Hey Dweezil. Thank you so much for all of the amazing episodes thus far. I have listened to them all multiple times now and really enjoy the attention to detail and the love all of you have for Van Halen. OU812 is where I was finally introduced to the band so I am really anxious for this upcoming episode. Keep up the great work!!! Really excited to see what you have in store for us!!!
My son and I were recently on a long road trip during which we listened to a number of episodes. He's never been "into" music, for him it's always been something that's in the background. However, the stories you and your friends told and clips you played of Eddie couldn't help but put a smile on both of our faces. I want to thank you for putting this together and providing a window for my son into something that was (and still is) important to me.
Hi Arthur, thanks for sharing your story. I'm glad you are both enjoying the podcast. I'm still working on the 0U812 episode. Hope to get it finished asap.
I love the deep analysis of these albums. I hadn’t been into the 5150 album much but this episode made me realize how good a record it really was and it peaked my interest to listen to it with a fresh appreciation after so many years. Really enjoying this podcast.
Here are contenders for possible guitars used for the “I’ll Wait” solo and possibly the “Love Walks In” leads…first is a Kramer Pacer Deluxe. The serial number is B4126 which puts it in the same time frame as the 1984 tour guitars like the 5150, 1984 and Hot For Teacher…roughly 1983. It also has an FRT-5 Floyd Rose which is pretty specific to that time frame. The translated Japanese text claims that this guitar may have been used on ‘The Wild Life’ soundtrack…there are out-of-phase strat tones at places on that soundtrack, so this is possible. The Japanese magazine that this photo was taken from claims that this is all according to Donn Landee, but I can’t verify that. I tend to doubt Landee spoke to a Japanese magazine, but I could be wrong.
This guitar was in Ed’s possession at the time of the recording of ‘1984’ to the best of my knowledge, and it is one of only two guitars that I have seen in his possession between 1983-1989 with single coil standard strat pickups and a Floyd. Also, this newer sunburst strat has the three single coil standard strat configuration with a black Floyd Rose. This picture is from 5150 in 1990, so that may or may not make it less likely to be the guitar used for “I’ll Wait”/“Love Walks In”.
The episode with all of the reverse engineering has not been completed yet so the presets aren't ready. You'll definitely be made aware of the availability of the presets when they are ready!
The lyrics to 5150 are about mathematics and relationships. It doesn’t focus on the numbers as a police code as before but rather as fractions and percentages. Such as 50/50 and 51/50, 51% 50%. “Always one more, You’re never satisfied. It’s only one for me. So why draw the line. Meet you half the way. When you don’t know what that means”
Wow, that's an awesome insight - I never realized that before. It was always sort of a mystery what the song was about, actually think you nailed it there. Someone should ask Sammy about it!
Love that you and Mark noticed the prog influence on the 5150 title track. There's recordings of the band playing some super obscure 70s prog stuff like Captain Beyond from the backyard party days, so it's clear Eddie and Alex were into that sort of thing. That prog influence comes out again later on in the Sammy era in "Pleasure Dome" and "Baluchitherium". I have to think had Eddie actually done a solo instrumental album it might have sounded a lot like this stuff. Wolfgang seems to be really into prog too - he's mentioned Steven Wilson, Tool, Karnivool, and Dream Theater as influences before.
As an aside, I transcribed "5150" years ago for a Hal Leonard project and I believe I got a few key things right that no other transcription has. The main thing is that the pre-chorus is actually played up higher on the neck in the area of the 7th to 9th fret vs. what's usually shown down lower in open position in other transcriptions. You can see this pretty clearly on Live Without a Net:
Hey Dweezil, today I tuned into a live instagram story with Sammy Hagar. Hagar shared a ton of awesome stories during the interview. Hagar mentioned how Bob Weir considered having him perform as the lead singer for Grateful Dead following Jerry Garcia's passing. He also stated that at one point he wanted to perform a Van Halen show with David Lee Roth! He had envisioned a concert where there would be two stages. He described it as being similar to a sporting event in which there would be a Sammy Hagar stage, and a David Lee Roth stage! Apparently David Lee Roth did not want to do it. But IMO, that would be the best of the both worlds. Thank you for hosting the podcast!
