Unlocking Eddie Van Halen’s Guitar Tone with his Engineer Ross Hogarth

[@nihil1]

People might complain about how better things were "back then", but I feel so fortunate to live in this time when we can easily get videos like these you've been making. Thank you so much!

[@michelladisa9772]

1¹

[@jimmyjames7946]

Yes and I have seen them live many times.. twice with Dave and in my opinion whatever people think about the difference as time went on . The 💯 percent best sound live in my opinion was the balance tour!! It was un friken real live

[@TANTRUMGASM]

"back in the day" i wore out record needles learning VH 1 in 78... literally the only time I could see EVH play was By buying a Ticket and seeing him live...then wait a year for next tour.......no MTV, no Van Halen on TV, no utube, no DVD / Video lessons...I would watch EVH hands the whole show to see how he played certain riffs...I remember seeing him finger tapping in 78..intro to Atomic punk was his hand heel up and down across the strings, at the bridge...79 bass notes on spanish fly hammered on while fast picking high strings open,,,, 81 mean streets odd tapping..by the time I was in high school my boys were all over MTV and Even in 84 i would say..."remember back in the day when only saw them live or nothing"?

[@TheRhino2719]

Yeah, but they were living it, not watching videos

[@thebaysidebuzz9449]

What albums were you the engineer on? Donn Landee was the engineer for Van Halen

[@edmundkudey7153]

You are spot on….as a father and fan of Eddie’s craft I knew once his son joined the band on bass that it was Eddie’s dream to play with his son and he knew his time was limited due to his ongoing battle with cancer, so we should all be happy for Eddie to have lived long enough to experience the joy of playing with his son.

[@_fig.8]

it’s incredibly generous of you to provide these episodes free of charge. such insightful stories!

[@riangarianga]

A half an hour interview that felt like just 5 minutes, that's how good it was! Pure gold, thank you so much 🙏

[@Race-Bannon1]

Agreed! I shared that same sentiment with you.

[@smorgdonkey]

Same with Rick Beatto interviewing Andy Summers. It was about an hour and a half and I thought that it was 20 minutes.

[@han1075]

Great interview. EVH was a true genius. There will never be another. RIP Ed.

[@synthnerd4539]

That line at the end about "the [drums] weren't special, the guy hitting them was special" is an absolute gem. Swap out drums for almost any bit of music gear... it's all in the art. Interesting video, thank you again :)

[@odmusicman]

you beat me to it synthnerd, I was struck by the comment too and it speaks a truth that marketing people fear.

[@davidhornbeckmusic7487]

Thank you for this interview @anthonymarinellimusic ! I’m a guitar player but for decades have told my drummer friends exactly what Mr Hogarth is saying about John Bonham, it was the technique, all in the wrists. Bonham’s tone wasn’t from bashing but appropriately attacking each instrument in the kit to maximize resonance. His comments on multi micing/amping Eddie were very cool. Great work sir!

[@BAJARACER43X]

100 years from now guitar players are still going to be trying to figure all this out

[@famachris]

One of the best RIP Eddie videos ever. Love the refreshed take on Eddie’s sound - now truly Browm.

[@ThemFuzzyMonsters]

This is a great interview. Thank you for getting Ross H. to discuss this out-of-print VH record. There is a lot of drama surrounding this record, and little has ever been said. Still, I must say that from an engineering standpoint the mix of A Different Kind Of Truth is a perfect exemple of too much of everything: big bass, big guitars, big drums, big vocals, and everything gets congested. I suspect the mix is why it is no longer available anywhere.

[@TANTRUMGASM]

Wolfie says that DLR hates it , also that DLR wont let it be licensed or whatever on spotify

[@ThemFuzzyMonsters]

@@TANTRUMGASM As we’ve seen in the last couple days, it seems that DLR hates everything (everyone?) about his second VH stint. He clearly was not in charge that time around and that seems to have everything to do with it.

[@RKDriver]

EVH's sound has been a big subject of discussion for many decades but you won't find any detailed interviews or stories that dive into the real details from someone who was hands-on with the process. Even EVH didn't talk about it much so it's a great to see this.

