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Seshmeister
11-06-2013, 07:01 PM
Eddie guitar up for auction next month




NEW YORK — Eddie Van Halen’s 1982 Kramer Frankenstrat is among items up for bid. The handmade, red-and-white guitar was used during Van Halen’s 1982-1983 Diver Down Tour and recording of its most successful album, “1984.”

Van Halen’s signature is inscribed on the guitar’s neck. Its presale estimate is $100,000 to $150,000. Part of the proceeds will benefit guitarist Jason Becker, who has Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Here is the full listing.

http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee43/Seshmeister/Frankie_zps34a9589a.jpg



124. Eddie Van Halen’s 1982 Kramer “Frankenstrat” guitar used in live performances and in the studio. This 1982 Kramer “Frankenstrat” guitar was owned and played by the legendary Edward Van Halen during some of the most remarkable years of his career with Van Halen. This guitar was made in 1982 by master guitar builder Paul Unkert and represents one of the original 8 guitars built
by Unkert under Kramer for Eddie Van Halen upon his signing with Kramer Guitar Company in 1982. Until the relationship with Kramer, Eddie played his own handbuilt “Frankenstein”, which was his attempt to combine the classic sound of a Gibson guitar with the physical attributes of a Fender guitar. The “Frankenstrat” takes its name from a combination of “Frankenstein” (whose creature was also made of various parts) and Stratocaster after the Fender electric guitar.

The body is hand-painted in masked layers of white with red and black shapes on body and head stock. The natural wood neck was made ultra-thin to Van Halen’s specifications. The guitar was signed by Eddie on the headstock in 1984 during rehearsals for the “1984” tour at Zoetrope Studios.

This particular guitar has been used in live performances for the “Diver Down Tour” 1982-1983 as well as in the recording studio in 1984 for one of Van Halen’s most successful albums, “1984,” which included the songs, “Jump”, “Panama”, “I’ll Wait” and “Hot for Teacher.” The “1984” release was the band’s last studio album featuring all the original band members. The guitar is accompanied by an LOA from Rudy Leiren, 10-year, veteran Van Halen guitar tech and longtime friend to Eddie, verifying the guitar’s authenticity and history with Eddie. Rudy states that it is very unusual for Eddie Van Halen to part with a guitar once he has used it for either live performance
or recording. Also included is an LOA and video from the original guitar builder, Paul Unkert, who was in charge of building all artist guitars for Eddie Van Halen during the 1982 relationship between Eddie and Kramer Guitar Company. Unkert verifies that, with the exception of the string tree placed on the headstock behind the Floyd Rose nut clamp, and a missing aluminum strap button replaced with eyehooks (by either Eddie or his tech), every detail of the instrument’s condition coincides with when it was built in 1982. This guitar was recently featured in the book, The Guitar Collection: Solid Body ’54 Edition, Published by Epic Ink, 2011, which contains 150 of the world’s most famous guitars including those of Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and others. A portion of the proceeds from this lot will benefit guitarist Jason Becker and the Jason Becker Special Needs Trust to assist him and his family in his battle against ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). An iconic and extremely well-documented guitar from a true virtuoso in the art. Special shipping
arrangements will apply. $100,000 - $150,000


Also listed in the auction is Eddie Van Halen handwritten musical notation to his iconic guitar solo “Eruption.”Eddie Van Halen handwritten musical notation to his iconic guitar solo “Eruption.”


http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee43/Seshmeister/Eruption_zps1b028a37.jpg



221. Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen handwritten signed music notation For “Eruption”. (1988) Notation signed on 10 x 13 in. printed music paper leaf. Under the title, “Eruption” Van Halen has handwritten musical notation for his song, in black ink, on the first and second staffs. Van Halen has noted in the upper left corner of the page, “First played at the Whiskey A Go-Go 1975”. Signed upper right, “Eddie Van Halen”. Dated,“July 20, 1988”. John Stix believes “Eruption” to be the most played, imitated and revered solo electric guitar piece in history. In fine condition.
$4,000 - $6,000



http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee43/Seshmeister/Eruption2_zpsb916e710.jpg

Other items on sale at the auction include

Elvis Presley’s diamond & platinum wedding ring from his marriage to Priscilla.
• Elvis Presley stage-worn ornate belt from his black “Conquistador” performance jumpsuit.
• Bob Dylan handwritten lyrics for “I Want You” used as he was recording the song in 1966.
• John Lennon vintage Beatles stage-worn D.A. Millings custom-made suit.
• (6) Vintage color transparencies of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, sold with copyright.
• Jim Morrison unpublished 100-page handwritten notebook from his last days in Paris, 1971.
• Jim Morrison handwritten lyrics to The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm” – the last song Morrison would record before his
untimely death in 1971.
• Jimi Hendrix signed bill dated July 29, 1969 to pay Gypsy Sun and Rainbows band mates who, 2 ½ weeks later, would play with
Hendrix at Woodstock.
• Robert Plant handwritten lyrics to Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.”
• Roger Waters handwritten lyrics, with artwork, for Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.”
• Joe Perry’s handwritten musical notation from Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.”
• Michael Jackson’s MTV “Moonman” award for Best Choreography for Thriller.
• Michael Jackson original costume worn at the 1981 American Music Awards where he accepted two awards for his first solo
album Off the Wall.
• Whitney Houston signature “Queen of the Night” costume worn in the film The Bodyguard.



