The original color scheme Legend has it that Eddie Van Halen painted his Frankenstrat guitar (also known as The Frankenstein) with the iconic red/black/white color scheme sometime in early 1979. We’ve just figured out that it was almost certainly the last week of March when he painted it. That makes it 35 years ago this week that the famous guitarist transformed his white guitar (with black stripes) into its even more recognized red/white/black colors. Here’s the inside scoop from an old friend In digging through interviews that we conducted years ago, we rediscovered an interview with Wally “Cartoon” Olney, a childhood friend of the Van Halens.
This guy is legit, and he gives the only recollection we’ve ever heard about when Eddie painted his most iconic guitar red. Here’s what he said in our interview, conducted in 1997: “I just thought of another interesting tidbit. Van Halen was going to play the Los Angeles Coliseum for an event called the. It was a two-day event, and on the first day there was a shitload of bands. Aerosmith with the headliner, but Van Halen had just begun to become a headliner. Their was out by now. They were successful on their first tour the year before, opening for Sabbath, but were still an opening band at that time.
But in 1979 they were just becoming a major arena-size band. A few days before the gig, I stopped by Ed and Al’s house on an overcast, rainy day. I pulled in the driveway and Ed was in the backyard with his dog, Monty, painting his guitar.
It was the black-and-white striped one he used to play. He was painting it red because he was pissed how everyone was copying his guitar. “He had a real thing about people copying him.
I actually helped him paint that guitar. In the midst of our conversation, Ed mentioned that ticket sales for the important show at the Coliseum were very, very slow. As it turned out, it was also the same year as the first Long Beach Grand Prix.
Everyone was going to the race. Ed playing with his freshly-painted guitar in Logan, Utah on March 31st, 1979 “The band was really starting to see some success. The money was starting to roll in and Ed was always working very hard. But that day he was so mad, it was like, ‘Fuck this band, fuck this rock concert stuff! Nobody is coming to our show! They’d rather go to a fucking car race!’ His vibe was very strange, like, ‘Nobody likes me. Everybody hates me.
I’m painting my fucking guitar because everyone’s copying it. I’m going to be different.’ Basically, he was really down that day about the race affecting the ticket sales for such an important gig, and was frustrated that so many people were copying his white and black guitar.” The L.A.
Coliseum show that Olney mentioned took place on April 8. He recalls that Ed painted the guitar “a few days” before the gig.
We have a photo here, from Logan, Utah, taken March 31st, 1979, which shows Ed playing the red guitar after it was painted. Olney also says that on the day Ed painted the guitar, the second album released March 23rd had been out by that time. Assuming his memory is correct, Eddie would’ve transformed the guitar into it’s iconic red/white/black paint job during the last week of March, 1979.
Striped Stuff! Featuring the greatest graphics in the history of rock ‘n’ rollEddie Van Halen’s iconic guitar stripes!
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Section 44 does not deny anyone the right to run for parliament, just that they sever ties with other countries, an twatted. Last.fm. Overview Although this was officially the first guitar for me to begin all the way back in Year 9 woodwork, it was the 5th for me to complete.Why did I wait so long? Well, in class this guitar had been damaged, and I had the idea in my head that it would take a lot to repair. A mere six weeks after beginning the repairs, however, and it was completely transformed from a standard red & white strat, into a Van Halen Frankenstrat (left-handed, of course!) complete with wiring mods, and accurate parts (as accurate as possible!) What follows is a tutorial on how I completed the replication of the paint job, parts and other minor details! Step 1 As this is a glorified stratocaster, I will assume you have already built the strat body (or bought one you wish to modify!) Here is one I prepared earlier around 1996 in high school woodwork, to be precise! I used Kauri Pine for this build, which is now a restricted species I was lucky to get a piece from my local timber yard before it was announced protected.
I think it is a lovely timber to work with, unfortunately there was damage from people in my woodwork class, so I was pressured into painting it. Now, 15 years later, I have decided to strip it back, as it was simply sitting in a cupboard doing nothing, and proceed to convert it into a frankenstrat! Here you see the guitar being stripped, with the assistance of an orbital sander. Step 2 Once it is all stripped back and smoothed with a finer sandpaper, an undercoat primer is applied.