[@floridamusician9219]

Thanks Anthony for putting this together and BIG thanks to Ross for sharing his knowledge and interactions with VH.

[@tylerholloway_gitpikin]

This is like a master class for a musician. I'm a lifelong guitar player but listening to his understanding of capturing tone and what it comes from makes perfect sense. Every emerging musicians should listen to this interview

[@kevinbown424]

I'm from Pasadena. I lived right around the corner from The Van Halen's. We all knew each other. I have seen many many shows including backyard parties, and concerts. I moved to North Carolina in 2007 and went to see the show with DLR & Wolfgang in Greensboro. I had noticed they had Michael Anthony's Backup Vocals piped in. I'm actually friends with Michael, but not so sure he really liked that idea or not. Cause we never discussed it yet.

[@Fearzero]

Better get on it, that was almost 20 years ago!

[@Joshua-q4p6x]

As a dad that got my kids interested in music, bringing in Wolf was a no brainer. I LOVE Michael Anthony! But to play with my kid, are you serious, dream come true.

[@easilyoffended7772]

Pause

[@Saybleu]

I love that this guy lets his guests talk…..he doesn’t interrupt or talk over them.

[@chrislestermusic]

It’s an art, especially when you’re trying to gain information. He did a very good job here.

[@craigoriopequeño505]

Or completes their sentences for them. Pure gold here - thank u, Anthony!

[@edbroderick3567]

That’s are rare essential quality

[@RandyFricke]

Excellent interview with a guy who has probably forgotten more about sound than many people remember. I'm just now getting back to where I can listen to Eddie without crying. I'm getting close with RUSH for Neil now. Working on it. RUSH's "Presto" album was a constant while my late wife was battling cancer. It was almost as if that record was done just for me. Thank you Neil Peart! I also appreciate Anthony's interviewing technique. As k the question and let your guest talk. Well done gents!

[@TKO-rf5no]

Ed was a true genius and innovator!

[@pyjama9556]

Thank you Anthony, I’m so glad we got to hear more from Ross about his great knowledge and techniques aswell as how do you then present that to the artist respectfully. Also what a treat that this was about Van Halen! Loved Ross take on Eddie working with his son, just beautiful!❤ Loved hearing about Jim Keltner too, his work over the years is amazing I particularly loved his involvement in the Little Village project!❤ Again I also have to thank you for being one of the only presenters and authors who understands letting the guest express their stories fully without interruption or being interrupted midway through a sentence. Would love to hear you interview Harold Faltermeyer at some point, two great keyboard wizards just having a chat! My best to you and thanks again!

[@ericajohnson7535]

Beato has some serious competition with this amazing content!

[@MikeKiker]

Nice to hear Clarence Kane mentioned. He's still alive and well age 97 last I heard, and still does amazing work. In the last few years had worked on a few RCA ribbons for my studio as well. Worth getting fixed from the source for sure.

[@dubhdavidblack2094]

+100 for Clarence Kane!!

[@randydean23]

I know this one is probably a little left field for some of your viewers but I really hope that not only they but the algorithm give it a chance because there is some absolute gold that you got out of this interview. Bravo, and thanks!!

[@gregmize01]

It's awesome

[@nyanates]

VH had a lot of very talented folks on their team. This guy was one of them. How can he remember all this after so many years? Wow! Thanks for this interview.

[@clydeviegas]

Triple platinum content! Thank you Anthony 🙏🏼

[@stevenjones9364]

Great interview! Regarding Ross' comments about Edward playing music with his son, I think everyone should be in agreement that its great they had the chance to do that and would never want to deny them the opportunity. I believe the negative feedback from the public is in response to how Edward handled Michael Anthony's dismissal.

[@WouterB76]

Thanks so much for honering a fellow native Dutch man. (Eddie was born in the Dutch city Amsterdam) I am very proud we had such a amazing musician.

[@TANTRUMGASM]

thank Goodness they escaped out of moldy old europe and moved to California in the amazing 60's where they thrived in a vibrant , creative , land of opportunity to flourish and become true legendary Rock stars. Would have never happened in Holland. Cheers from Sunny Cabo !

[@Fearzero]

​@@TANTRUMGASMThey flourished despite getting picked on for their foreign accents by idiot Californians.

