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Eddie Van Halen has died

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Re: Eddie Van Halen has died

#111

Post by mixmastamyk »

(Trying to think of something new to add to this discussion, not already mentioned.)

Well, one of the requirements of being a popular hard rock band of the day was to have a triumphant logo, and VH had one of the best. I even drew it once or twice in drafting class. :-)

  `8888888888888888,   `88888888888888888'\ ,888888'\   ,88888888888888888'
    8888888888888888,   `888888888888888'  ,888888' /  ,88888888888888888
    \            `888,    \________,888'  ,888'\__\/  ,888'            /
    `88888888888888888,           ,888'  ,888' /     ,88888888888888888'
     `88888888888888888,         ,888'  ,888' /     ,88888888888888888'
       \            `888,       ,888'  ,888' /     ,888'            /
       `88888888888888888,     ,888'  ,888' /     ,88888888888888888'
        `88888888888888888,   ,888'  ,88888888888888888888888888888'
          \____________`888, ,888'  ,888888888888888'\ __________/
                        `888.888'  ,888'  /    ,888'  /
                         `88888'  ,888'  /    ,888'  /
                          `888'  ,888'  /    ,888'  /
                           `8'  ,888'  /    ,888'  /
                             \ ,888'  /    ,888'  /
                              ,888'  /    ,888'  /
                              `88'  /    ,888'  /
                               `'  /    ,888'  /
                                 `/    ,888'  /
                                      ,888'  /
                                     ,888'  /
                                     `88'  /
                                      `'  /
                                        `/

Re: Eddie Van Halen has died

#112

Post by TheCondor »

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #32
brtkdotse wrote: post #15

This deeply saddens me, the pool of people I admire is draining faster than it’s replenished. It also reminds me that Death just dragged another bead on his abacus and before long my bead will be up. Also, while I respect and admire what Eddie has done to further the art of playing electric guitar, I must confess I much more enjoy Eddie The Songwriter rather than Eddie The Guitarist.

> This deeply saddens me, the pool of people I admire is draining faster than it’s replenished Then you need to stop wading in the shallows of the people you admire and get out in the insane expanse that is the rest of the creative world. In terms of just music alone, there's more talent out there now than there ever was before. Two generations or more of musical education where none really existed before, plus an en…

There is a lot more talent out there today but I think it's the combination of the talent combined with the fame and recognition that makes the hero. Eddie was very good, as are many other folks, but he was also a guitar hero and most really good players are not. The world of "guitar heroes" got one smaller and I don't know who is filling it up going forward. It was the CEO of Fender that not long ago lamented that John Mayer (maybe one of the best contemporary guitar players around, he is very talented) doesn't sell guitars the same way as youth aren't trying to emulate him like they did some of those other guys like Van Halen. That and someone had to sort of do that stuff "first." It's going to be hard to reinvent tapping or impress the world by touching a drill to the strings again, I don't see it happening any time soon.

Maybe I'm wrong and a whole new world of of guitar techniques will be discovered running it though a DJ turntable and scratching and cutting or something. I don't know. Maybe it's also just a quality of our time, hardcore blues fans have sort of lamented the dying off of the greats for a long time.

Re: Eddie Van Halen has died

#113

Post by fratajcz »

YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #85

His music wasn't really my style, but I remember the Heavy Metal effect pedal from Boss that my cousin owned had a booklet in it with the setups of various professional musicians - to show off how they used Boss pedals in different combinations. Everybody had complicated setups with multiple pedals. Van Hallen's "setup" went something like this: Heavy Metal --> cable --> jack --> amp

I think that was just a way of the manual showing you how to have a sound "inspired by" Van Halen, since he famously got his distortion sound not from a pedal, but from a Marshall amp that he ran at a low voltage using a variac (as an aside, the boss heavy metal was famously used by Swedish death metal bands turning all the dials up, not really a Van Halen sound).

He also used multiple pedals, such as the Echoplex, MXR phase 90 (Eruption), flanger (Unchained) and wah pedal. He later started his own signature EVH range of pedals in a partnership with MXR.

Re: Eddie Van Halen has died

#114

Post by mhh__ »

caseyohara wrote: post #83
mhh__ wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.pioneerdj.com/en-gb/product/controller/ddj-400/b...

That's not a record player though, that's a DJ controller. Very different.

The parent comment was comparing DJ equipment to a record player (to this patent), which I feel is a poor example because modern DJ equipment almost always has different equipment too rather even if you could technically do it with a fader and some record players (as in at a gig, I'm aware people still mix on vinyl - pretentious as it can be).

The patented guitar thing is literally played the same way but in a different place, which I think should really be considered prior art unless the fashion aspect is considered rather than purely functionality.

