Check out the Fender Frankenstein

[ThrillsNSpills]

CLICK

Well many of us are Fender fans so I figured we needed to see the EVH/Fender guitar.
Click the guitar on the link for a series of pics.
Hey it's 25,000 but the good news is the item ships free.




Early '80s Van Halen heaven, down to every last detail.

Eddie Van Halen and Fender have joined forces to bring you EVH® brand guitars, amps and musical products, beginning with a most eagerly awaited musical event: the unveiling of a 300-instrument limited edition run of the Eddie Van Halen Frankenstein™replica guitar.
This red, black and white ash-body guitar has been put through an astounding aging process to replicate the original down to every last scratch, ding and cigarette burn. Fender craftsmen even scoured the land for 1971 quarters just like the original Eddie at one time stuck under the original tremolo bridge to mount near the Floyd Rose® Original tremolo bridge. The guitar features a Seymour Duncan® Custom Shop EVH® humbucking pickup, a single master volume knob (that says Tone ) mounted on a partial black pickguard identical to the original. Leaving no stone unturned, the guitar is complete with a non-functional three-way switch and single-coil pickup that occupy two of the three pickup routs.

[ELVIS]

[MAX]

I don't care what anyone says, if any of us could afford to pay that price to own that rep, we fucking would. Unfortunately, I don't think any one of us are millionaires? However and for the majority of us, mortgages, car payments, rent, loans, etc. take precidence. Therefore, spending one third of our yearly salary on an axe is absolutely insane.

Still, I'd LOVE to own that replica although it will never happen.

That rep is fucking incredible IMO.

Oh and on a related subject, I recently saw one of those Charvel (Gibson) EVH Art Series used at Guitar Center. It was fucking CHEAP!!! I shit you not!!! It was almost laughable... Yet and for some reason the pricetag was still in the two grand range.

[indeedido]

I'm in the final stages of building my own. I've encountered a lot of pics of the real one and the replica. The more replicas I see, the more differences I see. The stripes are off on everyone I see. I no longer believe they are identical to his. I find some other pics, but here is one.

[indeedido]

[thome]

If they built one clean and pricise without the test holes and exposed wires. You know a exact replica of his -test model- but without showing -the work-.

I would say that would be the guitar to have .

The replica is cool to but does it need all that butchering to have that trademark -I'm The One, sound?-

If I wanted one so beat up looking, i wouldn't want one factory stressed.

I would want one that looked like that because it was EVH stressed.

Probably 100k ?

Am I missing the point?It's all good, I'm just saying.

[ThrillsNSpills]

Testdriving the beast at NAMM

[DeadOrAlive]

I saw one in person at the guitar center. It was in a glass case with all this fancy shit, but I thought this was actually one of Ed's guitars. It's friggin' insane on the details, but not exactly worth 25K...

[indeedido]

In person, does it look like a big piece of shit? I imagine it does. Looks cool from a far and in pics. I imagine in person it looks like a piece of shit

[ELVIS]

Originally posted by thome
If they built one clean and pricise without the test holes and exposed wires. You know a exact replica of his -test model- but without showing -the work-.

Countless people have built that exact guitar...

[Don Corleone]

A mate of mines bought one (along with a 5150 III). I'm looking forward to seeing how it compares to mine which was built by Frankenstraat for around 1/25th of the price.

[indeedido]

Originally posted by thome
If they built one clean and pricise without the test holes and exposed wires. You know a exact replica of his -test model- but without showing -the work-.

I would say that would be the guitar to have .

The replica is cool to but does it need all that butchering to have that trademark -I'm The One, sound?-

If I wanted one so beat up looking, i wouldn't want one factory stressed.

I would want one that looked like that because it was EVH stressed.

Probably 100k ?

Am I missing the point?It's all good, I'm just saying.

When I was ordering my body to build mine from Warmoth, I was talking to the guy and told him what I was doing. I mentioned I wasn't going to put all the screw holes in it and make it look like shit. He said, those are tone holes. you gotta have 'em. I kinda laughed, and he was serious. to each his own

[ELVIS]

No two pieces of wood sound exactly the same...

No two are alike...

One may sound good with "tone holes" one may not...


LMAO!

[Diamondjimi]

Originally posted by thome
The replica is cool to but does it need all that butchering to have that trademark -I'm The One, sound?-

People are hung up on the idea that his "Frankie" gtr is everything to his sound. Give Ed any guitar of identical components (Floyd Rose,humbucker,Maple neck and Strat style body) and he could make it happen.
Point being ,it's all in the hands. And 25 G's is a lotta cake for a guitar.

I'd rather make my own (and I have.)

