Help with Amp Settings?

Well, you need to have realistic expectations...you're Fender amp (while not a bad one) is not going to sound like the recordings of those bands. You're likely hearing multiple amps and the benefits of the processing (EQ, compression, etc) available in the studio.

So, how do you find a starting point? Here's how I approach a new amp:

- Set all of the tone controls to 12:00. If there are effects and/or reverb, turn it off.

- Start with the master volume at about 10:00 and the drive at 0.

- Slowly bring up the drive control and listen for changes in the sound. Stop at about 10:00.

- Now, play with each of the tone controls, and hear what they're doing. If they're like the typical amp, they will be interactive (in other words, adjusting the mid control will affect the treble and bass).

- Set the tone controls back, and up the drive to 12:00. Repeat the process with the tone controls.

- Keep dialing up the drive and playing with the tone controls. As the drive is increased and the sound is more saturated, the tone controls will act differently depending on where they are at in the circuit.

This approach has worked well for me over the years, whether it's a small vintage amp, a modern high gain monster, or a modelling amp.

In general, your "crunch" comes from the mids and treble. Too much bass (especially at high gain) will make the sound mushy. Likewise, too much treble just will just make it noisey and annoying.

You're the one sitting in front of the amp. No one else is in as good a position as you are to dial in your amp.

Good luck.

Greetings from Austin, TX

Ken

There are a lot of websites that will give you tech tips on certain guitarists...and there is probably one for Eddie. Although cranking up the gain might help, be sure to check your strings and the pick you use...and counter those with what Eddie uses. The closest I could get to that sound was to run the edge of the pick along the string. The following is from Wikipedia: "Van Halen developed a technique of flattening his B string slightly so that the interval between the open G and B reaches a justly intonated, beatless third. This consonant third was almost unheard of in distorted-guitar rock and allowed Van Halen to use major chords in a way that mixed classic hard rock power with "happy" pop. The effect is pronounced on songs such as "Runnin' With the Devil", "Unchained", and "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?"."