# Eddie Van Halen Pedalboard 1978: Full Gear & Pedal List > The 1978 Eddie Van Halen pedalboard, pedal by pedal: M-117 Flanger, Phase 90, Echoplex EP-3. Signal-chain order, settings and cited sources. - Canonical page: https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/eddie-van-halen/debut-era-1978/ - Machine-readable index of the archive: https://pedalboardarchive.com/llms.txt - Evidence and reconstruction conventions: https://pedalboardarchive.com/methodology/ ## At a glance | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Artist | Eddie Van Halen | | Board | Debut-era modulation path | | Date | 1978-02-10 — 1978 (year precision) | | Context | Van Halen debut and first tour | | Scope | Touring-period rig | | Signal path | 3 units · Guitar to amplifier | | Routing | Serial path | | Unit evidence | Documented | | Order evidence | Source-described | | Status | Artist-described core signal path | | Audited | 2026-07-18 | | Sources | 2 | Eddie Van Halen used no distortion pedal on Van Halen's 1978 debut. The brown sound came from an MXR M-117 flanger and an orange Phase 90 into an Echoplex EP-3, then a cranked Marshall. ## Signal chain **Order evidence — Source-described.** A source states the sequence. `Guitar → M-117 Flanger → Phase 90 → Echoplex EP-3 → amplifier` | # | Unit | Role | Zone | Unit evidence | Position evidence | Catalog page | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | M-117 Flanger | The guitar reaches this modulation stage before the phaser in Van Halen's own contemporary description. | — | Documented | Documented | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/m-117-flanger/ | | 2 | Phase 90 | Adds a slow phase sweep after the flanger and before the Echoplex preamp. | — | Documented | Documented | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/mxr-phase-90/ | | 3 | Echoplex EP-3 | Adds repeat ambience and preamp coloration immediately before Page's amplifier. | — | Documented | Documented | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/echoplex-ep-3/ | ## Reconstruction note Van Halen described the core order as flanger, Phase 90 and Echoplex into the amplifier. Period boards also carried EQ and switching utilities, which are excluded because their precise role changed between setups. ## Questions ### What pedals did Eddie Van Halen use in 1978? This dated entry lists 3 units: M-117 Flanger, Phase 90, Echoplex EP-3. This is the recorded inventory, not a claim that every connection or model identification is confirmed; see the evidence and routing notes. ### What order were Eddie Van Halen's pedals in? A cited source states the order: Guitar → M-117 Flanger → Phase 90 → Echoplex EP-3 → amplifier. ### Is this Eddie Van Halen's full guitar rig? No. This dated entry covers 3 units in the effects path, not every piece of gear Eddie Van Halen owned or used. Floor pedals, rack units and routing devices are included only where recorded; omitted equipment and uncertain connections are explained in the notes. It is not a complete or current rig inventory. ### When and where was this pedalboard used? 1978. Van Halen debut and first tour. This is the rig documented for that touring period, not a career-wide gear list. ### How does the archive know what was on this pedalboard? 2 cited sources, listed above with the date each was read, including Guitar World, Epi's Van Halen Archive. Among them an interview and an archive record. The units are recorded as documented equipment, and the page was last audited on 2026-07-18. ## Sources 2 cited sources across 2 independent groups. Two sources sharing an independent group report the same observation and count once. 1. [Eddie Van Halen on his MXR Phase 90 and Flanger](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/eddie-van-halen-how-he-created-his-signature-sound-using-mxrs-phase-90-and-flanger-pedals) — Guitar World (Primary source · interview), published 2015-07-06, accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `guitar-world-evh-mxr-interview` 2. [Eddie Van Halen's first-album guitar signal](https://wwwc.dcns.ne.jp/~epi/english.html) — Epi's Van Halen Archive (Specialist source · archive), accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `rockin-f-1979-evh-interview` ## Related pages - Every documented board by Eddie Van Halen: [Eddie Van Halen board history](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/eddie-van-halen/) - [Jimmy Page — 1971 North American tour effects](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/jimmy-page/north-american-tour-1971/): shares Echoplex EP-3 - [Albert King — Late-career single-phaser path](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/albert-king/late-career-phase-90-rig-1978/): shares MXR Phase 90 - [John Frusciante — Californication era board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/john-frusciante/californication-era-board-1999/): shares MXR Phase 90 - [Paul Gilbert — Mr. Big split touring rig](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/paul-gilbert/mr-big-split-rig-2011/): shares MXR Phase 90 - [Billy Gibbons — Cheap Sunglasses studio effects](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/billy-gibbons/cheap-sunglasses-studio-effects-1979/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Modulation, Delay & Echo) - [Dave Davies — Two-pedal stage rig](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/dave-davies/two-pedal-stage-rig-2019/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Modulation, Delay & Echo) - Previous board in archive order: [Eddie Hazel — Maggot Brain performance effects](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/eddie-hazel/maggot-brain-session-effects-1970/) - Next board in archive order: [Eric Clapton — Cream-era floor rig](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/eric-clapton/cream-era-1967/)