[@jmorrisey79]

​@@TANTRUMGASM damn bro. Just shit all over dude's home land.. sheesh

[@DojoOfCool]

Excellent interview especially the ending section... it's all about the musician not the instrument. The talk about the drummers and playing for the sound and letting the mic's and PA make it loud. I've done a lot of sound work in my life and many people would be surprised if they heard what the stage volume was like compared the FOH from the PA. The great bands played on stage at levels that were comfortable. I've only heard a couple that blasted on stage.

[@neocollective]

I really LOVE how you closed this video, love you too Anthony !

[@monkeyrater]

Finally someone is giving the information on how Van Halen I was recorded. No one seems to remember how Eddie got his guitar sound on that record, not Eddie, not the engineers who worked on the album (see Sunset Sound interviews). So surprising to see that the guitar was separated into stereo with reverb.

[@keith.messier]

Not true. Brian Kehew describes the stereo setup in this Sunset Sound interview: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6bNpJ1uep50obssi=Olfr2UN0E9gSqWO1

[@monkeyrater]

@@keith.messier thanks for this info. EVH had such great tone on the first four albums, after that it was just a generic guitar sound that always sounded the same. Im finding out now that I cant get this tone with just an amp or effects, so I really want to find out how he did it.

[@doormasterjohn]

All you have to do is roll the balance to the left on early van halen you hear is this weird cave sound. All that guitar sound is coming out of one speaker. Only thing they did different for the solo's was He was coming out of both speakers. I Knew that when I was a kid trying to learn his music

[@monkeyrater]

@@doormasterjohn Thats the only thing that bothers me about those early VH albums is how the guitar is put on the left. It really cheapens the overall sound. It sounds just as bad on the Beatles albums. I cant figure out why the guys in VH got talked into doing that on so many albums.

[@JsscRchlDrsy]

Eddie also used a Variac to lower the voltage of his Marshall amp.….look up, Rick Beato-The Brown Sound, here on KZbin. They get close, but let’s face it. Tone is in the hands and fingers for the most part.

[@foto21]

This is one helluva pro tip on micing and guitar sound, and prob other instrument sound as well. I appreciate the way Ross handles the whole Anthony/Wolfie issue. They are both class guys and EVH deserved to have the joy he got. He certainly worked and struggled most of his life at his passion and craft, and as easy as people think it looked from afar, it prop was frequently not easy at all. At least EVH got to go out on top and not in the sad trough he was in for many years, and playing with Wolf may have been the lynchpin to his recovery.

[@JesseDanielSmith]

This channel is truly the best of the internet - someone really about it preserving history and handing it out in an easy to digest way

[@sca1871]

This is a very informative interview. Very nicely done.

[@zoomzoom3950]

that Moog in the background...and it's on... 😍

[@mathumphreys]

Awesome video. Thanks for bringing Ross back - he's a gem!!!! I really hope you do some more with him - he sounds like he has so many stories to tell.

[@mthomas1091]

Man I just love listening to this stuff, especially people you share memories with (& the discussion already has familiarity comfort). So cool getting to hear these stories 🙏

[@bdc-muzik]

Love how you added the illustrations throughout the interview. Well done! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@bradleyshuppert3393]

The White Lion sound was as fresh as the VH sound to me and I learned that most guitar players who use a lot of gain, makes it harder to record. Michael Wagener ran a line out to a very clean loud amp in an isolation room and let Vito use the sounds that made him play the way he wanted…. The secret sauce was reintroduce the clean back in the mix which brought back the right artifacts and harmonics and made for another huge “brown sound” to record. The new Kemper amp Modeler, not only has the brown sound, but it has the IR speaker and post mix recording element plus mike tones included into the suite to get the record sound live…. We have came a long way!!!! Amazing listening to this guy about EVH!!!!

[@mentoneman]

Guitar player and lifelong EVH fan but the drum tone discussion was the highlight!

[@johnnybegood2693]

What a surprise! I JUMPed up when I read EVH... 😎💪 - great background also on drums, miking.. and the best of all the definition of the vibe they had within their scene.. the hint on Porcaro, Keltner shows that there's still alot to dig into.. love it!

