10 Awesome Facts About Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstrat That You (Probably) Didn't Know!
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- čas přidán 15. 06. 2024
- Edward Van Halen was an absolutely legend, Dagan's favourite guitarist as well as his, and may others 'idol'! Ed's original homemade guitar, affectionately called the 'Frankenstrat' didn't only change the way people played and performed music, but changed the way guitars were built entirely! The entire music landscape was changed by one legendary man, and one legendary guitar!
Find out 10 interesting facts about Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein Guitar as Dagan delves deep into the history of this iconic axe. Do you know why the pickup was slanted? Or how about how he got the pieces of wood in the first place, and what's up with that Quarter screwed into the body?! Find out all this and more in this video!
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0:00 Intro
0:51 Why This Guitar Is So Special
3:10 FACT 1 - The Body Was A Factory 'Second'
4:34 FACT 2 - The Guitar Wasn't Always Striped
5:37 FACT 3 - The Black & White Guitar Is The Same As The Red One
6:58 FACT 4 - At One Point It Has A Telecaster Pickup In It
8:13 FACT 5 - It Only Has One 'Tone' Control
8:54 FACT 6 - What Was The 1971 Quarter Coin For?
14:41 FACT 7 - At One Point The Pickguard Was Cut Out From A Vinyl Record
15:59 FACT 8 - Why Was The Humbucker Pickup Slanted
17:36 FACT 9 - It Originally Had A Gibson Logo On The Headstock
18:27 FACT 10 - How Eddie Helped Create The Floyd Rose Tremolo!
#EddieVanHalen #Frankenstrat #VanHalen #EVH #GuitarFacts
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Hi Dagan - Chris Gill of Guitar World/co-author of Eruption Conversations with Eddie Van Halen here. One major detail, Eddie always called his guitar the Frankenstein, and never called it a Frankenstrat. Wolfgang pointed this out to me recently, and I went through all of my interview tapes (more than two dozen over a 26 year period) with Ed to confirm this. Frankenstrat is a name invented by various guitar mags over the years. On the quarter, Ed told me that he screwed it to the guitar to keep the Floyd Rose from floating - he preferred to keep the vibrato flush to the body. He never used the Floyd to raise pitch above standard tuning (only for drops and/or return to pitch) and he absolutely hated the flutter that happens when you strike a note too hard when the bridge is floating. Also, the quarter is stationary - it does not swivel. Ed broke off one of the screw heads when trying to remove the quarter after Tom Anderson fixed the Floyd placement, and instead of leaving a screw stuck in the guitar body he decided to just leave the screw there. Ed told me this in 2006 during an interview about the Frankenstein replica.
I’m so jealous that you met and even talked with Eddie, he’s definitely my first serious influence, and other influences’ (dimebag, George lynch, warren demartini, etc.) influences. Truly a one of a kind guitar player!! Thanks for your insight as well!
I've never, in my life, ever heard him refer to as a "Frankenstrat."
Thanks Chris. Bought and read your Book. Fantastic job ! Thanks again. Rip Eddie. We miss you, King.
So in this case, “Frankenstein” really was the monster’s name.
For one thing, Frankenstein can't be used, it's owned and not in the public domain. They didn't want to get sued. Also, it's not a "major" detail. Nice job inserting yourself into the picture though. 🙄
Fun Fact: Eddie Van Halen's Bumblebee Guitar is buried with Dimebag Darrell. Dimebag Darrell really liked Eddie's Bumblebee. When Dimebag was assassinated, Eddie said that Darrell deserved the Original Bumblebee, so Dime was buried with it. The Bumblebee at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a replica of the Bumblebee. And so is the other black and white guitar because that one was made into the famous Frankenstrat that we all know.
Eddie was the first guitarist I heavily looked up to alongside George Harrison and VH was the first concert I ever saw back in 2012 when I was 13, he’s still one of my biggest influences and guitar heroes and he’s still one of the absolute GOATs for a reason. RIP Eddie, still miss you and thanks for helping me become the guitarist I am today
Van Halen was first concert as well. Great time. They named the tour the 1980 Invasion and Women and Children First had just been released. To add insult DLR caused a riot a week before I was to see them so I was definitely ready for anything. Great show.
My first taste was 1984 when I was only 11 years old. My older brother came home with the 45 single record of the song jump from the album jump and i was amazed and infused with rock n roll forever 49 now and still rocking.
My first ever concert 1984 tour. ❤
The World just isn't the same anymore without EVH in it 😞
rip evh there will be no one else like him
Still miss eddie. Long live the King!
@13:16 Thank you so much for the shout out!!! Great video on the Frankie! 👑🎸
EVH is my all time favorite guitarist. I was so sad when he died.
