 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Guitars of Eddie Van Halen... |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
From left to right: Eds original Frankenstrat. Built from a Boogie (Charvel?) body and a neck from Linn Ellsworth, the black and white incarnation was the original, as seen on the cover of "Van Halen". Note the standard Fender type tremolo system. When we next saw this guitar, it was minus most of its pickguard, and with a new coat of red paint. In the second picture we see an early prototype Floyd Rose trem system. By the early 90s, Ed had gone thru several necks, and by then it had been replaced with a Kramer neck. The yellow and black guitar, as seen on the back cover of "Van Halen II", was used by Ed on that tour, but he admits it was mostly for looks, and not for its sound quality. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Eddie with plenty of axes to grind, circa 1978. Notice 'Frankenstein' is under going reconstruction at this point. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
From left to right: Eds Ibanez Destroyer,seen on the cover of "Women and Children First", and actually the guitar responsible for the sound you hear on "You Really Got Me", as well as any other non-tremolo tracks on the first Van Halen LP. Unfortunately, Ed decided this one needed some snazzing up, so he chainsawed a piece out of the bottom, and promptly ruined the tone of the axe. He did use a Destroyer on "WandCF", but that one was borrowed from W.A.S.P.s Chris Holmes.
In 1983, Eddie began a long association with Kramer Guitars, based out of Neptune, New Jersey. It seems they gave him tons of guitars, most of which he painted in his famous red, white and black scheme (the guitars were white to begin with). Eddie could be seen in ads for Kramers Barretta guitars, and that is the body style seen most often on VH instruments. However, the Barrettas, as sold, had a slanted neck pickup, which most of Eds didn't. Seen here is the guitar he eventually settled on, the famous '5150'. The '1984' tour actually saw Ed begin with a different Kramer, but for some reason he chose this one as his number one, taking over from the war-torn Frankenstein as his on-stage workhorse. Oddly enough, Ed admitted around the time of the "5150" album that he did not actually use Kramers in the studio. Who knows why...
Seen next is Eds Steinberger, with custom face plate (NOT painted by VH) and special Trans-Trem tremolo system, best heard on "5150"s "Get Up". |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
The king in his court...5150 Studios has a lot going for it, but this arsenal MUST be the sweetest thing about it. Eddie is seen with the killer Koa wood Gibson Flying V best heard on "Hot For Teacher". Also seen: Frankenstein returns; it had been ressurected for the video "Feels So Good" in 1989. Theres a 5150 painted Les Paul as well...as much as Ed bitched when Les gave him one of those with a trem, and now heres another one! Theres his '59 Les Paul, and of course, the (then) all new EVH Music Man guitars, among them the purple double neck used on stage for "Spanked". Oh, and don't forget those great Peavey 5150 amps, as well as the god of all amps...THE Marshall Super-Plexi. Bow down low, guitarists, you are in the presence... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
In 1991, Ed worked with Ernie Ball Guitars to design a model of his own, that would work as exactly what he wanted, but a guitar that could be sold to anyone who wanted one. After Ed cut off his association with Kramer ( he says he got tired of having to hop a boat to Taiwan to see the guitars being built for him), Sterling Ball pestered Ed until he decided to design a guitar for them. Working with James Brown (no, not the godfather of soul) on pickups, Ed finally got what he wanted. By the time of the "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" album, the EVH Music Man was ready to go. For the first time, Eddie was happy with a neck and bridge pickup combination. At this point, Eddie was also working with Peavey on his series of 5150 amps. When it eventually became apparent Music Man could not produce instruments to satsisfy demand (many times you were faced with a wait of over a year for one!) he left his body design, pickups and all and went over to Peavey full tilt. The third guitar you see is a custom made Peavey Wolfgang guitar, with an assembly line model seen beside it. There is a slight body difference, and the pickups designed by Ed and Steve Blutcher, are a tad hotter but sweeter, and the selector switch has been moved to the upper horn, since Eddie had a tendency of hitting the switch on the MM accidentally. Eddie had said he was very happy with his set-up in the late 90's, but by 2004, things had changed. Eddie dropped his contract with Peavey, and has been producing a limited line of custom guitars for Charvel/Fender. He'd been seen using both these new Charvels as well as the Wolfgangs live on the tour to prmote Van Halens CD "Best of Both Worlds", which reunited the Hagar-era band. These continued to be used during the 'Van Halen mk. 3' tour.There is even an exact duplicate of Frankenstien being sold, but if you want an axe even Ed says he can't tell aprt from the original...be prepared to shell out around $25,000! |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
So, what happened between Ed and Peavey? Who knows for sure. Rumors are rampant that one side or the other were the true unhappy ones in the relationship. Some say it's because Peavey sold striped guitars in their customs shop, totally against Eds' wishes, not to mention his CONTRACT!. Will Van Halen take the 5150 amp to Fender now? Will the Wolfgang still be made, but under another name (ala the Music Man Axis)? One thing all fans agree on: it's good to have new music from VH, and as Eddie says, these new tracks are "just the tip of the ice berg!" It's about time.... |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
"Fuck if I know how I do the things I do. I just come up with 'em."-Edward Van Halen |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|