The catalog is available from https://www.profilesinhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/59RRM-final.pdf

VAiN
11-06-2013, 07:20 PM
150k seems like peanuts for a piece like this..

Von Halen
11-06-2013, 09:57 PM
150k seems like peanuts for a piece like this..

Yeah, I'll probably buy it.

DrMaddVibe
11-07-2013, 07:29 AM
Proceeds going to Jason Becker?

WTG Eddie. That's a class act right there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFjQgDe_a0E

baru911
11-07-2013, 07:05 PM
If you look through what's up for bid there is some very interesting items. The Tony Iommi Iron Man auto looks very sweet. For me - I'd like the Les Paul diagram of the multi-track

Seshmeister
01-19-2014, 04:12 PM
The Frankenstrat went for $60 000 the Eruption notation for $4000.

Also some clueless moron paid $800 for handwritten lyrics to Dreams signed by Hagar.

Actually to be fair I could see some fun in correcting all the spelling and grammar mistakes in red pen and then sending it back to him... :)

Terry
01-19-2014, 04:24 PM
You know, for some reason, I thought the body of the Frankenstrat guitar was the same body of the guitar pictured on the cover of Van Halen's first album, and that Eddie slapped a Kramer neck on that guitar in the early 1980s, repainted it, removed the pickguard, replaced the Strat tremolo with a Floyd Rose and replaced the bridge double humbucker as needed (as I think Ed once said the single coil neck pickup wasn't even hooked up or didn't work).

But, yeah, $150k does seem a bit low, I suppose. Even if that kind of money was nothing to me, I couldn't be bothered buying it. That guitar is probably beat to shit and might not even be playable anymore. I just never understood the mindset of paying tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars for a vintage / collector's guitar and then not even play the thing. I guess those that do will look at it as some kind of investment.

DLR Bridge
01-19-2014, 04:41 PM
I liked that Kramer better than the 5150 Kramer he used from '84 on up until he worked with Ernie Ball.

vandeleur
01-19-2014, 04:47 PM
regardless it all goes to a very good cause.

Seshmeister
01-19-2014, 08:21 PM
You know, for some reason, I thought the body of the Frankenstrat guitar was the same body of the guitar pictured on the cover of Van Halen's first album, and that Eddie slapped a Kramer neck on that guitar in the early 1980s, repainted it, removed the pickguard, replaced the Strat tremolo with a Floyd Rose and replaced the bridge double humbucker as needed (as I think Ed once said the single coil neck pickup wasn't even hooked up or didn't work).

But, yeah, $150k does seem a bit low, I suppose. Even if that kind of money was nothing to me, I couldn't be bothered buying it. That guitar is probably beat to shit and might not even be playable anymore. I just never understood the mindset of paying tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars for a vintage / collector's guitar and then not even play the thing. I guess those that do will look at it as some kind of investment.

$150k was the estimate, they only got $60k.

I guess Eddie pimping his stuff for all these years and all the various replicas hit the value. I guess the collector is going to think whats to stop him digging another one out next year from his stash?

78/84 guy
01-20-2014, 08:48 AM
You know, for some reason, I thought the body of the Frankenstrat guitar was the same body of the guitar pictured on the cover of Van Halen's first album, and that Eddie slapped a Kramer neck on that guitar in the early 1980s, repainted it, removed the pickguard, replaced the Strat tremolo with a Floyd Rose and replaced the bridge double humbucker as needed (as I think Ed once said the single coil neck pickup wasn't even hooked up or didn't work).

But, yeah, $150k does seem a bit low, I suppose. Even if that kind of money was nothing to me, I couldn't be bothered buying it. That guitar is probably beat to shit and might not even be playable anymore. I just never understood the mindset of paying tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars for a vintage / collector's guitar and then not even play the thing. I guess those that do will look at it as some kind of investment.

He did have a Kramer neck on Frankie. But he didn't play it after the Diver Down tour. If you have ever seen the centerfold from guitar world from 90 or so that has Ed on the cover. (Player of the decade) Frankie is in that photo with the Kramer neck, along with his main Kramer with 5150 painted on it through 84-89. Frankie always had a middle & front single coil pickup cavity under the black pick guard Ed made on his own. There was no one pickup strat body during or before that guitar was built. Ed invented it ! Then everyone had to make them. Put Kramer at the top of that list.

Va Beach VH Fan
01-20-2014, 09:40 AM
You know, for some reason, I thought the body of the Frankenstrat guitar was the same body of the guitar pictured on the cover of Van Halen's first album, and that Eddie slapped a Kramer neck on that guitar in the early 1980s, repainted it, removed the pickguard, replaced the Strat tremolo with a Floyd Rose and replaced the bridge double humbucker as needed (as I think Ed once said the single coil neck pickup wasn't even hooked up or didn't work).

