noticed recently that if you play Runnin' with the Devil a little too slow, it begins to sound exactly like a Rolling Stones song. Weird!
You are correct he did use an Ibanez Destroyer to record this song. He strummed the strings behind the bridge not between the tuners and the nut. It was an old trick that he did back in the party days when they were doing covers. If you listen to the isolated track of this song you can hear that he does this on alternating measures throughout the song
mr. twistyneck awesome!!!! Thanks for the confirmation ;)
yes, also on You Really Got me he used this guitar because you can hear the toggle switch trick
emailchrismoll yep! Like this: th-cam.com/video/X-3dUM64OEA/w-d-xo.html
mr. twistyneck he strumed behind the nut , watch it live man
Vic Rattlehead Hi Vic! Yes, he definitely did later on when using guitars equipped with Floyds. On VH 1 he did it behind the bridge.
When I was a kid in 1978 I heard this riff over the radio. I didn't know who was playing it, but I knew it was the future of rock.
Very Keith Richards esq with the 2 finger hammer on.
I'm glad ur showing us the real way. Imagine if I would have been playing it the fake way?? Thanks
I like watching your videos while drunk
Dude your face at the beginning kills me - yes this IS the way it goes....lol..thanks for the video. Not a big VH fan but always liked this song. Very easy to play but very easy to mis-play too.
He also used a Gibson les Paul as well like on you really got me
I learned more of the use of the guitar pick in this video than any other TH-cam video tutorial. 👍
If this the easiest. That's terrifying 😳
never sat with it, i'm in the "playing it wrong" camp. I was sliding D to E. then using the b string suspended note (a). In this video, 5 chords are used, all with E in the bass. C,D ... D,G,A,E ... okay now
how is the initial sound effect to Running with the Devil done'?
They started the album because of the intro to "Running With The Devil" it has a long epic build up - making it a great starter - We have to remember classic rock was about the album experience - not just the song experience! (album sales are what drove the biz)
well said
Sounds good...first video I watch from you...now I will check another's out. Just subscribed
Enjoyed this lesson and really dig your channel. For VH requests: Main riff to Mean Street (would be fun to have a lesson on the full intro too; Feel Your Love Tonight, 5150, and agree with the other post on on Hang 'em High. Not asking for much, just 4 tracks ;-) Thanks again for all the great lessons.
He downstream strums behind the fret board srry
i read somewhere that it was piano not end of fret board
The video sound quality is a lot better, but it is a pain in the butt syncing the video to the audio.
You should do a video on the beginning solo of I'll see the light tonight, I have trouble syncing my left and right hand together in time with the song.
I don't play guitar, my daughter and I are working on drums. When I watch videos like this I'm blown away. Eddie was a master and these great instructions make that more apparent.
Best Lesson on this song !! Ben if your on a Kemper could you share the name of the rig please!
Not a VH tune but very Van Halen-esque... "Find Another Way" intro by Heavens Edge? Would love to learn that
hi Ben - I saw VH live in 1984 here in Phoenix, AZ @ AZ Vets Mem. Coliseum. Their "1984" tour. Was surprised to see EVH using bar chords as part of the"Runnin' With the Devil" riff - he did, does it here live clearly - th-cam.com/video/5NYPU3_SZGM/w-d-xo.html
He resolves on the E Bar chord at 0:34
Used to think bar chords weren't part of it, but they are. He opens the C to D with them, then resolves on the E bar chord.
You can hear the root/tonic in the bass of the isolated track - th-cam.com/video/r3E_m7IhSfY/w-d-xo.html
The icicle scrape at the beginning "IS" with the strings (high to low) in the space in between the bridge and the tailpiece of an old destroyer. When you do it with the same guitar it is undeniably accurate.
1:20 That is a fact. That tone is porn for the eardrums.
I've never heard of the slide down tip where you reduce pressure as you get down to the 5th ish fret...what a great little chunk o knowledge...TY Ben!!!
Thank you Uncle Ben. Your hand fingers play very well.
Hey Mr. Ben, think you could do a vid on the intro to the song Never by Ozzy Osbourne (Jake E. Lee/The Ultimate Sin album)?
Uncle Ben, you are my favorite guitar player on the planet right now. The reason why I like this one is that you have zero % condescending snark in your videos no matter who or what you're covering; its all fun, appreciative, humble AF, and just puts everything in the right perspective. Thanks man!
Another key component you didn’t mention for the tone for this song is the echoplex delay. The reverb on the guitar for the early records was panned to the side of the bass...and the echoplex really widened the guitar track. Also very audible on: “Ain’t talking bout love” and “I’m on fire”.
You’re the best Uncle Ben!
It's actually higher than Eb, I.E a "quarter step" down. Your open notes should be too low, but the first fret is too high.
