There are 1,001 theories about how to nail Eddie Van Halen’s electric guitar tone. There is no shortage of gear out there to help you get there. But even before you get to the problem of actually playing like him – impossible – there’s the question of which era of Van Halen guitar tone are you talking about?
If there is something that could be considered a silver bullet for Brown Sound adventure it’s from IK Multimedia, which has just completed its Brown Sound Anthology, available across three of limited edition Tonex One amp modeller and multi-effects mini pedals, and also as standalone Tonex plugin suites.
These sounds collect three different eras of Van Halen tone, and were designed in collaboration with ‘Brown Sound’ tone guru Jim Gaustad, and modelled using IK Multimedia’s proprietary AI Machine Modelling technology.
You won’t need a Variac. No need to open up the back of your tube amp and start some questionable DIY modding (never do that, please). The hard work has been done and rendered digitally
The limited edition Tonex One pedals come in three colours, white, yellow and red, each with 20 presets from all three collections in IK Multimedia’s Brown Sound Anthology, plus full access to its 79/80 Brown Sound collection, which is modelled on the sound heard on Van Halen I and II, plus another Brown Sound collection of your choice, and Tonex SE. That will set you back €249.
There is, however, a box set of these, super limited edition, with all three pedals, all three collections, plus Tonex Max. That’s priced €599. And with Tonex Max, you can model your own gear, access over 1,250 Premium Tone Models, and customise the Brown Sound collections.
The 79/80 Brown Sound collection is designed around a modelled 1968 Marshall Super Lead with the quasi-mythical #12301 mod. Inside the pack you’ll find “50 Tone Models shaped by period-correct gear, creative miking techniques, and voltage-controlled amp behaviour for unmatched feel and realism”.
Taking things darker, the Brown Sound 80/81 has more gain, less reverb, meaner. “Key changes included switching to a straight 1960B cabinet with G12-65 speakers, re-biasing the amp, and experimenting with lower Variac voltages (down to 68V) to add sag and harmonic complexity,” says IK Multimedia.
Finally, the 82/84 collection takes us into the golden era of box-office guitar tone. As with previous editions, it engages with the rumour and conjecture – as to the mods, the hardware, the studio outboard gear and Variac settings et cetera – to offer a comprehensive range of sounds across its 50 Tone Models.
“The anthology fully captures an artist’s tonal journey as he changed rock guitar forever,” says IK Multimedia.
The Brown Sound Anthology is available to preorder, shipping from August. Each of the individual Brown Sound Tonex collections is available at an preorder special price of €79, regular price €99. For more details, head over to IK Multimedia.