![]() It served me for a very long time.”, Eddie said of his Kramer. In a 2014 Guitar Aficionado interview, “It’s a workhorse. This incredible design shows up in many of the photos of Edward in his last few years.Īlthough Frankenstein remained a favorite of Edward’s and his fans, Eddie’s deal with Kramer in 1982 enabled him to design and build a formidable alternative, his first real signature guitar. EVH produced a minimal 20-piece run of replicas in 2016, priced at nearly $14.000. “It’s the only volume pot I’ve found where I can play Cathedral without any crackle or pop,” Eddie said upon the release of the EVH Wolfgang USA. Similar to the Stealth, the white USA included the ebony fretboard, “high-performance upgrade” pot, low friction volume pot. Ellis’ work would be so spot-on in terms of sound and overall delivery, from this point on it would become the basis of every Wolfgang model. “I wanted a white guitar that was relic’d”, Eddie told Guitar World Magazine. EDDIE VAN HALEN GUITAR UPGRADEHe would continue to upgrade and experiment with the original Frankenstrat until 1979 when the red, white, and black version was unleashed.Īfter an entire career perfecting his last signature model, Eddie came up with this Stealth model variation, one that would become his latest, most iconic guitar, one that would appear with him in almost every performance, rotating with other Wolfgang variations.īy 2015, Eddie had expected to tour again with the Stealth, but Chip Ellis delivered another surprise, creating a relic’d white Wolfgang USA with a new red kill switch. The combination of Eddie’s ferocious playing and the stunning salvaged appearance of his guitar stunned his contemporaries and fans.Įddie’s innovations prompted scores of imitators, something that caused him frustration in the early years. It was a creation like no other in the rock and roll world. Eddie said, “I took a PAF out of an ES-335 and the vibrato out of a Fifties Strat when I made my Frankenstein guitar”, Eddie said in an interview with Guitar Aficionado Magazine. The Boogie Body was made from ash, and the neck was maple. Eddie pulled the PAF pickup from his Gibson ES-335 and secured it in a gaping hole near the bridge. The experimentation and legend continued to evolve. One of his early goals was to maintain elements of the Fender body while exploiting the power of the Gibson humbucker pickups. We’ll try to stick to the more substantiated claims in this account.Īs he continued to grow frustrated with the limitations of off-the-shelf guitars and his own modifications, Eddie made a critical purchase from the Charvel team, acquiring a cast-off Boogie Bodies Strat-style body and a maple neck/fingerboard for $130. The tale of the “Frankenstrat” or “Frankenstein” guitar is fraught with rumor, dubious memories, misquotes, and drunk history. EDDIE VAN HALEN GUITAR FULLSee the full list of notable Eddie Van Halen guitars below. Eddie designed and built much of his own gear throughout his legendary career. Later in his career, after starting his own brand of “EVH” gear, he played primarily EVH Wolfgang guitars. What Guitars Did Eddie Van Halen Play?Įddie Van Halen is most known for playing his self-built Frankenstrat guitars. We have attempted to capture the spirit and relative accuracy of the main guitars, amps, and effects Eddie used throughout his career. Some of this disinformation was fueled by David Lee Roth’s early advice to EVH to lie during interviews and Eddie’s desire to keep some of his gear configurations and solutions secret. ![]() EDDIE VAN HALEN GUITAR PROFESSIONALThere is a gigantic asterisk on the following chronology: The information shared by Eddie, an unreliable narrator, and the hundreds of professional and amateur biographers who have attempted to document his gear accurately is riddled with inconsistencies, contradictions, and gaping holes, as it should be with the story of any mastermind. Photo by Abby GillardiĪll legends deserve to harbor elements of mystique and wonder, especially Eddie. ![]() Unapologetically unique, Eddie forged his own style and sound which has influenced countless guitarists worldwide over nearly five decades. He’s truly one of the few icons who changed the way we perceive the guitar as an instrument. ![]() The impact of his life’s work in Rock and Roll has played an astronomical role in shaping the way we play and even build guitars today. Innovative in every sense of the word, Eddie Van Halen, known affectionately by many of his fans as EVH, was an absolutely revolutionary guitar mind. ![]()
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