The 50 Bucks device Van Halen used to get the Brown Sound - VARIAC

[@robd754]

it always amazes me how changing the tone changes your style.. it is almost an unconscious thing we have no control over.. different amps make me play different musical styles.. the mysterious brain

[@StopMoColorado]

Rob D - Without firing up the ol' "Tone woods in electric guitars" debate, whether or not they make a huge difference in what the pickups "hear"/transmit, the way a guitar feels in my hands and against my body DEFINITELY effects my note selection, phrasing, etc., the "feel" is definitely a factor whether or not the wood contributes (and it does contribute something, even though wood species isn't the be-all-end-all so far as resonance/damping/frequency filtering is concerned, wood quality/density varies so widely, and wood selection and construction techniques, nut/bridge/saddle material, etc. can all change things up, too). When we have different "feels", it changes how we play!

[@dennymcfastlane8530]

Rob D...Yes, that's true and weird also. I always looked at Pedals/devices, as drugs, getting a gee-tat HIGH! haha

[@SynZ777]

Lizard brain moments

[@qua7771]

Same here. I swapped speaker cabinets and couldn't play one of my go-to songs. That song just wasn't responding to the change for me. I didn't realize how much I was playing by since of sound, and the character of the tone.

[@oulosvie]

Just today I was fiddling with my amp I played some weird riffs right away.

[@BSimpson19911]

The only guy on KZbin doing all the coolest stuff with amps and guitar! Always enjoy your videos Johan!

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Brandon Simpson Thanks my friend, Cheers!

[@drock1383]

Johan Segeborn never cease to amaze. That tone u have man! What amps have you've been enjoy playing lately? I know you just dont rock out to dimed plexis all the time i hope. What? Lol

[@rangerdoc1029]

Brandon Simpson JS will forever be "that amp scientist" to me.

[@Julian66666666666666]

Bassicaly lowering the voltage decreases the headroom of the amp, making the power section break up earlier. That's why it sounds tight as balls and so full

[@daveg4236]

So AC-DC was wrong. It's not high voltage, rather low voltage rock and roll

[@Soldano88]

😂

[@HavendaleBlvd80]

Hahahaha

[@ultrahighgain412]

High amperage rock & roll!

[@daveg4236]

@Machen SS Ace got shocked when he grabbed a railing while on stage. Then wrote shock me

[@audunrundberg9180]

I always thought their songs were laden with not so subtle sexual innuendo, but maybe it’s just all about electrical engineering mishaps?

[@SvenTviking]

Eddie said he used the Variac to keep the volume down in small venues while still getting good distortion and tone.

[@hoboroadie4623]

🤔

[@richardshank7659]

Actually it increased the distortion within the amp. By lowering the voltage basically what happens is you end up starving the entire amp. The power tubes and preamp tubes run colder which causes them to distort more the ot runs colder too. Basically everything is starved within the amp which creates not only less volume but also increases distortion and compression.

[@qua7771]

@@richardshank7659 You know that cool sound you get when you turn the amp off, and it starts to fade. That!

[@Johnsormani]

@@richardshank7659and kills tubes faster

[@salviadivinorum1762]

RIP EVH.. and I just watched this video yesterday :(

[@go4384]

The neighbors just shat some “brown sound” in their diapers.

[@Thurston86]

Hahaha.....ahhhhh...hahahahaha! 🤘👽

[@usoppbarbosa981]

I have a natural variac on my wall sockets. In winter when everyone heats up the houses, the voltage drops to 190V. I always sound nastier in winter :p

[@kilovolt2494]

usopp barbosa where do you live?

[@roncarter2188]

Wow, nicely​ done, got to love that. I tried this with my modified Bogen CHB 50 amp and was awesome sounding. Eddie and the brown sound, you nailed it friend.

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Ron Carter Thanks my friend, Cheers!

[@NPGANDERSSON]

Low Voltage Rock 'n' Roll... It does actually sound quite good.

[@JohanSegeborn]

+NPGANDERSSON Thanks man ;-)

[@racoonlover3000]

Next Acdc album? All jokes aside I hope Malcolm is having fun in heaven.

[@ZekeMan62]

HELLO MY NAME IS : Pretty sure he went in the other direction.

[@curtisprice9806]

Sound "good"????? It sounds phenominal !!!! Lol, listen to Van Halen's first album.....lol.....

[@MrPittsbrother]

This is one of the best guitar sounds I've ever heard.

[@mdue72]

Awesome you just did this, never really got what EVH did with the variac untill now, great channel :D

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Martin Due Thanks, great to hear that!

[@LucasMarquesJ1]

Johan Van Segeborn

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Lucas Marques hahaha! \m/ ;-)

[@fanoboss]

That was some excellent RIFFGE : )

[@michaelcraig9449]

JOHANDS!

[@TheAtomicFunk]

This is my most favorite favorite KZbin channel ever!

[@cattleprods911]

You're the king of cool guitar and amp stuff on KZbin

[@JohanSegeborn]

+cattleprods911 Thanks my friend! Cheers

[@71bassist]

I love this guy! Not only does he explore cool stuff, but his Gothenburg accent is the BEST!!!!

[@JohanSegeborn]

+JJ Poulter hahaha! Thanks my friend! A fellow Göteborgare? :-)

[@71bassist]

Johan Segeborn nej, my wife is from Göteborg - in fact she's there now visiting family - I just think the Göteberg accent is the coolest in all Sweden, so it's nice to hear it, eller?

[@andreacampana4754]

Great video Joahn, and great playing! Just a couple of suggestions: 1) grounding: you can ground your variac, just attach the ground wire from the wall voltage and from the output cord to a bolt in the chassis (so the chassis is grounded!) 2) in order to achieve the "brown sound" you have to bias your amp properly taking into account that with the variac you will have a lower plate voltage, so you are going to put more current into the tubes. Beware that after you rebias you could not use your amp without the variac any longer, or you will fry your power tubes!