[jhale667]

Originally posted by diamondjimi
People are hung up on the idea that his "Frankie" gtr is everything to his sound. Give Ed any guitar of identical components (Floyd Rose,humbucker,Maple neck and Strat style body) and he could make it happen.
Point being ,it's all in the hands. And 25 G's is a lotta cake for a guitar.

I'd rather make my own (and I have.)

I agree, and I made/make my own, too. And remember kids, "80% of your sound is in your fingers."

[MAX]

I have a question...

What was the purpose of that quarter? I've both read and heard it had something to do with keeping it in tune prior to adding the Floyd?

[ThrillsNSpills]

Originally posted by MAX
I have a question...

What was the purpose of that quarter? I've both read and heard it had something to do with keeping it in tune prior to adding the Floyd?

I think it was to keep the Floyd from going sharp.

[ThrillsNSpills]

"Fender designers even scoured the land for 1971 quarters (that's the right year), just like the original he at one time stuck under the original tremolo bridge."

There it is.
Not the Floyd but the original bridge.


To fill the gap between the top surface of the guitar body and the bottom side of the tremolo plate, Eddie's modest-but-efficient solution was to permanently mount a quarter under the unit's top-back side. A succession of replacement necks all maintained the use of Schaller® tuners after Van Halen broke the original neck.

[MAX]

Thanks Thrills.

I knew I'd read that somewhere prior.

[ThrillsNSpills]

From the same source:

Sharing the Legacy

Like all true innovators, Eddie Van Halen has continuously evolved. His playing is as amazing now as ever, but his devotion to artistry, musicianship and songcraft has grown and matured all along the way. Now, at this point in his magical career, Eddie has decided to share his legacy of innovation with guitarists everywhere.

(How does anyone know if Ed's playing has evolved?
How has Ed decided to share his legacy with guitarists everywhere with a limited release product at 25 G's ?
)

Although Eddie has before developed various guitar models with various makers, there has never been a faithful, first-rate recreation of the iconic Frankenstein™ instrument so revered by his fans and so dear to him personally. And there was only one company who could do it right.

Fender.

The company that has brought the rock world signature models from its greatest guitarists now introduces a painstakingly accurate rendition of what is widely regarded as the world's most recognizable electric guitar: the EVH® Frankenstein™ replica. This red, black and white ash-body guitar has a bolt-on maple neck and has been aged to precisely match the original, complete with every scratch, ding and cigarette burn.

The maple fingerboard has a 12" to 16" compound radius, with 21 Dunlop® 6100 jumbo frets. The guitar features a Seymour Duncan® Custom Shop EVH® humbucking pickup, with a single master volume knob (that says "Tone") mounted on a single-ply partial black pickguard, identical to the original. Other features include Schaller® tuners, aged chrome hardware, and a limited edition, fully "relic-ed" EVH® road case. Leaving no stone unturned, the guitar is complete with a non-functional three-way switch and single-coil pickup that occupy two of the three pickup routs.

The EVH® Frankenstein™ replica guitar is a phenomenally crafted piece of rock history—of guitar history, period—and it could only come from Eddie Van Halen and the talented resources of Fender®. This guitar simply must be seen, heard and felt to be believed. Much like the first time you saw, heard and felt the incredible musical power of Eddie Van Halen.

[indeedido]

He put it on in like '83 I think or '82. It was before a show and he couldn't get the floyd to sit flush on the guitar body. So he asked someone for a quarter. The person who gave it to him was a Guitar World reporter. Later on, he no longer needed it, and just swiveled it around and left it mounted.

[jhale667]

Originally posted by ThrillsNSpills


There it is.
Not the Floyd but the original bridge.

Nah... that's a misquote. It was around '82 or '83 from other things I've read, and he was already using Floyds by that time...

[Nitro Express]

Originally posted by MAX
I don't care what anyone says, if any of us could afford to pay that price to own that rep, we fucking would. Unfortunately, I don't think any one of us are millionaires? However and for the majority of us, mortgages, car payments, rent, loans, etc. take precidence. Therefore, spending one third of our yearly salary on an axe is absolutely insane.

Still, I'd LOVE to own that replica although it will never happen.

That rep is fucking incredible IMO.

Oh and on a related subject, I recently saw one of those Charvel (Gibson) EVH Art Series used at Guitar Center. It was fucking CHEAP!!! I shit you not!!! It was almost laughable... Yet and for some reason the pricetag was still in the two grand range.

I have a chopper built by Indian Larry I purchased a few years ago before anyone knew who he was. Now it's probably worth a fortune but I'm not selling it to buy some EVH replica.

[Nitro Express]

I actually bought the bike in Ephraim, Utah of all places. Big Daddy Roth got off of drugs and joined the Mormon church and lived in Manti, UT. Larry was a huge Roth fan and the bike was made for him. Anyways one of my Mormon relatives tipped me off on it and I bought it because I like old fashioned, old school choppers that are interesting.

