EVH MINI-DOC: The Early Guitars In His Own Words | The Journey to Frankenstein

[Seshmeister]

Edward Van Halen received his first guitar, a $40 Teisco Del Rey, in 1967 at age 12. Over the next 10 years he would go on a journey, learning more and more about what he wanted and needed from a guitar. After working his way through Les Pauls, Stratocasters and Destroyers, the culmination of that search for the perfect instrument was the creation of something all his own - the immortal Frankenstein guitar. It recently placed number 3 in Billboard's list of the most iconic guitars of all time: https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-... This mini-documentary, narrated entirely by Edward himself, featuring some previously unheard audio, traces the story of his early guitars, leading up to him creating a legend.

[Kristy]

So Eddie wasn't the poor black child he led us all to believe.

[Terry]

So Eddie wasn't the poor black child he led us all to believe.

And Eddie's playing style didn't spring up out of thin air after he was exclusively listening to Eric Clapton via Cream, despite Eddie's allusions otherwise.

[Kristy]

No, what I mean is Eddie had some nice guitars before building the Frankencrap. I was led to believe by Van Halenologist that Eddie was a a poor Euro trash immigrant who could not speak the language and was living off food stamps and mowed lawns and paper routes to buy parts for his shitty guitar.

Anyhoo, the Frankencrap is not an iconic guitar the most iconic guitar is not even a guitar but part guitar. What am I talkign about? Why the Junior Brown "Guit Steel"

Only it's not really a guitar but it is. Now that's a guitar that's not a guitar.

[ZahZoo]

Most of the guitars Ed played and parted out back then only cost a few hundred bucks used at the time. Remember that due to inflation, $300 in the 70's is equivalent of about $2400 today. On top of that... old used guitars like the Les Paul and ES335 Ed had weren't considered all that valuable... this was long before there was the over-priced concept of "vintage" gear... back then it was old used crap...

[Kristy]

So what you're saying is that Eddie was middle class. Eddie had some really nice guitars before the Frankencrap but could never admit to himself that he fucked them up. What a spoiled little shit he turned out to be.

[ZahZoo]

Yep... Ed/Al grew up middleclass... whether the specific guitars Ed tore up were "really nice" is matter of opinion.

Based on the year and models... they'd be worth most likely thousands today if they were in original condition and had been treated fairly decent. Odds are those guitars were road worn and nothing like the one's you'd see today fetching 5-6 figures in the vintage market that spent 50 years in someone's closet.

I had a 1967 Gibson ES335 I bought for $275 back in 74... it was nice but not what I felt was cool at the time. Traded it for a motorcycle that damn near killed me. Wish I still had that guitar now.