Tone library / Van Halen / Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love

Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love amp settings — Glarry GA-20

The Van Halen guitar tone for “Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love”, dialed in for a Glarry GA-20 with a Giannini G-100 tremolo. Studio version, Van Halen (1978) — signature arpeggiated intro and main rhythm riff

Original rig

1968 Marshall Super Lead 100W (variaced to ~90V), Ibanez Destroyer ('Shark' with PAF humbucker), MXR Flanger, Maestro Echoplex EP-3

Punchy 'Brown Sound' crunch with chewy upper-mid bite, tight palm-muted lows, and dynamic flanger/slapback ambiance

Amp settings — Glarry GA-20

CHANNELDrive channel (Drive switch engaged)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	5
Mid	7
Treble	6
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01MXR Flanger

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; key to the iconic metallic jet-swoosh movement on the intro arpeggio

Manual 6 · Width 3 · Speed 3 · Regen 5

02Tape Delay / Echo (Maestro EP-3 style)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; set for a single ~300ms slapback repeat to simulate Sunset Sound plate/Echoplex depth

Delay Time 4 · Repeats 3 · Mix 3

Why these settings

The solid-state Glarry GA-20 relies on its Drive channel to capture the Marshall Super Lead's cranked harmonic crunch, so gain is set to 7 to deliver sustain without descending into high-gain fizz. Mids are boosted to 7 to replicate Eddie's signature upper-mid Plexi bark through the Glarry's 8-inch speaker, while bass is kept at 5 to prevent the small enclosure from farting out during palm-muted stabs. If your Giannini G-100 is loaded with standard single-coils, dial treble back slightly to retain body.

PRO TIPPick aggressively near the bridge saddles with firm palm-muting on the low strings, and hit the open B and high E strings with a light upward flick to let the higher harmonics ring out over the chug.

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These settings are for a Glarry GA-20. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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