RIP Eddie Van Halen. What was your first stereo you rocked to VH on?

Great info about the tunes in this article.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/arts/music/eddie-van-halen-songs.html?action=click&module=Rel...

@decooney  Brilliant interview.

To EVH Diehards, fans of his guitars, the sound, a peek inside his mind and how it worked. Worth watching >>Interview with Eddie Van Halen: Is Rock "n" Roll about Reinvention?<< https://youtu.be/yb26D8bBZB8

1982 Diver Down Cassette on my Candle "4 Speaker" "Ghetto Blaster".

If you look at how many "hits" they had between both Sam & Dave (couldn't help myself there), it's quite the catalog. Never saw them live or Tom Petty (regret it now of course).

VH 1st album was all you heard from car stereos when I was in high school...and clouds of smoke pouring out the windows. I saw them in 80, row 7 on the floor smack in the middle, Edmonton AB. He was a true master of his craft....RIP Eddie and thanks for the music and memories.

1978 , VH opened up for Black Sabbath at Mchichols  Arena, in Denver,, Colorado,I was 18, , I was blown away by Eddie's guitar playing, I have seen VH 15 times over the last 42 years, audio equipment I had  at the time was a Marantz 2500(still have it, and everything still works, ) Pioneer HPM 150's, a Akai 570 D2 , cassette player, still have it , a HK turntable, with a ortofon mc cartridge,  I still have over 100 albumns, and over 125 tour shirts, 

I was in 7th grade and Running With the Devil was my anthem. Music was everything though I did not anticipate a lifetime of immersion in it and joy from it. I saved enough money from neighborhood handyman jobs to buy something. So after seeing an ad in the newspaper, I took the bus to the department store and plunked down a few hundred for an all in one Fisher hifi. Speakers, receiver/amp, turntable all in one huge box that I schlepped back home on the bus. Took that kit to college. Played an awful lot of VH on it and still haven’t heard a better guitarist than Eddie. RIP, man. 

I was not a VH fan at first, I mostly listened to Jazz, Blues, Fusion, and more "Classic" rock. In later years I became a big fan of both the Van Halen and Van Hagar years.I remember vividly the first time I heard "Running With the Devil" which was the first time I’d heard Van Halen, though I can’t say what it was being played on. I can attest that whatever the rig it was more than up to the task. Most of us had decent stereos back then, a lot of Pioneers and Advent speakers. I was going to a house party on the East side of Detroit one evening. It was early summer 1978 and it was hot. No one had AC back then and the windows were all open. I had to park down the street and as I walked up I could hear and see the house was packed and "Running With the Devil" was playing - LOUDLY. The neighbors must have loved it.
That’s still not my favorite VH song, not enough texture. But it left quite an impression on me, I can still remember it in sweet detail, 42 years later.

I had just bought a Linn, my previous tt was Garrard Lab 80.  That played into a Ferrograph integrated amp and tall Cambridge R50 transmission line speakers.  Good English system.  I particularly liked the speakers.

In the early 80s I bought a used Simon Yorke Zarathustra and sold the Linn; even then Linn was becoming B grade.  I added Musical Fidelity's first product, the Pre-Amp and Krell's, the KSA 50.  I still have the iconic Krell but the build quality on the Pre-Amp killed it off and I replaced it with the also iconic Audio Research SP10.

Never did move much to Eddie VH but RIP in any case and meet some of the real giants from before in the band in the sky.

@jlistens
...Think I'll go crank up eruption and annoy my kids.

Best celebration of life comment yet, and we all can imagine a laugh and grin from Eddie on that one.  

It was my first system, bought with paper route money. General electric quadraphonic w/8track. Got it at a discount at the company store because my dad worked there. I'm sure my dad regretted driving down to pick it up. Van Halen, Deep Purple and of course Pink Ployd. It had a joystick balance control which could be used to make the helicopter fly around the room.Eddie is one of those guys who will always be young talented and so damn cool in our minds. Think I'll go crank up eruption and annoy my kids

I remember Van Halen, BTO, Pink Floyd and others, blasting, to my parents dismay, on my pioneer SX-535 receiver, project 80 speakers, and Sanyo Q25 direct drive turntable with ADC K8 cartridge. I still am using this turntable today. RIP Eddie, it was a groundbreaking time for rock and pop.