Another great episode!! How nervous we’re all VH fans when 5150 came out? It’s different, yes…but still VERY good. The song ‘5150’ is a monster. To me, that song is EVH telling the world…yes, this is different, but I’m still Eddie Mutha F****n’ Van Halen. I love these discussions and can’t wait for the next one.
Amazing work, I love what you are doing, so much great info from great players. It is telling how incredible EVH was that players like yourself, Vai, Nuno and everyone else you are with on your episodes are so humbled by his playing. Thank you for all the work, they seem like a lot to put together (maybe a Eat 'em and Smile and the first two Randy Ozzy records when VH is rapped up?).
Regarding the Shark guitar, I always felt that after reading an interview he did talking about the Shark he added the turnbuckles after he cut the chunk out to attempt to restore the sound of the Destroyer as he felt the guitar did not sound the same after the Mod. My two cents anyway, thanks again, what you are doing it great!
Another superb instalment Dweezil - "Thank you" - brilliant ! again a wonderful level of attention to detail and well worth waiting for. You mention about the "Fizzy Sound" Eddie achieved on Get Up & Summer Nights . I recall reading in Guitar World and speaking to someone at a Guitar Show here in the U.K in around '86 that Eddie used a prototype Groove Tube Pre amp on "5150" for certain tracks.
Hi Allen - thank you for the reply ,I would - though we are in the process of moving and the box marked "EVH Magazines" is all packed - and said issue is in there . I will try to locate it once moved and post it.
I wouldn't mind hearing your thoughts on Eat 'Em and Smile and Skyscraper. It was kind of VH vs Dave during these albums. 5150 vs EEAS, OU812 vs Skyscraper, tour vs tour, Eddie vs Vai. I'd love to hear full episodes with song breakdowns the same way and your thoughts and guest thoughts on Vai's playing as well as his version of the VH stuff live.
Agreed. It’s such a tribute to Pete Townshend’s lead/rhythm style but taking it even further with incredible melodies woven through. As Dweezil says, can you imagine being given THAT music and asked to come up with words and a vocal melody for it?! An impossible task that Sammy was given and he totally rose to the challenge while also delivering probably the single greatest vocal of his entire career!
Wonderful job on the interview with Mark Lettieri…I have to say that I feel like you went more in depth on the ‘5150’ album and I LOVE IT! This was the tour where I first saw Van Halen from the front row directly in front of Eddie’s mic stand at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX on October 4, 1986. I got an unused Eddie pick from Zeke Clark before the show, I caught one from Eddie during the guitar solo and I caught two picks from Michael Anthony. For a then just turned 14 year old boy, this was heaven!
So here are a few observations/clarifications that I might be able to offer:
1. The tuning on “Good Enough” is as follows, to the best of my knowledge with the gear that I have available:
1st string: E -2.3 cents 2nd string: B -2.1 cents 3rd string: G -0.4 cents 4th string: D 0.0(no change from standard equal temperament) 5th string: A 0.0(no change from standard equal temperament) 6th string: A -50.0 cents
The tuning on the 6th string will vary depending on the gauge string you use. I used a .52 gauged string which is the largest string that will fit through a standard Floyd Rose saddle/nut and standard 6th string tuning post, but a standard guitar will require modifications to be set up the way Eddie set up his guitar for the song. He used a .60 gauged bass string.
