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Van Halen - Unchained - Guitar Tab

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Key E minor
Van Halen - Unchained guitar tab video
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Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

AI-selected preset based on genre and era — adjust the knobs to taste.

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 Unchained

"Unchained" is one of those Van Halen tracks that puts Eddie's right hand front and center from the very first bar. The opening riff sits in E minor and leans heavily on a syncopated, percussive attack that demands both tight palm muting and precise pick control to lock in the groove. Beyond the riff, the song features Eddie's characteristic tapped and legato runs, so if any of those passages are slipping by too fast, use the Practice Toolbar to loop them slowed down until the fretting hand can keep up cleanly. The chord stabs between vocal phrases are deceptively tricky to nail rhythmically, and getting the spacing wrong flattens out the swagger the part needs. Work on muting the strings you are not playing, because in a riff this open-sounding, unwanted string noise becomes very obvious. Getting a slightly scooped, mid-heavy crunch tone will also help the attack come through the way it does on the record.

  • The main riff is built around E minor and relies on tight palm muting combined with syncopated pick attacks that can easily fall apart at full tempo.
  • Eddie Van Halen's tapped and legato fills throughout the song require the fretting hand to be well warmed up before attempting the faster runs.
  • Looping the verse riff slowed down is especially useful here, as the rhythmic stabs between phrases need to feel locked in before you bring the tempo back up.

How to Play Unchained

The song moves through: Intro, Verse, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Solo, Bridge, Outro.

Key: E minor · Tempo: 132 BPM · Difficulty: Medium

The arrangement runs through 7 distinct sections, and the solo is the steepest jump, so isolate it on its own.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 132 BPM to build it up to tempo.

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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