![]() To achieve this, he had on his hands masking tape in 1/8 inch and ¾ inch size. He then conceived his idea of his white with black stripes paint job on his guitar. Since there were no such things as Fender Stratocaster bodies with humbucker positions carved out in the bridge position at the time, Eddie carefully measured and chiselled out a humbucker slot into the bridge position of the Stratocaster body. Wayne Charvel was crucial in assisting Eddie Van Halen with building his first Frankenstrat, along with other guitars. Strangely enough, according to some sources 3, Ed purchased the guitar neck at a discount with a large knot in the wood as he believed it would perform better. The individual costs were $50 for the body, and $80 for the neck 2. It was done on the cheap, with the total cost of the body and neck coming to $130US at the time, relatively cheaply done. Indeed Ed made his Frankenstrat using parts famously from Wayne Charvel’s shop using spare parts that were available, namely Boogie Bodies parts. Although Eddie had already tried placing a humbucker on his Fender Stratocaster, the guitar still did not sound to his liking.Įddie’s first Frankenstrat came out of a combined frustration with his previous main guitars. Indeed, Eddie is quoted in an interview as stating: “I combined the four elements (that was wanted) into the Frankenstein” 1. It was a combination of his three main guitars that he used before becoming famous: the Gibson Les Paul Fender Stratocaster and Gibson ES-335. Far from wanting to directly copy others, Eddie was out to bend the rules of the guitar itself (and possibly break a few along the way). Back then, there were a limited amount of resources and guitars present at the time that could replicate the sound that any aspiring guitarist could create. It came out of a genuine desire for the ultimate sound and a frustration with the limitations of guitars available in the 1970s. ![]() This is really, the guitar that started it all for Eddie Van Halen. This guitar is crucial to the development of the Van Halen sound, as well as everything that followed in rock music after Ed first blazed the scene in southern California. Everything about the guitar, from the forward thinking vision and construction of the guitar, to the striped paint finish, represented a whole new way of thinking with the guitar itself. One of the most memorable guitars in rock is the Van Halen I Frankenstrat.
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