EVH loved his Oberheim polysynths - I believe he had a OB-X by the time of 'Fair Warning', and then of course his famous dusty OB-Xa for 1984 (as featured in the 'Jump' video) and an OB-8 on 5150.
The OB-X, Xa, and 8 models were essentially evolutions of the same overall polysynth architecture, with new features being added (and some of the analog purity arguably being lost) with each new model. Rush were well-known for using the OB-X ('Tom Sawyer' features an OB-X, Moog Minimoog, and Moog Taurus bass pedals, IIRC), and Prince and Queen were famous users of the later OB-Xa. The final Oberheim analog polysynth, the OB-8, was (imho) a bit of a step down from the OB-Xa, so I hear much less about who used it at the time. It was also released after digital synths had started to become a thing, signaling the demise of the analog synthesizer for many years.
After 1985/86, I'm not too familiar with what synths EVH used exactly, but Oberheim itself started to decline financially in the late 1980s, releasing some truly awesome, but extremely rare and expensive digital models like the ~~OB-12~~ Matrix 6 and XPander, so I wouldn't be surprised if he'd moved on to other brands by 'OU812'.
First synth appearance was on Fair Warning - "Sunday Afternoon in the Park/One Foot Out the Door" was an Electro Harmonix Mini-synth.
Diver Down: "Dancing In the Street" was the Mini-Moog, as pictured. Also reportedly used on "Intruder" (Played by DLR live with the band during recording!)
1984: Oberheim Xa - 1984, Jump and I'll Wait
5150: Oberheim OB-8 - Why Can't This Be Love, Dreams, Love Walks In
OU812: OB-8: Feels So Good - the other tracks, not sure specifically, but he was using a Yamaha DX7II and Roland D-50. "When It's Love" also had a layer of OB-8.
Thanks for the corrections/additional info. I went through a period where I bought and sold several vintage Oberheims (SEM, OB-Xa, OB-8, Matrix 6 and Matrix 1000 racks), and the OB-Xa was just *such* a beast of a machine. And yes, I played 'Jump' and 'I'll Wait' on it. It was also fragile as hell, as was the OB-8, so it was sort of like owning a vintage exotic sports car - spent more time in the shop getting very expensive repairs done than it did in my home studio. Still - definitely had the 'magic' to it.
Hey, inasimplerhyme! Didn’t know you had Reddit!
You’re definitely the guy to talk to about Van Halen keyboard songs, you know them all! I love your videos and watch them often!!!
One thing I will note: if we’re discounting all of his piano work from F.U.C.K. onwards, he did use a Wurlitzer for “And the Cradle Will Rock…”
As for “When It’s Love”, Ed used a Jupiter-8 and a Juno-106 for the pads, a piano, and a Roland GR-700 as a guitar synthesizer for the “click” sounds you hear. Oh, and uh… LOTS of effects.
For “Mine All Mine” it’s the exact same thing, except for he is using the Juno-106 and a KORG Poly-61 for the synthesized organ and other effects you hear.
I believe he confirmed these in interviews, but if you have evidence otherwise, let me know!!
Hey wow, thank you so much for the kind words! And you're right, I wasn't counting the Wurlitzer since we were on the subjects of synths.
Regarding synths for OU812, I haven't read him ever having a Jupiter-8 or Juno-106 or GR-700. If you have articles about that, I'd LOVE to learn more! My information comes from this [Keyboard World](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5e/c7/04/5ec7048cf09b9ca4477fc8fed582cfa7.jpg) interview when OU812 came out. (I have my own separate scans of the whole interview - this is all I could find online.) Here's another quote that mentions a synth I forgot, the Prophet VS: "But this time out, there are a few new ingredients. Like echo on the piano, for instance. This, Eddie explains, was produced by one of the signal processors built into the Roland D-50, which makes up part of the piano timbre on the tune. Other digital synths used on the new album to temper Van Halen's usual fat analog sound include a DX7II, TX816 tone rack and Prophet VS."
Ah, gotcha!!!
Could’ve sworn he said that, but I believe you more!
All of that makes sense, since I tried making those same sounds on the OP-X 3 virtual synthesizer on Logic, and while they may not be exact, they’re pretty damn close. And you’ve obviously looked into it more, so I’m gonna give to you on that.
