That is awesome Thanks for the tab to this! and i cannot help but wonder how you guys( You, Pete Thorn, Jacob Deraps, Dario Van halen, and some others can do the VH thing so well? I used to think if i could get Eddie's tone's i would sound like him but that did not work out at all!☹ Getting his tones was kind of easy compared to playing like him? Pete thorn talked about this and said after you get his tone then the real hard part comes and that is to play just like him and the way he phrases and attacks the strings and i agree with Pete about this! Playing like EVH is not easy because he had such a definitive style. you cant just finger tap that part at the end of "Eruption" and say you sound just like EVH. His Attack, pinch harmonic's and his lines were very unique.
Love this riif and always have too! Thanks for the breakdown of this and the secret! I'd love to see you breakdown Eddie's solo on Black and Blue especially after he adds the delay echo on the 2nd half of the solo! One of my all time solos to listen to. Thanks Ben
I have an EVH Striped JCM 600, a POD Go, and various pedals, and I just want to sit and figure out how to get that tone. I don't know if I can with that equipment, but it doesn't sound like he's that loud.
Agreed, but the “subtle difference” demonstrated, (ok in the bedroom,) but when played in the context of a band onstage, (which really matters!) the audience do not give a shit about one note! IMHO. Great vid though Ben as always.
It doesnt actually **require** a TransTrem. There are plenty of "workarounds" to play it these days, like a whammy dt or a capo for example. That being if you wanna play it without doing much juggling
5150 intro is my favorite piece of music. Beautiful instruction. Especially for reminding us that Eddie played it slightly differently live, kept it fresh every night.
Being a DLR-era VH purist, I was highly disappointed with “Why Can’t This Be Love” when it premiered. But then I bought the 5150 album on vinyl when it was released. I heard THIS song and knew VH was still amazing. Fast-forward many years, I met my future wife whose brother was a tremendous EVH fan and a rippin’ guitar player. I miss him. Fly with the angels, Steve! 🤘🏼🎸🪽🤘🏼”5150 forever”
They kinda had to put "Why Can't This Be Love" as their single for the pop charts and the masses. I think it's a good song, but it's just way over played like all the pop chart singles are. The rest of the record was the real meat and potatoes for the die-hard VH fans. I love the Steinberger on "Get Up" and "Summer Nights." It's so thick sounding and has a much darker tone than the other guitars Eddie used. There's a lot of great guitar on that record. My condolences to your loss. Sounds like he was a cool guy. Would have loved to hear him play.
The live version of "5150" off the Live Without A Net concert video is possibly the greatest live version of any song ever. That solo break is a thing of pure bliss! This is one of the most difficult songs to master and King Edward plays it while running around, jumping, getting kicked in the butt, and performing calisthenics and aerobics.
EVH's best live solo for me was in that live version of 5150. I rewatch it all the time and I've never seen him repeat it like that, at least not recorded.
@@RKDriver There's a version that is on a live from Tokyo recording from the OU812 tour that is nearly the same... BUT... there is something missing. It just doesn't have the magic that was captured in Live Without a Net.
Dude, that EVH lick is the most ham fisted & messy technique of his I've seen demonstrated. I love it. I'm going to practice that & see how I can incorporate it into my own songwriting. Also, that tone is killer. Chorus is so fun. Can't wait to hit up patreon.
Good lord Ben, this is the best breakdown I've seen of the intro. This is my favorite VH song to play and I knew I was missing something. Great work. Thank you so much!
Awesome playing love this song, I remember when Van Halen II came out. I would stare at the "Bumble Bee" Guitar for hours on the album cover.....I thought it was then and still do today, it is the coolest looking guitar ever.
Hello, stepdad here. I love this track so much...really cool you decoded it and shared it with your audience. I'm a big fan of Eddie's "brown sound" but I'm also blown away by the clarity of his playing on later recordings like Balance. I recall being mesmerized by "Don't Tell Me What Love Can Do" at the midnight release in my hometown and I had to hear more. I'd love to hear a breakdown of that tune for sure.
OMG dude that concert video was THE BEST. Watched it over and over and over. “This is the first #1 for all of us!” - and then straight into the Dreams intro. Gets me in all the feels.
The other thing in this song that no one ever gets right is the prechorus “Still we try, win or lose” part - he plays it up anchoring on the low string at the 7th fret with big stretches down to 4 and up to 9, not down in open A position like every cover and tab shows.
The part where it goes into the pre-verse with the big open chords always gives me chills. It was and is my favorite song off my favorite record by VH.
I always found this to be so hard because of that transition. I thought it was me, I just could not get it smooth. I never read any bad tabs for this, all by ear at the time that was nothing out there. I was just how the hell does he do it????? Crapy VHS video didn't help see what he was doing. My conclusion was WOW he is just some kind of mutant I'm never going to get that smooth. I loved watching Ed play 5150 it seemed to be his favorite song. Never seen any one enjoy playing a song so much. Man I wanted that! When I did get it right maybe 1 out of 100 attempts Yep that felt like magic.