Eddie was a mad scientist of the guitar. I doubt anyone will ever innovate the guitar like he would but it would be so cool if they did.
I think that before settling on the Floyd Rose Eddie was using a Rockinger Tremolo but he eventually left it for FR.
Yeah that's right.
Some people even called the Rockinger the "Van Halen" tremolo.
Of course, this whammy fell by the wayside.
The story behind the tone knob for the volume pot (which was on the Bumblebee) is that Eddie stated if you have volume then you have great tone. Check out the book Eruption if you want to know more about his guitars.
I never knew that! Thanks for the info
My '02 Peavey Wolfgang was bought without even plugging it in at Guitar center. It played and felt great just by itself. Coming from Ed, obviously it would sound awesome with an amp. I still own it, and it's my favorite go to guitar 21 yrs later. Im still bummed out of his passing.
At a VH gig down the front with my mate Dave and Eddie throws a pick out, Dave ends up wrestling over it on the floor with some other kid and finally gets it and puts it safely in his pocket. After the gig he gets it out and we look upon the VH logo on it in awe, he flips it over to reveal the words 'YOU WANKER.' it's kind of what Dave is sometimes and Eddie knew it.
Great informative video and I love your enthusiasm for Eddie and his contributions. We ALL miss him.....Long live Edward Van Halen!
Lots of stuff I didn't know! One cool frankenstrat fact I learned recently was that the bridge pickup was rewound for hotter output by Seymour Duncan at some point.
No - that's a myth! The original was from a 1961 Gibson 335 that he "rewound" by taking some of the windings off it it. This was to remove all the midrange mud that Gibson pickups are known for. He wax potted it. The pickup that you're thinking of was MIGHTY MITE pickup which Eddie used scores of on his guitar as well as DiMarzio pickups. This was from a 1990 Guitar World interview with Joe Bosso (who is dead now) and Eddie discussed all this in the article.
Oh and great playing....
Johnny Beane sent us 🤘🤘🤘
Thank you man!!!
Quite possibly the best video you've done. Ed was one of a kind for certain. I'll never forget the first time. 1978, properly blasted through huge speakers. It was a religious experience. Thanks for this one.
Having made my own, this is the best summary of the topic I've ever seen.
THANKS!
I thought I knew everything about that guitar. Not sure I knew about the Tele middle pickup, though. Thank you. I can hear the love and reverence. Beautiful.
Exceptional video as always man!!!!!
I read the quarter was to hold down the tremolo because the screw hole stripped out right before a show and that was the quickest way he could think of so he could play? Great informative video! I never knew about the Gibson decal on the headstock. Eddie is the GOAT!!!!!
Dagan, great video. What we know from photos, about six different pickups and 12 different necks through the short period of time he used it ( 8 or 9 years)
No - Eddie used about 30 different necks according to him. And he used more than fifteen different pickups in the life of that guitar - that last being a Wolfgang pickup in the bridge.
@@solarismoon3046 I am just counting the ones that you can see in photos. Who knows what he put on that we never saw in public
@@KurtS5150 Or the ones that we saw but didn't even realize were different necks from different manufacturers.
Very interesting video - and great playing! 👍
You rock dude... always love watching you play :)
As I recall, EVH changed the black and white Frankenstrat to the red and white was because Lotus started selling copies of his original. In fact, a friend bought one as his first guitar.
White with black stripes was best version. Even Eddie said he made a mistake by painting over it.
Great information, many thanks 🎸👍
Just a thought but my first impression for the reason for the quarter being where it was is for when he had to restring the guitar…. If you have ever changed strings on a Floyd you know you have to put something behind the bridge to hold it up or change one string at a time to keep it up… the quarter could have been put in place to hold the bridge up when he took all the strings up… just a thought! Love your videos brother
This is a great video Dagan i saw Ed 5 X live what a hero he was as u said he changed how we all would play i literally stopped my car on the highway in 78 the day i bought VH 1 on cassette i was shocked @ what i was hearing there was no traffic on the highway that day 😅😂😂
Bro , thank you for all this information, dang I love e the quarter trick, I’m gonna do this rite now WOW, genius, bless you brother, you are a bad ass!!
Anyone know what the vinyl he cut up to make the pickguard out of?
What an astonishing guitar Frankie is. No one pushed the guitar forward more than Edward Van Halen.
I believe it was a simple Stratocaster pick guard. You can buy them online for cheep.
@@damianboyd Cheep? Like birds? - cheep! cheep! cheep! You mean CHEAP - not cheep. $25.00 for an aftermarket pickguard is not cheap --- especially when you're going to cut most of it away!
