EVH ....Eeee-Veeee-Huh??!

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

Friends,  
if you ever wonder who the hell is the man behind the EVH signature?? Well here you see him figurally and litterally behind the first EVH-signature ever made: mister Edwin Van Huik himself.  
It's a man I like a lot. He was always very inspiring for my playing. The time that I was -full of frustration- looking at his 18 fingers on three hands playing on just 4 strings and 1 guitar is over. (I mean: being frustrated, now I'm just admiring)
He's an amazing player, a good and honest bass-shop owner and salesman and a dear friend.  
I guess there will be some colleagues at this side of the pond who will agree with that!  
Thanks  
Paul
 
(Message edited by palembic on January 22, 2003)

[Duncan Muller (muller1007)]

I agree Paul,
 
This is the man who introduced me to Alembic when I was still a kid. Everytime I attended the Music & Harmony fair in Rotterdam, I was drawn to his impressive Alembic demo's. I absolutely fell in love with the Series basses and still am today. Edwin is a great player and a very nice guy. I purchased my very first Alembic through him.
 
Funny thing is that I actually played the bass on the pic during Music & Harmony many years ago. Can't remember exactly when. Somewhere in the late 80's I guess. The first Alembic I ever got my hands on. I was thrilled and forgot all about others basses I tried out before that one.
 
I had that same pic years ago, great to see it again. Thanks.
 
Duncan
 

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

Sssshhhhhhhh Duncan.
Quiet my friend: I had to cut this picture out of the ad to scan it!  
I also played this bass at his home-place. It's where I decided to buy the SII electronics on  my 5 string. I had a MK Deluxe 4 string in Coco-bolo at that time. A guitar I later unforrunately had to sell (***Sigh***)

[Jan Riviere (janriviere)]

Because I own 2 EVH basses, I guess that Paul and Duncan expect me to add some comments on this one ? ;-) Yeah, what more can I say than this is all very true what you guys have already written.
 
Last time I saw that pic was in his bass shop a couple of months ago. The poster  wit that picture was laying in the front of the shop. I told him I still remembered that poster from the first time I saw it around 1989. He joked about it, and immediately ran upstairs and gave me one to hang above my bed. That's Edwin you know. He still got plenty of those posters. I asked him if he still owns that bass, yes, he could never say goodbye to his baby he said. Although my 2 EVH signatures have the same body, Edwin choose to upgrade this one with the Series I electronics. I am not sure about the wood. It is definitely a real killer bass.
 
I know there was a Belgian guy called Walter Stes who ordered two 6 string EVH signature versions (fretted and fretless) around 1990. I don't know if he actually still owns them. If one of those or both comes on the market, count me in !
 
I really would like to know if there are still some other EVH sig players out there. Duncan was the first one I saw around here.
 
Cheers
Jan

[Googe Endeveronte (goooge)]

I was hoping someone would post a who is EVH eventually-
 
did he play in a band?- solo stuff-
 
I hate to sound out of it - but here in the states you dont see too many of these basses around. I never knew they existed until one day someone posted a pic. Any suggested listening from EVH??-Thanks for the posts all..

[Michael Delacerda (dela217)]

Googe - Thanks for posting this.  I didn't want to ask for the same reason!  Who is this guy?  Who does he play for?  Please tell us!...Michael

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

Hey there amigos's,
 
who am i to answer all these questions?
Jan: if I'm well informed Walter Stes's one of the two basses HAS BEEN on the marker  a couple of years ago.
About the woods: the top and back are Macassar Ebony (I think if I remember well), than a laminate of zebrawood, than maplecore. The scale is medium, led position markers in red front and side with luminance pot, SI electronics.
The dimensions of the bass are just between a small-standard and a standard. The model changed a bit afterwards and became more trendy with a longer upper horn.
Googe: I have 1 recording of him on the second Bass-talk CD. I'll transform it for you to an MP3 format and send it. It will be pretty heavy I guess.
Solo artist: yes but not likely, he prefers to play in bands. There goes that rumour -could be a fairy- that he once was voted to the third place as bass-player of the year bu the Bass-player Magazine but (my old but) that could be just a rumour.
Edwin played and plays in different styles of bands: in very funky style music to really pop. I saw him once in Holland with a band: great!  
I always remember him talking about his band playing for the elderly people. He went playing in a rest-home with an accordeonist: walses and stuff. He enjoyed it because the response of those people was so high and it was very demanding for a bass-player: people wanted to dance so you have to be very strict on the beat.
But ...I better let him do the talking. You never know: he can enter this club anytime. I know he's looking.
 
Paul

[Paul Ellsworth (elzie)]

You are not alone Googe. I have never heard of him or the EVH signature bass until this board. It would be great if someone could give a little/bio or history, even some links.
 
Paul sounds like a good candidate for this mission!

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

Po-po-po-pooooom-po-po-poooom (theme of Indiana Jones humming is Paul from-the-other-side coming in).
Friends,
 
I will let the board do the talking. Ron and Susan know edwin very well and they can do some talking together with our beloved Mica. The history of the EVH signature bass is also for me in the darkness of ages (LOL ...back to the eighties).
 
Really, I have NO links.
See it this way: can you imagine three (3) LANDS together (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg) the size of 1 small US STATE! That's the Alembic market we are talking about. So we talk about our heroes on bass and Edwin is (he will hate this) one of them and definitely the one on Alembic. You guys on the other side of the pond have a lot more people on Alembic to choose your heroe from and in US-terms ..they are local.
The market for Alembic here is VERY small and so we are rare in heroes!
I send Ed an email to ask if he would be so kind to join us so he can answer for himself. I know he's looking, I just try to push him in, but (yes-yes my but) he's rather shy!
It's why I did the picture posting. Just kind of saying: he lsiten guys we have our heroes too over here ;-)
We keep in touch!
Stay at the low-end!
 