Most of their old stuff actually sounds about 1/4 down. Old AC/DC too. Might have happened in the mastering phase or something, they probably truly tuned down 1/2. I'd think it'd be a bitch to try tuning down 1/4 especially back then. Funny thing is the Van Halen I tab book calls out 1/4 step flat for Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love but all the other tunes it says 1/2. Weird. Anyway if I want to play along to a track and not hear that dissonance I edit the song in Audacity to make the track match my guitar.
I've thought that the strum behind the bridge was the only way it sounded right. That's just what my ears tell me!
The Summer Nights intro comes to mind, but it’s mostly related to guitar he plays it with.
So you got demoted from best friend to good friend? When and how did you let this happen uncle?
Awesome dude \M/
You’re right on the tune-o-matic thing. I know it matches a Les Paul tuned standard.
Awesome job as always, Uncle Ben-Jamin' ! How about the verse and the solos?
I think you have the most condescending video titles.
He does
First rock tune I ever learned on the guitar and I learned it wrong. ;)
I miss those happy sounding (major) metallica riffs
Wow... you can really tell how Eddie tweaked his tuning by trying to play it while "properly" tuned to an electronic guitar tuner. It just doesn't sound right 😉
The intro was really cool 😉
Swear to god there is a pull off after that first hammer on, very subtle but totally there. Was hoping you'd address that as that is what all yall are getting wrong!
EVH to Keef, thanks for the "Move".
Uncle Ben?! This name is racist and offensive!! WHERE'S MY SAFE PLACE
This was an eye opener for me, UB. You always seem to have the real scoop on the classic riffs, Thanks!
Great, great channel. One of my favourites.
Great video as always, Ben! And man, THAT TONE!
3:40 You're welcome.
It sounds as though you didn't detune the B string a couple cents, which I believe Eddie did ... at least on this song.
Absolutely Right Uncle Ben, an amazing muting machine is right! RIP EVH
Dude.....
TOTALLY ACCURATE!
I normally don't comment but in your case? - had to.
I've seen maybe 30 other so-called guitar "instructors" and YOU bud...excell.
I wish I could afford a subscription with ya but I'm broke af these days. Lol
Great, great job.
Am I the only person who has always heard a quick pulloff between the D and E section of the riff? Like "1 2 AND 3 4....instead of 1 2 3 4? So Ben is going c-d (staccato mute) d g (with b in bass) A (c# in bass) E...but..I hear C D (staccato) d-g-d A E ...the d-g-d being the pull off. Or is that just reverb trail?
Yes Ben, totally worth it to record this way!
MORE VAN HALEN, PLEASE??!!!
Just a quick wash any confusion and end the discussion the only quote real way to play any Van Halen song is by Eddie Van Halen playing them ....NOT SOMEONE ELSE!! LOL. You sound great though and are an awesome player not taking anything away from you or anybody else but there's only one Van Halen !! Let's not fool ourselves here. How honest do you want to be?? Don't let fake friends and fake likes overrule the actual truth.
The beginning riff sounds off... I’m about to learn it as well. Nice job other wise. Cheers
Have you seen Jacob Deraps, either his live videos or his TH-cam videos of him doiing EVH... the guy is literally freaking amazing!!!!
His original band is pretty good also!!
Yes, the opening is a pick "upward pluck". However he did use a white les paul and it was behind the bridge. It wasn't with the Ibanez Destroyer which he modified. Matt Bruck who was/is his guitar tech will confirm. If not, oh boy heh heh. Be happy and enjoy life as long as you can. :)
You didn’t tune the B a bit flat, just until the NH of it equals the C# that’s why it never sounds correct when people play it. Just like Ain’t Talking About Love he tuned down a quarter step on A and B that’s why it also never sounds correct when people play it. He was a tone genius he heard everything.
@beneller great video. Not sure if this has been brought up. Try "" flattening "the B string. The 3rd of the chord sounds" out of tune when your guitar is "in tune".
Years ago I kind of stumbled across that. Totally makes sense now lol
I really dig your channel great stuff!
What is the guitar tuned to? I got my guitar tuned in complete drop D. will it still work?
And lastly, please recommend which and I love cheap guitars these days I love five fenders cheap guitars, but which Ibanez should I get these days that’s just a killer you know that kind of closed muffled, but distorted town I just love that shit
agree ben, and that is the way i learned too. however, one nuance - the final D triad (A D F#) - you are playing that with your first finger. when i saw van halen, he shifted back down and played with his third finger (also noticed that position on the us festival video)
anyway - nice job. here was my lame attempt: enjoy!
2nd Guitar Solo
th-cam.com/video/Yfr2cepOAtk/w-d-xo.html
Awesome lesson, thank you Uncle Ben!
he apparently recorded RWTD with a Les Paul. If you strum behind the bridge.....you'll get that opening "lick". so, it seems to be very probable.