But, yeah, $150k does seem a bit low, I suppose. Even if that kind of money was nothing to me, I couldn't be bothered buying it. That guitar is probably beat to shit and might not even be playable anymore. I just never understood the mindset of paying tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars for a vintage / collector's guitar and then not even play the thing. I guess those that do will look at it as some kind of investment.


From the Guitar Aficionado magazine:

"Frankenstein - What trips me out about this guitar is that when I painted it red, that made it more famous. A lot of people still don't know that it's the same guitar as the black and white guitar on the cover of the first Van Halen album."

DLR Bridge
01-20-2014, 10:10 AM
He did have a Kramer neck on Frankie. But he didn't play it after the Diver Down tour.

Slight correction. US Festival, the Frankenstrat had a Kramer neck. Not the hockey stick type, but the one that would be on Kramer Pacers. The hockey ones were Barettas, me thinks.

Kristy
01-20-2014, 01:50 PM
Yeah, I'll probably buy it.

Wouldn't that impede payments on your trailer home?

78/84 guy
01-20-2014, 02:53 PM
Slight correction. US Festival, the Frankenstrat had a Kramer neck. Not the hockey stick type, but the one that would be on Kramer Pacers. The hockey ones were Barettas, me thinks.

Yep. You are correct sir !

VAiN
01-20-2014, 05:18 PM
$150k was the estimate, they only got $60k.

I guess Eddie pimping his stuff for all these years and all the various replicas hit the value. I guess the collector is going to think whats to stop him digging another one out next year from his stash?

I think that coupled with no guarantee other than their word that it was used for shows and the 1984 sessions. I don't believe it was used at all on the DD tour and maaaaaaaybe on the short 83 SA tour. I also don't believe it was used for any of the recording of the 1984 album due to the 5150 Kramer coming into the picture. It's one of the original 8 built for Eddie, which is very cool nonetheless.

indeedido
01-20-2014, 07:12 PM
I'm certain it was just a backup.

DLR Bridge
01-20-2014, 07:54 PM
http://youtu.be/1eZ_Ca43rrQ
I don't believe it was used at all on the DD tour and maaaaaaaybe on the short 83 SA tour.

It's all over this kick ass fan made video of The Full Bug. Pretty sure the clips are from both N & S America.

1:49 for a nice close up (and one rippin' solo)

Terry
01-20-2014, 08:30 PM
$150k was the estimate, they only got $60k.

I guess Eddie pimping his stuff for all these years and all the various replicas hit the value. I guess the collector is going to think whats to stop him digging another one out next year from his stash?

Wow. Would have thought it would have fetched more than $60k.

Yeah, you're right about the replicas. I mean, there was the replica produced 7 or 8 years ago that was identical all the way down to manufactured cigarette burns and the quarter stuck under the Rose bridge...and I seem to recall that was selling for upwards of, what...I want to say $30k was a price I remembered being associated with that Franky replica series. And those replicas were actually functional as guitars.

Between the Charvel EVH model series that came out around 2004, followed up by the Franky replicas, the real deal probably WAS devalued as a result of just too much EVH-related gear on the market.

I never understood why some thought it was so essential to buy EVH gear to get the EVH "brown sound". If you have a halfway decent guitar, amp and a ProCo Rat or MXR Distortion +, you can fiddle around with your tone settings on your guitar and amp and get a sound that is close enough to what Ed used to get.

VAiN
01-20-2014, 08:56 PM
http://youtu.be/1eZ_Ca43rrQ

It's all over this kick ass fan made video of The Full Bug. Pretty sure the clips are from both N & S America.

1:49 for a nice close up (and one rippin' solo)

That's all footage from SA in '83.. the give away is looking at Ed's amps - they're always on Dave's right. They only did this, to the best of my knowledge, on the SA tour in '83.

DLR Bridge
01-20-2014, 09:46 PM
My best friend/guitar player from my band worked for B.C. Rich back in the early '90s when they were in New Jersey. I'm pretty sure Paul Unkert was his boss at the time. I think it was he who let him bring home a back up Kramer of Ed's to show me. Got a picture somewhere of me holding it.

VAiN
01-20-2014, 09:49 PM
My best friend/guitar player from my band worked for B.C. Rich back in the early '90s when they were in New Jersey. I'm pretty sure Paul Unkert was his boss at the time. I think it was he who let him bring home a back up Kramer of Ed's to show me. Got a picture somewhere of me holding it.

Nice, dig that sucker up and frame it! Nice conversation piece...

78/84 guy
01-21-2014, 08:42 AM
Slight correction. US Festival, the Frankenstrat had a Kramer neck. Not the hockey stick type, but the one that would be on Kramer Pacers. The hockey ones were Barettas, me thinks.

You can see it up close on the Jump video with that short lived neck. Also on the new guitar world cover. Then it got the hockey stick neck. I don't think he used it much after that.