What's Eddie Van Halen’s Most Difficult Guitar Riff to Play?

[HueyRamone]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mqr_u87kPE

Sammy and Joe weigh in.

[GreatWhiteSnake]

Not really a riff but for me it's the Mean Street intro. Baffling...

[HueyRamone]

Not really a riff but for me it's the Mean Streets intro. Baffling...

I can see you didnt watch the vid.

[GreatWhiteSnake]

Not really a riff but for me it's the Mean Streets intro. Baffling...

I can see you didnt watch the vid.

I knew that's what it would be...

[Anthrax442]

A few notes from listening to Good Enough and 5150:

1) Satriani is GIGANTIC upgrade from Vic Johnson on the Eddie material, but he still needs to work on the tone a bit (possibly studio issues)
2) Michael is going to be covering for Sammy a lot, just like how their last tour was. Maybe Sammy wasn't warmed up enough, but he was definitely struggling just on those two tracks, I don't know how he's going to make it through a whole set.
3) Bonham is fucking boring

[Gwrexx]

A few notes from listening to Good Enough and 5150:

1) Satriani is GIGANTIC upgrade from Vic Johnson on the Eddie material, but he still needs to work on the tone a bit (possibly studio issues)
2) Michael is going to be covering for Sammy a lot, just like how their last tour was. Maybe Sammy wasn't warmed up enough, but he was definitely struggling just on those two tracks, I don't know how he's going to make it through a whole set.
3) Bonham is fucking boring

Sammy is 76 and got up at 6 am to sing and be interviewed on Stern…he’ll be fine at the shows..

[SterileEyes1]

They are correct. I’ve played my share of VH stuff over the years but definitely never bothered trying to fuck with that intro.

The four-fingered-tapping breakdown to “Judgement Day” is another one that’s been firmly in my ‘you’re not even close to ever being capable of doing this so don’t ever bother trying’ column.

[Anthrax442]

A few notes from listening to Good Enough and 5150:

1) Satriani is GIGANTIC upgrade from Vic Johnson on the Eddie material, but he still needs to work on the tone a bit (possibly studio issues)
2) Michael is going to be covering for Sammy a lot, just like how their last tour was. Maybe Sammy wasn't warmed up enough, but he was definitely struggling just on those two tracks, I don't know how he's going to make it through a whole set.
3) Bonham is fucking boring

Sammy is 76 and got up at 6 am to sing and be interviewed on Stern…he’ll be fine at the shows..

Sammy couldn't get through a whole set in summer of 2022. Just throwing it out there.

[HoldenSSV]

Summer Nights? Back in the day you needed a Steinberger or whatever to play it.

[Sleek]

For me, it has always been the into riff to "I'm the one" off the first album.

Intellectually, I know it is a sped-up boogie shuffle thing ala ZZ Top, but I have never been able to get the goddam rhythm right.

I mean, fuck this shit: https://youtu.be/EllEztdbBhg

[Ozzy Stradlin]

“Girl Gone Bad” might be challenging.

[BernieTaupson]

Summer Nights? Back in the day you needed a Steinberger or whatever to play it.

Just for the intro and when it repeats in the middle section. Slap a capo on the third fret and you’re good to go.

Fire In The Hole is more challenging, he’s changing it back and forth multiple times in the song. Then the outro part is different again it drops down to like C I think.

[aznsquirt]

For me, it has always been the into riff to "I'm the one" off the first album.

Intellectually, I know it is a sped-up boogie shuffle thing ala ZZ Top, but I have never been able to get the goddam rhythm right.

I mean, fuck this shit: https://youtu.be/EllEztdbBhg

An even better riff (tee hee) on the same idea is the intro riff to Hang 'Em High. At least with I'm the One, you can clearly hear the shuffle, but Hang Em High is so fast that it sounds like straight 16ths, so people always play it wrong and don't realize that to do it right is actually fucking impossible:

This is inhuman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39U3cc4OCwg

[fatscott]

Not really a riff but for me it's the Mean Streets intro. Baffling...