In the September 1986 issue of Guitar World, Eddie and Zeke Clark provided some information about the three main live guitars that Eddie used on the 5150 tour, including the specs used for “Good Enough”. The ‘1984’ Kramer (that Eddie gave Wolfgang as a gift and that is now in his possession today) was fitted with a black Floyd Rose system that was then reamed out to fit a .60 gauged Steinberger bass string which is a D string in a Steinberger light gauged 4-string bass set of strings. Of course the double ball-ends were removed. So the saddle, Floyd nut and the tuning post had to be filed to accommodate this larger string. This is how Eddie was able to do his usual Floyd Rose tricks while still having the low A bass note on the bottom. According to the article, this was how the ‘1984’ guitar was set up for the album and live tour versions of “Good Enough”.
2. The overall guitar sounds on the album were still being recorded with Eddie’s main Marshall head and other Marshall amps for the album sessions and the live tours through the end of the 0U812 touring cycles. Eddie got the Soldano SLO-100 head some time around April of 1990. He was first photographed with that head on April 22, 1990 at the opening of the Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas. That amp then became the main amp heard on the ‘For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge’ album. You rightly pointed out the unusual tones coming from the EMG pickups and the Steinberger on “Get Up” and “Summer Nights”…I think that adjustments or just plain differences in EQ approach almost certainly resulted from using the Steinberger versus other standard guitars. Eddie said in the September 1986 issue of Guitar World regarding the Steinberger: “I’m used to a piece of wood and this thing is like plastic. It was kind’ve alien to me. I had to change a few things to make it sound right. For instance, I had to use my amp differently-I had to use a bassier input. But I talked to Ned Steinberger and he made some different pickups. They’re still EMGs, but they’re a little warmer-sounding to me than the ones he (originally) sent to me.
The use of stereo Eventide H949 Harmonizers for the detune chorus sound on the guitars on the whole album is fairly well documented, but it certainly became more pronounced on the ‘5150’ album. I think this is down to Eddie and Donn Landee’s preference at the time.
3. According to Eddie, all the drums on ‘1984’ were Simmons pads and the acoustic snare was still going. Al had to then overdub all the cymbals AFTER the Simmons parts were recorded. Photos of the 5150 studio around the time just after the recording of ‘1984’ and ‘5150’ seem to support this, so to the best of my knowledge, this is exactly how the drums on ‘5150’ were recorded. I just wanted to mention this so that it could be noted that ‘5150’ was not the first all-Simmons Van Halen album.
4. The lead guitar on “Love Walks In” is obviously a neck pickup sound. It is a mystery guitar because there are no interview references to what guitar he used on the recording. The lead on “Love Walks In” is very similar to the lead on “I’ll Wait” which is also a neck pickup sound. The guitar which was used to record the solo on “I’ll Wait” is also a mystery guitar…no interview references for that either. I hear a “gainier” sound on the “Love Walks In” lead parts versus the “I’ll Wait” solo. That could be down to any number of reasons…could be grind from the Eventide? Could be a guitar with a humbucking neck pickup on “Love Walks In” versus a single coil neck pickup on the “I’ll Wait” solo? I do not have a definitive answer. One thing that you seem to be theorizing in your breakdown of this song is that the lead sounds slightly out of tune and that this could be because he used a vintage style strat guitar with single coil pickups and a vintage style, non-locking vibrato system. My ear tells me that the vibrato bar use on both the “I’ll Wait” solo and on the “Love Walks In” leads is a Floyd Rose. They just have a certain slack in the vibrato bar action that screams Floyd Rose to me on both recordings. I have only one theory about a guitar that might have been used on both tracks. In a 1990 Dutch TV interview I saw a sunburst Fender strat with a rosewood board and a black Floyd Rose system on it in the 5150 studio right next to some of Ed’s more famous guitars…ie. the 5150 Kramer, the vintage Flying V, a Ripley, etc. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only strat with the vintage three single coil pickup configuration that Eddie owned with a Floyd Rose vibrato system. At least this is the only one that I’ve ever seen a photograph of. To my mind, this is at least a potential candidate for being the guitar used on the “I’ll Wait” solo and the leads from “Love Walks In”.
