Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love
A single riff over A minor and G, written as a punk parody, with an electric sitar doubling the solo.
What is the Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love guitar tone?
The Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love guitar tone is a single riff over A minor and G, written as a punk parody, with an electric sitar doubling the solo, heard on Van Halen's 1970s hard rock recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Van Halen reportedly tracked it with Eddie Van Halen's rig for the band's debut album, recorded between August and October 1977 with producer Ted Templeman and engineer Donn Landee: his homemade Frankenstein, a Strat-style guitar with a single rewound Gibson PAF taken from a 1960s ES-335, then still in its black and white stripes, and a 1970s Ibanez Destroyer he used on about half the album, through the 1967 or 1968 Marshall 1959 Super Lead he used on the first six Van Halen records, run from a Variac that he used to lower its voltage rather than raise it, as he had claimed in early interviews; his pedalboard for the sessions held an MXR Phase 90, an MXR Flanger, an MXR six-band EQ, a Maestro Echoplex and a Univox tape echo, and which guitar is on this song is not documented; the solo is doubled with an electric sitar that was in the studio, which Michael Anthony says Eddie struggled to play because of its string height and which Guitar Player credits Templeman with slipping into the mix; David Lee Roth meant the song as a punk parody on two chords, which Guitar Player gives as A minor and G, Anthony says the whole song is that one lick, and Templeman calls it his favourite of the Van Halen songs he worked on, crediting Landee with the sound of the riff. This is a mid-forward sound rather than a scooped one, and it usually sits closer to the edge of breakup than to full saturation.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a high-gain head and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup.
- Gain 6
- Bass 5
- Middle 6
- Treble 6
- Presence 6
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- Marshall Super Lead distortion
- The control that matters most
- Note definition. The whole song is one lick over two chords, A minor and G, so set the gain just high enough to sustain and keep every string of the chord distinct when it rings: a mid-forward Marshall-style crunch rather than a saturated one. The electric sitar that doubles the solo on the record cannot come from the amp, so a single guitar will sound plainer there.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own. Your first match is free with an account, and needs no card.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Bridge pickup
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
What gear did Van Halen use on Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love?
Eddie Van Halen's rig for the band's debut album, recorded between August and October 1977 with producer Ted Templeman and engineer Donn Landee: his homemade Frankenstein, a Strat-style guitar with a single rewound Gibson PAF taken from a 1960s ES-335, then still in its black and white stripes, and a 1970s Ibanez Destroyer he used on about half the album, through the 1967 or 1968 Marshall 1959 Super Lead he used on the first six Van Halen records, run from a Variac that he used to lower its voltage rather than raise it, as he had claimed in early interviews; his pedalboard for the sessions held an MXR Phase 90, an MXR Flanger, an MXR six-band EQ, a Maestro Echoplex and a Univox tape echo, and which guitar is on this song is not documented; the solo is doubled with an electric sitar that was in the studio, which Michael Anthony says Eddie struggled to play because of its string height and which Guitar Player credits Templeman with slipping into the mix; David Lee Roth meant the song as a punk parody on two chords, which Guitar Player gives as A minor and G, Anthony says the whole song is that one lick, and Templeman calls it his favourite of the Van Halen songs he worked on, crediting Landee with the sound of the riff.
Sources: Guitar.com: the gear Eddie Van Halen used on Van Halen I, Guitar Player: Michael Anthony on Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love and punk, Wikipedia: Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love
Tonelify reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love tone on your own amp?
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Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same single riff over A minor and G, written as a punk parody, with an electric sitar doubling the solo from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love tone?
Note definition. The whole song is one lick over two chords, A minor and G, so set the gain just high enough to sustain and keep every string of the chord distinct when it rings: a mid-forward Marshall-style crunch rather than a saturated one. The electric sitar that doubles the solo on the record cannot come from the amp, so a single guitar will sound plainer there.
Can you get the Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Eddie Van Halen's rig for the band's debut album, recorded between August and October 1977 with producer Ted Templeman and engineer Donn Landee: his homemade Frankenstein, a Strat-style guitar with a single rewound Gibson PAF taken from a 1960s ES-335, then still in its black and white stripes, and a 1970s Ibanez Destroyer he used on about half the album, through the 1967 or 1968 Marshall 1959 Super Lead he used on the first six Van Halen records, run from a Variac that he used to lower its voltage rather than raise it, as he had claimed in early interviews; his pedalboard for the sessions held an MXR Phase 90, an MXR Flanger, an MXR six-band EQ, a Maestro Echoplex and a Univox tape echo, and which guitar is on this song is not documented; the solo is doubled with an electric sitar that was in the studio, which Michael Anthony says Eddie struggled to play because of its string height and which Guitar Player credits Templeman with slipping into the mix; David Lee Roth meant the song as a punk parody on two chords, which Guitar Player gives as A minor and G, Anthony says the whole song is that one lick, and Templeman calls it his favourite of the Van Halen songs he worked on, crediting Landee with the sound of the riff, but the parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order. Those translate to other equipment, which is what the adaptation step does.
Is Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Van Halen's 1970s hard rock catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
Your first match for your own gear is free with an account, and needs no card. After that both plans start with a 7-day free trial: Stage is $6.99 a month for 20 matches, Headliner is $10.99 a month for unlimited matching within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.