[@samlee2562]

it's like the difference between Alnico 5 & 2 magnets... amazing thank you..!

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Sam Lee Thanks Sam, not it’s more like a higher voltage power trafo vs a lower voltage one. Cheers

[@damon2a102]

I just purchased the Bogner La Grange pedal it has a variac switch built into it. Great pedal to achieve the "Brown sound"

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Chesty Puller Cool, I'll check it out

[@damon2a102]

Johan Segeborn It's a fabulous pedal. Huge tonal range and plexi sounds it responds like an amp rather than a pedal. Check it out !

[@stephendre2902]

This video comes up in my recommendations more than any other video in history. I have no idea why.

[@RSTI191]

For those too young to know, this is pretty much how guitar players sounded / played before Edward Van Halen blew into the scene..

[@Nightingale1887]

The thing is I see people write about the bias, the B+ HV and stuff, but the heater voltage should also be off by quite a bit. Amazed that it actually works. Since a too low heat inside the vacuum would mean no electron movement.

[@ix-Xafra]

This concept explains why my Super Reverb always sounded great in certain old pubs. They probably had lots of fridges and other devices drawing so much power that the wall voltage was down and brown makin' sweet soun'!

[@dannomusic47]

I have fond memories of sometimes having inexplicably better tone playing in certain clubs when I was younger and now I understand why. A Twin Reverb’s tone especially stands out in my recollection. There were other amps I used but that was the one it was most noticeable with.

[@Hugh_Manitee]

​@@dannomusic47I have a reissue 68 Fender Twin Reverb. It's clean like a bell. Chimey and beautiful. But LOUD. So a variac would allow me to drive it harder at lower volume?

[@dannomusic47]

@@Hugh_Manitee yes, I’m not an authority though on which one is the best to get. The UA Ox is maybe the cadillac but may the IronMan or something less expensive would do the trick? Or maybe get a Bugera first and see how it goes.

[@THOMASSBLAQUELOURDE]

No

[@Hugh_Manitee]

@@dannomusic47 Bug Era. Lol

[@mysterivan]

Yeah, that's awesome... Really opens up the sound and adds articulation to the mud!

[@bluesdog88]

Cool experiment Johan thanks ;)

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Morgs88 Thanks! :-)

[@TzebbLIsla]

I got your Les Paul custom for Christmas today😂 I’m from Sweden! Thank you for you’re awesome guitar

[@image30p]

I think Eddie wrote Spanish Fly to prove he could play the same ideas on a nylon string. But we wouldn't be talking this much about him if their material was acoustic. Probably not at all.

[@LPCustom3]

Cheers Johan! It certainly warms up the overall tone/sound on the lower voltage. I've run most of my amps at a lower voltage for years..

[@joehollywood538]

I've been playing with Variacs since the late 80s, and I live in the states (120 volts).. I found that turning the amp all the way up and lowering the volts even lower than this guy has works best, 65 - 70 seems to be the sweet spot.. This makes the amp sound horrible as it kills the tone and volume, but the trick is then ya have to hit the front end really hard with a good EQ or gain pedal which will bring the amp to life again.. Of course every tube amp is different as some have more gain than others and ya really have to play with settings, as 5 volts up or down can make a lot of difference.. Once you get things dialed in though you'll know, as it completely changes how your guitar reacts with your amp.. Best part is the volume is at Bedroom levels..

[@ellisd2u]

Don't you love that "spongy feel" when I first heard that description I was dumbfounded until I hooked up a variac , When I cranked it up at 90 volts and I felt that spongy feel and natural distortion of the amp it was great day. Also I don't know if you've ever mentioned this, if you have, I apologize, but always be sure to use a multi-meter to check what's actually coming out of the variac. The meter on some of these are literally stickers and they are placed in the wrong position. I had my variac/meter at 90 volts and didn't feel or hear any difference, then I for some reason checked the output of the variac the same way you check a wall outlet and with a multi-meter and the sticker/meter on the variac from the factory was way, way off!! I almost blew my amp instead of prolonging the life of it. Thanks for a great post. Also, is it ok to use an adaptor I have an old OHMITE and it only has 2 inputs. I couldn't hear the beginning of video, but I heard you say something about taking it to a tech to make sure it's grounded. Is that what you were talking about, regarding the old variacs, I have a real old OHMITE but it only has 2 inputs for the power cable and all amps today are 3 prong, so I thought I would ask. Is having an actual Ohmite really that important as long as your at 90 volts, 90 volts is 90 volts in imho? I have newer ones and those were the ones with the sticker/meters in the wrong place on the actual variac from the factory, so be careful. Also the little glass meter fell inside the cavities on a couple of the new ones so I got ripped off bad. What brand do you recommend? Whole Lotta love ..nice.... sounds great man...I hope I havent asked to many questions .Thanks for any help in advance.. ooh and one last question do these things have capacitors in them inside that can kill you, even unplugged of course.?

[@timraybouldguitar]

It's amazing how much the power can affect the sound of the amp! I've got a 81 2203 and at some venues it can sound completely different just due to bad power! Brilliant video as always!

