Eddie Van Halen

Eddie Van Halen frequently used the MXR EVH90 EVH Phase 90 pedal, a signature design of his that combines both the script and block logo phaser effects. He often played it live, highlighting its versatility and significance in his sound. [Photo evidence uploaded by user].

Eddie Van Halen was seen playing a Parker Fly Electric Guitar during a tour in Japan, as captured in a photo by Taylor Player on Flickr.

The photo shows Eddie Van Halen with a cello, suggesting his interest or experimentation with orchestral strings.

Eddie liked the speed and clarity that they offered when shredding.

According to Dunlop’s website, Eddie used these picks.

In this March 1, 2021 Guitar World article, EVH's guitar tech Tom Weber explains that Eddie had three custom Dunlop picks, a red, white & black 'frankenstripe' pick (most likely Max-Grip .60), and two custom-molded EVH Herco Flex 50s in silver (onstage use) and gold (backstage handout).

"Weber went on to explain that Eddie had a red, white and black striped pick, and also a “Herco 50 in silver, which were the picks that he played onstage. And then we had the same thing in a gold pick, and he carried those around in his pocket basically so that if he wanted to hand one to somebody, the only way you were gonna get a gold one is from Ed himself."

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Eddie Van Halen is seen with two Eventide H949 Harmonizers in his effects rack on the 5150 tour in 1986.

When Eddie rebuilt the Frankenstrat, he gave it a Floyd Rose.

Full Florida 1995 Concert. Eddie Van Halen use Combo Peavy 5150

In this user-uploaded photo, Eddie Van Halen is seen playing a Teisco Spectrum 5 electric guitar.

Eddie Van Halen is seen using the EVH Wolfgang Special T.O.M. Gloss Black guitar, which features a design reminiscent of his iconic '78 Eruption guitar, during the Tokyo Dome Live in Concert performance.

Eddie Van Halen is seen playing the EVH Stripes red guitar in a fan-posted Instagram reel, showcasing his signature style and joyful presence.

Used in his rack in late 90s Gary Cherone / Van Halen III Era

Eddie Van Halen, the renowned guitarist known for his impact across multiple rock genres, confirmed in the book "Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen" by Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill, that he uses a 1979 Marshall 100-Watt Super Lead amplifier. Within his discussion, Van Halen specifies that the amplifier was not modified except for an adjustment to 89 watts, allowing him to increase its volume further. This detail underscores his preference for the equipment's original sound quality while seeking a louder output.

In this picture you can see Eddie playing a white ns-2

Purchased from David Petschulat on August 20, 1981, Van Halen's Mini Les Paul was used to compose "Little Guitars", as relayed by Petschulat in his April 2021 Mini Les Paul newsletter (copied in this Van Halen Gear Timeline page) and in this June 14, 2021 VintageFloydRose.com page.

Vintage Les Paul Timeline, "Mini Les Paul"

Below is information from David’s April 2021 Newsletter.

[...] I finished that first guitar, which is a monstrosity, but the second one I sold to Nancy Wilson of Heart. Then I sold one to Dave Hlubek of Molly Hatchet. Then Jackson Browne. Then Mick Jones of Foreigner. Howard Leese, Steve Morse. It was exciting. In the summer of 1981 I finished little #13 – a small Les Paul with a bird’s eye maple top, my “Flying P” logo, and a doggone tiny little amp and speaker stuffed inside of it. I took that guitar to a couple concerts that summer and pitched it to artists who maybe yawned or were amused, but nobody bought it. I toted it home on a visit to see my folks (see picture below at bottom). Then at summer’s end on a sunny afternoon in downtown Nashville, I went looking for and found Edward Van Halen. Because it was Sunday, nobody was around – nobody but Ed, Alex, and a manager – sitting on some steps and waiting on a ride to the auditorium they were play at that night. I walked up, opening the case as I approached. Ed instantly loved it. He bought it with cash from a briefcase his manager carried, and he contracted another one in a different color, which I made soon after, back at The Picking Parlor.

VintageFloydRose.com, "David Petschulat Fine Tuning Prototype : Possibly First-ever Fine tuning tremolo (August, 1981)"

Here is the story in David's own words.

“I made Eddie’s first locking vibrato with fine tuners and sold it to him August 30, 1981 in the green room at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. I’d hunted him down in vacant downtown Nashville (it was Sunday everything closed) and pitched him my mini Less Paul guitar – he loved it on the spot and we went to the auditorium to follow through on the sales etc.

There in green room he contracted a second guitar – the wine red mini – and tried on and tested my wild lightening bolt guitar which had my vibrato on it. He didn’t so much like the lightening bolt but liked the fine tuners. He told me Floyd had been intending to make him one with fine tuners, but Floyd had been in a car wreck and badly hurt his back and had done nothing for months. Ed asked me to make one, and he gave me one of his own older Floyds at my suggestion so that I could make it faster and easier and we’d know it would fit on his guitars.

I took it and reworked it – which was REALLY difficult since Floyds are very hard on the rockwell scale – really hard. I sent it to him in March of 1982. I then wrote out a business plan and asked him to back me perfecting the design and the two of us getting it manufactured by a company. I did that all on notebook paper, hand written. It was very high-school kid looking. I got no reply. When I finally called his office to ask if he got the business plan, his staffer, Karen Valdez, asked me if I knew that the band had written a song using my mini Les Paul(s) – I said no – she said they even named the song Little Guitars. That was pretty cool. Yet I was flustered about him not following up on the vibrato potential.