NO FUCKING "S".

[Hellbound]

Not really a riff but for me it's the Mean Streets intro. Baffling...

NO FUCKING "S".

Thank you, I had no fucking clue what song he meant.

[Bono Nettencourt]

Not really a riff but for me it's the Mean Streets intro. Baffling...

NO FUCKING "S".

Thank you, I had no fucking clue what song he meant.

Neither did he.

[DiamondDog]

Not really a riff but for me it's the Mean Streets intro. Baffling...

NO FUCKING "S".

"Mean Treet"?

[VinceVanLane]

For me, it has always been the into riff to "I'm the one" off the first album.

Intellectually, I know it is a sped-up boogie shuffle thing ala ZZ Top, but I have never been able to get the goddam rhythm right.

I mean, fuck this shit: https://youtu.be/EllEztdbBhg

An even better riff (tee hee) on the same idea is the intro riff to Hang 'Em High. At least with I'm the One, you can clearly hear the shuffle, but Hang Em High is so fast that it sounds like straight 16ths, so people always play it wrong and don't realize that to do it right is actually fucking impossible:

This is inhuman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39U3cc4OCwg

You must have seen this video because it talks about how difficult it is to play and that it's not all straight 16ths. He slows it down and you can hear the swing in it that everybody misses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GJO2SovRgU

[sirthx2]

For me, it has always been the into riff to "I'm the one" off the first album.

Intellectually, I know it is a sped-up boogie shuffle thing ala ZZ Top, but I have never been able to get the goddam rhythm right.

I mean, fuck this shit: https://youtu.be/EllEztdbBhg

An even better riff (tee hee) on the same idea is the intro riff to Hang 'Em High. At least with I'm the One, you can clearly hear the shuffle, but Hang Em High is so fast that it sounds like straight 16ths, so people always play it wrong and don't realize that to do it right is actually fucking impossible:

This is inhuman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39U3cc4OCwg

You must have seen this video because it talks about how difficult it is to play and that it's not all straight 16ths. He slows it down and you can hear the swing in it that everybody misses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GJO2SovRgU

Ben is awesome. He does a great job breaking shit down and is entertaining to boot.

[aznsquirt]

You must have seen this video because it talks about how difficult it is to play and that it's not all straight 16ths. He slows it down and you can hear the swing in it that everybody misses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GJO2SovRgU

Yup. I don't know why I didn't just link that in my post. Ben rules.

[juano]

Not really a riff but for me it's the Mean Street intro. Baffling...

Here is a dude named Jacob(?) playing it:
https://fb.watch/omCkMr5vfP/

[Anthrax442]

You must have seen this video because it talks about how difficult it is to play and that it's not all straight 16ths. He slows it down and you can hear the swing in it that everybody misses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GJO2SovRgU

Yup. I don't know why I didn't just link that in my post. Ben rules.

This guy has Ed's tone down far better than Satch in those clips from Howard. I hope that gets remedied before the tour.

[GreatWhiteSnake]

Not really a riff but for me it's the Mean Street intro. Baffling...

Here is a dude named Jacob(?) playing it:
https://fb.watch/omCkMr5vfP/

If I could ever pull that off cleanly, even once, I could die happy...

[killdrum]

“Girl Gone Bad” might be challenging.

Good call! That one really is a mesh of old style Ed with fresh chord voicings. Defiantly a challenging one.

[DangerZone]

“Girl Gone Bad” might be challenging.

Good call! That one really is a mesh of old style Ed with fresh chord voicings. Defiantly a challenging one.

yes, that’s the one I was gonna say but wasn’t sure of the name-
Even tough to hum to someone to figure out the title

[Traxan]

For me, it has always been the into riff to "I'm the one" off the first album.

Intellectually, I know it is a sped-up boogie shuffle thing ala ZZ Top, but I have never been able to get the goddam rhythm right.

