Tone library / Van halen / Aint talking bout love

Aint talking bout love amp settings — Marshall DSL1HR

The Van halen guitar tone for “Aint talking bout love”, dialed in for a Marshall DSL1HR with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Van Halen (1978 debut album)

Original rig

Frankenstrat (single Gibson PAF humbucker) → MXR Phase 90 → Marshall Super Lead 1959 100-watt plexi (variac at 90V, cranked)

British crunch with aggressive attack, tight palm-muted chugs, bright upper mids, saturated but not high-gain, raw and biting with harmonic overtones from cranked plexi, dynamic response to pick attack

Amp settings — Marshall DSL1HR

CHANNELUltra Gain (Classic Gain mode engaged if available)BRIGHToffBOOSToff

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01MXR Phase 90 (Script Logo)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for the swirling effect on the intro and verses. Set slow for subtle movement. Bypass for verses where you want dry crunch.

Speed 3

Why these settings

Your Strat's single coils are brighter and lower output than Eddie's PAF humbucker, so I dropped treble from 7 to 6 and bass from 6 to 5 to prevent ice-pick highs and compensate for the thinner low-end. The DSL's Ultra Gain channel gets you into plexi territory—the original 1959 had no master volume and was cranked for power tube saturation, so push your master to taste for that sag and compression. Roll your tone knob to 7 to tame the Strat's inherent brightness.

PRO TIPThe main riff is entirely down-picked with palm muting—anchor your picking hand firmly near the bridge and use the fleshy part of your palm to control the tightness of the chug. Eddie's attack was percussive and precise, not sloppy. The pinch harmonics on the turnaround come from choking up on the pick and catching the string with your thumb edge immediately after the pick stroke.

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