[@StopMoColorado]

Tim Raybould - I recall reading a "Guitar" magazine article profiling Neil Young's gear, it mentioned that his amp tech (Larry Cragg??) always brought a Variac on tour due to that exact issue, that the power quality could vary widely between venues, and he'd run the amp through - and adjust/fiddle with - the Variac in order to get the exact sound Neil wanted. I used to be able to use one in the Studio (painting and photography) I used my last free years in College to make sure the lights I was using stayed consistent. Though I block out external light, keeping that consistent, the power was often very different at night than in the day (up or down, with no apparent rhyme or reason, Spokane's utilities weren't the greatest back then, don't know if any of that had changed, but we went without power during the Winter for days at a time, sometimes, after Ice/Snow storms, had a huge stash of firewood and candles to get us through those rough spots, their Utilities Crews seemed to take their time - due to their antiquated budget system and aging infrastructure - fixing that stuff after bad storms and outages). I know Stop Motion animators have had to do the same in order to keep the lighting consistent (especially when we were still all shooting to film, didn't generally have an affordable way to fix lighting fluctuations until better digital cameras became affordable and certain plugins were developed for After Effects and other Digital Editing systems/software, very expensive and time consuming to have to reshoot when something went wrong, which would often only be discovered days/weeks/months after shooting those frames due to having to get the whole reel developed, etc.). Most Variacs that I've found for sale locally were pretty pricey, and as heavy as they are, shipping can easily add $40-80 to the price depending on how far away the seller is, but I still want to pick one up when I can, they have a ton of uses. For those who say they don't hear a difference, try going back to the beginning and listening as he lowers the voltage, the difference isn't really that subtle. Maybe use better speakers or headphones/earbuds if you need to, everything changes, especially the voltage sag/compression, I can hear a marked difference, but auditory phenomena are seriously subjective, our body filters sounds multiple ways/times from the moment the sound hits our pinna, eardrums/cochlear "hairs". Men and women truly do hear differently, even from before birth, as current research has demonstrated.

[@stephenpaddock9799]

Tim Raybould Get yourself a power conditioner.

[@timraybouldguitar]

Sounds interesting, can you suggest a good one?

[@theofficialdiamondlou2418]

Furman power conditioners are very good. Rack mountable have rack lights and multiple outputs. Some even have individual ground lifts.

[@billbelzek6748]

Furmans are shit --- too much clipped power on the back end

[@frostedhead]

That is sounding proper!

[@pelipetteri1]

I think brown sound comes to pants when you stand in front of Marshall stack and put all the knops to ten, or eleven or maybe to twelve? :)

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Rämpyttäjä :-O

[@flekkzo]

Rämpyttäjä All those pots just suck tone, better to just skip them and go max at all time :)

[@mrBDeye]

Rämpyttäjä That is called "brown stain".

[@ssimon64]

Rämpyttäjä Some of the old Fenders went to 12!

[@pelipetteri1]

Then Marshall go 13. :)

[@maxstatic]

straight up one of my favorite YT channels. Another awesome demo!

[@CIRCLEOFTONE]

Another fantastic video. Looking at the comments, I'm in the minority. I've never liked the effect of the variac on tone, and personally I don't think he recorded with a variac. I believe he only experimented with it. What he WAS obsessed about was the fading breakup you get when you switch off a tube amp and it fades. That sag. I remember reading he complained he could never capture that properly but tried at first with a dimmer switch (wiring it up to the light switch!!!) and with the variac. Is there concrete proof he used the variac to record? An interview with him or an engineer confirming it? Because I think the original tone in this vid sounds better than the variac tone. In my experiments my original tone always sounds better than variac. When I try and recreate his tone VOLUME is key IMO. Variacs usually used as a compromise. People in places where they can't crank it so they use one. I'm not sure if people really prefer that sound. Just the lack of police knocking on their doors. I may be wrong but on his albums I hear a Marshall being cranked to bejeezus. Not the subdued starved variac effect.

[@brianmartin8479]

he used it to get full volume tone out of the amp without full volume. He was placing foam over his cabinet to prevent deafening the people closest to the stage at smaller venues out of common courtesy till he started using the said variac.

[@AtomicMug]

Talking with older electrical engineers, they tell me that back in the 40s, 50s and early 60s, (the two-prong plug years) the so-called 120v coming out of the wall was rarely that high. It was usually more like 110v or lower. Today, the service delivery and home wiring is more efficient, so we get closer to 120v out of the wall (though it still varies because we run more devices than they did in the old days). Vintage amps run on the 120v out of our walls today have a slightly higher input to the power transformer than they did when they were originally built, so the voltages through the transformer windings, rectifier, pre-amp, BIASING (!), etc.. are hotter. Variacs can CORRECT for this making it more like the old days. Angus Young's current guitar tech says that the power regulator (basically a high tech Variac) that they use on tour is the most important piece of gear they have to dial in Angus' tone. When you're playing in bars and clubs, you may want to check the voltages and keep a Variac on hand. With the rat's nest of power strips and extension cords we use, and the unknown strain on the club's electrical service you may ALREADY be running at 110v or lower.

[@JohanSegeborn]

+AtomicMug Thanks, great feedback

[@kierenmoore3236]

ACDC use a Kikusui power regulator ... for a very precise, constant voltage into his lovely old Marshalls ... X)

[@keeelane]

Is there any danger of damaging the amp or the tubes? Before or after rebiasing? I went through a lot of posts on several forums and there were a lot of people saying this is potentially dangerous and will damage your amp. They didn't give much basis for such argument so I remain sceptical. So I am now asking you guys as some of you are actually someone who has used this equipment and seem to know a lot about amps.

[@AtomicMug]

The Variac theory is that if you REDUCE the voltage going into the amp, you can PUSH the amp more. Supposedly the "Brown Sound" came from diming out a Marshall. Lowering the voltage lets you dime out the amp more safely for your amp -- and your audience's EARS! However, If you use the Variac to INCREASE the voltage to the amp, you could (and probably WILL) risk or cause damage to the transformer, tubes, speaker, etc. (it depends on how much you increase it.) Back to Angus Young: they bias his tubes as hot as they can. But it's not a problem for them, because they got a couple dozen amps and hundreds of tubes on hand if they overdo it. Those of us in the real world don't have those resources, so we have to be more practical with our gear. Transformers, resistors, capacitors, tubes -- all the components in your amp are RATED for certain values, but they're not PERFECT; their ACTUAL values vary. For example, I have CTS potentiometers that are rated at 500k ohms, but if I measure them, some are 497k, some are 504k. That's normal. Resistors, capacitors, transformers, etc. are no different. And they all weaken with age and use.