I chose to use grey, however you can use any colour you might have available. After about 5 coats of undercoat to make sure I have a nice smooth working surface, I sprayed a further 5 coats of matt black. I chose to paint all coats with the guitar suspended in my carport, so I could gain access to all sides at once. This is done by nailing a scrap of wood into the neck pocket, and tapping a few nails in the opposite end for a loop of rope to be supported. Once the black coats are all done and dry (leave for a few days, regardless if you THINK it is dry) the next step is to tape it up ready for the white coat.
I used plain masking tape for this step, which measured 18mm wide. In the final step, I will link to the paining template I used for these stages, which I printed at 100% and painstakingly copied onto the guitar. Step 3 After taping the guitar up on top of the black coat, it is time to spray it white. Give it about 5 coats of white to ensure a good coverage. After a few days, remove the tape and admire! This is how Eddie Van Halen played his guitar in the 70’s, until too many people began copying him, and he chose to retape it and do the red coat.
Frankenstrat Body
This is important to know, as for a few years, this guitar was used on the road, and copped a beating or two, so, if you want authenticity, it is time to ‘relic’ your masterpiece. Either sand it down to wear it, or bash it with the side of a hammer or a large chain to dent it up. If you rollover the image, you can see the ‘relicing’ that I have done on the back to simulate wear and tear. This is optional, but I was trying to replicate the frankenstrat as closely as possible (who wants a pristine guitar that is meant to replicate a rock icon?!) step 4 Next step is to tape it up again, this time using two different widths of tape.
The wider tape is 24mm, while the thin green tape is actually car detailing pinstriping tape, which measures 6mm. I know these pictures don’t show it too well, so please check the final step for all the templates! Remember however, that Eddie did all of this taping freehand and completely randomly.
This is not a precision exercise, however if you wish to copy exactly what is on the original, I have drawn as closely as possible in my templates. So yet again, suspend the guitar from the scrap of timber, so you can access all sides of the guitar for each coat of paint.
This tape is in preparation of the final red coats which I will show in the next step. Step 5 These pictures show the red coat during application. Remember, Eddie painted over the black and white, but left them visible through the red, so don’t paint too thick on this coat, or you will lose everything you have done so far! I used 3 coats only on the red (compared with 5+ each for white, black and primer). When the black is still visible, but the white is well coated (the black will be a little darker than in these pics, as these were taken after 1-2 coats) stop spraying, and leave it alone! When the paint has dried (another few days!!) peel the tape off carefully to reveal the final colour scheme!
Step 6 Here is the final colours straight after removing the tape. But this guitar should not look so clean and untouched It should look like it has been on tour for 10 years!, so, out with the 1200grit sandpaper, and get to making it look worn down and bashed up again! Of course, you can decide to leave it at this point, it is entirely up to you! I wanted mine to look like the original as much as possible, so decided to sand, bash and trash it up a bit. Notice how the black shows though a little through the red coat? That’s what I was talking about in the previous step!
Step 7 I almost forgot to mention the neck! I purchased a neck for this one (as I usually do) however, I was having trouble finding the headstock shape I wanted, so I decided to get a paddlehead neck. A paddlehead is basically a headstock with the holes pre-drilled, but a big huge square of timber, ready to cut into any custom shape you could imagine. I was only after a simple 1970’s style Stratocaster headstock, so it was easy enough to get a photo of one, enlarge to the correct size and trace onto the headstock. Cutting was achieved with the help of a jigsaw, some files, a sander and some hand sanding.
As I will be using a Floyd Rose bridge on this guitar (as Eddie uses!) the guitar requires a Floyd Rose lock nut. This is achieved by chiseling out the section of fretboard between the tuners and the nut (don’t go further than the nut!!) and simply screwing the lock nut into place. There may be some slight gap under the lock nut, however don’t be tempted to cut any more of the fretboard, as where the nut begins determines where the notes are.
If the nut moves, you will need to move ALL the frets! Seriously, don’t do it Eddie does not have any artwork on his headstock, only cigarette burns. I have not done these yet, but the next person to leave some ciggies at my house will benefit in knowing that the helped achieve this step on my guitar! ? step 8 Once I had sanded it up a bit and made it look worn and a bit trashed, I also decided to put a clear coat over the top (not authentic) and left it in direct sunlight to dry (against recommendations) which caused the clear coat to crack and become brittle (what I wanted) which has given it an even more junkyard look! I decided enough was enough, and proceeded to assemble all the parts, wiring in a little gimmick that not even Eddie has. Eddie does not use his single coil, as the selector switch is located in the centre pickup cavity, but I have included a push/pull switch on the volume pot, giving me the option for the regular Van Halen tone, followed by a tinny Strat sound. Notice that the Humbucker is mounted on an angle?
