1968 Marshall Plexi Replica / Variac (Brown Sound)

[@juliAnarchist]

Holy fucking shit jacob, my man, this sounds AMAZING, closest to the record i've ever heard for this song! Not only the absolutely killer tone, but you got all of Eddie's subtle nuances nailed down too. Can i request you do Ain't talking 'bout love with this setup? Add a plate reverb and an analog tape delay *in front of the amp* set to 1 or 2 reps and 300 ms (got this trick from Pete Thorn), you'll sound exactly like the record i guarantee. Maybe Eruption too? Man, i just can't get enough of this.

[@wesleythoman9873]

UnchainedRomeo I second that request!

[@yannickguitar1539]

Killer VH tone! It's not only the gear, but also your passion and skill :-)

[@fuheroes]

Jacob you have actually made the brown sound even better , yours is even more defined and in your face , your a great inspiration and looking forward to your next brown sound video

[@chuckswinford9598]

Wow!!!! That's 1978 Brown.... All the way!!!! Are you sure you're not a Van Halen?

[@davidfisk6759]

The attack is awesome! Your playing is phenomenal! Well done.

[@tradbowseven]

Another reason this sounds so good......the tune is being played correctly 😎

[@mrsbieberfeverluv]

Jacob, the variacs a keeper. This is a definite improvement to your brown sound, and that's saying a lot since you already had the best brown sound. Well, we know Eddie ended up with a master volume on his set up, and that was key to his sound. If you have any interest in attempting to improve the brown sound you now have, I would 100% agree with UnchainedRomeos suggestion of adding a plate reverb and more importantly add a analog tape delay in front of the amp set to 1 or 2 reps and 300 ms. Eddie used the analog tape delay set low often to help shape his overall sound. You can obviously tweak the settings on those to your liking. At this point, I cant see you being able to improve on what you have going right now without at least the analog tape delay, regardless of what you do with your gear and set up. Anyway, way cool Jacob. Looking forward to Brown sound 2 and gear video !!!

[@vonpeedler]

You never cease to amaze Jacob!

[@ronaldmackee3401]

The MXR Phase 90 in the solo and you got it.

[@troylancaster2973]

To my ears, spot on. Thanks for posting.

[@josephfemoyer7218]

I have 4 Germino heads,whatever Greg is doing he’s nailed the vintage Marshall tones.my 4 all ROCK.Gregs amp beat all other clones,IMHO!

[@balticstreet9411]

serious justice to the album!

[@BlownDart68]

Love the Germino

[@JohnSKihm]

Great video jacob! That amp already sounds killer but with the variac it’s insane

[@pereira5805]

Excellent drive and reverb.

[@Rockshredder]

Just just amazing Jacob! Wow!

[@christopherdunn317]

I didn't recognize the name ! and thought lol this is from the album haha ! And then i said wait a sec, this sounds a little different huh ? holy fn crap way to go bro !

[@wesleythoman9873]

Killing it, as always!

[@braden2112]

The brown sound is definitely dialed in the great in this video! Awesome work!

[@joshalger6059]

You have got that rich brown sound tone down pat. This is the kind of shit that makes me absolutely jealous😂 considering I’ve tried my ass off to achieve this tone for a great period of time. You’ve got the playing down pat too man. It’s videos like this that put a huge smile on my face! Can I ask you the voltage you have your variac set at to achieve this particular tone and do you think that using the variac was a key staple to Ed achieving that early tone because this sounds so damn close it’s not even funny!

[@FEAROWNAGE]

It’s even got a bit of that low end chug thump to it!

[@janispetku4450]

Amazing!

[@wperdew6078]

The tone is atomic. I'm still humbly requesting In a simple rhyme ...

[@pythonflying]

Nice, that's really close. I always wanted to get a variac and try it with my 2555x.

[@erictripton]

Whoever gave this a thumbs down.... is just jealous.

[@doncampbell7705]

Tune that g string.. haha. Always love all your VH stuff man!!...sought out and bought the 50th anniversary JMP head after watching your Mean Street cover. Were you preamping that with a pedal on that video? Playing is amazing:)

[@sassulusmagnus]

Wonderful sound.

[@BFahz]

I use the same variac (with my Friedman Smallbox) as Jacob in this vid and it’s pretty cool. You plug the amp into the variac, then the variac into the wall outlet. Then you dial the vintage you want to deliver to the amp. Jacob is probably setting the voltage at 90 volts, which was Ed’s preferred setting. For my smallbox, I set mine at 100 because to me it retains some thickness but also has that sag. Check out my site if you want to hear it (I am no where near Jacob as a player in any way).

[@johngerson7335]

Sounds great Jacob! Fine, fine picking too!