[@jcoulter43]

Very cool to see/hear the Variac in action. Always love your monstorous tone and this makes it just that much better. Would love to see what it would do to other amps starving the voltage. Ah, a test for another day! :-) Rock on Johan!

[@JohanSegeborn]

+jcoulter43 Thanks :-) I'm gonna go though all the amps with this one :-D

[@rcoveyduc]

Along with the Variac, EVH dimed all the controls.

[@Murphy_R9]

yeah and on that debut record he did something slightly different because of all his recordings that one has the most gain? He may have used a 50W slaved into a 100w? or possibly some sort of OD pedal? he was working with Jose arredondo back then who was modding his pedals and biasing his marshalls so maybe Jose made him something that up'ed the gain on a SLP? all i know is he never used it after that record and it is very obvious it has more gain/distortion than the rest records that followed.

[@Heatfarmer]

Try a Boss 10 band eq. That will do the trick, boost the mids. Or buy one of those EP-3 preamp pedals or a real echoplex...

[@Heatfarmer]

You can use one amp as a preamp to go into another amp by letting it run into a load box and sending the line level into the next amp. You have to know what you are doing and most people probably struggle to get a usable hi-gain sound that way. Way too much noise if you dont take care!

[@BTsMusicChannel]

Oh ya, and he also used effects like delay, phaser and flanger. And he also used different kinds of left and right hand techniques to get a range of sounds. A lot of stuff goes into the sound creation on an electric guitar, and you can probably find multiple ways of getting a similar sound. In the end, when you are playing at high volumes, most of the little nuance gets washed up in the band anyway.

[@bigbri7519]

Not really. He said he would dime it, just till everything was ready to blow up, "Then back it off just a bit." Which is also why he used the variac. Alot of people just turn the cab around backward.

[@ericv7720]

It's like a dimmer switch on a light. Turn a dimmer down, not only is the light less bright, but it'll give off a brownish cast as the highest frequencies are filtered out. Same with a variac on an amp.

[@davidwoods80]

I was thinking of buying an American 110V amp, bypassing the fuse, and plugging it into the 220V house current we have here in Ireland. Should be good for some 'explosive' sounds, right???? :-))) Seriously, Johan, your channel is absolutely unique and anyone who loves guitar must watch!!!! Thanks you for coming up with video like this!

[@JohanSegeborn]

+David Woods Thanks David! Really good to hear that! (That explosive setup sounded dangerous though ;-)

[@Heatfarmer]

Thats a great idea, David. If you do that I bet your "brown sound" could be real 3D-ish and physical :D

[@YourWifesBoyfriend]

Make sure to wear your brown pants

[@jhs5150]

If you've got a tube Marshall you can get pretty close to Eddie's sound. You don't have to go buy a '68 Plexi. I have a 78 2204 that's all stock with all but 1 original cap and I can get a sound that's pretty close. It's a combination of tone, overdrive (I use a Boss DS-1, Eddie used an Echoplex as a preamp) and reverb. Just tweak the volume, gain and presence controls. You'll get pretty close. A DSL is good as well.

[@samfosdick9874]

jhs5150 I miss my tube exchoplex!!! I just found 7 NIB tapes in an old box of junk in my basement but sold my exchoplex years ago

[@garybourke468]

It definitely softens up that overwhelming midrange and lets that nice SL/A sizzle to sit on top .

[@leftyfusion88]

I've heard about this for years but I've never seen it in use. Nice demonstration. Eddie had said he blew up several heads and electrocuted himself many times when he first experimented with this and other things in the early days. That was very cool!

[@JohanSegeborn]

+leftyfusion88 Thanks :-)

[@kcampbell4098]

I run a variac on my dual input Marshall 100W 2203 Head @ 85 V, 4 12" slant cab and it gets really smooth and velvety but crunch with it...nice

[@DavidBrown-it9ig]

Oddly enough Eddie was talking about Alex's snare sound being brown and not his guitar tone.

[@CP-kb1du]

Exactly this clown has zero clue ...

[@zhou_sei]

@@CP-kb1du huh? it's quite common to discuss the brown sound when referring to guitar tone, regardless of the original meaning. who is a clown?

[@shoepedals]

I think I like the full voltage sound better, myself, but it's a more subtle difference than I expected.

[@abecene]

Variac also reduces the voltage going to the tube heaters, so less electrons available to make magic. To go around this I usually put toggles on my amps, changing the filter resistors to preamp tubes (lower or higher voltage at plates). This alone makes a huge difference in tone, even with no change to power tube plate and screen voltages. Maybe someday you can check that out, let's go! :)

[@JohanSegeborn]

+abecene Definitely! :-)

[@BTsMusicChannel]

what if electrons steal magic?

[@riansettles2506]

Nice collection brother.I love the purple tolex Marshall. It's crazy how much more expensive they are with that purple tolex. I love your channel.

[@TruthSurge]

maybe it's the vid, but the 170v still doesn't get the VH sound. There's almost no difference between them that I can tell. Just a hair more fuzz. Not quite spongy enough but also, there is a certain EQ you need to have to really do it. I just uploaded a vid of me doing guitars in a backing track w/o Eddie's and I got pretty close to Aint Talkin Bout love and it's a combo of distortion pedal INTO Marshall plexi into Marshall cab with a PARTICULAR EQ over that. If you don't do this eq.... prob going to have too much midrange. So... I don't know exactly how Eddie did it but... he had a very unique sound going with all the effects and reverb.