This is one of the tricks that Eddie has used to give him that unique sound (as well as his choices of amps etc) If you rollover the image, you will also see some reflectors. Eddie used to use these when playing in smaller venues. He would flip the guitar over during a solo and catch the house lights in them, creating a one-man-lightshow. I purchased these from ebay as a set, and they match the patterns on Eddie’s guitar.
Not even the Fender Relic version which sells for $24,999US has these! Nope, these photos are in correct order. So first, spray the undercoat.
Follow this with black all over Tape according to the templates provided, and spray white. Remove the tape Re-tape according to the template provided, and now spray red (not too thickly, as Eddie painted it thinly, showing sections of black and white through the red) After all paint is dry, tape removed etc, feel free to relic/bash up the guitar, and give a clear coat (I did, but Eddie did not) Hope that helps you a bit? I believe I gave it a very light sanding after the primer, but would not be necessary, as thats what Primer is designed to do. ? The reason I did 5 coats of each colour, was to ensure the colour below it was only slightly visible through the upper coat. Spraying too thick will cause runs and drying issues, so slow and steady ‘dustings’ of colour will help build a stable coat of paint. Its better to do multiple light coats than rush it with a single thick coat and risk ruining it.
Sanding back a coat of paint due to an error would mean starting again, as the multiple layers of binding and tape create unique patterns. Good luck on your build, and look forward to seeing pics of the final product!
Contents. Overview The Frankenstrat was Van Halen's attempt to combine the sound of a classic guitar with the physical attributes of a Fender. It was made from a Northern Ash Stratocaster body, with pickup routing which he modified to fit a Gibson bridge. The guitar has a neck and fretboard, chrome hardware, and was painted with a black and white striped design until arriving at its final combination of red background with black and white stripes.
It has six-strings and a. Design Body and neck Van Halen bought the Frankenstrat's ash body and maple neck for $130 from and Lynn Ellsworth, who sold Boogie Body bodies and necks. Van Halen was able to purchase the body at a discount price of $50 due to a knot in the. The $80 neck had jumbo fret wire, and its truss rod was adjustable at the heel. Bridge and pickup The guitarist originally used the Fender tremolo system from his 1958 Fender Stratocaster, adding the Floyd Rose later.
Frankenstrat Stripe Count
He equipped the Frankenstrat with a PAF (patent applied for) pickup removed from his, the pickup in to reduce microphonic feedback (an older technique). He then screwed the pickup to the guitar in the bridge position, slightly offset from perpendicular to the strings, to compensate for the different string spacing between the Gibson's pickup and the Fender's bridge. This pickup was later replaced by a humbucker. Controls Van Halen removed both tone-control, wiring the pickups in a simple circuit largely due to his limited knowledge of electronics. He placed a knob marked 'Tone' on the volume-control spot, then used a that he'd shaped into a to cover the controls. This pick guard was later replaced by a real, similarly-shaped pick guard.
Although it has five mounting holes (one drilled by Van Halen), it was installed with only three screws. A strip of double-sided was added near the pick guard, on which Van Halen placed a variety of picks. The simple circuit consisted of a single humbucking pick-up, an A500k potentiometer (the volume control) and a 1/4-inch output jack. Finish Van Halen painted the guitar black, and when it was dry he put strips of masking tape on the body and repainted it white. He repeated the process with red, creating the classic Frankenstrat.
Van Halen put a Gibson decal on the headstock, emphasizing the 'cross-pollination' between Gibson and Fender. Because companies began selling guitars with similar finishes, and because he felt that the guitar was being too badly damaged from overuse, he stopped playing the Frankenstrat in public, instead using the black-and-yellow 'bumble bee' guitar pictured on (1979). In 1979, disappointed with the bumble-bee's performance, Van Halen re-taped the body of the Frankenstrat and painted it with red paint. According to the guitarist, 'The Schwinn bicycle paint gives it pop.' Upgrades The Frankenstrat has gone through a number of necks over the years, and its bridge has evolved from the 1958 Fender tremolo to original Floyd Rose bridges (with and without fine tuners). The placement of the 1971 quarter was to keep the Floyd Rose bridge flush with the body, and Van Halen attached truck to the rear of the body for decoration.