[@maryannmoran-smyth3453]

What a lot of people tend to overlook is that Eddie and Alex had a great relationship because they practice for so long and knew how to read each other which is an important aspect of being a musician in a band ,something a lot of musicians seem to miss and well aren’t that successful because if they can’t work with other people, in a band context…Keep on rocking

[@MusicalBox]

I subscribed to this channel maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago. I'm not done watching all your videos, but I absolutely loved every single one I watched so far. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, your experience and your memories.

[@pitthefrit6292]

Longer interview than I expected, but some new fascinating facts. And I watched a lot of stuff about Eddie over time.

[@harrisondvargo72]

Wowza, thank you very much to both of you! What a wonderful conversation! So much amazing detail in one video.

[@richardvillegas6765]

Best interview of Van Halen I've heard yet, awesomeness

[@wouterdesmedt1736]

What a treat! Loving the non-technical questions about the humanity of it all.

[@Scotty_Russell_Music]

I heard a recent youtube EVH tone dive video and they had the dry guitar loud and panned hard left and the touch of reverb on the right. I've heard loads of EVH tone dive vids where they play just like Ed and have dialed in the tones super close and even bang on but the studio panning treatment got it just that bit even closer.

[@nneeerrrd]

Love all the technical ranting! Thanks for another amazing video!

[@Race-Bannon1]

The word Ross was searching for to describe Ed and Alex’s relationship would best be described as “organic”

[@Race-Bannon1]

Anthony-someone needs to do a movie about the life of Marc Bolan and cast you in the lead position as him in the movie. It would make for a great film.

[@ratcliffek]

Great video on many levels. Really enjoyed it. Thank you for making it

[@BoomBoomBoom..]

As a life long guitar nerd, this interview was incredible and informative. Thanks & subbed

[@GCKelloch]

This is really cool. A Ribbon and SM57 has become a standard in guitar speaker micing, but I hope people understand the proximity effect strength of a figure 8 mic up close to a speaker. You can look up the Royer 121 manual for details, but it's already up 6dB by 100Hz at 1' from a source. You can imagine how strong it would be close to the speaker if it continues to double in strength every half distance.

[@KnapfordMaster98]

I need to hear this man talk about Motley Crue more. Mick Mars is my hero and Girls Girls Girls is arguably my favorite album of their's.

[@boronoro]

Oh, man! What a great interview! Much appreciated, sir!!! You rock!

[@TheeRocker]

Back when I started playing, we were limited to our first amps being a volume knob and a tone knob. You find ways to make it rock.

[@-KingOfKhaos]

FINALLY… we guitar fanatics get the answers we have been seeking for decades!!!!

[@JHS421]

Great video. I found it very interesting. I wish there were more videos like this on Van Halen.

[@mikebozik]

Great interview, thank you so much Anthony. A lot of new information I didn't know!!! Definitely one of the best Van Halen oriented interviews I've heard in years. 😊 Keep up the great work with your channel!

[@Pacuta_]

0:12 that black and white button on Eddie's guitar looks like the OU812 ("With the Beatles" spoof) album cover except done with Dave! I never knew they had done that before.

[@AndreCholmondeley]

Amazing interview and insight into Eddie’s genius. Also, can we get a whatwhat for the amazing Moog Modular monster behind him!!!

[@ReginatorNet]

I love Eddie's keyboard playing as much as his guitaring. Dude was a real deal virtuoso!

[@Fearzero]

He played in C and D lol.

[@davidrivera2864]

Free Valuable Gems of those who were pioneers to creative greatness; We musicians and engineer's thank you for this passionately expressed form of art... People would pay good money for these valuable techniques... Blessings to both you gentlemen.

[@capt_howdy]

Thankful for discovering your channel this year!! Incredible content.

[@richardjames6111]

Absolutely fascinating, massive thanks for going to the trouble and effort to make these, totally hooked!

[@wildbilldurkin1493]

Great interview. I discovered Royer Mics in school and really enjoy hearing how they came to be. Love all the great stories

[@cosmicray007]

Great Interview!! learned a lot about recording guitar.