[@dodmusic9255]

That's because the variac is just part of the equation. Ed fed the power from the cranked Plexi (starved by the variac) to a load box and fed that to modulation effects, then to another amp/power amp.

[@Jordan-rb28]

@@dodmusic9255 He didn't always use modulation to get the sound, ignore the effects for a second, most of his sound, besides a bit of the mix, was 100% guitar going into the marshall with a variac, even in 5150

[@Jordan-rb28]

Put headphones in man! It fattens up the tone so much and I can tell it blindfolded, listen to the single notes he plays with it in the first comparison, it goes from sounding kinda thin to a fat crunch.

[@Jordan-rb28]

2:03 vs. 2:12 -- go back and forth between these timestamps, thats a fat difference in tone that you can't necessarily achieve in a mix. i was bummed out at first seeing this comment but I disagree

[@ColtraneTaylor]

@@dodmusic9255 Great. A load box. The list of technological gadgets needed to produce a great tone just keeps rising. WHY CAN'T THEY JUST PRODUCE GUITARS THAT DO THAT?! Like a Fernandes guitar which has massive sustain without the need for pedals.

[@rudolfschenker]

Less noise and feedback with more clarity and grind - Ed knew exactly what he was trying to achieve.

[@Shamrockjason]

I get the brown sound everytime I take a shit

[@tonymctony4551]

Drop and splash - Plunk .

[@JimijaymesProductions]

As an australian, I've always thought about getting a variac becaause often our wall voltage is higher than 240v and much higher than 220v so most amps are not designed for this voltage. Amps generally work fine and don't blow up but many touring guitarists say they sound different.

[@JimSlimjimCassi]

EVH did not use the VARIAC to achieve a specific tone (Brown Sound), He already had the tone he was looking for, he just needed to manage the volume in the clubs. He couldn't be blasting a 100 watt plexi on 10 in these clubs, or you wouldn't have heard anything else but guitar. The VARIAC was used to control volume, while keeping the tone the amp makes while on 10.

[@mindtricky]

The variac made his tone better on lower volume, 2in1.

[@steveconrad3529]

A Marshall 50 watt head fed 85VAC from a Variac variable AC transformer The Marshall 50 when fed low voltages had more sag and lower decibels ( I saw this 1st hand when they were house band in LA at Gazarri' s back in 1976) when the Variac is on 85 VAC it simulated a "Brown Out"low voltage condition from the local AC Mains Utility power = "Brown Sound" en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownout_(electricity)

[@fridayat5band]

The Variac allowed him to distort the preamp even more than the Marshall on 10, and at a low volume. That along with a dummy load and an equalizer pedal gave him his tone, regardless of the pickup or guitar.

[@marsattacks7071]

He used the variac in studio ! His sweet spot was 89 volts (instead of 120).

[@curtisprice9806]

The hell it didn't!! You sir don't have ears that can distinguish a "blankety blank" from a rock lol!!!!

[@Marc.van.Duijn1976]

If you carefully listen with proper studio headphones you can hear the subtle differences. To my ears it sounds like the 230 volt setting is grittier and has more bite in the top end. The 170 volt setting is somewhat warmer: there is slightly less saturation, the definition seems a bit better, there is less sharp treble and the upper mids are a bit more pronounced.

[@3rdPlaya0709]

Can you do a video on Frank Zappa's tone with envelopes and cocked wah

[@JohanSegeborn]

+forest20 I'm not that familiarwith that. Do you know where I can find info about it?

[@3rdPlaya0709]

Johan Segeborn the solo starts around 5:20 and I feel it captures many of the sounds frank zappa used. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oobGhouCep2hi6M

[@3rdPlaya0709]

Johan Segeborn just realized the link might not work. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5qWaK2fg8aVlck

[@marsattacks7071]

Take a look at TRISKELION HARMONIC ENERGIZER from Godlyke. Dweezel Zappa is using it for that sound. Read the description.

[@slideguitarist]

Frank Zappa sometimes used wah pedals to control EQ, but also often used envelope filters (aka auto wah, or VCF, voltage controlled filter) to get his trademark wah tones. Legend has it that Zappa actually introduced Jimi Hendrix to the wah pedal. The envelope filter was a huge part of Frank's guitar sound. I read (uncorroborated) that he used a rare one made by Oberheim. I've gotten very close to that sound using an old Mu-Tron III. There are several current reissues of the MU-Tron (including one from the inventor, Beigel) or newer versions of envelope filter pedals that can get you in the ballpark of Zappa auto wah sounds. Interestingly, Jerry Garcia, and Trey Anstasio have also heavily used the same kind of effect. To get the most out of it, requires precise settings on the pedal matched with the individual player's guitar and technique. It takes some practice to get it right, but can really add another dynamic dimension to your playing. Zappa was also a devotee of the Pignose Amp (modified with XLR jacks), to get those fuzzy, nasty over-the-top drive tones from his SG. Try a Mu-Tron III into a cranked old Pignose, and you'll find plenty of FZ inspiration.

[@rbrtgary]

You sir are a genius. And one hell of a guitar player.

[@eljodon]

Great video Johan! I've been using a variac since 1983 which I used to turn down my amp's volume because I like my amp cranked up.I now have a Metro/Friedman '68 Plexi replica and it has a switch that lowers the voltage to 90v(USA) and it automatically rebias the power tubes. It works great!

[@JohanSegeborn]

+George Alayon Thanks George! Really cool feature on that Friedman

[@kierenmoore3236]

Wow, that's cool ... :)

[@FallNorth]

I've a valve pedal that I'd have assumed was far too low a voltage to be properly valvy (and a friend of mine who is into valves said this shouldn't happen) but it is brilliant. So I'm fairly sure a variac could work well (unless there were wierd designed in cutoffs) with full scale amps, and of course it does!