I print up business cards and decide to pursue it myself – I go to the NAMM show in Atlanta since it’s 4 hour drive – I go to Allparts. No interest. WD Pickups and parts. No interest. A buddy tells me I better go to Kramer. I walked up and started to boil inside (and maybe a little outside). I look at a big poster of Ed holding a Kramer with some vibrato on it. Dennis Berardi walks up and starts to tell me with pride what they’ve done. I say something like “I find this all very interesting” no doubt with steam coming from ears. Ed walks up and says “aw, Dave, it’s not what you think.” He’d been approached by Rockinger, I presume through Kramer/Dennis.

With much hindsight it doesn’t bug me – I get it real well – Floyd’s recovering from accident, I’m a kid with a crude but working idea, Rockinger has a full-fledged product ready to sell – so that’s what they went with. Out of all of that, Floyd had the best design, hands down, but I like knowing I was a few months ahead of him in the early running. If patent law then was what it is now, I’d have gotten the document – but back then it was who invented first, not who applied first. And according to a napkin signed by a girlfriend, he edged me out of that possibility.”

Eddie Van Halen has confirmed in conversations that he used a General Radio Company Variac Autotransformer in his early days. This is further supported by a photo, and is a well-known fact within the music community. The story is detailed in an article by Warehouse Guitar Speakers titled "The TRUE Story of Eddie VanHalen Using A Variac With A Tube Guitar Amp." This may not be the exact model that he used, but it does the same thing. He said he brought his 100 watt marshall from 100 to 89 volrs

In the YouTube video titled "What Dweezil Zappa Learned From Eddie Van Halen," at the 1:00 mark, it is confirmed that Eddie Van Halen uses Fender 3250L Super Bullets Strings.

In the YouTube video titled "Van Halen - Why Can't This Be Love (1986) (Music Video) WIDESCREEN 720p," Eddie Van Halen is seen performing live using a Kurzweil K250. This video was provided by TheManFromCabo.

Eddie Van Halen described his use of a Fender Bandmaster amplifier in a Guitar Aficionado article quoted in Warehouse Guitar Speakers article titled "Eddie Van Halen Secret Amp: the Fender Bandmaster!"

“I used that amp for years in two ways. I already had the Marshall, but I had not stumbled onto the Variac thing yet, so I would use the Bandmaster through the Marshall cabinet when we gigged at smaller clubs like Gazzarri’s.”

“The real beauty of that amp is how many songs I wrote with it. I wrote all of the early Van Halen songs for the first three albums with that amp, playing quietly in my room. It was really quiet, so my mom couldn’t hear me, but it sounded amazing. My dog Monty would sit down next to me, and he dug it. When I wrote the intro to ‘Women in Love,’ he was sitting there with his ears perked up, like the RCA Victor dog. That Bandmaster was more important than my Marshall head, because I wrote everything with it.”

In an interview with Guitar Player magazine in 1980, Eddie Van Halen stated that he used to own a Gibson ES-335, and mentioned that the humbucker from the ES-335 was installed in his primary Frankenstrat guitar. This information is sourced from an interview conducted by Jas Obrecht with Eddie Van Halen.

Eddie Van Halen is seen backstage using a Line 6 Spider III 30 Guitar Combo Amplifier, as evidenced by the image provided.

Eddie Van Halen is confirmed to use a Yamaha SF3000, as evidenced by photos of him playing the instrument live, which are available in a Facebook thread titled "Eddie Van Halen | Don't see this guitar too often."

Eddie Van Halen is seen using the EVH Wolfgang USA Signature guitar in a performance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, as documented by the YouTube video titled "Van Halen - Eruption and You Really Got Me (Live 2015)" uploaded by VHFOOT.

In the music video for "Finish What Ya Started," Eddie Van Halen is consistently seen playing a Teisco Spectrum 5 guitar. This is evident throughout the video every time he appears on screen. The source of this information is the official music video available on YouTube, uploaded by Sammy Hagar.

Eddie Van Halen uses the Boss GE-10 Graphic Equalizer, as evidenced by the illustrations presented on the site "Eddie Van Halen's Guitar Sound in the 1st album." The images show that the equalizer is positioned after an EP-3, with the gain and mid ranges noticeably boosted. Interestingly, despite being taken on the same day by the same photographer, the GE-10's settings appear slightly different in the two photos referenced.

Eddie Van Halen's pedalboard for the recording sessions and subsequent tour of 'Van Halen I' included a Univox EchoChamber EC-80A Tape Echo, as confirmed by Justin Beckner in his article "The Gear Used By Eddie Van Halen on ‘Van Halen I’" on Guitar.com.

Eddie Van Halen's use of the MXR 6-Band Graphic Equalizer is confirmed by Justin Beckner in the article "The Gear Used By Eddie Van Halen on ‘Van Halen I’" published on Guitar.com. This piece details that during the recording sessions and subsequent tour, Van Halen's pedalboard included the MXR 6-Band EQ, alongside other effects like the MXR Phase 90 and MXR 117 Flanger.