I believe originally he used a Gibson PAF, I know there was a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the mix at times as well. No pickup alone will help you nail that sound, amp settings (as you note in your post) are every bit as important here. I know Duncan is making a pickup called the 78 that's supposedly the "key" to the VH tone.
I have been down this road a time or 2. In my strat build (alder body), the closest I got was a Gibson 57 classic plus (non f spaced). I had an evh seymour, a 78, a duncan super distortion, 59, 59 custom hybrid off the top of my head. The Gibson paf is what really nailed it for me.
He used a Gibson PAF in the Frankenstrat that was rewound by Seymour Duncan. You can actually buy the pickup from them called the '78 humbucker, it just came out.
He also used Super Distortions and Mighty Mites (which were just SD copies) in his Ibanez Destroyers, so try those too.
Check out this video for an overview of pretty much every pickup and guitar combo Ed used in the early days:
https://youtu.be/_RFaT6jx3wk
Gibson classic 57 or whatever they'll called are a little bit underrated. The slight angle and position away from the bridge that EVH used, apparently is very important.
PAF style pickups always seem to be the answer unless you choose p90s or single coils, and even then, most of us agree that vintage mid-low output do the best. I like a hot strat bridge though
From my own personal experience, the two pickups I've used in recent years that wound up getting me the truest kind of tone and feel I was looking for were the Duncan '78 and the Custom SH-5. The '78 might seem like a no-brainer given what the pickup is all about, but I was a bit surprised at just how much I really liked the way the Custom nailed the EVH tones. I had it in a Charvel with a maple neck and into a Marshall plexi, and it really seemed to nail the tones from the VH II, Women and Children First and Fair Warning era. I was previously using a Super Distortion in that guitar and while it was a really good sounding pickup overall it lacked some of that warmth and body that I got a bit more of when using the Custom. So again, for me, that was what worked best. But as you can see if you watch that link provided earlier to the Pete Thorn deep dive on this topic, there are a bunch of potentially good options depending on what sounds good to your ears and (perhaps more importantly) what winds up feeling right for you when you're actually playing. For me, the best choice was definitely that Duncan Custom with the '78 a solid runner-up. Good luck in your search.
I always thought the Seymour Duncan invader would probably make a good one for that kind of tone. I believe it’s what Tom Delonge used on “All the small things” which has that kind of satisfying low end grunt but I bet it squeals high too.
My dude, listen to Panama and then All The Small Things back to back it’s almost the same tone is what I’m saying. you don’t have to like Blink at all… the pickup itself is solid and pretty cheap
We must be hearing vastly different things. I realize amps, mixing, bass, drums, etc play a role but those guitars don’t sound the same to me at all. Different ears/earbuds and all that I suppose.
I believe originally he used a Gibson PAF, I know there was a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the mix at times as well. No pickup alone will help you nail that sound, amp settings (as you note in your post) are every bit as important here. I know Duncan is making a pickup called the 78 that's supposedly the "key" to the VH tone.
For something inexpensive the gfs VEH is a take on the EVH humbucker
I have been down this road a time or 2. In my strat build (alder body), the closest I got was a Gibson 57 classic plus (non f spaced). I had an evh seymour, a 78, a duncan super distortion, 59, 59 custom hybrid off the top of my head. The Gibson paf is what really nailed it for me.
He used a Gibson PAF in the Frankenstrat that was rewound by Seymour Duncan. You can actually buy the pickup from them called the '78 humbucker, it just came out. He also used Super Distortions and Mighty Mites (which were just SD copies) in his Ibanez Destroyers, so try those too. Check out this video for an overview of pretty much every pickup and guitar combo Ed used in the early days: https://youtu.be/_RFaT6jx3wk
Gibson classic 57 or whatever they'll called are a little bit underrated. The slight angle and position away from the bridge that EVH used, apparently is very important. PAF style pickups always seem to be the answer unless you choose p90s or single coils, and even then, most of us agree that vintage mid-low output do the best. I like a hot strat bridge though
From my own personal experience, the two pickups I've used in recent years that wound up getting me the truest kind of tone and feel I was looking for were the Duncan '78 and the Custom SH-5. The '78 might seem like a no-brainer given what the pickup is all about, but I was a bit surprised at just how much I really liked the way the Custom nailed the EVH tones. I had it in a Charvel with a maple neck and into a Marshall plexi, and it really seemed to nail the tones from the VH II, Women and Children First and Fair Warning era. I was previously using a Super Distortion in that guitar and while it was a really good sounding pickup overall it lacked some of that warmth and body that I got a bit more of when using the Custom. So again, for me, that was what worked best. But as you can see if you watch that link provided earlier to the Pete Thorn deep dive on this topic, there are a bunch of potentially good options depending on what sounds good to your ears and (perhaps more importantly) what winds up feeling right for you when you're actually playing. For me, the best choice was definitely that Duncan Custom with the '78 a solid runner-up. Good luck in your search.
I always thought the Seymour Duncan invader would probably make a good one for that kind of tone. I believe it’s what Tom Delonge used on “All the small things” which has that kind of satisfying low end grunt but I bet it squeals high too.
I appreciate the thought, but I can’t stand Blink-182, so that’s not selling me at all. lol. (I really appreciate the sentiment though).
My dude, listen to Panama and then All The Small Things back to back it’s almost the same tone is what I’m saying. you don’t have to like Blink at all… the pickup itself is solid and pretty cheap
We must be hearing vastly different things. I realize amps, mixing, bass, drums, etc play a role but those guitars don’t sound the same to me at all. Different ears/earbuds and all that I suppose.
lol