[@kellyjackson7889]

Wow the first riff - the open string G chord overtones at reduced voltage I perceive being more complex and present

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Kelly Jackson Thanks Kelly, yeah I got the same impression

[@COTG666]

I can't tell the difference. I've read that this one one of the things that Van Halen did along with jumpering together the inputs on a JMP 45 - which a lot of people did back then. Doesn't matter now, there's so many great sounding amps today that you just plug in and play. Too bad hard rock isn't as popular as it used to be - now that we have the amps that make it sound so nice.

[@greensombrero3641]

you make great videos and I love me some sweden

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Green Sombrero Thanks! :-)

[@jraimondi]

I use one just to lower the voltage from 120vac to 115vac on my Fender amp which was spec'd to run at 117vac. In doing this I also rebiased the amp. Very good demo, once again!

[@Guitar5986]

I have been running my amps off a variac for years. All of my amps are from the 50's/60's so I just dial it back a slight amount from 120V down to 110V to more closely match the standard voltages from back then. But I also rebiased my amps so the power tubes are running the level of current I prefer. Lowering the variac without rebiasing runs the tubes too cold from my experience. Did EVH have his amps biased for running at 90v or did he just lower it?

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Guitar5986 I'm afraid I don't know. Initially he even said that he increased the voltage, but he confessed that was a cruel joke later on.

[@marsattacks7071]

You're right. He had his tech rebiasing the amp and maybe a couple of other things too. In studio, he used to lower his plexi to around 80 volts.

[@Guitar5986]

Sounds like he was trying to steer people away from his secrets. I've heard of people chasing his tone biasing hot so that they are still within voltage spec for the power tubes at 90v but I've also heard of people just biasing normally and lowering the voltage. Wonder how big of a difference a fairly hot bias running at the lower voltage would make.

[@MrIkesimba]

Hi Johan, a rebias can be done very simply using one of these... www.tedweber.com/br-4

[@treatb09]

i hate people that can't find their own way…its like like those people that you share an idea with and they think "oh man, i have a great idea…"

[@tonefingerz2021]

ur the man johan. always brightens my day. i have a harmony pedal coming to ad to the chain of my vocal rig that i mic my amp with. i may try do a review but ive never done a review and only have my phone. .gonna experiment. thx man.

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Tone Fingerz Thanks man, you probably need two mics to pic up the stereo tone of that setup. If you have an iPad as well you can use both an sync the two sound files in garage band afterwards. Cheers

[@jeffhudson2346]

If I remember, I watched a Smithsonian Institute video with Ed, he stated he used the variac as a master volume. He said he did it because the clubs told him they were going to ban him because he was playing on 10 in those clubs. He was plugged in to 220 and dropped the voltage down to 70 to 90 volts. Johan have you tried out a TSL 100? Marshall sneaked in a lot of vintage tone in it being that it does not have diode clipping. Once again excellent video and cheers from West Texas!

[@JohanSegeborn]

+jeff hudson Thanks Jeff, I have, I like them. Unfortunately there is no video of em here yet though. Working on that!

[@JohanSegeborn]

+jeff hudson Cheers from Gothenburg Sweden!

[@jumpboy29]

Eddie played had his amp set at 110volts, the variac lower. Brand new the amp was set at 220 and he had it plugged into a standard 110, so it was very quiet, then he realized it was set wrong.

[@jeffhudson2346]

jma111000, I was going from memory on that post, so I'm not claiming 100% accuracy. While I like Van Halen a lot I don't get into the nuts and bolts of his gear (because Ed's hands are the secret to his sound).

[@bobbyhosweden]

I never heard of people having 220 volts in the sockets in Pasadena.

[@stefftrim]

I saw an interview yesterday with Eddie. "Is Rock'n Roll all about reinvention" He told he recorded on 89 volts (due to their 110 in US) He found out about the variac because he bought an European Marshall that was working on 220 volts. When it got warm it played very clear but with low amplitude. He bought a variac and used it as volume knob running from 60-100 volts depending on the gig. Greetings from Denmark

[@BTsMusicChannel]

EVH sais a lot of different things -- he is all over the place in his interviews. You cannot trust what he says.

[@bigbri7519]

Exactly. I wish everyone would watch that video.Also, the effect at the end of eruption is hot just a dive bomb but he lowers the speed manually on the repeat of the boss Digital delay. Took forever to figure tat oune out.

[@jwandhistools]

I hear no difference at all. A variac is best used to save the transformers on old plexis and such, that were designed to run on 110. The USA went to 120 a while back. I don't hear any difference at all in tone here.

[@davidfugere6940]

jwandhistools I noticed a slight increase in attack, but only when he changed the dial. During the riffs in the cut scenes going back and forth between 220v & 170v I didn't hear any difference at all in tone or attack. Still a great sounding rigg either way.

[@Samesama]

I hear more mids

[@goonrick]

Try better speakers/headphones or something. I can easily hear the difference. The response of the amp changes quite noticeably, kind of like reducing NFB from the circuit.

[@ZekeMan62]

Rick Hudson I could hear a big difference: a little more low end and low mids, and the voice or character of the distortion changed a bit in a way that I don't think I could describe well in words. I can see why Eddie went with this. Its a cooler sound for the type of music he was playing. I could also SEE the difference (I'm one of those weirdos with synesthesia). The sound went from whitish yellow to... you guessed it... brown. If you're not a synesthete this will sound strange to you, but sounds conjure up a very consistent visual image in my minds eye. Its actually how I taught myself to play guitar. For quite a while I didn't know what an A minor chord was for example. To me it was simply "that dark purple chord." I later learned to speak the standard musical lingo cause I realized that if I wanted to jam with other musicians hollering out "slow shuffle in the key of burnt orange" wasn't gonna cut it.