I found out later in my playing that all those tab books set my playing back for years. They rarely had chords in the right position which often made them much harder to play.
I asked in comments for this song like a month ago after seeing Uncle Beller trying the VH wet dry wet rig and playing that song. The song has a lot of details and is one of his best songs and riffs. Thanks man!!
Man!!! Your attention to detail in your teaching is so appreciated. The shout out to “mangle it and strangle it” for someone like me who’s always playing thumb on back is KILLER.
Incredible- such a subtle, awesome song- the nuances layered on the whole song framework are divine. There are definitely touch harmonics thrown in at the turns. Thanks!
GENIUS level guitar playing...EDDIE was one of the most incredible musicians EVER! Seeing him play this song effortlessly makes it even more impressive!!!!
Jimi was that way too with not playing everything the same way...brings about the free flowing spirit of being in the moment.. absolute freedom. Thanks for the knowledge nugs, unc
Great video. I have to say that is the way I worked it out back in the day before YT video. I didn't see Edward play it either. It is such a happy guitar part.
Another outstanding feature thank you Uncle Ben. Always inspiring! The into and groove (especially when the vocals come in) to The Seventh Seal would be fantastic. Just so many options with King Eddie.
That intro was INCREDIBLE and the perfect tone just wow , Id love to see your take on aint talkin bout love intro sometime , This was great thank you !
This ENTIRE SONG is incredible! Quite possibly my #1 favorite from Eddie.....and I love the groove/riff Ed plays when the vocals come in! And the solo he did live for this song on "Live Without a Net" is simply stunning!
Thank you, Mr. Ben -> great content as always! I agree with you - this is one of my favorite VH tunes. Props to you for doing the detailed detective work to discover what he was really doing on the recording. Not easy to do. Subscribed!
The transition between the verse and the chorus is ABSOLUTE GENIUS and one of my favorite parts of playing that song. You should slap that vid out. He's the KING of guitar rock songwriting. Even considerable to mention him as a prog rock genius. Great stuffs Ben. King of guitar education on the interwebulitis.
Love your takes, Uncle Ben. There are just so many terrific intros (as well as solos and outros too, duh) by King Edward it's hard to, well, just pick ONE!! But this particular intro (well, the whole thing actually) for 5150 is just.... man.... so good and so distinguishable how can anyone not enjoy it? But Mr. Eller? You pick up on those subtle nuances and idiosyncrasies the vast majority overlook and open up a new window altogether to King Edwards innovation, greatness and special quirks. I grew up with the Van Halen Invasion, have been Baptized live by the Guitar Rock & Roll God himself probably 20 times and at 60, he still just never gets old with me. Just BETTER. When mine and everyone else's jaws dropped back in 1978 and a collective "wtf is THAT??!!" could be heard around the world.... I was hooked. And growing up with a father who was also not only a guitar musician, but also blind as a bat, I watched him TRULY study everything he listened to. As a player myself, I was lucky to get that from him too, and I relish productions like this one. Btw, a long overdue shout out to your well-done Edward Van Halen tribute video "Why Do Guitar Players Like Eddie Van Halen?" Watched it several times and as part of the audience, I had fun too. Nicely done, Sir.
Learned this by ear in 1986 and got pretty close, except for that little bit. Though I recall that it appeared like shown here in the April 1987 issue of Guitar for the Practicing Musician (or maybe it was the tab book that came out sometime thereafter?). Never could figure out how to get that note in there using the second finger. Didn't even occur to use the ring finger and bar the pinky. Doh! Thanks, Ben!
Really aweseome, detailed analysis of this legendary riff and great explanation. I got caught by this vid and it kept me from working here at my desk. Don't listen to any picky critic. You're doing a great job, Ben!
The 5150 intro is truly one of the greatest rock riffs. It tells the entire "story", from beginning to end, and the rest of the band has even entered the scene yet! Great work, how about " Get Up", "AFU" or "Cabo Wabo" next?
Right on, Ben! Hey, speaking of right on, how about the Right Now solo? I’m working on the right hand intro timing on piano and would love to add at least some of the guitar solo in there.
dude!! you nailed that shit. you're one of the few that can seem to really get some of this difficult stuff down (5150, im the one ect ) and translate it to the masses. love it !
This is definitely one of the best intro riffs of all time, I learned it a few years ago, probably without the detail you are mentioning, but it's been a while, good opportunity to do an updated revision ;)
This is AMAZING and so helpful, Ben! I love how you also stress here that it's OK to be messy; Edward would want it that way-- it's tone and feel not all precision
My favorite song from this album. His work on this intro in incredible and having you break it down the way you do is awesome. Eddies playing on another planet and you break it down for us mere mortals - thank you Uncle Ben. 😁🎸🤟🏼
So I’ve played it wrong all these years. Thanks for pointing that out, so subtle a change but it sounds cool. What an eye/ear for detail. A friend of mine calls that “picking fly shit out of the pepper”. Respect!
I been practicing this intro for months man and totally missed this little detail. Dude thanks for nailing this….now I can make it sound more like the record (well as close as I will ever get) 🤘