[@dontcareinc]

Sounds exactly like eddie! Put some Aint Talkin Bout Love into that brown sound 2 vid pls!!

[@ElcanaldeReyesManuel]

suena increíble

[@donmcdonald4874]

Sounds great! I just ordered a Fryette Power Stationand want to power my Brugera 1960 through one of these Variacs and then dial the head by running it through the Power Station.

[@littlechrisvanhalen8783]

More brown sound is not possible!!!😎🤟😎🤟👏👏👏

[@MichaelSmith-yx1xf]

Sounds AWESOME brother!!!! 🎸🎵🎶👍😀🍻🎸

[@willman100]

Wild

[@aussie_philosopher8079]

That Marshall valvestate you have sounds really nice.

[@PurposefulPorpoise]

Dude ur the only guy that nailed VH1 tone great job. Question : is it physically safe to use a variac? I dont mean for the amp i mean for a person physically? Ive read some things about getting shocked if you aren’t carefull around them? Can i just buy a variac off amazon and use it as safely as i would a power strip or do u have to shield the cables or something so u dont fry? Thanks!

[@christopherdunn317]

After all Ive heard and seen, this kid had help in this day in age, but is rightfully an EDWARD VAN HALEN 2 !

[@guiodaithebest]

WOW!!!

[@mhoff7722]

Sounds awesome!! What size variac did you use? I see 2 amp, 5 amp, 10 and 20 amp models etc. My amp is a 100 watt Splawn Quickrod with a 4 amp mains fuse. Would a 5 amp variac be safe to use with that?

[@OnfloorAudio]

Ive read more than once that if your using a Variac you must rebias for that lower voltage ? Sounds great though , nice tone for sure !

[@schrodingcheshirecat]

I imagine this is as close as anyone on the planet has come since 1984

[@OnTheFritz602]

Nothing like a cranked 12 series Marshall!

[@ironboy1991]

What volts do you drop down? I have the lead 55 and a variac and just can’t seem to get the volts low enough to control volume and I’m afraid of messing my tubes up if I go too low.

[@gunsalez119]

Since its not a real plexi its got the "wah" sound going on but its extremely close

[@curtgreco1725]

Unfucking believable..tone wow!

[@2368CHRIS]

I met Greg germino years ago, he has a trick or three in his stock amp circuits

[@paulcurie1235]

Damn..... just damn

[@icepick859]

What kind of pickup is in that ibanez?? Is it stock?

[@ironboy1991]

How did you hook up the variac to the amp? I’m looking to do the same for mine but was cautious of damaging the head. Plus do you dime out your plexi for the tone?

[@knoxvillehermitfreemoviesm3625]

Is there any distortion pedal used?

[@TacosTasteGood456]

What tubes are you using?? What pickup is in your Ibanez?

[@Luis-ig7xw]

DAMN!!!!

[@OnTheFritz602]

What wall voltage did you drop to? 90vac?

[@cameronmacdougall298]

AMAZING - Jacob: What model of Variac are you using in the video?

[@jesswheeler4463]

Wow! Nailed it ONCE AGAIN! THREE dislikes, really??!! Nice job, man!

[@funnyman828able]

How exactly do you work the variac

[@musek5048]

i know this is super late response lol but you use it like a light dimmer to turn the voltage down to about 90 or so that way you can dime everything like EVH did and not blow your ears out. essentially is acts like a giant volume knob although caution should be used since it WILL wear out our tubes faster. probably not something you wanna try unless you dont mind replacing tubes all the time on a vintage amp. you could definitely try it on newer amps but these days a lot of them come with built in attenuators which act like a variac and let you run the amp harder at lower volumes.

[@Yes-kn6zm]

@@musek5048 so you can get the sound with an attenuator instead?

[@turolretar]

Just turn it up to max , sounds way more metal that way

[@PabloRomero1991]

Did you bias the amp to match the lower voltage too?

[@claudiosts4029]

Clean?

[@moonstone8205]

what did you set the variac votage to ???

[@dmarshall8473]

What level do you have the variac at? Also which variac is that? Awesome playing

[@billygoat12]

Jacob?

[@marvelharris9540]

where are you running the EQ and volume? bright channel only?

[@mossberg451]

Eddie said he pushed past the limit and dialed back a little

[@Sparenoarrows1]

As brown as it gets...

[@StealthParrot]

What voltage are you feeding the amp from the variac? Sounds great!

[@keithcarman5381]

Jacob, where did you buy that variac?

[@Harleyriderpaul]

keith carman Amazon has them

[@jfjoubertquebec]

Hmmm you just plug straight into a variac, nothing else? Works with Bugera Infinium?

[@seanwin4620]

Did you re bias running the variac?

[@LochNessAnthony]

Hope the uafx lion 68 sounds at least this good

[@vox1966]

How many volts?