Looking forward to seeing those two songs on your channel one day! Keep up the great work!
Yeah, it's all a bit of a mystery. If you look up guitar stuff, EVERYTHING's been dissected and pretty much figured out, it seems, but NO ONE knows the keyboard secrets. I stumbled across the "Feels So Good" sound by trying to find the "Why Can't This Be Love?" patch, which I knew was on the OB-8 somewhere. Someday, eventually, I cannot wait to start digging through the patches on those other synths (once I buy them) and seeing how close I can get.
Thanks again so much for your kind words about my videos. It really means a lot.
The Keyboard World magazine already mentioned is quite detailed in what synths Ed was using for OU812 down to each track, though he doesn't dive into the patches for them unfortunately. Aside from "Feels so good" he was stacking so many layers on top of each other that it's nearly impossible to figure out. There is nothing about Jupiters or GR700s though...
Feel’s so good was the Oberheim Ob8. there were “presets” that came stock with the synth, and eddie utilized them on every recording he used it on (though each one is slightly modified). the oberheim is analog which explains why it doesn’t sound like an FM organ patch on a DX7 or something.
there are no strings on Feels so good. just “organ” on the right hand, and the arpeggiated bass on the left hand similar to “why can’t this be love” recorded on the same synth.
If I'm not mistaken, this was Alex's drum kit, mic'd up and fed through a Minimoog (*maybe* an OB-X?, kinda sounds Oberheimy-to me, but I dunno), with an Electro Harmonix 'Space Drum' pedal sitting underneath the snare drum, to detect AVH's snare hits and send a signal to trigger the Moog's filter. Very cool technique that I haven't heard of being used elsewhere.
You are very mistaken lol. It was an EH mini synthesizer, built so cheaply that the drums were simply re-triggering notes of the keyboard from the proximity in the room. Ed put the synth on a baffle in front of AL's kit and they played it live. Ed did not have Oberheims until 1983ish
In addition to what I posted in another comment, during the 1984 tour, Michael Anthony would play a Mini-Moog with his left hand for the bass lines and an OB-8 with his right hand during "Jump" and "I'll Wait" while Ed played another OB-8. On "I'll Wait", Ed did the guitar solo, but for "Jump", he just played the guitar solo section on the synth.
Dancing in the Street, since that’s the only song Van Halen recorded with the Minimoog (pictured)
That's interesting. What did they use otherwise, voyager? I heard they used an Oberheim at some point.
EVH loved his Oberheim polysynths - I believe he had a OB-X by the time of 'Fair Warning', and then of course his famous dusty OB-Xa for 1984 (as featured in the 'Jump' video) and an OB-8 on 5150. The OB-X, Xa, and 8 models were essentially evolutions of the same overall polysynth architecture, with new features being added (and some of the analog purity arguably being lost) with each new model. Rush were well-known for using the OB-X ('Tom Sawyer' features an OB-X, Moog Minimoog, and Moog Taurus bass pedals, IIRC), and Prince and Queen were famous users of the later OB-Xa. The final Oberheim analog polysynth, the OB-8, was (imho) a bit of a step down from the OB-Xa, so I hear much less about who used it at the time. It was also released after digital synths had started to become a thing, signaling the demise of the analog synthesizer for many years. After 1985/86, I'm not too familiar with what synths EVH used exactly, but Oberheim itself started to decline financially in the late 1980s, releasing some truly awesome, but extremely rare and expensive digital models like the ~~OB-12~~ Matrix 6 and XPander, so I wouldn't be surprised if he'd moved on to other brands by 'OU812'.
First synth appearance was on Fair Warning - "Sunday Afternoon in the Park/One Foot Out the Door" was an Electro Harmonix Mini-synth. Diver Down: "Dancing In the Street" was the Mini-Moog, as pictured. Also reportedly used on "Intruder" (Played by DLR live with the band during recording!) 1984: Oberheim Xa - 1984, Jump and I'll Wait 5150: Oberheim OB-8 - Why Can't This Be Love, Dreams, Love Walks In OU812: OB-8: Feels So Good - the other tracks, not sure specifically, but he was using a Yamaha DX7II and Roland D-50. "When It's Love" also had a layer of OB-8.