5. According to some unverified sources, Eddie used his famous vintage ‘58 Gibson Flying V on the main guitar track for the title song “5150”. There is no vibrato bar work on the main guitar track and this could very well be the case. I can’t substantiate this with any concrete interview reference or other evidence, but it is a possibility. I believe Eddie used the 5150 Kramer for the leads on the track and for most of the leads on the album. I don’t believe there is any vintage strat on this track.
6. As you noted, Eddie used a vintage Fender strat on “Best of Both Worlds”. This has been confirmed by Eddie in interviews, though he has two different vintage strats that would be the likely candidates for use on the recording of “Best of Both Worlds”. One is the 1964 rosewood board sunburst Fender strat on which he carved “5150” into the front of the guitar. He has confirmed that he used that guitar on “Finish What Ya Started” and it might be the vintage strat that he used for the solo on “When It’s Love”. It’s also a possibility that he used it on “Best of Both Worlds”. The other candidate is a 1957 vintage sunburst Fender strat that has a maple Fender Telecaster neck. As far as I can tell, these two strats are the most likely candidates for being the “Best of Both Worlds” vintage strat.
I need to investigate some more on the tunings on “Dreams” and some other things that I may have missed. These were some observations that I wanted to share-I could be totally off base and there’s always new information coming to light, but on first listen to this excellent installment of ‘Runnin’ With The Dweezil’ these are my first thoughts, for whatever they are worth!
Phil X? anyone? anyone? Bueller?
Hey Dweezil. Phil said in a live chat that he's sorry for never getting back to you on your axe-fx patch :)
Hey Dweezil. Thank you so much for all of the amazing episodes thus far. I have listened to them all multiple times now and really enjoy the attention to detail and the love all of you have for Van Halen. OU812 is where I was finally introduced to the band so I am really anxious for this upcoming episode. Keep up the great work!!! Really excited to see what you have in store for us!!!
My son and I were recently on a long road trip during which we listened to a number of episodes. He's never been "into" music, for him it's always been something that's in the background. However, the stories you and your friends told and clips you played of Eddie couldn't help but put a smile on both of our faces. I want to thank you for putting this together and providing a window for my son into something that was (and still is) important to me.
Hi Arthur, thanks for sharing your story. I'm glad you are both enjoying the podcast. I'm still working on the 0U812 episode. Hope to get it finished asap.
I love the deep analysis of these albums. I hadn’t been into the 5150 album much but this episode made me realize how good a record it really was and it peaked my interest to listen to it with a fresh appreciation after so many years. Really enjoying this podcast.
Here are contenders for possible guitars used for the “I’ll Wait” solo and possibly the “Love Walks In” leads…first is a Kramer Pacer Deluxe. The serial number is B4126 which puts it in the same time frame as the 1984 tour guitars like the 5150, 1984 and Hot For Teacher…roughly 1983. It also has an FRT-5 Floyd Rose which is pretty specific to that time frame. The translated Japanese text claims that this guitar may have been used on ‘The Wild Life’ soundtrack…there are out-of-phase strat tones at places on that soundtrack, so this is possible. The Japanese magazine that this photo was taken from claims that this is all according to Donn Landee, but I can’t verify that. I tend to doubt Landee spoke to a Japanese magazine, but I could be wrong.
This guitar was in Ed’s possession at the time of the recording of ‘1984’ to the best of my knowledge, and it is one of only two guitars that I have seen in his possession between 1983-1989 with single coil standard strat pickups and a Floyd.
Also, this newer sunburst strat has the three single coil standard strat configuration with a black Floyd Rose. This picture is from 5150 in 1990, so that may or may not make it less likely to be the guitar used for “I’ll Wait”/“Love Walks In”.
Summer Nights was all about the 1984 olympics
???
EVH Mammoth era very few people talk about the Tony Iommi influence. I don’t know why.
It's a pretty strong influence for sure.