[@thomasm934]

did you put it through an EchoPlex?

[@musicalmikeful]

Fanfuckingtastic!!! 🤘🎶

[@joeyschwartz5150]

No... Vanfuckingtastic!

[@kevinking2468]

Not in love with the tone - What guitar are you playin?

[@rustycockering9925]

With all due respect, the plate voltage of a 50 watter and 100 watter is quite different. The 50 is already variaced down, you could say. Curious, why didn't you get the 100?

[@tone-talk]

Rusty Cockering no it’s not. The voltage of a 50 or 100 watt are the same

[@rustycockering9925]

The plate voltage of Marshall 50 watters were always lower than the 100's. You can read what the plate voltages are for the Germino amps at their website. They're all different.

[@tone-talk]

Rusty Cockering A variac can be used with a 50 watt amp or a 100 watt amp. The amp needs to be biased based on the tubes and the plate voltage to accommodate the lower voltage going into the amp.

[@rustycockering9925]

Yes, I know. Lowering the voltage into the amp with the variac lowers the voltage at the plates. But the 50 and 100 DO NOT have the same voltage at the plates to begin with.

[@tone-talk]

Rusty Cockering yes, all amps have different plate voltages. That’s why you need to bias

[@aussie_philosopher8079]

I still think Steve Vai does it the best, albums like story of light has the wickedest brown sound

[@charlesperry671]

rossco robert I really love his tone in his Ernie Ball video. Especially when he plays chords while using the Floyd. Fuck that sounds good

[@Eio-hk8fi]

I always thought that "Brown" was a poor color choice to describe an amp sound.

[@TheGgreen100]

Me too. I've always thought of it as a product of the variac VH used to simulate an electrical "brown out" but I don't think that's why VH called it that. He described it as sounding like "dirt and molasses" so I think he really did associate the tone and the color.

[@calebproductions5970]

He likes it warm and mushy

[@rcjward]

If I didn’t know better I’d swear that’s from the multitrack.

[@mrsbieberfeverluv]

How is it even humanly possible to give this sound clip a thumbs down. Jacobs tone here with the variac is incredibly close to Eddie's especially at the time of this particular song. Jacob also plays this song flawlessly with absolutely nothing backing him up but his own perfect sense of timing and rhythm. Anyone who would even think about posting a thumbs down on any of Jacobs videos is an obvious moron and a jealous hater who definitely isn't a musician. Definitely doesn't play in instrument of ant kind, let alone the guitar.

[@mattiaciancabilla]

Who has a spec 68's 100w plexi can safely say that this tone is sloppy and far from the real brownsound, because is too compressed and there are some wrong frequencies... Nothing to say on he's playing, he's a master!

[@Vltor311]

Saw Van Halen back in 78 when they played in Albany NY. Your sound is way out of the ball park - not even close.

[@synxz1200]

Avenger74 at the palace theater

[@Rockshredder]

Just wondering, could the makers of the Germino amps not just build a variac into the amp that you can use or bypass?

[@johngerson7335]

+Brian Knapp That'd be the Suhr SL68. Also produces a 50 watt version with the same feature. It's not "dialable" as in a built-in variac, but it allows you to flip a switch and the amp's voltage is reduced and it's bias is reset for the lower voltage setting so it's precisely that same technical result. Insta-Brown! Very cool.

[@jameshurtado5389]

This is the closest I’ve heard to Eddie’s tone

[@antonlundstedt5517]

who even dislikes this...

[@joeyschwartz5150]

So brown its... well,... brown.

[@DailyRiff]

Tone envy

[@59plexi]

pretty damn close...if not spot on...sounds tight and fat like the album did...theres ALOT of these tones on youtube....but this is in the top 3...!!!

[@apostle7772]

Jesus christ is coming repent choose him today,he loves you ..

[@davearthur4683]

8

[@EdBenji]

It would be better if you tuned that guitar!

[@RobertMJohnson]

Jacob, at the risk of sounding pedantic, I’m submitting some business advice that I know will only benefit you if implemented: Immediately refrain from and eliminate any and all information that has to do with achieving your tones. Showcase your talent but don’t give away information. The great musicians are rich because they were great business professionals also. Don’t forget that. Your fans want music way more than they will ever want information When you’re a multimillionaire you can share your secrets. Until then, protect your sacred enterprise and rock on.

[@willf9004]

everyone knows eddie used a plexi and variac, its no secret

[@NewLevelVentura]

Wow that's one hell of a stupid statement

[@emmettogrady3085]

Thats disgusting 🤤🤤🤤

[@marcusvan]

Wow!!!!!!

[@apostle7772]

Jesus christ is coming repent choose him today, he loves you.