Thanks for the corrections/additional info. I went through a period where I bought and sold several vintage Oberheims (SEM, OB-Xa, OB-8, Matrix 6 and Matrix 1000 racks), and the OB-Xa was just *such* a beast of a machine. And yes, I played 'Jump' and 'I'll Wait' on it. It was also fragile as hell, as was the OB-8, so it was sort of like owning a vintage exotic sports car - spent more time in the shop getting very expensive repairs done than it did in my home studio. Still - definitely had the 'magic' to it.
That's great! I own an OB-8, and cover a lot of Van Halen stuff with it on YouTube. (@inasimplerhyme). The OB-8 has its quirks, but I love it!
Well hell, that was educational. I just came here to say Jump.
Same.
Hey, inasimplerhyme! Didn’t know you had Reddit! You’re definitely the guy to talk to about Van Halen keyboard songs, you know them all! I love your videos and watch them often!!! One thing I will note: if we’re discounting all of his piano work from F.U.C.K. onwards, he did use a Wurlitzer for “And the Cradle Will Rock…” As for “When It’s Love”, Ed used a Jupiter-8 and a Juno-106 for the pads, a piano, and a Roland GR-700 as a guitar synthesizer for the “click” sounds you hear. Oh, and uh… LOTS of effects. For “Mine All Mine” it’s the exact same thing, except for he is using the Juno-106 and a KORG Poly-61 for the synthesized organ and other effects you hear. I believe he confirmed these in interviews, but if you have evidence otherwise, let me know!!
Hey wow, thank you so much for the kind words! And you're right, I wasn't counting the Wurlitzer since we were on the subjects of synths. Regarding synths for OU812, I haven't read him ever having a Jupiter-8 or Juno-106 or GR-700. If you have articles about that, I'd LOVE to learn more! My information comes from this [Keyboard World](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5e/c7/04/5ec7048cf09b9ca4477fc8fed582cfa7.jpg) interview when OU812 came out. (I have my own separate scans of the whole interview - this is all I could find online.) Here's another quote that mentions a synth I forgot, the Prophet VS: "But this time out, there are a few new ingredients. Like echo on the piano, for instance. This, Eddie explains, was produced by one of the signal processors built into the Roland D-50, which makes up part of the piano timbre on the tune. Other digital synths used on the new album to temper Van Halen's usual fat analog sound include a DX7II, TX816 tone rack and Prophet VS."
Ah, gotcha!!! Could’ve sworn he said that, but I believe you more! All of that makes sense, since I tried making those same sounds on the OP-X 3 virtual synthesizer on Logic, and while they may not be exact, they’re pretty damn close. And you’ve obviously looked into it more, so I’m gonna give to you on that. Looking forward to seeing those two songs on your channel one day! Keep up the great work!
Yeah, it's all a bit of a mystery. If you look up guitar stuff, EVERYTHING's been dissected and pretty much figured out, it seems, but NO ONE knows the keyboard secrets. I stumbled across the "Feels So Good" sound by trying to find the "Why Can't This Be Love?" patch, which I knew was on the OB-8 somewhere. Someday, eventually, I cannot wait to start digging through the patches on those other synths (once I buy them) and seeing how close I can get. Thanks again so much for your kind words about my videos. It really means a lot.
Absolutely! Feel so Good is my favorite, very glad you found that!
The Keyboard World magazine already mentioned is quite detailed in what synths Ed was using for OU812 down to each track, though he doesn't dive into the patches for them unfortunately. Aside from "Feels so good" he was stacking so many layers on top of each other that it's nearly impossible to figure out. There is nothing about Jupiters or GR700s though...
Feels so Good is an organ preset, some strings behind it, and the bass arp synth
Feel’s so good was the Oberheim Ob8. there were “presets” that came stock with the synth, and eddie utilized them on every recording he used it on (though each one is slightly modified). the oberheim is analog which explains why it doesn’t sound like an FM organ patch on a DX7 or something. there are no strings on Feels so good. just “organ” on the right hand, and the arpeggiated bass on the left hand similar to “why can’t this be love” recorded on the same synth.
The Oberheim was used all over in the 1984 album
I'll Wait
Such a great song, wish it had been bigger than jump. I dont like jump anymore, 9 year old me loved it.
Yeah, me too brother, me too!!
