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Is there a Van Halen burst?

rays44

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I remember seeing a pic of him playing live somewhere a long time ago with the neck p/u removed. Any info on it?
As a side note, I remember hearing his first album when it came out and saying, "that's impossible" :rofl I'm still in awe of his first two albums. Anyway, back to the burst.
 

Hardrockmapletop

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Here's one!
oh7p.jpg
 

Cody

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A couple of pics that show both of them - one in a stand, the other laying on the floor:

2668231952_1b28de12fc_o_154.jpg


1203129826_f.jpg
 
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Elmore

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I remember a magazine article, '92 I believe, where he said that he had a '58 and a '59. He said that he bought them when he first made some money and wanted to buy some guitars that would be worth something. He said that the '59 had a better top, but the '58 sounded better.
 

The Shifter

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Yeah, the sunlight/angle/glare makes it look like a gold top, but the red around the pickup cavity gives it away as a 'burst.

I love that photo. Spent hours looking at it.
 

Raw Materials

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EVH had some new Fender Wolfgangs made with a stop tail and burst. I bet he used his 58 as the model.
 

Luke Gibson

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Yeah, the sunlight/angle/glare makes it look like a gold top, but the red around the pickup cavity gives it away as a 'burst.

I love that photo. Spent hours looking at it.


Great Photo! Yeah from that angle it's hard to tell but it's one of his Bursts. I saw two shows on the 1980 Invasion Tour (front of the stage) he played it on "And The Cradle Will Rock" it was missing the neck p/u at that time too. Sounded great!
 

roycaster

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Great Photo! Yeah from that angle it's hard to tell but it's one of his Bursts. I saw two shows on the 1980 Invasion Tour (front of the stage) he played it on "And The Cradle Will Rock" it was missing the neck p/u at that time too. Sounded great!


Maybe it sounded better up front, or maybe it was the room but my friend and I saw them on the same tour at the Oakland Coliseum and we both thought the Les Paul sucked. I was glad when he went back to his Frankenstrat…
 

JJ Blair

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Great Photo! Yeah from that angle it's hard to tell but it's one of his Bursts. I saw two shows on the 1980 Invasion Tour (front of the stage) he played it on "And The Cradle Will Rock" it was missing the neck p/u at that time too. Sounded great!

I wonder if that's what he plays on the solo, on the record. The rhythm track is actually a Wurlitzer, through what sounds like an Ibanez flanger.
 

abalonevintage

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I saw two shows on the 1980 Invasion Tour (front of the stage) he played it on "And The Cradle Will Rock" it was missing the neck p/u at that time too. Sounded great!

I was them on that tour in Augusta Georgia. Ed played the Burst on every song that didn't require a trem.

Sounded excellent! :salude
 

Minibucker

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Which is like "Little Guitars" and....I think that's it? :)


That plaintop looks kickass.
 

Pat Boyack

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Judging by the number of ZZ Top covers Van Halen did before they got signed I bet Pearly was an influence on Eddie.
 

Cody

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Which is like "Little Guitars" and....I think that's it? :)
There are some songs on the first album that had no whammy: "You Really Got Me", and the rhythm track for "Running With The Devil" spring to mind.

A bunch of songs could be played whammy-less live without significant loss... and Eddie has done so for much of his career.
 

Minibucker

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"Dance the Night Away"? "Feel Your Love Tonight"?

Yeah, a lot of tunes can get by fine without the dive-bombing. Just played back "Fair Warning" the other day....great album. I'd be interested if there were noticeable differences in pinch harmonica etc. with the different scale lengths.
 
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