Hi John,
The episode with all of the reverse engineering has not been completed yet so the presets aren't ready. You'll definitely be made aware of the availability of the presets when they are ready!
excellent! Been enjoying tearing through the early years ones today, thanks again for doing this and responding so quick! Hope you had a great day
Loving the podcasts!! Are the kemper VH presets still on the way or where would I find em?
The lyrics to 5150 are about mathematics and relationships. It doesn’t focus on the numbers as a police code as before but rather as fractions and percentages. Such as 50/50 and 51/50, 51% 50%. “Always one more, You’re never satisfied. It’s only one for me. So why draw the line. Meet you half the way. When you don’t know what that means”
Wow, that's an awesome insight - I never realized that before. It was always sort of a mystery what the song was about, actually think you nailed it there. Someone should ask Sammy about it!
Hey Dweezil,
Love that you and Mark noticed the prog influence on the 5150 title track. There's recordings of the band playing some super obscure 70s prog stuff like Captain Beyond from the backyard party days, so it's clear Eddie and Alex were into that sort of thing. That prog influence comes out again later on in the Sammy era in "Pleasure Dome" and "Baluchitherium". I have to think had Eddie actually done a solo instrumental album it might have sounded a lot like this stuff. Wolfgang seems to be really into prog too - he's mentioned Steven Wilson, Tool, Karnivool, and Dream Theater as influences before.
As an aside, I transcribed "5150" years ago for a Hal Leonard project and I believe I got a few key things right that no other transcription has. The main thing is that the pre-chorus is actually played up higher on the neck in the area of the 7th to 9th fret vs. what's usually shown down lower in open position in other transcriptions. You can see this pretty clearly on Live Without a Net:
https://imgur.com/a/44HZ8pd
Absolutely right Ryan! Great work on the transcription!
Hey Dweezil, today I tuned into a live instagram story with Sammy Hagar. Hagar shared a ton of awesome stories during the interview. Hagar mentioned how Bob Weir considered having him perform as the lead singer for Grateful Dead following Jerry Garcia's passing. He also stated that at one point he wanted to perform a Van Halen show with David Lee Roth! He had envisioned a concert where there would be two stages. He described it as being similar to a sporting event in which there would be a Sammy Hagar stage, and a David Lee Roth stage! Apparently David Lee Roth did not want to do it. But IMO, that would be the best of the both worlds. Thank you for hosting the podcast!
Another great episode!! How nervous we’re all VH fans when 5150 came out? It’s different, yes…but still VERY good. The song ‘5150’ is a monster. To me, that song is EVH telling the world…yes, this is different, but I’m still Eddie Mutha F****n’ Van Halen. I love these discussions and can’t wait for the next one.
Thanks Brad,
Glad you're enjoying the episodes. The James Valentine EP will be another fun one. It's one of the few that was recorded in person. Best, DZ
Hi DZ,
Amazing work, I love what you are doing, so much great info from great players. It is telling how incredible EVH was that players like yourself, Vai, Nuno and everyone else you are with on your episodes are so humbled by his playing. Thank you for all the work, they seem like a lot to put together (maybe a Eat 'em and Smile and the first two Randy Ozzy records when VH is rapped up?).
Regarding the Shark guitar, I always felt that after reading an interview he did talking about the Shark he added the turnbuckles after he cut the chunk out to attempt to restore the sound of the Destroyer as he felt the guitar did not sound the same after the Mod. My two cents anyway, thanks again, what you are doing it great!
Thanks,
CB
Any chance of getting Phil X on the podcast? I bet you guys would have a blast nerding out about Eddie :)
Another superb instalment Dweezil - "Thank you" - brilliant ! again a wonderful level of attention to detail and well worth waiting for. You mention about the "Fizzy Sound" Eddie achieved on Get Up & Summer Nights . I recall reading in Guitar World and speaking to someone at a Guitar Show here in the U.K in around '86 that Eddie used a prototype Groove Tube Pre amp on "5150" for certain tracks.
If you can find that reference and share it here, that would be great!