[@wirenoises]

What an interesting and informative conversation. Thank you for sharing.

[@davidhayman9330]

Thanks Anthony insightful interview thanks for putting this together!

[@pjmtry7]

Love the great tidbits of info, good stuff!

[@patrickjenkins2788]

Great video thank you! Love different kind of truth as much as VH1, fair warning, and 1984. Fortunate to see the corresponding tour, a bucket list item as I was 9 when 1984 came out and had no mo mo. I would have loved Anthony on the record and tour as I’m a Roth VH purist but I totally understood Wolfie’s inclusion, and loved seeing Eddie and son interacting on stage, as I have a son of my own. I’m so thankful they brought Roth back one more time for a great record! And I got to see them I waited 30 years for that thank you Eddie!

[@NexxuSix]

@Anthony Thank you for sharing this! Very interesting techniques for mic’ing the amps… now we know how the iconic sound was made 😊 Fun fact: Long before Van Halen, and Mammoth (pre-VH band) Eddie was actually a drummer. I know this because my girlfriend was in band with him during his High School days. She and Eddie would sit together on the bus, and practice their sets, drumming the patterns out on the bus seats on their way to games and school venues.

[@TANTRUMGASM]

most likely not true.....eddie was a drummer briefly when he was 8-10 years old,and Alex was a guitarist... he played piano mostly (including in his band , The Broken Combs) and dedicated his life to guitar at age 12, and Alex switched to drums... At Pasadena High, EVH was playing Guitar in Rat Salad and Genesis, and then mammoth...... EVH was never Drumming in high school band on the bus with your girlfriend, he was playing guitar all over LA in his high school years....maybe in Elementery school, but not high school.

[@NexxuSix]

@@TANTRUMGASM I just asked again about what year my girlfriend was drumming with Eddie, and she said it would have been around junior high, so about 1978 from what she remembers. I stand corrected in that it was high school that I previously stated, but rather it is correct to say junior high school instead. I always tell her she could have been famous, she just rolls her eyes at me and chuckles instead.

[@TANTRUMGASM]

@@NexxuSix EVH graduated High School in 72, and was 23 years old in 1978. The first VH album came out Feb 10, 1978... it's all good though, ..not calling her a liar...because my memories and dates from back in the 70's are a bit cloudy myself, Cheers!

[@Clupea101]

Great stuff, great insight as always

[@smartti1970]

thanks great interview and sharing Anthony as always thanks to Ross Hogarth too for sharing his stories 🌈🌞🎸🎼🎵🎶🎹

[@carlasker9285]

Amazing interview. The best rock band ever.

[@randyvan1520]

Enjoyed the content, thank you for producing.

[@unclemick-synths]

Great interview. As ever... "To sound like Bonham, first you must play like Bonham"

[@garystone9973]

There is so much amazing history of musical siblings playing together: the Van Halens, the Wilson Sisters, the Young bros.(AC/DC), Bee Gees, etc.

[@Rikk_Klaww777]

I hear John Bonham at the start of "Eruption". Whenever I hear that I always think that "Led Zeppelin's" end Drum Solo in "Rock & Roll", was the finish of that version of Rock & Roll, and Eruption is the start or continuation of 2 brilliant songs, depicting what Rock and Roll is all about..."Getting your feet moving" and feeling it.! Alex was a true pioneer in innovation and outside the box thinker (the start of Hot for Teacher), melding into Eddie's Lamborghini at idle.!!! True genius of thinking. Since I'm on this subject another "magical" drummer who definitely had Alex Van Halen influences was "Vinnie Paul", from PANTERA. "13steps to Nowhere" shows his innovation and thinking patterns, along with "The Art of Shredding," (right after the the solo, offbeat), just perfect timing and co-ordination.! I am not a drummer, but play guitar and I jam with drummers better, than other band members. There are great drummers out there, but locking on with a drummer that has a certain magic in his playing and technique is another level of just..pure magic. John, Alex and Vinnie, will always be 3 drummers that are way above and ahead of most.

[@johannjohann6523]

Eddie's guitar sound comes from his hands as much as any gear he may use I think. It's really that way with all the guitar greats. I think David Gilmour has the most distinct guitar sound that seems hardly if ever been completely replicated. He uses a very simple setup and his tone comes mostly from his hands, as I'm sure does Eddie's.