But there ya go Maxx. You can find things in Utah you would never believe! I guess Big Daddy Roth was a temple going, garmet wearing Mormon to his dying day. Wierd huh?

[reallybigguitar]

I went through Oklahoma City yesterday and saw the Frankenstein at Oklahoma Vintage Guitar, they still have one for sell. If I had the money I would buy that sucker. Its wonderful, the Fender custom shop guys do have it together.

It sound fantastic and looks amazing. They did EVH justice with that piece, a true piece of Rock and Roll History right there! If only I had $25000!!!

[Coyote]

Originally posted by reallybigguitar
I went through Oklahoma City yesterday and saw the Frankenstein at Oklahoma Vintage Guitar, they still have one for sell. If I had the money I would buy that sucker. Its wonderful, the Fender custom shop guys do have it together.

It sound fantastic and looks amazing. They did EVH justice with that piece, a true piece of Rock and Roll History right there! If only I had $25000!!!

You wouldn't happen to be a Guitar World employee, would you?

[reallybigguitar]

Originally posted by Coyote
You wouldn't happen to be a Guitar World employee, would you?

No, I am not an employee of any guitar store, I am a HVAC Journeyman and Service Technician. If you need to verify that I can give you employment information in a pm.

[Blackflag]

Another replica - big deal. A $25k guitar is for a collector, not a player.

Has anybody tried the new amp? That's the question.:confused:

[ZahZoo]

Originally posted by MAX
I have a question...

What was the purpose of that quarter? I've both read and heard it had something to do with keeping it in tune prior to adding the Floyd?

At some point the bridge wouldn't sit flat across the body in the resting position. This caused some fine tuning issues. So Ed shimmed it with the quarter. It was later fixed and he left the quarter and drilled an additional hole in it to put a screw in place to hold it away from the bridge. This issue was also resolved when the next generation with the fine tuning options were available.

Supposedly when the Fender guys were specing the original they found a piece of masking tape stuck under the bridge that was also interfereing with it's operation. It was removed and it held tune better.

[Coyote]

Originally posted by reallybigguitar
No, I am not an employee of any guitar store, I am a HVAC Journeyman and Service Technician. If you need to verify that I can give you employment information in a pm.

Just razzin' ya, dude...

[letsrock]

The 2004 Charvels have increased by as much as $300.00 on eBay.
The EBMM has jumped almost $500.00

[Don Corleone]

Wait for the tour - they'll go up more.

[indeedido]

Originally posted by reallybigguitar
I went through Oklahoma City yesterday and saw the Frankenstein at Oklahoma Vintage Guitar, they still have one for sell. If I had the money I would buy that sucker. Its wonderful, the Fender custom shop guys do have it together.

It sound fantastic and looks amazing. They did EVH justice with that piece, a true piece of Rock and Roll History right there! If only I had $25000!!!

I saw your post about Okla Vintage Guitar and I sought them out. Never heard of them before. So yesterday I went out to their shop. Pretty cool shop with a lot of internet sales. Anywho, I looked all over for the Frankenstrat. 6000 sq ft shop with lots of rooms. I expected it to be displayed somewhere. I looked down after walking all over and saw some cases just sitting. I spotted the anvil case right away. I knelt down and opened it up, and behold there it was. Just sitting there with a bunch of other guitars in the cases. So of course I took it out and played it. The shop guys were cool, they never, not once, came over and hassled me. In fact, they didn't say one word that I was putting my gruby mitts on this $25k guitar.

It does look like a giant piece of shit in person. Pictures do NOT do it justice. It is a nasty, used, beat up, piece of shit. HOWEVER, it did play like butter. The neck had a fantastic feel! I would love to have that neck. It needed a setup as the floyd block was banging into inside cavity, maybe Ed's does this. I have just completed making my replica, I did a more pro/showroom version. I felt proud of what I did compared to this thing, but it is the original and it is just like Ed's.

When I left, I felt like I had met Ed or at least his guitar. In fact, he's such a sorry person I feel better about seeing and playing the guitar than meeting him. What could I say to him that he hasn't already heard before.

Bottom line, awesome awesome guitar. I never thought I'd ever see one, much less PLAY one. $25k, no not worth that, but still fucking awesome

[ThrillsNSpills]

Do you think there will be a lower end version of this thing for sale in the future?

Or will it be all about limited run high end goods?

[indeedido]

I doubt it. I think that is what the Charvels are for.

[jhale667]

Originally posted by indeedido
I doubt it. I think that is what the Charvels are for.

The EVH Art series has been discontinued by Charvel...

[cdwillis]

I'm sure EVH is going to release another Wolfgang coming soon. Personally I think they should have a cheaper import model without all the fancy paint, but the same features.