[@antigen4]

COMPRESSION

[@granvillefriel1877]

That amp sounds killer dude either way!!!

[@rafaelbarerez7066]

i was always asking me about variac

[@billbelzek6748]

Talking to yourself is the best way to insure you always have intelligent conversation :-)

[@PeterDad60]

IN America my wall outlet is 120 VAC. I drop it down to 110VAC and my tube amps sound more to my liking. A slight "brown" sound". Brown outs happened in America when the demand exceed supply voltage so they would run the output down to 90Vac and low and behold light bulbs would sort of brown out. Hence the original slang developed for reduced voltage. In America all electrical equipment can operate normally at 90 Vac. A voltage surge occurs when everybody shuts of their TV and lights and the power companies have to wind down the power or else you get a surge of excess voltage, which can blow some electrical gear. -Peter I skipped the 1880's NiagraFalls education lecture for you this time Johan.

[@stevenvandemsky7290]

Great vid, Johan! I always wondered what this Variac myth was all about. Seems like there is a subtle difference: With the lowered voltage the sound gets warmer, less spikey. But it's just a slight improvement and not the secret of Van Halen's "brown sound", isn't it?

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Steven van Demsky Thanks, of course anyone who wasn't there can't say anything for sure but as far as I have understood he used a basically Stock 1968 Super Lead with a variac into cabs of greenbacks or blackbacks maybe combined with JBLs. Most of it comes from his hands of course. Cheers

[@stevenvandemsky7290]

+Johan Segeborn Yes, that's what I heard, too. And that's what it sounds like: A humbucker guitar with a good Plexi. That's it. The rest of that tone is in the hands of Eddie ;-)

[@curtisprice9806]

No, no,no.......to those with ears a variac changes the Marshall tone a lot!!!!! Listen dude....LISTEN!!!!

[@Eio-hk8fi]

A lot of people forget to take into consideration the stuff he had connected to his plexi way back in the early days. Either into the front of the amp or in the effects loop. There are some photos that show he had an eq in the midst of everything . who knows how high he had the output of the eq , it would certainly add clipping or a bit of distortion to the signal chain if turned way up. Yes, he used a Marshall Plexi but that was just the amp . there was more going on there than just an amp and a variac.

[@97warlock]

I dont hear any Eddie tone,sorry. I hear "small amp" with the gain up.

[@zurckoni]

definitely a bigger, warmer sound. cool. thanks.

[@tonefingerz2021]

and that riff at 5 mins bud. uggh yes!

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Tone Fingerz Thanks my friend :-)

[@oct9AFD]

1972. Madrid, Spain. Barón Rojo's guitarists Armando de Castro and his brother, Carlos, used the Variac to play their Marshalls in the pubs safely. True story

[@Herrpablo]

Wow! Variac sounds great! Prob been asked before but what king of headphones are you using? The kind that keeps you from going deaf? Lol.

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Paul Aguilar Thanks Paul, these are AKG K109S. :-)

[@bluerock5351]

Always enjoy your vids. For content & sound. Oh & I steal the odd lick here & there :)

[@nickzambrano]

Kick-Ass vid man!

[@JohanSegeborn]

+nickzambrano Thanks Nick!

[@ducamuk]

That was a very informative video. Thank you for breaking it down and letting us hear the difference. 👍

[@joshb2167]

At my shop we have a VamPower amp from the 70s that we have to run on a variac or else it will blow up. We get hotter power because we're near a relay and with the plate voltages it runs it physically would burst tubes without one. Took us two matched quads before we figured that out haha!

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Josh Bohm hahaha ;-)

[@joshb2167]

Johan Segeborn worst was a beautiful NOS Seimens set!

[@Mr75044]

RIP EDDIE. a great experimenter designer of guitars & amps The Bruce Lee of rock guitar...

[@TomPark1986]

You lower the voltage it sounds fuller and more saturated.

[@evangelistbrianbaker]

Lower the voltage but keep the volume and gain at ten.

[@BillDerBerg]

gorgeous tone

[@LotusMan01]

Doesn't sound much different other than a little less gain. Both sound very similar but I'm guessing you could back your guitar volume off just a little bit and get almost the same sound. Not worth $50 or the tweaking/danger involved. Looks like "The Brown Sound" is more of a myth. It was Eddie Van Halen making all that tone after all.

[@JohanSegeborn]

+LotusMan01 Tone is subjective. And of course most of the Van Halen tone comes from his hands.

[@donkarnage6032]

+LotusMan01 Eddie was known to also have an MXR eq pedal and use the front of an echoplex for boost as well as the variac in the early days. Brown sound isn't a myth. Its just very specific sound. If you look at early tour footage and some club days photos. Eddie kept his echoplex inside of an old bomb casing.

[@Heatfarmer]

I can hear quite the difference, I must say.

[@LotusMan01]

Yes, I can hear the difference too but I guess I was expecting a very drastic change in tone. Like tube amp distortion vs fuzz distortion. Like the amp was distorting in a brand new way? A lot of people talk about "The Brown Sound" like it's some secret unattainable tone that Eddie found and you can't get close to with a regular tube amp. I really appreciated Johan's direct comparison here. Yes, you can hear the difference but IMO it's not that huge or unique. When you hear a fuzz pedal distortion, you know it's a fuzz pedal distortion but if someone were to play me just the 170 volt clips here I wouldn't go "Oh, that's definitely the 'Brown Sound' and there's nothing else like it."

