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The Van Halen Brown Sound is one of the most sought after sounds in Rock guitar.. Many have the opinion that we at JFRocks.com have nailed the tone, and we prove that on the countless Van Halen-style based guitar lesson example song tracks that we produce for our Van Halen-style guitar lessons, in particular our popular "Vh'izing Cover Songs" online Van Halen-style guitar lesson series.. That said, through some samples and some basic EQ formulas I'm going to share some tips with you here on this page for dialing in a good Brown Sound on just about any amp, using pretty much any guitar you have assuming it's got hum-bucking pickups.. I'm going to keep it very simple and to the point, you can elaborate on your own. What I really want to offer here are the basics for a "DECENT" rich warm Van Halen Brown Sound.. Now as a disclaimer let me just say that the best I can do is offer you how I get the sound and ask you to keep in mind that there are many variables that affect one's guitar tone such as, the climate you live in, the strings you're using, the room you play in, yada yada the list goes on and on. Any settings I give are simply suggestions and should be used a s "GUIDELINE", some tweaking of these settings will more than likely be required on your part. With that, let's begin, please view the charts below. At the bottom of this page I have offered up some sound samples for you to hear 1st hand that the settings I'm giving you work, at least for me anyway. Be sure to check out the Van Halen-style based guitar lessons on my main website JFRocks.com. I teach you the style so that you can actually play like Eddie Van Halen, and hopefully incorporate some of his style into your own music and innovate off of it ideally. It's not about actual Van Halen songs, it's about the style, and as we prove every day at JFRocks.com that not only is the Van Halen guitar style a great learning tool, it stands on its own and can be used to make your whammy bar attack, riffs, and solos even more expressive... One of the most important elements of Eddie Van Halen's style though is of course the Brown Sound. So, let's dive into it and let me see if I can help you build a good foundation for the Brown Sound with equipment you probably have on hand right now... There's no need to go out and buy a new guitar, or a new amp.. Some basic effects and setup of your existing equipment should do the trick just fine... |
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| Bass EQ: 4 to 5 out of 10 | Treble EQ: 9 or 10 out of 10 | Mid EQ: 3.5 to 6 (depends on amp & guitar) | Presence: 4 to 6 out of 10 |
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Reverb: Varies from 6 to 10 on
most amps, the solos usually have more reverb than the rhythms do.
Not always, but "usually". |
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All tips given below aside, the best MXR Phase 90 to
use for the VH Brown sound is the "Script Logo" model from the
70's.The Script model as it's known will give you the best VH sweep. The re-issue model sweeps a little too high for a true VH Brown Sound tone. If you can't track one of these classics down on EBay or where ever, I suggest going with the EVH model and selecting the script mode using the button at the top of the pedal. That said, the photo I have of the Phase 90 on this page is of the re-issue model as I cannot show any VH stripes as they are trademarked. The "Script" model will have the MXR logo and phase 90 written in script handwriting text, and it's usually a more burnt Orange color than the re-issue. Script model photo MXR Phase 90: Probably the most important effect for the early VH Brown Sound, a typical setting for the "Speed Knob" is either a 9 or 10 o'clock setting. I typically will wire the Phase 90 into the FX loop of my amp so that it's after the pre-amp. This is counter to what is conventionally done. However, what this does is put the Phase 90 deeper in the mix of sound to give you the more authentic sounding Van Halen Phase 90, as opposed to putting it on the floor in front of the amp which gives more of a mushy sound which VH doesn't have. Granted wiring the Phase 90 into the FX loop probably isn't how VH wired his up in the studio. However, it's best to always keep in mind that at home you're trying to get the sound of a finished produced Van Halen studio recording.. That said, the real secret to the VH sound I get on recent JFRocks.com Van Halen style songs/guitar lessons is this little FX loop hookup suggestion. As far as usage goes. The Phase 90 in the early days of Van Halen was used as part of the sound for both rhythm and lead parts. However typically it was brought higher into the mix for the solos (leads) with additional reverb added to enhance the sound and effect. When using the Phase 90 for VH rhythms be sure you don't turn the knob much if any past 25% of the way up, and also if possible for less mushy results for the home based guitarist who doesn't have a sound engineer standing by I highly recommend you try my earlier tip of running the Phase 90 through your amp's FX (effects) loop. In my experience and as is proven on countless JFRocks.com VH-style guitar lesson example tracks it really does clean up the mushiness of sound often associated with those using the Phase 90 for VH application. Either way you hook it up and which ever way works best with your setup, the Phase 90 is a MUST HAVE for a good early VH Brown Sound. 