Awesome vid ❤️👍🏼❤️
Johnny Beane says Hi & Thanks for the shout-out. Keep up the good work.
Awesome videos 🤘My favorite Evh guitar was the Frankenstein in 1983 US Festival/Jump Video. It took me ten years of sourcing parts and building my replica in my spare time. I was one of the first to purchase the 1 of 500 relic signed pickups, and it sounds better than any humbucker that I have ever played or owned. I even played a few of the Fender Frankenstein replicas, they sound amazing but my replica just nails the sound better :)
Good god mate you have really helped me out ! I am recovering from a car crash, that has wrecked my body, all I have to hold is my cira 89, Levinson blade that they definitely shouldn't bury me with . I think you are star
I love the EVH content
Schecter is hands down my favorite guitar maker.
I reluctantly went to look at a Schecter Tempest Diamond series and it took all of two seconds to buy it.
I then promptly sold every guitar I owned. Including my prized Charvel. Ibanez, Les Paul, Strat... I don’t even look at other guitars.
500 dollar slightly beat on and does everything I ever could have hoped for tone wise and playability wise. It just fits me like a glove for some reason. It makes playing fun and enjoyable.
Great video Dagan. You seem as obsessed by the great EVH as I am!! 😊 I made a 5150 replica myself and its my favourite guitar ahead of my Kramers and Ibanez's and Jacksons. Just one thing though, it's been known for decades that the first Frankie body was a reject. That's not new info dude. Sorry, not trying to be a smart*ss here but just felt compelled to point that out. 😉Anyway Eddie is and was the GOAT so please do more EVH related vids!
🤘😎🤘
No,you’re being a smartass and he’s aware none of that was new information
The power of Ed compels you!
Yep, he bought a reject body from Boogie Bodies for $50 dollars.
The intro is absolutely beautiful
Hey Now, Johnny Beane TV Sent me over to say Hi 👋🏼
Hey Now! Thank you Mike!
great video. you always do your homework, I appreciate that! Keep rocking bro!!! \m/ \m/
Brad Gillis from Night Ranger Received the very first Floyd Rose Trem to be sold in the united states. It Was installed on his red strat. Eddie was the second player to use a F.Rose.
My new Christmas 2023 gift, thanks to my wife to pick it up this morning.
Excellent! I thought I knew some stuff about Eddie's guitars, but I only knew 2 of these and the last one blew my mind! Especially since 80% of my guitars (including copies of both his FrankenStrat and the "Music Man" he played with the same paint job) have Floyd Rose Bridges! And I'm also considering one of the new Schecter Demon-6 guitars (black with red trim, of course). So Eddie using a Schecter made body just tipped it to the "buy it" side, as a nod to him. 😅
Great vid. Had to sub..,!✌️
Eddie did not have the first Floyd. Randy Hansen had the first one and still has it. Randy introduced Eddie to the Floyd trem as Floyd Rose was Randy's sound guy.
Whoa!
New information!
I never knew that about Hansen!
Amazing ! Would love a breakdown on the Kramer 5150 and all its secrets. 🤘🤘
The 5150 is filled with even more secrets and contradicting stories, it would be quite the video! haha
@@PMTVUK all the more reason to make that video :D
For one , there were many 5150s made at the Kramer factory . Ed showed up at the Kramer factory one day to make 5150s for an upcoming tour .
Did you know Eiddie' guitar recently sold for a little over 4million in US dollars. Another great and attention getting video. I have heard of people using a thick guitar pick to set his bridge,another I have heard of people cutting guitar picks out of plastic milk jugs .
Ok, regarding the quarter, here's my spin on it. I was watching your video Dagan and also looking at my Music Man Axis hung on the wall in front of me and thinking why a quarter. Then it struck me that I have to adjust the truss rod onthis guitar twice a year, once during winter and once during due to the unfinished neck and humidity changes. So, if I was touring around the world with different humidities and my truss rod was inaccessible, i.e. a high end neck adjustment, slipping the quarter under the Floyd would address fret rattle by raising the bridge. The truss rod adjustment on the Music Man is always the same, a quarter turn, MMMMMMMMMM, comments?
I had always understood the Floyd story to be that Neal Schon got the third Floyd behind Ed and Brad Gillis.
Eddie so fantastic musician, man from Mars.
I'm pretty sure I saw Eddie on an interview saying he would put the coin there for changing strings easily (to keep the Floyd straight) or when he broke a string..
There is a valid video out there... The volume on eddies original guitar,, he removed the standard module for any guitar and replaced it with a Walkman tape spinner spindle.
