There was one gimmick Eddie Van Halen refused to give in to: “They go ‘Holy shit’”
When people look back at what Eddie Van Halen was most famous for, they think of his guitar-playing technique, but there was more to him than that.
Yes, his guitar technique was monumental. It was impossible for people to turn away from how amazing he sounded, but also the fact that he could turn that sound into something deeply melodic. He was a fast player, sure, his tapping meant that he played at speeds that were previously unheard of, but his sound wasn’t just sped-up guitar noises, it was more exciting than that.
“Eddie Van Halen was a brilliant guitarist who started a technique of guitar playing which was emulated by a whole generation of guitarists,” said Ritchie Blackmore when discussing how influential the Van Halen guitarist was. “He was one of the nicest musicians I ever met in the music business. Very shy and not at all conceited about his ability as a guitar player.”
However, while he was an exceptional guitarist and while he did revolutionise the way that people played, he also changed the tone that people used when playing the guitar. His style had a perfect blend of gain and aggression, which was perfect for the kind of music that Van Halen made.
With a tone that was so unique, people are never not surprised to learn that Eddie Van Halen refused to use a distortion pedal. He always saw them as an unnecessary gimmick and believed that so long as your playing was solid and your equipment was top of the line, people wouldn’t have a problem putting together a great rock sound.
“I’ve never used or owned any distortion pedal. Nothing,” he explained, “I always use the guitar, cable, straight to the amp. A lot of people, until they actually play, play my guitar through one of my amps, then they go ‘Holy shit’.”
This is a very different approach compared to a lot of other guitarists. There are plenty of musicians who frequently use effects pedals in a bid to create a sound which is unlike anything a lot of listeners will have experienced. The entire genre of shoegaze, which was appropriately called as such because the amount of effects pedals means guitarists are constantly looking at their feet, completely relies on various effects. Billy Corgan, who uses plenty of these pedals in his music, once played Eddie’s guitar and realised how difficult it was.
“I remember Billy Corgan, from Smashing Pumpkins, he interviewed me once, it was up in the studio, and my rig happened to be set up, and I was playing,” said Eddie, “He walked in and he kind of nervously said, ‘Can I try it?’ I go ‘Sure’. And he turned it up, and it was just uncontrollable for him, and he goes, ‘Where’s your distortion pedal?’ I go, ‘There isn’t one’.”
So, what is the secret to good guitar playing, according to Eddie Van Halen? Well, it’s simple. “If you have a great-sounding guitar, a quality instrument, and of course a good amp, you know how to talk, or make a guitar talk, that’s the key.”
