Guitar Tricks Insider April/May Digital Edition | Page 24

COVER STORY

COVER STORY

we like it. That turns into a song. I remember
being in [original VH singer David Lee] Roth’s
basement where we used to practice, spending
hours just playing the riff to ‘And the Cradle
Will Rock.’ We just loved it, and turned it into a
song. I don’t practice the guitar; that’s boring.
I’d like my sound to be like Al’s snare — it’s
wooden, big, warm, and brown. I have fun
playing with Alex.”
Or as Alex put it: “Grass does not need to be
told to grow. Musicians do not need to be told to
play.”
Those early days of Frankenstrat tinkering
ultimately led to the creation of Van Halen’s
own custom line of gear: the Wolfgang USA and
Wolfgang WG Standard guitars — all named
after his son Wolfie, who now plays bass in VH
alongside his dad, uncle Alex, and David Lee
Roth — the EVH Phase 90 pedal, EVH Flanger,
EVH 5150 IIIS, 5150 III amplifiers, and EVH
5150 EL34 heads. “On a guitar, the wood is

very important. We try to get good wood for
my guitar; that’s why we only make a certain
amount a year,” Eddie clarified. “You need the
good wood. That’s the most important part of
the guitar, the wood. My EVH 5150 IIIS amp
is stock. That’s what I wanted; an amp I could
play out of the box. I’m proud of that. And there
was no customizing on my Marshall. It was just
a straight Marshall with the Variac to control the
voltage.”
At an early age, Van Halen was already
visualizing how his technique would evolve.
“I was the kind of kid who would hang around
the music store all day and dream of owning
this or that guitar,” Eddie said. “My first guitar

And the Cradle Will Rock – Van Halen

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DIGITAL EDITION

APR/MAY

APR/MAY

was a Teisco Del Ray, and it had a [whammy]
bar. The first time I heard the bar was on a
Richie Blackmore tune. After the Teisco, I
played an ES 335 with one of those cheesy
Gibson bars on it. It didn’t stay in tune; but I
used it anyway.”
Van Halen has always been into doing his own
hands-on guitar mods: “I liked the 335 more
than my Les Paul because the neck was thinner.
I said, ‘Hey, I can play fast on this.’ Then I
worked on the back of it and forgot it was
beveled. I ruined the guitar. Then I got a Strat.
It sounded so thin, but the tremolo unit was
better. I sawed off half of it, so the bar only
worked for the E, B, and G strings. I had to
DIGITAL EDITION

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