All right now those of you that are not old enough a Walkman has a tape player in it and that tape player has two spindles that rotates the tape he removed one of those and used that because it's spun so easily versus friction with a guitar volume module..
Walkmans were torn apart by many of us, huge uses out of many of the parts as well as making homemade tattoo guns.
Okay I just had to add in that I remembered now after I posted this he used the entire spindle unit so he took it out of the Walkman and he used those two spindles as volume in a single tongue control he didn't use the other he disconnected it so instead of having two tones and a volume he had one tone and a volume because he had eliminated the use of that tone.
Brilliant!
great vid
I have some Van Halen vinyl and it will make a perfect pick guard.
In an old issue of THE INSIDE MAGAZINE , a high school friend was with Eddie when Eddie added red to the Frankenstein . At the time he was really bummed out . The current album at the time wasn't selling so well . An upcoming concert wasn't selling tickets as well as was hoped also . The reason for the red coat was Charvel ripped off his black and white stripes design . That's when he added red .
Great stories!
Thanks for the shout out to Johnny Beane in ur video
Thank you Brad!
Holy hell...I didn't know that was why the pickup was slanted. I thought Eddie just wasn't that great with power tools and didn't care enough that the screw holes didn't line up perfectly.
Nice one D
Love the Frankenstein but for another reason... I have played/collected since 76. Owned a ton of EBMM EVH Sig models and ran into a man in FLA with 4 2007 Fender CS Frankensteins. They didn't sell well at all back then. Bought all 4 for $10 grand each. Traded one off but after Ed passed I sold all 3 to a man in NY for a shi* ton. I still get contacted to this day about their availability.
Eddie didn't pull up on the whammy bar, only pushed it down. I think the quarter was spun underneath to keep the bridge flush. You should consult Chris Gill or read his book Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen. ❤🤍🖤
damn im 3rd!, also awesome vid love the content!! (and ps i kinda knew all of these facts :D)
Boogie Bodies is the ancestor of Warmoth
Great video. This brings to light a question I've had for years: transitioning from black and white to red, black and white, what happened to the thin black stripes (around the upper horn, near the output jack, etc)? If the guitar was black, then taped, painted white then the tape removed, why can't we see the thin black stripes present on the red version. Then there's a photo at 7:05 that makes me wonder: were the large stripes made by taping, painting then removing the tape BUT the thin black stripes were actually tape?
I believe the thin black stripes on the upper horn were tape, and he removed these before taping it up again and painting red.
It was automotive pin stripping
And to think Eddie never called it “Frankenstrat“ he called it “ My baby.”
I thought maybe you take one of the screws out of the quarter and flick it underneath the Floyd Rose to hold it level while you change the strings
insane intro
A saga similar to the Steve Morse Frankenstein & they both ended up at Music Man because of it.
I probably missed it but qhy did Eddie add a selector switch in the middle pickup cavity?
The only contradiction with it being a Schecter body is that Dave Schecter didn't officially start Schecter Guitar Research until 1976. Ed built Frankie in 74. Not to say that Dave couldn't have done it but SGR really didn't exist yet. But they did start out as a parts company first.
This is correct. The body was specially commissioned by a luthier from the Pacific Northwest for Boogie Body. I believe from the article I read of an interview of the luthier, Northern Ash was used because it was less commonplace for Strat bodies and indigenous to the luthiers location (Oregon or Washington, I don’t recall which). The knot wasn’t discovered until after the body was carved and brought down to Southern California to the Boogie Bodies shop. It was hanging on the wall and Mr. Van Halen inquired about it. The rest is legendary.
I’ll fly over from the US and buy one from you if you can guarantee I’ll play like that!
Did EVH invent the bridge humbucker / Strat combo?
John oats actually did it before Ed 😅
@@slimsantilli4476 Really?! That gold & black strat he always played?
Andy Scott of the Sweet also played a Strat with a humbucker in the bridge during the early 70s, amongst others. In Southern Cal, Wayne Charvel did this mod for dozens of players (mostly country guitarists) before Ed visited his shop. But while others may have come before Ed, no one popularized this setup more than Ed. What did Roth say? Everybody Wants Some!! (I want some too!)
@@whitebread940 yep
Randy Hanson got the 1st Floyd Rose. Eddie got the 2nd
Brad Gillis 3rd and possibly 4th on his 62' Red Strat and Les Paul routed to pull up and is known to be the 1st to have a recessed cavity on his guitars to pull up on a Floyd Rose and fluttering!
