MAN ON A MISSION

BRIAN MCDONALD

Brian McDonald spent more than a decade at Fender serving as marketing manager for the Jackson, Charvel and EVH brands when Eddie’s first products were launched.

“EVH was a brand I helped launch [in 2007]. I was there from the beginning. Matt Bruck was Ed’s guitar tech and assistant at the time. He’s a really cool guy. And there were other people at Fender who worked very closely with them both: [master builder] Chip Ellis was the guy who did the guitars, and Mike Ulrich did the amps. Mike and his team borrowed my Peavey 5150 to figure out how the Resonance function worked. It was just part of the engineering process. But I am not exaggerating in designating Eddie Van Halen as a genius when it came to innovation and product design. The methods he used to develop and test were very interesting and new to us. He had an incredible ear for the subtleties – a next-level understanding of the way things work independently and together. He was very much like an engineer, but he was also an artist – and an exceptional one at that. He had a very unique skill set.

“That said, all the gear Eddie and the solo from note for note. I’m so glad that people are celebrating his life and contribution to the musical language we all enjoy. What was interesting about working for EVH was not only was he a rock star, but he was also a celebrity. People at NAMM would ask me all kinds of questions, like, ‘Who is he dating?’ and ‘What kind of wine does he drink?’ Trivial stuff like that.”