He installed large screw eyes instead of strap buttons, a foolproof (albeit unsightly) method of securing the guitar to the strap. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, many guitar companies tried to capitalize on Van Halen's popularity by manufacturing Frankenstrat replicas. In an attempt to mislead these companies, the guitarist installed a non-functional red single-coil pickup in the neck position of the Frankenstrat. To confuse imitators further, he also screwed a three-way switch into the empty middle-pickup slot on the guitar's body. Like the neck pickup, it was purely decorative. Variants Kramers was the first company endorsed by Van Halen in 1983, when it built a Frankenstrat replica, and during this time he replaced the original Frankenstrat neck with a Kramer neck. In 1984 he was given the ' guitar (seen in the song's video clip), and began appearing in Kramer advertisements.
Paul Unkert, the 'Guitar Guy' of UNK guitars, worked on the Frankenstrat and put his 'Unk' stamp on it. The best-known Kramer owned by Van Halen was the 5150, which he built in the Kramer factory. Although it was thought that the guitar was made from a body, it had a prototype body. The guitar, used from the tour through the tour, was last used to record 'Judgement Day' for the album (1991).
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Although the 5150 reappeared on the 2004 tour with a Frankenstrat-replica neck, it is now retired. A number of other Kramers were also built and used by Van Halen during this time (most notably the 1984 Kramer), although most were simply striped designs without other markings. These guitars were primarily backups for the 5150 on tours, and were retired at the same time. Some were given away, or (like the 1984 Kramer) awarded in contests. Charvel hybrid VH2 The second Frankenstrat, appearing on the LP and, was a black-and-yellow striped guitar.
It was reportedly buried with of, who had asked for a Charvel Art Series replica before they were released; Van Halen was said to have presented the original guitar at his funeral. Ibanez Destroyer This guitar was a dual-humbucker instrument created from a made from. Van Halen removed a large chunk of the wood with a hacksaw, giving it an open-jaws shape.
It was nicknamed 'Shark' because the chunk he cut out was serrated, resembling. This guitar was used in the videos for ' and '. The removal of the wood destroyed the guitar's sound, and it was retired. To record 'Women and Children First', Van Halen borrowed a Destroyer from the then-unknown. Fender-Charvel Charvel introduced a signature-model Eddie Van Halen guitar, the Charvel EVH Art Series Guitar equipped with a single custom-wound pickup and a Floyd Rose locking tremolo, in three colors: white with black stripes, black with yellow stripes and red with black-and-white stripes.
The guitars have a neck profile similar to the original Frankenstrat. Three hundred replicas of the red-and-black-and-white-striped Frankenstrat were offered by Van Halen's EVH brand for $25,000 each. About 180 were sold in the United States, and the remainder overseas.
Guitar Hero: Van Halen The Frankenstrat was used in the box art for. It also appears a number of times in the game, including at the end of songs; the stripes appear one by one in quick succession, and are then removed. 2012 tour For the band's 2012 tour, Van Halen used a variant of the Frankenstrat with the black-and-white capped-bridge pickup from his Wolfgang models, a maple Wolfgang neck with a black headstock and a Wolfgang-style volume knob.
It is unknown if this is the original, a replica prototype, one of the replica models or a custom-built guitar. EVH In 2013 Van Halen's brand, EVH, released a line of replicas based on previous Frankenstrats. There are three, based on the Charvel 'Bumblebee', the original pick-guarded Frankenstrat and the red, white and black Frankenstrat, with hardware similar to that of the EVH Wolfgangs. See also. (Press release). Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Newsdesk. Retrieved 2014-07-12.
Obrecht, Jas (November 1978). Archived from on December 24, 2008. Retrieved 2011-07-14.
Bruck, Matt (February 27, 2007). (Flash video). Guitar World.
Retrieved 2011-07-15. Bruck, part 2.
Evh Frankenstrat Specs
Kaufman, Gil (December 15, 2004). Archived from on February 15, 2005. Retrieved 2011-07-15. Van Halen News Desk. December 15, 2004. Archived from on July 17, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
February 2, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-15.
Retrieved 12 July 2014. External links. March 22, 2008. Archived from on March 25, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
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