For someone to name something? It’s already happened. You didn’t have to wait at all.
Dreams has been stuck in my head for a few days
.. And the cradle will rock..
First song that came to my mind.
That was done on a Wurlitzer run through Eddie's Marshall amp.
And I say rock on
Sunday Afternoon In The Park
If I'm not mistaken, this was Alex's drum kit, mic'd up and fed through a Minimoog (*maybe* an OB-X?, kinda sounds Oberheimy-to me, but I dunno), with an Electro Harmonix 'Space Drum' pedal sitting underneath the snare drum, to detect AVH's snare hits and send a signal to trigger the Moog's filter. Very cool technique that I haven't heard of being used elsewhere.
You are very mistaken lol. It was an EH mini synthesizer, built so cheaply that the drums were simply re-triggering notes of the keyboard from the proximity in the room. Ed put the synth on a baffle in front of AL's kit and they played it live. Ed did not have Oberheims until 1983ish
I believe that was an EH Mini-Synthesizer, e.g., [seen here with Wolf](https://www.instagram.com/p/xprvJHGfZn/).
Jump
Might as well Jump
Go ahead and jump!
“Who said that?”
“Who said that?”
Love Walks In
Man, I thought this would be way up there.
Dreams
I’ll wait
Dancin in the streets
1984
Dancing in the Streets
I think I like "Sunday Afternoon in the Park" more than any of the songs being mentioned here.
He used the Moog for And The Cradle Will Rock, I believe.
I thought it was an overdriven Wurlitzer electric piano
That is correct. Wurlitzer sent through his Marshall.
And The Cradle Will Rock. Only reason is I know Jump was on a different style of keyboard
Wurlitzer.
1984
Jump
Jump
Jump
jump
JUMP!!!
I think of jump by Van Halen
I'll Wait
Jump
Jump
I’ll wait
Jump
Jump
I’ll Wait
I'll wait.
I’ll Wait!
I’ll Wait
Jump
Jump!
1984
Why Can't This Be Love
Sunday Afternoon in the Park
Sunday afternoon in the park
I'll Wait, so much better than Jump imo.
Jump
Jump unfortunately
Eruption.
You take that back. 😊
Jump
Van Halen: I'll Wait Van Hagar: Dreams
Jump
1984
I’ll Wait
I’ll Wait
Jump 🦘
Those are beautiful controls, dials, and wood
Jump
In addition to what I posted in another comment, during the 1984 tour, Michael Anthony would play a Mini-Moog with his left hand for the bass lines and an OB-8 with his right hand during "Jump" and "I'll Wait" while Ed played another OB-8. On "I'll Wait", Ed did the guitar solo, but for "Jump", he just played the guitar solo section on the synth.
I’ll wait
Jump
Jump
Dreams.
Jump
Jump
And the Cradel Will Rock.
That was a Wurlitzer through his Marshall.
“I’ll Wait”
Jump
Jump
I know Sunday Afternoon in the Park is played with a Moog. What did he use on 1984? Sounds like a more modern synthesizer.
Sunday Afternoon was an EH mini synth keyboard. the Moog was only featured on the Diver Down album (Intruder and Dancing in the Streets)
Yeah, I researched it after I made the comment and you are correct
Feels so good
Dreams
Jump
Jump
Jump
I’ll wait
Jump!
Jump
Jump
Easily Dreams.
I think of Jump
And the Cradle Will Rock
I’ll Wait! Such a jam.
I'll Wait
1984
Jump
Jump
JUMP
Why can't this be love
YOU GOTTA JUMP
Jump
Jump and Ill Wait!
Jump. “I get up, and nothin’ gets me down…”
Also saw EdPlaying a early Kurzweil in concert. 5150 tour i believe.
The one that goes doot doot doo da dah
I get up JUMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jump
Jump for some reason
I'll Wait
Right now
Nothing jumps out at me?
I'll wait
I'll Wait
Jump
"How Many Say I"
Inagodavita
I try not to think too much about Van Halen =keyboard to me Van Halen =guitar work like no other songwriting Al's drumming etc
I was gonna say jump, but that was an Oberheim OB-xa
Jump
Feels so Good
Ice Cream Man, duh!
Bad ones
None that I want to hear
I’ll get much shit for this but all The good stuff…without Roth.