[@PeterDad60]

LotusMan01. Listen to me carefully. I say that because you are not grasping the concept. I can not explain why you do not hear much difference, but that's besides the point. I have a voltage reducer that reduces my house line voltage from 117 Vac (measured) down to 104 Vac (measured). I absolutely get a different sound and people refer to it as the brown sound. Just to be absolutely clear, no amount of control knob tweaking on my guitar nor on my amp gets that same sound. Only when I run at 10% reduced voltage do I get that specific sound. No other way. I was an engineer and I did a fair amount of research before I purchased the voltage reducer. Spending another $50 to achieve a sound that otherwise you can't, and after spending thousands of dollars on gear and also practicing hours every day is worth it! Here comes your education in electricity: There is no danger involved in what Johan and others are doing. Westinghouse built a power generating facility at Niagara Falls NY, USA over 100 years ago in the late 19th Century circa 1880's or 1890's. They designed it to output from a little less than 90 VAC to a little over 110/115 VAC way back then. The manufactures of street lamps and later radios and other early electronic gear was also designed the equipment to run on AC current as low as 90 Vac. This was because there were Brownout's even back then. The facility sometimes could not output anymore than 90 Vac because of too heavy a load placed upon it by all it's customers. Just like today! All electrical equipment since that time is designed to run at 90 Vac and above with no damage. Do you understand now why there is no danger in running electric equipment, including an guitar amplifier at reduced voltages all the way down to 90 Vac (and even a little bit lower)?

[@lovetogolf4184]

Nice Custom Gibson, used to have all white with gold hardware..Loved the tone..Sick!! 1985

[@motownfreak15]

WOW. Eddie's tone!

[@BTsMusicChannel]

Did not sound like EVH's tone to me. Where is the delay? Where is the flanger? Where is the phaser? Where are the pick harmonics? Where is the tap (different tone than pick)? And so on...Point is, there is a lot more to his tone than an amplifier modification. I bet someone could out a VARIAC on the stage as a prop and a lot of people would say, "WOW. Eddie's tone!" if it sounded close to it.

[@markwood3389]

not really

[@flappospammo]

evh would be proud of your ingenuity

[@eggbertsmith]

Young players, go find your OWN sound, instead of turning into the sort of person whose greatest musical accomplishment is nothing more than emulating the sounds of other people, spending literally years and years researching it. Compose your own music, instead of endlessly learning the work of others. It's human nature to follow the lead of more successful people. Be the exception.

[@michaelgarcia2050]

Okay. Don't use distortion then. It's already been done.

[@WayneThePreacher]

I used to tell all my guitar students the exact same. Stop trying to sound like everyone else.

[@understone]

I think it's good to understand the technology and use what you like. There are many innovations and approaches that were pioneered that shouldn't be abandoned. I have to say though that alot of the obsession with EVH seems to be in vein...it was more than his amp and equipment..it was him and no one will ever bottle that. People are still obsessing over his tone after 40 years and still people debating and speculating and trying. That part just seems not very fruitful

[@GuitarMan22]

Exactly!! Though this is interesting, its all been done before. Well said

[@stuntmaster127]

Take from the greats but bits n pieces from everyone and learn to apply their techniques into your own unique color palette 🤠

[@stevesmith3033]

NOPE unfortunately that's not a brown sound at all. It sounds thin, small, harsher, too dull and way less fat sustain. I think for one, you lowered the voltage too much. dropping 50v on the input is going to drop the plate load voltage significantly. The big problem is that you're also dropping the heater voltage way down at the same time. You also need to rebias the amp when you alter the plate voltage. You really should use a reasonable drop in voltage where the heater voltage stays within range and then bias the amp for the best tone and see what you can achieve...

[@zacharytomes5202]

Steve Webb Too bad theres no such thing as the brown sound for guitar. Eddie was referring to his brothers snare drum

[@RonnieDeeLightful]

Years ago I made my own variac rheostat. It does work; but there are low limits as I found out. A 120V amp turned down to 40 volts does some pretty funky stuff... highly recommended.

[@davidlanham99]

I couldn't tell any difference.

[@whoobibi]

EVH apparently took it down quite a bit lower. Somewhere around 140v.

[@tommccarron324]

Ed used the variac as an attenuator. so we should be seeing this guy lower the voltage and turning the volume up. Ed was saying the object was to get that sound at a lower volume.

[@JohanSegeborn]

+Tom Mccarron yeah the volume difference is compensated for in the recording

[@michaelledford4751]

If you have a vintage amp you found ,or you have a large amp collection you just can't use enough to keep in the rack owning a variac is a plus ,on old vintage amps that haven't been powered up in years the inrush from powering it up can cause lots of Nasty shit to happen ,you power up the amp slowly over the course of 24 to 48 hours by starting out low amperage low voltage and increasing both slightly every hour or 2 ,once powered up fully the chance of blowing the caps is drastically lowered .

[@ivorharden]

Eddie lowered his voltage from 110v to 89v to get the "fabled tone". If your on 220v for example will I have to lower the Amp to 199v to get the brown sound or will I have to run it to 89v like Eddie.

[@JRP3music]

A lot of modern amps are allowing you to use a preset variac to lower the power. Also, manufacturers are putting in self biasing and tech to allow you to increase the life span of your tubes with led indicators that tell which tubes are at fault. I experimented with my Variac, but I felt it added more noise to the sound.

[@JRP3music]

I understand that the best benefit is for running older vintage amps at a lower voltage, when voltage standards changed. So they run at the voltage they were designed to, when they were new. I am happy now that I have a Two Notes Torpedo Captor 8, I can attenuate or run without a cab now. Also, if you have an old amp that was unused for a long time. You can power it up gradually to put less wear on the components, when turning it on and up gradually.

[@22156ify]

man I love your playing and what a sound!!!

[@Xenthorx]

Sounds so much better, oh boy :3

[@jonnybeck6723]

@5:28 that was a really cool and different effect. Enjoyed the whole thing really... cheers