Hi Allen - thank you for the reply ,I would - though we are in the process of moving and the box marked "EVH Magazines" is all packed - and said issue is in there . I will try to locate it once moved and post it.
I wouldn't mind hearing your thoughts on Eat 'Em and Smile and Skyscraper. It was kind of VH vs Dave during these albums. 5150 vs EEAS, OU812 vs Skyscraper, tour vs tour, Eddie vs Vai. I'd love to hear full episodes with song breakdowns the same way and your thoughts and guest thoughts on Vai's playing as well as his version of the VH stuff live.
Dweezil, I am with you! The title track for 5150 is one of my favorite Van Halen songs. Another excellent episode!
Agreed. It’s such a tribute to Pete Townshend’s lead/rhythm style but taking it even further with incredible melodies woven through. As Dweezil says, can you imagine being given THAT music and asked to come up with words and a vocal melody for it?! An impossible task that Sammy was given and he totally rose to the challenge while also delivering probably the single greatest vocal of his entire career!
The live version of the song, 5150 from Live Without a Net is so killer. Such a great show from the 5150 era.
Absolutely!
Wonderful job on the interview with Mark Lettieri…I have to say that I feel like you went more in depth on the ‘5150’ album and I LOVE IT! This was the tour where I first saw Van Halen from the front row directly in front of Eddie’s mic stand at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX on October 4, 1986. I got an unused Eddie pick from Zeke Clark before the show, I caught one from Eddie during the guitar solo and I caught two picks from Michael Anthony. For a then just turned 14 year old boy, this was heaven!
So here are a few observations/clarifications that I might be able to offer:
1. The tuning on “Good Enough” is as follows, to the best of my knowledge with the gear that I have available:
1st string: E -2.3 cents
2nd string: B -2.1 cents
3rd string: G -0.4 cents
4th string: D 0.0(no change from standard equal temperament)
5th string: A 0.0(no change from standard equal temperament)
6th string: A -50.0 cents
The tuning on the 6th string will vary depending on the gauge string you use. I used a .52 gauged string which is the largest string that will fit through a standard Floyd Rose saddle/nut and standard 6th string tuning post, but a standard guitar will require modifications to be set up the way Eddie set up his guitar for the song. He used a .60 gauged bass string.
In the September 1986 issue of Guitar World, Eddie and Zeke Clark provided some information about the three main live guitars that Eddie used on the 5150 tour, including the specs used for “Good Enough”. The ‘1984’ Kramer (that Eddie gave Wolfgang as a gift and that is now in his possession today) was fitted with a black Floyd Rose system that was then reamed out to fit a .60 gauged Steinberger bass string which is a D string in a Steinberger light gauged 4-string bass set of strings. Of course the double ball-ends were removed. So the saddle, Floyd nut and the tuning post had to be filed to accommodate this larger string. This is how Eddie was able to do his usual Floyd Rose tricks while still having the low A bass note on the bottom. According to the article, this was how the ‘1984’ guitar was set up for the album and live tour versions of “Good Enough”.
2. The overall guitar sounds on the album were still being recorded with Eddie’s main Marshall head and other Marshall amps for the album sessions and the live tours through the end of the 0U812 touring cycles. Eddie got the Soldano SLO-100 head some time around April of 1990. He was first photographed with that head on April 22, 1990 at the opening of the Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas. That amp then became the main amp heard on the ‘For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge’ album. You rightly pointed out the unusual tones coming from the EMG pickups and the Steinberger on “Get Up” and “Summer Nights”…I think that adjustments or just plain differences in EQ approach almost certainly resulted from using the Steinberger versus other standard guitars. Eddie said in the September 1986 issue of Guitar World regarding the Steinberger: “I’m used to a piece of wood and this thing is like plastic. It was kind’ve alien to me. I had to change a few things to make it sound right. For instance, I had to use my amp differently-I had to use a bassier input. But I talked to Ned Steinberger and he made some different pickups. They’re still EMGs, but they’re a little warmer-sounding to me than the ones he (originally) sent to me.
