I never did understand why people obsess over the Van Halen sound on the first record. But, over the years I put on my best Magnum PI mustache and actually helped a few people coming stupidly close. It's a huge jigsaw puzzle, and if one piece is 'missing', well you know the rest. Here are my notes.
* The self-titled debut album (Van Halen) was recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders studio in mid September to early October 1977, and released in 1978. Think about the gear that was available then. SM57's, sure, but some engineers and producers are getting very creative.
* The engineer was Don Landee, and the producer was Ted Templeman.
* This same set-up was also responsible for the Montrose albums 'Montrose' (1973) and 'Paper Money' (1974). When 'Jump On It' is released in 1976, Ronnie Montrose is already being criticized for having lost his tone. The 1975 release 'Warner Brothers Presents....... Montrose!' has Charles Faris as engineer and Ronnie Montrose producing. The 'Jump On It' album is recorded by Jay Messina and produced by Jack Douglas. To be fair, the departure of Sammy Hagar is also seen as a big factor in the poor reviews and sales of these two albums.
* I mention the Don Landee and Ted Templeman connection because it is also a simple fact to prove the the tones are remarkably similar between the early Montrose and Van Halen albums.
* Rumors have it that when Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman 'discovered' Van Halen (performing as 'Mammoth') at the Starwood, they were almost immediately offered a recording contract with Warner Brothers, the same record company releasing Montrose records. Eddie Van Halen, having been quite displeased with the recording process Gene Simmons was thrusting upon him at New York's Electric Lady Studios, specifically asked for the 'Montrose' process. Gene Simmons and Van Halen parted ways, and Van Halen looked for an exclusive deal recording with Don Landee and Ted Templeman.
* Aside from having the entire signal chain to the guitar, you need the signal chain as seen by the mystery combination of whatever microphones. That means the same recording console, the same tape deck, the same tape, etc. These will all add their own phase and harmonic distortions. Also, the same recording machine operating at 15ips will sound different than operating at 30ips. Why this is so is a mystery, but the low end (around 100Hz or 150Hz) and the high end (around 4KHz for some machines, 7kHz for others) response is absolutely different, even after a bias adjustment.
* Now add the distortions related to the lathing and pressing process of the vinyl album.
Are you still with me? OK. Now, in a later Mix magazine interview, engineer George Peterson relates this story (that is also part advertisement);
Years ago, I had the pleasure of recording guitar genius Ronnie Montrose. In anticipation of his arrival—and to save time—I set up about six different mics: condensers, tubes and dynamics. When Montrose showed up, he said that he had a favorite mic and asked if we could try that, as well. He pulled out a Sennheiser MD 409 dynamic with a flat-bar mount that slid into a slot cut into his amp, putting the mic about an inch in front of the grille and toward the edge of the speaker cone. We tried them all, and sure enough, his mic won out over everything else! I became an instant convert to the mystic MD 409 cult and was greatly saddened when Sennheiser (what were they thinking?) discontinued the 409 a few years later. Later, Sennheiser came out with the Evolution 609, which resembled the original but wasn't the same. Fortunately, with the debut of the e609 Silver, the magic is back. Like the original, it's a side-address design so it can be simply hung over an amp, suspended by the cable (with three inches of duct tape to secure it) and be exactly in the sweet spot. With its high-SPL handling and supercardioid pattern to eliminate any bleed, this one's ready for anything. On a variety of amps the e609 Silver was spot-on, particularly when combined with a distant tube mic. The Sennheiser provided the punch, fury, growl and edge, with the room mic adding a smooth hugeness.
There's other rumors about hot humbuckers, DS-1's and GE-10's, Variacs, Marshall mods, and the list goes on. And Eddie being a notorious bullsh*tter only makes the trail even more difficult to follow. So why bother? If it's a challenge you want, go for it. Years from now you'll wonder why you took on a challenge like this.