I mean, fuck this shit: https://youtu.be/EllEztdbBhg

Live version from 2013. Nice shots of Ed. Roth sounds passable and Wolf does a great job holding down the low end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuR_uRtvKz4

[Mister Freeze]

A few notes from listening to Good Enough and 5150:

1) Satriani is GIGANTIC upgrade from Vic Johnson on the Eddie material, but he still needs to work on the tone a bit (possibly studio issues)
2) Michael is going to be covering for Sammy a lot, just like how their last tour was. Maybe Sammy wasn't warmed up enough, but he was definitely struggling just on those two tracks, I don't know how he's going to make it through a whole set.
3) Bonham is fucking boring

Sammy is 76 and got up at 6 am to sing and be interviewed on Stern…he’ll be fine at the shows..

Sammy couldn't get through a whole set in summer of 2022. Just throwing it out there.

Hagar sounds like Pavarotti compared to his (younger) contemporaries, whose vocals have totally fallen off a cliff: Axl Rose, Paul Stanley, Jon Bon Jovi, Vince Neil, the list goes on.

Out of all the '70s/'80s rock stars still out there, he's one of the few vocalists left worth seeing. I've seen one of his "off" shows and it was still a fun time. He has a few tricks to avoid the high notes, but the guy is 76 - four years shy of Biden - and still pulls it off.

[VinceVanLane]

Sammy is 76 and got up at 6 am to sing and be interviewed on Stern…he’ll be fine at the shows..

Sammy couldn't get through a whole set in summer of 2022. Just throwing it out there.

Hagar sounds like Pavarotti compared to his (younger) contemporaries, whose vocals have totally fallen off a cliff: Axl Rose, Paul Stanley, Jon Bon Jovi, Vince Neil, the list goes on.

Out of all the '70s/'80s rock stars still out there, he's one of the few vocalists left worth seeing. I've seen one of his "off" shows and it was still a fun time. He has a few tricks to avoid the high notes, but the guy is 76 - four years shy of Biden - and still pulls it off.

100%. You still walk away feeling like you saw Sammy Hagar, and it's always a party. I don't think anybody would leave a show feeling ripped off. He puts his younger contemporaries to shame. Alice Cooper is another one that still sounds the same, granted his range wasn't all that huge to begin with and he's always looked old, but he's still a 75 year old guy with energy who makes guys 15/20 years younger than him look silly.

[aznsquirt]

For me, it has always been the into riff to "I'm the one" off the first album.

Intellectually, I know it is a sped-up boogie shuffle thing ala ZZ Top, but I have never been able to get the goddam rhythm right.

I mean, fuck this shit: https://youtu.be/EllEztdbBhg

Live version from 2013. Nice shots of Ed. Roth sounds passable and Wolf does a great job holding down the low end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuR_uRtvKz4

I've always used this clip as an example of a mindfuckingly-tight band. The rhythm section, particularly from about 1:28 to 1:45 is some of the tightest fucking playing I've ever heard.

[Bono Nettencourt]

Sammy couldn't get through a whole set in summer of 2022. Just throwing it out there.

Hagar sounds like Pavarotti compared to his (younger) contemporaries, whose vocals have totally fallen off a cliff: Axl Rose, Paul Stanley, Jon Bon Jovi, Vince Neil, the list goes on.

Out of all the '70s/'80s rock stars still out there, he's one of the few vocalists left worth seeing. I've seen one of his "off" shows and it was still a fun time. He has a few tricks to avoid the high notes, but the guy is 76 - four years shy of Biden - and still pulls it off.

100%. You still walk away feeling like you saw Sammy Hagar, and it's always a party. I don't think anybody would leave a show feeling ripped off. He puts his younger contemporaries to shame. Alice Cooper is another one that still sounds the same, granted his range wasn't all that huge to begin with and he's always looked old, but he's still a 75 year old guy with energy who makes guys 15/20 years younger than him look silly.

There's not a lot of room to decline when you were never that good to begin with.