NAMM 2011 — Indeed, a central part of Ed’s entire amazing history is that no off-the-shelf guitar or amp rig could deliver the sounds he envisioned during those ’70s formative years, so he was always tinkering incessantly with his gear. His amps always wound up being “Van Halen-ized” in some way or another as Eddie dug into them, changing this and adjusting that, pursuing previously unheard sounds that would soon propel him to rock greatness. Van Halen expected as much from his amps as he did from his hands and his guitars, and he pushed them hard to get what he wanted.