The brown sound is a legendary electric guitar distortion tone that musicians try to emulate using various effects pedals, tube amplifiers and modeling amplifiers. The term was coined by guitarist Eddie Van Halen to describe the sound of Alex Van Halen's snare drum, which he then attempted to emulate with his 100-watt Marshall amplifier running at full volume. Eddie would use a variac (a device that controls voltage levels) and run it at about 90 volts ac to the power input of the Marshall amp (normally the amp would have 120 volts input in the US; although the older Marshalls like Eddie's were designed in Europe with a 110 volt input rating)this allowed Eddie to lower the voltage input to his Marshall while allowing him to turn the amplifier's volume knob up all the way, this saturated the output tubes, without distorting the preamp tubes, and lowered the stress on the amplifier. Eddie would also use a dummy load on the amp output instead of going right to the speakers, then he would add his effects pedals (Eddie found the effects performed better this way) and then run the effects into a power amp usually an H&H V800 MOS-FET, then to speakers. He would set his Marshall Amp output resistance at 8 ohms and the dummy load at 20 ohms lowering the stress on the Marshall amp (the Marshall amp basically became one powerful preamp). This all helped to create his brown sound in conjunction with the single PAF pick-up and a high resistance volume pot he installed, without a tone control. Of course this was mainly his recording set-up; Eddies live setup was a little different. More than the appropriate number of user-submitted product reviews at the well known musician review websites claim that product X can replicate the Brown Sound perfectly.
Sources of the brown sound are frequently speculated upon, from the pickup Van Halen used on his "frankenstrat" guitar, possible modifications to the amplifier for more preamp gain, additional distortion from the phase 90 pedal, or simply studio trickery. However; Eddie admitted years later that the amp modification story was made up by him to increase his buddies repair business. No real modifications were done to his Marshall amp except once in a while Eddie would use a different rated output tube(s) that would saturate faster. Eddie applied the variac, dummy load, and power amp, along with his modifications to the guitar, and a few effects to get his Brown Sound. It should be noted that older Marshall Amps had a distinct sound to begin with and most guitarist used a lot of treble in the sound where Eddie did not.
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Eddie, David Lee Roth, Michael, Alex | 29 (69%) |
Eddie, Sammy, Michael, Alex | 6 (14%) |
Eddie, Gary Cherone, Michael, Alex | 2 (4%) |
Eddie, David Lee Roth, Wolf, Alex | 5 (11%) |
Van Halen...1978...10 million
Van Halen II...1979...5 million
Women and Children First...1980...3 million
Fair Warning...1981...2 million
Diver Down...1982...4 million
1984...1983..10 million
5150...1986...6 million
Live: Without a Net...1987
OU812...1988...4 million
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge...1991...3 million
Live: Right Here, Right Now (video)...1992
Live: Right Here, Right Now (album)...1993...2 million
Balance...1995...3 million
The Best of Van Halen, Vol. 1...1996....3 million
Video Hits, Vol. 1...1996
Van Halen III...1998...500,000
The Best of Both Worlds...2004...1 million
34 million with dave,18 million with sammy...
Van Halen Tour dates are below:
09/27 - Charlotte, NC - Charlotte Bobcats Arena
09/29 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum
10/01 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
10/03 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center (on sale 8/25)
10/07 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
10/10 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
10/12 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
10/14 - Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Field House
10/16 - Rosemont, IL - Allstate Arena
10/18 - Chicago, IL - United Center
10/20 - Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena (on sale 8/25)
10/22 - Auburn Hills, MI - Palace of Auburn Hills
10/24 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center
10/26 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
10/28 - St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
10/30 - Boston, MA - TD Banknorth Garden
11/01 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center (on sale 8/24)
11/03 - E. Rutherford, NJ - Continental Airlines Arena
11/13 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
11/20 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
11/23 - Glendale, AZ - Jobing.Com Arena
11/25 - San Diego, CA - Cox Arena
11/27 - Sacramento, CA - Arco Arena
11/29 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion at San Jose
12/01 - Portland, OR - Rose Garden
12/03 - Seattle, WA - Key Arena
12/05 - Vancouver, British Columbia - General Motors Place
12/09 - Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place
12/11 - Calgary, Alberta - Pengrowth Saddledome
