Billy Sheehan thinks Ted Nugent has a unique guitar-playing style although he once played with Eddie Van Halen’s amp.
In a new interview with Pedalboards of Doom, the bassist explained that a player’s tone mostly comes from their hands and mindset. Then, Sheehan shared a well-known story about Van Halen and Nugent’s guitar sounds, “I remember the famous story, and I know that it’s true that Ted Nugent played Eddie Van Halen’s guitar through Ed’s amp — sounded like Ted Nugent, and Ed played it — sounded like Ed.”
The musician continued, “It’s hard to get away from how your hands sound, and a lot of that is the little nuanced things that you do, that you may not even be aware of, but they affect how things come out in the end.”
Nugent previously talked about swapping guitars with Eddie during Van Halen’s first big tour in the late 1970s. Nugent was impressed by Eddie’s guitar sound and wondered how he achieved it. They decided to trade guitars, with Eddie playing Nugent’s Byrdland through Nugent’s amps.
“And I grabbed his Strat – his mutilated, bastardized Strat – and I started playing ‘Dog Eat Dog’ or ‘Cat Scratch [Fever]’ or something, and it sounded just like me,” Ted said in an episode of the Eddie Trunk Podcast.
The rocker stated, “If music is anything, it’s not only the universal language. Not just the universal communication for people anywhere in the world at any time. But it’s also a personal execution of the musician’s sonic vision. And when you practice your balls off when you dedicate yourself to be the very best you can be, which describes every musician that you and I love…”
“It’s you, not even the Fenders or the Gibsons. It’s you coming through your musical vision and attack of the instrument,” Nugent added. “You could have an amp and a guitar, don’t change any of the settings and put 10 of your favorite guitar players on that set and it will sound just like each individual.”
Nugent called Eddie the best guitarist ever in an episode of his Nightly Nuge. Nugent praised the late Eddie Van Halen for his unique style, amazing rhythm, and great control on the guitar. He admired how Eddie could mix impressive solos with strong rhythm playing.