Re: Eddie Van Halen has died

#115

Post by mhh__ »

lillesvin wrote: post #64
mhh__ wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps, but modern decks have lots of features that record players don't have like effects and EQ. In this case the patented device is basically played in the same way (or can be) just in a different place. It's intended to be for tapping but that's a common pedal steel technique

> It's intended to be for tapping but that's a common pedal steel technique I have no idea about how to play pedal steel (but I do play guitar), I thought the string action was way too high on a pedal/lap steel steel to be able to tap on it?

I don't own one but I have done some tapping on one in the back of a music shop, so you might be right on average?

Re: Eddie Van Halen has died

#116

Post by mixmastamyk »

clairity wrote: post #39

why should eddie van halen be discussed and memorialized here when kobe bryant’s death was relentlessly flagged and censored from discussion?

Eddie had a world-wide following and a patent. He inspired many geeks including this one. Kobe worked hard as well but was mostly an LA phenomenon with limited nerd-overlap.

Yes the rules are rather arbitrary, but this particular outcome isn't too hard to understand.

Re: Eddie Van Halen has died

#117

Post by mc32 »

TrackerFF wrote: post #106

One of the greats, that completely re-defined guitar, and spawned a new class of guitar players, as well as gear. I remember having played guitar for probably a year, when a friend of mine (who had been playing for the same time) threw on Van Halen 1 on a cassette, and we listened to Eruption. It sounded out of this world, like nothing else I had heard. After listening to Eddie play guitar (on/off) for decades, I've…

I think maybe Randy Rhoads, had he lived longer could have been as much a trailblazer. He was a consummate and eager learner who apparently in his spare time took lessons from varied styles of guitar players.

Re: Eddie Van Halen has died

#118

Post by hanklazard »

gumby wrote: post #99
leptons wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The analogy does not hold up. There are quite a lot of differences between a "pedal steel" guitar, and an electric guitar. First, electric guitars do not have pedals. Pedal steel guitars do not have a resonating wood body. They produce very different sounds in very different ways.

Of course they do but the description described "techniques"; he's talking about a horizontal guitar play style. As my comment said I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the patent itself (and really the claims are the thing) just saying that that part of the description is probably wrong. And that the patent system doesn't care. FWIW all the pedal steel guitars I've ever seen are in fact electric guitars... but…

From the image, it looks like it’s intended to be used specifically for two-handed tapping, which was made famous by Van Halen and not commonly used (or at all) in pedal steel playing. Not sure if that would be unique enough to qualify for patent or not.

https://youtu.be/z_lwocmL9dQ

Re: Eddie Van Halen has died

#119

Post by dlivingston »

ct-1111 wrote: post #109
PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This deeply saddens me, the pool of people I admire is draining faster than it’s replenished Then you need to stop wading in the shallows of the people you admire and get out in the insane expanse that is the rest of the creative world. In terms of just music alone, there's more talent out there now than there ever was before. Two generations or more of musical education where none really existed before, plus an en…

I got the same feeling as brtkdotse when Chris Cornell of Soundgarden died. "They aren't making them like that anymore". And if they are, I haven't found any. Can you give us an example (like a YouTube link) of a modern guitarist (from the past 15 or so years) that approaches Eddie Van Halen's level of talent or innovation? An uplifting thought is that, like Cornell, although we have lost him, we still have his music…

My impression is that rock and roll is...well, dead. Genres wax and wane in popularity, and so does the talent in that genre, as talent becomes attracted to other genres (you ask who the modern day Van Halen is: who is the modern day B.B. King? Or Frank Sinatra? Or Mozart? On some level, it's a silly question, because those genres have become somewhat passé).

A few years ago, garage band rock n' roll was topping the charts: The Black Keys, The White Stripes, The Arctic Monkeys, etc. Now, not so much - or at all. But as much as my soul is warmed by a tasty guitar lick, I'm okay with that, because the seasons change and all we can do is watch as they do.

Re: Eddie Van Halen has died

#120

Post by daviddaviddavid »

ct-1111 wrote: post #109
PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This deeply saddens me, the pool of people I admire is draining faster than it’s replenished Then you need to stop wading in the shallows of the people you admire and get out in the insane expanse that is the rest of the creative world. In terms of just music alone, there's more talent out there now than there ever was before. Two generations or more of musical education where none really existed before, plus an en…

I got the same feeling as brtkdotse when Chris Cornell of Soundgarden died. "They aren't making them like that anymore". And if they are, I haven't found any. Can you give us an example (like a YouTube link) of a modern guitarist (from the past 15 or so years) that approaches Eddie Van Halen's level of talent or innovation? An uplifting thought is that, like Cornell, although we have lost him, we still have his music…

Both Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes from Animals as Leaders are amazing guitarists who are pushing the boundaries while making really kickass music.
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