[@jl-zz9zs]

His style was always there and him, acoustic or anything he picked up, no one else has it. His sound was the equipment. That’s why it changed so much and got worse over time. I have his signature Stealth cab and amp etc and get his sound now.

[@tyler_]

These videos become more inspiring to me with every new release - it’s crazy. Anthony! Level out those picture frames if they’re going to be the background. Are you guys throwing each other around and up against the walls off camera? 😁

[@MarcHendry]

I don't think I can fully appreciate the details of audio work (I got mild hearing damage from concerts), but I enjoy this kind of really practical information about how the records are made

[@jaspercomp1]

Amazing information, dispels the notion that you just grab the guitar, hook the pedals up, crank the volume and go at it and hope for the best.

[@willdenham]

I just started noticing the thing he is talking about with Ed not doing a seperate lead track. When listening to some of the first 6 recently I was paying close attention to the guitar part and sure enough, Ed was just twisting his volume up on the main track. Same thing for the quiet parts, just the other direction and I just live that about his playing. They were just such a live band.

[@verdean11]

Amazing interview Anthony! The summarizing the sound section was so informative! On another note, what are you using for the bass on the intro/outro music? Sounds so good!

[@anthonymarinellimusic]

Thanks for watching. I composed the music and performed it all on Moog IIIc

[@HaZa-bz1xy]

Fantastic interview. Great insights. Thank you. But the interview ends abruptly, there must be more. Could we see the rest please. It's utterly fascinating for us VH fanatics.

[@youWoNtLikeMe04]

The story I had read was that Ed was driving a car with a blown speaker, so he was only hearing the wet effects of his guitar. That upset him, that then lead to how he developed his glorious wet/dry/wet sound.

[@doormasterjohn]

Yup, that's what it was all about. Ed Wanted to play with his boy, I get it,I understand. It was after he recovered from his first bout with throat cancer. He knew he wasn't gonna be around till old age. It needed to happen when it did. It gave Wolfy the experience he needed to become the performer he is today. He gave him a career.

[@gavinparkes2846]

100% agreed although Wolfie wasn't coddled along which makes him special in his own right. He didn't sit with dad for hours on end learning how to play. He did most of his learning on his own. He even said that Ed was't a very good teacher. Edward recognized the talent didn't fall from the family tree with Wolf, embraced it and took it from there. To me, thats the coolest thing ever. Wolf's his own guy and Ed told everyone that he was going to surprise everyone (before he passed). Ed was right. We get to witness Van Halen lineage with Wolf. Thats a gift in to itself.

[@richevans609]

I kinda feel bad for Eddie... He wasn't a healthy guy and I am just glad that despite all that he had a nice chunk of time where he seemed quite happy.

[@GNARGNARHEAD]

AHHH he's so inspiring! thanks guys

[@threesoundband]

Excellent interview thanks Ross for all the invaluable insight here 👍🔥🫡

[@elginphelps5291]

I use a vintage Tweed Deluxe for recording. I move the mic 3 feet away to get more breath in the recording. Close mic placement sounds wrong to me.

[@marramusic]

Fantastic content. Every little story is interesting . Ross is brilliant.

[@Johnsormani]

People always try to make it sound like they contributed something to the first Van Halen albums. Fact is that they had all the song ready to the last detail and they played them live that way. There was not much production effort needed. But they did a great job capturing that live feel

[@davidsharp3110]

Hi Anthony, another great video. Thanks!!!

[@rikm2625]

THANK YOU. great interview.

[@seansweeney3532]

Cool info! I'm gonna try this with a small akg oktava clone.

[@mathiasdeschamps1637]

I really love van halen ❤❤❤

[@peanutbutterisfu]

It’s crazy how great it sounds with one guitar

[@danielmihlfeith]

Thanks Anthony, for this great content.

[@ChrisMills-AmbientSpace]

So many gems! Thank you for sharing! Grazie!

[@JohnnyBeane]

Hey Ross!

[@Salantsoundstudios]

Great interview guys thank you!