The use of stereo Eventide H949 Harmonizers for the detune chorus sound on the guitars on the whole album is fairly well documented, but it certainly became more pronounced on the ‘5150’ album. I think this is down to Eddie and Donn Landee’s preference at the time.
3. According to Eddie, all the drums on ‘1984’ were Simmons pads and the acoustic snare was still going. Al had to then overdub all the cymbals AFTER the Simmons parts were recorded. Photos of the 5150 studio around the time just after the recording of ‘1984’ and ‘5150’ seem to support this, so to the best of my knowledge, this is exactly how the drums on ‘5150’ were recorded. I just wanted to mention this so that it could be noted that ‘5150’ was not the first all-Simmons Van Halen album.
4. The lead guitar on “Love Walks In” is obviously a neck pickup sound. It is a mystery guitar because there are no interview references to what guitar he used on the recording. The lead on “Love Walks In” is very similar to the lead on “I’ll Wait” which is also a neck pickup sound. The guitar which was used to record the solo on “I’ll Wait” is also a mystery guitar…no interview references for that either. I hear a “gainier” sound on the “Love Walks In” lead parts versus the “I’ll Wait” solo. That could be down to any number of reasons…could be grind from the Eventide? Could be a guitar with a humbucking neck pickup on “Love Walks In” versus a single coil neck pickup on the “I’ll Wait” solo? I do not have a definitive answer. One thing that you seem to be theorizing in your breakdown of this song is that the lead sounds slightly out of tune and that this could be because he used a vintage style strat guitar with single coil pickups and a vintage style, non-locking vibrato system. My ear tells me that the vibrato bar use on both the “I’ll Wait” solo and on the “Love Walks In” leads is a Floyd Rose. They just have a certain slack in the vibrato bar action that screams Floyd Rose to me on both recordings. I have only one theory about a guitar that might have been used on both tracks. In a 1990 Dutch TV interview I saw a sunburst Fender strat with a rosewood board and a black Floyd Rose system on it in the 5150 studio right next to some of Ed’s more famous guitars…ie. the 5150 Kramer, the vintage Flying V, a Ripley, etc. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only strat with the vintage three single coil pickup configuration that Eddie owned with a Floyd Rose vibrato system. At least this is the only one that I’ve ever seen a photograph of. To my mind, this is at least a potential candidate for being the guitar used on the “I’ll Wait” solo and the leads from “Love Walks In”.
5. According to some unverified sources, Eddie used his famous vintage ‘58 Gibson Flying V on the main guitar track for the title song “5150”. There is no vibrato bar work on the main guitar track and this could very well be the case. I can’t substantiate this with any concrete interview reference or other evidence, but it is a possibility. I believe Eddie used the 5150 Kramer for the leads on the track and for most of the leads on the album. I don’t believe there is any vintage strat on this track.
6. As you noted, Eddie used a vintage Fender strat on “Best of Both Worlds”. This has been confirmed by Eddie in interviews, though he has two different vintage strats that would be the likely candidates for use on the recording of “Best of Both Worlds”. One is the 1964 rosewood board sunburst Fender strat on which he carved “5150” into the front of the guitar. He has confirmed that he used that guitar on “Finish What Ya Started” and it might be the vintage strat that he used for the solo on “When It’s Love”. It’s also a possibility that he used it on “Best of Both Worlds”. The other candidate is a 1957 vintage sunburst Fender strat that has a maple Fender Telecaster neck. As far as I can tell, these two strats are the most likely candidates for being the “Best of Both Worlds” vintage strat.
I need to investigate some more on the tunings on “Dreams” and some other things that I may have missed. These were some observations that I wanted to share-I could be totally off base and there’s always new information coming to light, but on first listen to this excellent installment of ‘Runnin’ With The Dweezil’ these are my first thoughts, for whatever they are worth!