Paul

[Dino Monoxelos (dean_m)]

Hey Guys,
 
I've been out of town for a while.  I was at a trade show (NAMM).  If I remember correctly, Edwin was a featured player, years ago in either Bass Player or maybe even as far back as Guitar Player in Mike Varney's spotlight column.  I remember this because he was the only guy ever pictured with two Alembics in his promo shot.
 
Paul L.  I got your message the other day!!!  Thank you so much for calling.  The baby is doing just great as is the rest of the family.  I promise I will call soon.  I'm getting caught up from my trip.
 
Peace to you all - Dino

[Jan Riviere (janriviere)]

If I remember well, the history of the EVH signature started in the late eighties (my oldest one was born in 88). It was also the time the SC en MK signatures just saw the light. Those days Edwin worked for a Dutch distributor Wills who imported Alembics for the Benelux (Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg) so Edwin saw and had a lot of time testing all kinds of Alembics. It was obvious he had (and still has) a close relationship with the Wickersham family, so the idea started to draw his own signature version. He was sure he could sell a lot of them. The EVH signature has a lot in common with the SC and MK signatures. The only differences are, instead of a pan and a volume, it has 2 volumes like the series basses, and a very handy electronics on/off switch with a led so you can see if your bass is on (and using energy) or off. The body shape is unique and very balanced. Some people don?t like to hear this, but the body is ideal to put the bass standing without a stand. This is not a habit of mine, but it happens sometimes. My oldest (88) had 2 position q-switches that I changed to 3-position switches last year.  My 5 string (90) already had the 3-position switch.  
 
We (Duncan and myself) recently discovered that the shape of the EVH sig changed during the nineties. It was some surprise for both of us I guess.
 
Edwin, if you are reading this, correct me if I am wrong somewhere. And please introduce yourself on the board. I am sure you can give us some great input.  
 
Paul: it is a pity that already one of those 6 strings is somewhere out there. If anyone in our area should ever see an EVH signature, please post it on this board. I would really like to know.  
 
And for al those non-European readers: I think it is quiet normal that you never spotted an EVH alembic in you area. It was Edwin himself that promoted that signature in his shop.
 
PS: You can find Edwin?s bass shop at http://www.connectionbult.com/
 
Cheers
Jan

[Michael Delacerda (dela217)]

Okay.  So after all of that, does anyone know a band he played in so I can check out a CD?  I am sure he did not get a bass named after him just for being a session guy like me.  Why is this such a mystery?

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

Michael and other bass-friends,
 
it's not that mistery!
Edwin is just a very (VERY) good bass-player. A talent also discovered by the Wickersham family in the eighties. Pu this together with a deal of commercial interest bringing Alembic to the public by using heroes. I know SC, MK, JJ and EVH hates to be called like that but hey ...it's reality.
Now you have to understand that being a hero in the US (check the number of bassplayers in the US) is something completely different than in another country. I agree that the US is not a country for you all on that side of the pond: there ARE major cultural differences between Helena and El Paso, between San Jose and Raleigh. You have to understand that for us US outsiders on EVERY product you make stands US and we consider it as a whole, so as a country.
Now putting things together: if you had to market a high-end bass in those years (eighties) you look for heroes to make signature basses.
For a region in Europe Edwin was the one. He was/is an Alembic devotee. He worked in the BENELUX, has good relations in Germany a region with high rated potential markets. Plus -we may not forget- Edwin was (still is) very talented, even on world scale, but ... hey friends you US guys have a whole lot more people to choose from.
The contribution Edwin made to Alembic were also on design level. Back in the eighties there were in fact just the Standard, the Small Standard and coming up the Distillate body design. The EVH was VERY ergonomically designed with an absolute perfect balance but with no longer upper horns: those designs (Elan, Rogue, Excel, Europa) date from later.
 
Michael: it's not a mistery, the bass was -in my opinion- never made for serving the US market but for the EU market and with a EU signature on it: Edwins! I admire the honesty of Alembic on this to let the EVH in the Signature department. I guess 99% of the world market never HEARD about the thing. But ...hey... we (that 1%) is also market.
 
I got Edwin on the phone this morning and he promised me to register on the site but I believe him when he said that he's very busy in his business right now. He told me also about a new musical project he is starting up and promised me some (recent) musical links.
 
I'm feeling a little bit embarrassed for what I started here but you have to understand on your side of the pond that things are of a different scale over here. I started this only because the department was started to put in the light artist with an Alembic, and this is one I admire a lot an with me a lot of other people in EU (unfortunately they not all know about the existance of this amazing club).
 
Take care!
 
Paul

[Paul Ellsworth (elzie)]

That is good info Paul and I look forward to meeting Edwin on the site, after all, any friend of yours can't be bad
 
Are there any songs that we may be able to buy or download with him playing on it? It would be great to hear him and that awesome looking EVH Alembic!
 
Paul (the other one)

[Michael Delacerda (dela217)]

Thank you Paul.  I was under the impression that Edwin was another musical giant, so to speak, like MK or SC.  I thought I was missing something that everyone else was in on except me. I am sure he is an incredible musician.  After all, he chose Alembic!  Thank you very much for clearing that up.  Looking forward to reading his posts and of course one day hearing him play!