Another thing I never realised was just how big an influence VanHalen had on guitar players,- Plexi

I’ve not tried a SV20 yet, but I have the SC20h and the 2525H. Both of those represent the respective designs well.

I was chasing after a SV20 for a while, but took a different path and bought a PRS HDRX 20 head instead. It is based on the Hendrix JTM 45/100. I like the amp so much I gave up on the SV20 chase.

I’ve also got a ‘76 1987, and it covers that post-Plexi era nicely.

^ great advice!

I was drawing a blank on who might suit the review process better.

It does seem like the guitar world has gone Ed crazy since his passing. And I get it.

"Brown sound" aficionados have made up the bulk of plexi enthusiasts on vintage amp forums for years. It's probably the most-chased guitar tone ever. 

I own the SV20C (C is for combo) and I've heard demo's where they get close to Eddies sound and well OK....
There is a 15 page thread on the Marshall forum titled "The particularities about Eddie Van Halen plexi 12301".
Ditto Mike the Marksman!!! A lot of people!

walshb did a comparison of the three amps you've listed.
He owned the Silver Jubilee (combo) and the JCM 800 (head went thru my 1966ALead 2X12 slant cabinet for the test).
He wanted to get them to sound as close as possible to each other.
He used the opening AC/DC riff You Shook Me All Night Long.
We did this before one of my Jams for the Marshall forum. Bill wanted to see if they could hear the difference between all three.
I'll let you know Bill was a big fan of Slash hence the reason he owned what he did. He could and did dial up different tones though.

I don't know about the pedals and I've tried a few but, the SV20C is definitely my favorite amp of the three!
I think a hot rodded plexi has its place but, not all the time for me at least.

Many of the well-known plexi players back in the day were aware of how ice-pick bright they were, and ran them with the treble all the way down and the mids all the way up. Many people who plug into them today aren't aware of this quirk, try to play them with all controls at noon, instantly feel the pain and think "how did those guys use these things back then?".

Listening to VH made me NOT want to learn electric guitar. I admire his natural-seeming skills but I can only watch/hear a highly technical player for so long. Boring after a while !

99% of the time they fail to move me at all. Same with opera singers. Extreme technical people but...somehow...lacking.

I am more amazed by the guitar styling of Heart and U2 artistically within a song that makes it all work.

Granted, as a player, it's a lot more fun to wank off and make noise all the time, but sadly this tends to be more fun for the player than the audience.
Overplaying is GREAT fun, right ? If only I could make money doing that I'd be in heaven ! However...back to reality.

VH was a master and certainly displayed how incredible his guitar playing was, and how much of it was sublimated to the purpose of pop songs, but I also think he wasn't entirely comfortable in supporting his pop songs, and could have done better with them.

But that's really splitting hairs. He was a fabulous talent and he used certain equipment and influenced a ton of guitar players. Even me.

But he'd probably be amazing playing a zither or a harpsichord if that's all he had to play.

If he was suddenly reborn 20 years ago, I doubt he'd be using the same amps today. That was just the flavor of the day, and there weren't many choices considering the stage set up then.

I'm not sure he'd even develop the same style today. If he wanted to make big money anyway.

I have a 100wt Marshall...and a ton of guitars. And no talent whatsoever. Even if I did have godlike talent like VH...
who would care today ? There isn't a place or audience for it in my world(youth ? no. Old baby boomers who don't go to concerts or bars ?)

Where would one even PLAY around town just to get practice and exposure ? Got me.

So I am a bit entertained with excessive interest in old music styles and equipment that are from the golden age of guitars...a glorious age for sure...
but almost totally impractical and useless in the real music world of today.

If everyone on this site was an instant Van Halen, the world would probably shrug.

Better to just have fun with whatever you got or want, but sounding just like VH ? And spending all sorts of resources to achieve it ?

Not too useful or too likely. As pointed out, the old equipment wasn't that consistent from device to device, and after all this time is REALLY not consistent, speakers have changed and degraded along with circuits and tubes and guitars have changed. So old equipment can't be trusted for multiple reasons.

In short, I don't get the constant dives down the old equipment hole for "tone", nor the desire to be the next VH. Or Stevie Ray.

There are already probably 100 of each around the world already.

I'm not sure what that gets them exactly(except a LOT of hard work that might have made them millions in some other direction, personal satisfaction and a few jobs in legacy bands)...but I'm pretty sure they didn't hold themselves back because they didn't have exactly the same equipment as VH !

I'm pretty sure that if the angel of VH suddenly appeared in my music room and grabbed whatever was in there, he'd sound exactly like himself.

Even through my Pignose setup.

Now if you want to talk Pignose speakers and circuits made in the US, the second gen speakers and circuits made in Calif, the third gen speakers and circuits made in China, and the 4th gen etc, and how it's going to make me into the amazing Chicago guitarist by using some specific combination...then here we are again !

RIP to both awesome guitarists !(I hope you had a blast doing your thing...and I'm pretty sure you did.)

But I suspect, if the equipment mattered all that much to them, their own equipment is probably not the same as it was after 50 years or so.

And they could probably sound exactly like themselves on today's equipment. Right ?

Maybe even BETTER.

Note however ; if by some freak of luck I happen to hear someone "trying" to be VH in some venue...I will be passing that by. No thanks. VH was VH. It's hard enough just to find a solid singer for that project alone ! Disaster is no doubt pending. No points for second rate attempts. Though...yes...I might peek at their equipment for a moment...





 

Excellent ! If only the drummer would use one too...(so everyone could turn down for a better listening experience

I was playing along with a radio station yesterday and I was gobsmacked to hear a rather VH inspired break right in the middle of a 2020s pop/rock song !

Even though it was a somewhat average but pleasant rock pop song with an average female voice and word salad lyrics, the guitar(probably a master session guy), dropped a smooth VH type lick in a supremely controlled and masterful way, with feedback, that suited the song very well. It probably took somebody 10 years or more to learn to play that well...just for an 8 bar shot...but thereit was !

1980 lick in a 2020s song...

For me, the pinnacle if Eddie's tone and playing was Jamie's Cryin'. He used that phat and chunky rhythm underneath the tasteful fills. Even the Chickened wah was appropriate and well-placed. And his soloing was atypically musical and understated to fit the song.

Just to respond to the title. I think the best tone for EVH was maybe up until 1984. Some of the post Roth albums had like a chorus, stereo sound I didn't like. He did return to his old sound a bit. A Different Kind of Truth has some great playing. Fair Warning is the pinnacle brown sound imo. I do find it strange that before he passed he was ridiculed and mocked for clips of him obviously drunk, he's now immortalized. It shouldn't take dying lol. Edited to add Alex's drum sounds post Roth were also different.

I scored a SV20H a month or so ago. It does the 4-holer thing well enough. I’m not going to leave it alone, though. 😂

Cab is an Origin series. I yanked the 70/80s and installed a pair of Private Jacks. 

Yes, it’s all MDF. The price was too good to pass up.

I’ve also got a small gold logo to replace the white one on the cab.