Dude, his rapid fire delivery was dizzying. I had a hard time tracking with him; words on Words, on WORDS! It was like he was either on a deadline or on a..."stimulant" (to put it nicely).
maybe eddie was using the quarter as a d tuna type thing, if he was flipping it in the middle of a solo, then the pedal tones of the open strings would lower
From an article in an issue of THE INSIDE MAGAZINE , a friend of Ed's from his high school/club days was with Ed when Ed added the red paint . Al and Ed were still living in their Pasadena home I think . The band suffered from their first Warner Bros contract , which was really a ripoff high interest loan the band had to pay along with a new album every year . The album deal is why their Roth era albums were mostly only a little over a half hour long . Anyway , Ed wasn't very happy at the time . Charvel released a black and white guitar that looked too similar to Ed's Frankenstein which at the time was only black and white . Also he was scheduled to have a concert and ticket sales weren't doing so well . That's when he added the red paint .
Awesome 🔥🎸🔥! New sub sent by Johnny Bean 🤘🤘
Thank you Feisty!
The neck was a birdseye maple neck but with a normal maple cap fingerboard
I’m pretty sure that he didn’t use duct tape when taping the Frankenstrat. Some have said that he used studio tape, like the black tape you use for wires in a studio area. The edges are frayed, but not like duct tape. Idk I could be wrong
Gaffer tape.
Yes that’s it thanks
Ya know, it’s sad when we live in the days when we watch more vids of people playing classic rock than their own music. It’s cool and I have a Frankie myself , but Rock n Roll is dead.
I read that the original pick guard was made out of a vinyl record
Eddie might have rested his palm on the bridge making the pitch annoyingly go up so he put the coin there to stop it
I read the coin was to shore up the bridge when a string broke so it would still be in tune.
@@TheOpinionatedGuitarist That too, theres actually lots of benefits of drilling coin into guitar... I might have to do it
Very informative; but bad audio, A solid 3.5/10
I bought a bio guitars lunatic guitar kit it's just like the production frankenstrat you buying the music store with the one pickup Floyd Rose so I painted up like a frankenstrat bought a Frankenstein pickup a Mighty Mite fender license neck I tried to make it look just like the one in the Musicians Friend catalog with no name on the headstock red black and white later on I found the actual evh Floyd Rose and the evh tuning keys and the evh neck plate but later on I noticed My High e b g strings was not as loud as my top three so I did like James Brown and I flipped it it's a lot better made me kind of feel like it is Van Halen when I did that I can play some Van Halen stuff but mostly just my own style in fact if you can imagine Eric Clapton with a little bit of Van Halen style thrown in more heavy metal maybe Ted Nugentish but Eddie is my hero and Van Halen is top of my list on favorite groups probably number one yeah number one
One correction:
Randy Hansen got the first Floyd Rose. There's enough information out there to say that this is pretty much accepted as truth.
This is 100 percent correct/truth. Randy Hansen was the very first!
It was gaffer tape he used to make the stripes.
I know fender has those p90s out there but I want make own, monster
Johnny Beane recommended you!
Thank you Janice!
Unbelievable, totally totally unbelievable but true story that happened to me re. this guitar. I live in Virginia, there is a homeless guy who lives in a tent a few miles from my house, I see the guy all the time hanging around our local WalMart. I bought him food one day, met him and sat down and talked to him for quite a while...Turns out he worked for Eddie back in the late 1970s, he used to live in SoCal and he built the pre amps in his early guitars, and did all kinds of work for him on anything electronic. This homeless guy told me his name and said to look at the 1st VH album where it says ¨Special thanks to...¨ and his name is the first one on the list!
Anyone can look that name up.
Yeah, I heard Gene Simmons was living under a bridge behind Walmart.
If his name is Jimmy that may be true.He used to do some electronic work for Dr Music in Pasadena where Ed shopped.
Quite a few pps swear by the punk band's guitarist for The Dils being the influence for the stripes. Give it a Google
Yes this is true(not sure of the band) .Unfortunately Ed had quite a few of things he was not the originator of but he was the innovator.I know a few people including myself however Ed made these ideas into something greater than we would have.
Ha ! Never occured to me that ed changed necks often and thicker heels would require the floyd higher up above the body if you didnt shave the heel down...the coin story never made sense to me until now
🤘
What amp is this?
19:35 Please, make that video.
The quarter was probably just locking the bridge so it couldn't go sharp. Might have been a precursor of sorts to his D-Tuna.
i want the pickholder on the guitar but i dont know the name of it
It's just a rolled up piece of duct tape!
@@PMTVUK is there another method which i can use to place picks on my guitar to use. Thank You
@@nirbhaysaini9578 double sided tape works good. You might need a new piece of tape after a while, but it's a cheap solution. They make it in many colors.
YOU ACTIVATED MY GOOGLE ASSISTANT 😭