Tone library / van halen / Ain't talkin bout love

Ain't talkin bout love amp settings — Marshall mg30gfx

The van halen guitar tone for “Ain't talkin bout love”, dialed in for a Marshall mg30gfx with a Ibanez gio grgr131ex bkf. Studio version, Van Halen I (1978) — main rhythm riff

Original rig

Frankenstrat (bridge humbucker) -> MXR Phase 90 -> MXR Flanger -> cranked Marshall Super Lead 1959 Plexi (Variac down to 90V)

Aggressive, crunchy Brown Sound with tight palm-muted bite, pronounced upper mids, and swirling phase modulation

Amp settings — Marshall mg30gfx

CHANNELOD-1 (Crunch/Overdrive 1)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	5
Mid	7
Treble	7
Reverb	3
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01MXR Phase 90 (or onboard Phaser FX)

Use onboard FX section set to Phaser at ~9 o'clock (or RECOMMENDED — not owned external pedal)

Speed 3

02MXR M117R Flanger

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; adds the signature sweep on the arpeggiated riff

Manual 6 · Width 7 · Speed 3 · Regen 6

Why these settings

The MG30GFX's OD-1 channel delivers the necessary classic Plexi-style crunch without the fizzy compression of OD-2. The Infinity R humbuckers on the Ibanez GIO push solid output, so gain is kept at 6 to maintain palm-muted note definition while pushing mids to 7 for Eddie's signature bark. Set the onboard digital FX knob to Phaser around 9 o'clock to replicate the subtle MXR sweep directly on the amp.

PRO TIPPick right over the bridge pickup with a heavy pick and dig in with a semi-palm mute on the open strings; Eddie’s percussive attack and harmonics come from heavy pick-hand dynamics rather than excessive preamp gain.

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These settings are for a Marshall mg30gfx. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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