Great memories guys and some awesome vintage equipment!

RIP Eddie their debut album Classic .
I had Klipsch Cornwall speakers  , nakamichi 505 3 head cassette deck with auto reverse, Luxman 90wpc integrated amp,Fanfare tuner, Technics 3000 turntable ,audio technica cartridge.AQ cables not sure what model possibly Jade.

As I remember most of the time an 8-track tape player blasting in the early 70's era POS GM or Ford cars w/those jensen 6X9 speakers in the rear window deck or inside a Garrard turntable and Marantz 22XX receiver.  Saw them on their first tour opening for Black Sabbath in '78 at Baltimore Civic Center....no shortage of Colombian Gold in those daze...LOL

Speak memory!  Kenwood receiver, either KW40 or KW70. Dual 1019 turntable with a who-the-hell-remembers mid-level Shure cartridge. Zipwire speaker cables. Nobody-gave-a-damn-back-then interconnects. Mismatched speakers, both given to me by my audiophile dad.  One in a corner.  One sitting on the cabinet where I kept my ever-expanding LP collection. I listened to the stereo incessantly.  Drove my older sister nuts.

@joecollege
Very cool! Sold mine back then too.  Heck, I might have even built yours - who knows. I worked at ESS, on the AMT line back then. You can find some used ones too, recondition them. New surrounds, diaphragms in the Heils, some cabinet refinishing and there you go!  Heils are going cheap, add your own woofer and 2-way crossover and cabinet too.  Listened to a lot of Van Halen, Zeppelin, AC/DC and all back then on the AMTs. Build my own custom ones now with parts. Sound truly amazing with good tube amps - lead guitars in particular!  

Enjoy listening, lots of Eddie playing right now I bet! 

@decooney I had a pair of the AMT’s in the early 80’s biggest mistake I ever made getting rid of them. They’re still avail now direct from ESS about $4500 pair. They’re on my bucket list, which is getting shorter every day. 

Started with Van Halen 1 album, Eruption :)  Sansui AU-717 integrated amp, TU-717 tuner, Techniques SLQ2 turntable, ESS AMT Monitor speakers back then.  

Recently watched an updated video of him piecing the three different guitars together to build his Frankenstein to achieve a unique sound. R.I.P. Eddie.  Always fun to watch you play and do it your way!    

I think that his talent would have been better served in a different type of band, but that was the band he created, so that's what we're left with. He was certainly exciting and different at that time.

Mine was 78 or 79, Pioneer SX1250, JBL WX4311’s and an Optonica granite or marble base turntable must’ve weighed 50 pounds lol I think the whole setup, cables, tax was around $2k back then, more than my car cost. 

@rbaker Them LaScalas always got the job done, nothing better for LOUD rock lol

My first introduction to VH was mid 80's, at a cousins birthday party, I was 12 or so. My wicked cool Uncle Joe had brought a boom box with some tapes to listen to, one of them was Diver Down.

Definitely sad news on his passing, was fortunate to see him live in 92 or so during the Balance Tour. One of the best, he wont be forgotten.

AR amp, Dual turntable, Klipsch Lascala’s=bleeding ears.
Kidding no bleeding ears, but this system rocked many parties.

RIP Eddie and shred up there!

Man, I'm bummed out by this. Although he's not one of my favorite guitarists he still has to be in the top 10. Eddie expanded the guitar lexicon in his era just as Hendrix did in his. 

In '78 I was 3yrs old so was at the mercy of the parents car radio.

Tonight I'm running through all the Van Halen albums through a full Shindo rig and it does not suck!

So sorry to hear this! Eddie was one of the pioneers of hard rock/metal guitar! He will be missed!