"Little Guitars" is a song performed by Van Halen. It was included on their album Diver Down.

"Little Guitars"
Song by Van Halen
from the album Diver Down
ReleasedApril 14, 1982
Recorded1982
GenreHard rock
Length4:33
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Michael Anthony / David Lee Roth / Alex Van Halen / Eddie Van Halen
Producer(s)Ted Templeman

The song is notable for its intro, an acoustic flamenco-style solo by Eddie Van Halen. This was accomplished by using his right hand to pick a single-note trill on the high E string. He then used his left hand to play the melody on the low E, A, and D strings using hammer-ons and pull-offs.

"Everyone thinks I overdubbed on that. Then I show them how I did it. Classical guitarists can do that, but they finger-pick. I can't finger-pick. No, I definitely cheated. I'm good at that. If there's a sound in my head and I want it, I'll find a way to do it. I bought a couple Montoya records. I actually tried to finger-pick, and I'm going, 'Screw this, it's too hard.'" – Eddie Van Halen [1]

Eddie Van Halen with the custom mini-Les Paul in 1984.

In addition to the intro, the song is also notable for the mini-Les Paul guitar (the so-called "little guitar") that Edward used for the main track. This is the only Van Halen recording that the guitar was used for. The mini-Les Paul was made by Nashville luthier David Petschulat, and was pitched and sold to Eddie during a tour stop in Nashville, Tennessee. Eddie purchased a second mini-LP guitar that was then built to slightly different specs; the first being a honey-sunburst with mini-humbuckers, and the second being dark wine-red with a thicker body and full-size humbuckers.[2]

"And the song is titled this because its played on a copy of a Les Paul three inches longer than your forearm to the tip of your finger so you could put the whole thing in your pocket if you wanted to. It makes a very distinctive sound- different from your traditional rock axe. I got the idea for the song from the acoustic part. It sounded Mexican to me, so I wrote a song for a Señorita." – David Lee Roth [3]

Chuck Klosterman of Vulture.com ranked it the 18th-best Van Halen song, writing "Nothing is heavy, everything is edifying — a comprehensive success."[4]

References

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  1. ^ Considine, J.D. "The Natural Virtuoso as High School Hero". Musician, Issue #47, September 1982, p.59-64
  2. ^ David Petschulat - 2015
  3. ^ Simmons, Sylvie "David Lee Roth & the Philosophy of Diving Down". Creem, September 1982, p.26-31, 60-61
  4. ^ Klosterman, Chuck (October 6, 2020). "All 131 Van Halen Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best A look back at the band's formidable legacy". Vulture.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.