MXR Flanger: The second most important effect for the VH Brown Sound.
Unlike the Phase 90 I DO NOT typically suggest plugging the Flanger into your amp's FX Loop. Based on my experience the Flanger seems to work much better plugged in on the floor in front of the amp as you would most other effects pedals... The two main settings are the "Unchained" setting and the more standard setting used on tracks like "Amsterdam" and "Hear about it Later"... see settings below. It should be noted that the Flanger is generally used for specific riffs or tricks and sometimes solos in the VH guitar style.. While it is used on some main rhythm parts of some songs, its primary use is to create a large fat flanging effect on specific riffs or song parts. Early VH tab books show the Flanger on all the time. What happened was the transcriber got it mixed up with the Phase 90. The Flanger and Phase 90 can be used at the same time. In fact for "Ain't talkin' bout love" the main intro muted arpeggio part has Phase 90 on it, and then the single note tie in riff uses Flanger. For the best sound on that as far as sounding like the record I always leave the Phase 90 on and just kick the Flanger on for that little transition riff.. And aside from the stereo sweep which was added in mix-down on Van Halen 1, it'll sound dead on perfect. Now if you have an EVH model Flanger, it will have an EVH switch. That switch is simply a quick pre-set for setting #1 the "Unchained" setting. My settings below will match that pre-set nicely if you don't have an EVH model. Setting #2 the "Standard Setting" is my choice for "Amsterdam" and "Hear about it later" type applications. It's a great VH Flanger sound and it can be heard on the "Dazed and Confused" VH style track which is available for download at the bottom of this page, along with a Vh style version of "Fur Elise" Setting 1: The "Unchained" setting Manual = 51% Width = 48% Speed = 52% Regen = 60 to 75% ( I usually just eyeball the knob, and it ends up being about 70%"ish" ) Setting 2: Standard Rhythm playing setting Manual = 51% Width = 48% Speed = 52% Regen = 25 to 40% max. ( I suggest down the middle of that range at 33% ) 
MXR Stereo Chorus: This is the ideal Chorus effect for the Van Hagar
era sound. For this sound, omit the MXR Phase 90.Like the Phase 90 though I also recommend running the stereo Chorus in the FX Loop of your amp. But again to each his own, what works for me and my specific guitar and amp setup may not be ideal for your setup, so try both ways and figure out what works best for you. Either way the settings below are a great guideline Chorus setting for the Van Halen tone, when your amp EQ is set properly and your guitar is setup properly. see amp EQ section and guitar setup section. Standard setting: Bass = 33% Treb = 75% Intensity = 60% Width = 40% Rate = 10 to 25% max. ** Obviously there are other effects that can be added such as some light overdrive if your amp's isn't great, or some compression, but I'm keeping it simple here. What's laid out above is really the bare bones easy to configure recipe for a GREAT VH Brown Sound. |
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Jeff Fiorentino Brown Sound Examples - (Taken from actual JFRocks.com VH style Guitar Lessons) |
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Should you need examples, below are a couple song examples produced for the JFRocks.com ever popular "Vh'izing cover songs" guitar lesson series. This is an online guitar lesson series that takes a popular song from another band, and does it in the style and sound of Van Halen as they MIGHT have IF they did a version of it.. These guitar lessons are available at JFRocks.com in the Van Halen-style Guitar Lessons site section. Click here to go there. |
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Led Zeppelin's "Dazed & Confused" Van Halen'ized by Jeff Fiorentino Mp3 - 320Kbps 
Play( Setup Used on this track click here ) ( Main Guitar Lesson for this Track ) |
Beethoven's "Fur Elise" Van Halen'ized by Jeff Fiorentino Mp3 - 320Kbps
Play( Setup Used on this track click here ) ( Main Guitar Lesson for this Track ) |
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