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Van Halen - Bottoms Up! - Guitar Lesson

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Key E minor
Van Halen - Bottoms Up! guitar lesson video
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Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
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Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
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Van Halen Hard Rock E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Bottoms Up!

Few bands made E minor feel this aggressive, and "Bottoms Up!" by Van Halen is a solid example of why their early catalog rewards careful study. The track leans heavily on Eddie Van Halen's raw, percussive rhythm playing in E minor, where open strings ring against fretted chords to create that characteristic punchy low-end drive. Getting the right balance between palm muting and letting notes breathe is the real challenge here. The riffing sits in a range where right-hand technique is everything: too much mute and the energy collapses, too little and the attack gets muddy. If the main riff's timing feels elusive, use the Practice Toolbar to loop it slowed down until the pick attack and muting pattern lock in together. Once the rhythm feel is solid, the broader arrangement details start making a lot more sense.

  • The song is built around hard-driving E minor rhythm guitar work, making right-hand palm muting and pick attack control the central technique to develop.
  • Because the key centers on E minor, open-string voicings are available throughout, so understanding when Eddie uses them versus fretted shapes is worth close attention.
  • Looping the main riff slowed down is especially useful here, as the rhythmic feel and muting nuance are easy to miss at full tempo.

How to Play Bottoms Up!

Key: E minor · Tempo: 160 BPM

Loop the hardest passage and creep the speed up from around 70 percent until it holds at 160 BPM.

Gibson ES-335
Guitar

Gibson ES-335

Eddie Van Halen pulled a Gibson PAF humbucker from a ES-335 to load his original Frankenstrat, giving him a low-output pickup that maintained clarity during lightning-fast tapping and legato runs despite heavy gain.

Marshall Plexi (1959 Super Lead)
Amp

Marshall Plexi (1959 Super Lead)

Eddie's 1968 Marshall Plexi Super Lead, run through a variac at 90 volts, created his legendary 'brown sound' by pushing power tubes into sweet, spongy saturation at gig volumes, defining his harmonic sustain and responsiveness.

Soldano SLO-100
Amp

Soldano SLO-100

Eddie adopted the Soldano SLO-100 as a tonal alternative to Marshalls, delivering the high-headroom, articulate gain he needed for his finger-tapping technique while maintaining clarity in complex legato passages.

Peavey 5150
Amp

Peavey 5150

Eddie co-designed the Peavey 5150 to capture his signature tone in a modern platform, offering three channels from clean sparkle to crushing high-gain with EL34 power tubes for dynamic responsiveness across his entire playing vocabulary.

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

Eddie employed the Dunlop Cry Baby wah strategically on select solos, using it to add vocal-like expression and sweep to his lead lines without relying heavily on effect-driven tones.

MXR Phase 90
Pedal

MXR Phase 90

Eddie's MXR Phase 90 script-logo version created his signature swirling, vocal sweep on 'Eruption' and 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love,' becoming one of rock's most identifiable effect tones through minimal, tasteful use.

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