Tone library / Van halen / Ain't talkin about love

Ain't talkin about love amp settings — Marshall Plexi 1959

The Van halen guitar tone for “Ain't talkin about love”, dialed in for a Marshall Plexi 1959 with a Ibanez Rg450dxb. Studio version, Van Halen (1978) - Main palm-muted intro riff and chords

Original rig

1968 Marshall Super Lead 1959 (variac dimmed to ~89V) + Frankenstein Strat (PAF bridge humbucker) + MXR Flanger + Echoplex EP-3 + Sunset Sound plate reverb

Classic brown sound: aggressive upper-mid bite, tight palm-muted thump, and tape slapback/flange movement
Amp settings — Marshall Plexi 1959
CHANNELChannel 1 (High Treble / Lead)
GAIN 10 BASS 3 MID 7 TREBLE 6 PRESENCE 6 MASTER 10
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain10
Bass3
Mid7
Treble6
Presence6
Master10
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01MXR Phase 90

Engage for movement as substitute for the studio MXR Flanger

Speed 3

02MXR Flanger (117R)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned

Manual 6 · Width 4 · Speed 3 · Regen 6

03Tape Delay (Echoplex EP-3 style)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned (set to ~300ms slapback)

Time 3 · Repeats 2 · Mix 3
Why these settings

Running directly into the high-sensitivity input of Channel 1 delivers the authentic non-master volume power-amp clipping of the original record. The Ibanez Quantum bridge pickup is slightly hotter and tighter than Eddie's vintage PAF, so bass is trimmed to 3 to keep the fast palm-muted arpeggios tight and percussive without flub. Your Phase 90 provides slow, sweeping phase movement across the riff in place of the original MXR Flanger.

PRO TIPAnchor your palm firmly against the bridge saddles for a crisp, percussive mute on the arpeggiated low notes, then hit the open chord accents with a sharp downstroke to let the Plexi's upper mids explode.

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These settings are for a Marshall Plexi 1959. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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