I just played the Eddie Van Halen 'Frankenstrat'...

[electricfactory]

Actually not Eddie's personal Frankentrat but one of the licensed copies made by Fender [? ].
I was at my guitar repair guy's shop this afternoon, saw it on the bench and nearly fell down. Here are some impressions after an inspection and short play;

- it really is something to see, [having never played Eddie's actual Frankenstrat ] this guitar looked every bit the part to me- every odd screw, knob, reflector and doodad was there. The guitar that launched a million imitators. Very impressive visually.

-this is the heaviest strat I've ever hoisted. It had to be 9 lbs, and actually felt heavier than that. You would NOT want to be wearing this bad boy over the course of a night. Was EVH's this heavy ?

- the fret board was not well finished; sharp edges, badly in need of fret dressing. Also the intonation was dodgy, but that could have been because the Floyd Rose wasn't set up correctly. In fact the Floyd felt stiff and very unresponsive. Was this the way EVH had his set up ? Don't know, but this was hard to use and decidedly hard to play.

-I didn't get to wind it up loud but did get to plug in to a small practice amp- the pickup, a Duncan custom Shop EVH sounded like any clean-ish humbucker at low level- not much to learn about the guitars' tonality here. Except this; unplugged the guitar sounded a little 'dead', not at all the vibrant, resonant characteristics of a Strat. This reminded me of some of the cheaper 80's Kramer copies, heavy, dense and 'dead', unplugged.

Seeing the Frankenstrat in person brought back a lot of memories, all of them good. It also brought a flood of guitar sounds to mind as well, and if EVH isn't the[living] embodiment of a guitar legend then I don't know who is.

But playing the Frankenstrat was both disappointing and thought provoking;
if this really is a true and accurate representation of THE guitar, then EVH's playing is even more impressive than I thought.
Because this guitar is hard to play, really kinda nil from a player's standpoint. In fact, I only got the chance to see it because it was there for a fret job ! And did I mention it's heavy? Really heavy.

I consider EVH to be a phenom, arguably creating and defining his own category and place in music history.
Playing this representation of his guitar was fun and illuminating, and maybe illustrates best the axiom; it ain't the guitar, but the player.

[dimas4108]

I have to agree and i would never buy for many reasons.
1. I am not Eddie and never will be
2. I play Eddie's stuff and sound like myself playing Eddie's stuff
3. I can't see why I would spent 25g on it
4. I don't play in a VH tribute band, the only reason to buy one.
5. If i really wanted to have one, I would build it myself. atleast then alittle of me would be a part of it.
I really love Eddie's playing and he inspired me and many others, but that said I couldn't go oout and buy his trademark and play it without feeling a little wierd. I have always bought guitars based on how they played not looks or name. I bought a charvel V in 85, it was 1 of 2 copies they made of the Randy Rhoads polka dot V. I bought more for my love of Randy's playing than the actual guiatr, needless to say I hated it. From the Kahler to the Balance. (strat guy what can i say) I sold it back to Brain guiatrs for 700. I paid 1100 i think. Honestly though i never used it

[Joe_Steeler]

I read somewhere that Eddie had a tough time telling his Frankie from the copies, that is until he picked it up. Marketing hype?.... probably.
Who knows Ed might prefer a badly setup axe.... who really knows?

Now, for a $25K axe your description does not fit. Those things were supposed to be Masterbuilt grade. Bad fret job, stiff Floyd, common FMIC.

I have not played one so I cannot testify on the craftmanship. But, a dealer that I do a good amount of business with and have developed a trust and rappor did tell me that of the four Frankies he ordered, he considered three of them as something to see but playing wise were junk.
Another dealer told how bad his only piece was. He did not say it was heavy but told me it was a bit dead with huge neck gaps and just felt cheap.

All in all I believe FMIC crapped as stinker with these. They sort off learned and priced the Andy Summers Tele at a more reasonable level, albeit still high. That's why they are not moving well and still have many at the warehouse with no takers. My dealer friend told me "many" and that good deals could be had.

The upcoming YJM Strat will be priced like the Andy Summers but limited numbers will be available. Very limited. So they hope they can get them out of the warehouse and not have dust collectors.

I think they are out of their minds..... specially on today's economic climate.

[mike@switchback]

In terms of the Frankenstrat being hard to play....at a clinic several years back, Jennifer Batten told the story of getting to play "the" Frankenstein when Eddie showed up at an MJ concert to play the Beat It solo. She said it really was a piece of shit, with action way off the charts and very hard to play.

[dougg]

I was able to play one for a few minutes at a local GC. I was actually surprised at the weight - it wasn't too heavy, and I'd always been under the impression Eddie's actual Frankenstrat was pretty heavy (from interviews, etc).

The one I played was well set-up and felt pretty good. It seemed like a nice guitar overall, although I never plugged it in. It was built like a piece of junk, w/ big neck gaps, etc., but from pics of the real Frankenstrat, that seems pretty accurate.

I'd never be able to justify the price unless it was one Eddie had played on an actual tour, or on an album cut, and then signed, etc. But, I agree w/ the OP - did bring back some great memories, and it was really exciting to play for a bit!

[EADGBE]

I thought alder was light?

[FloridaSam]

Originally Posted by EADGBE

I thought alder was light?

You ever play a Strat built in 1978?

HEAVY !!!!

[brent]

it's Ash and heavy for a strat but not as heavy as some of thos 70's Fender boat anchors

[lifeson1]

Terrible guitar to play! I played one three months ago (couldn't even believe I was playing something with a 20+ price tag on it. . . felt terrible, looked worse, just a real mess, all things being said. Anyone that actually bought one of these should check their finances and try to help save the planet or something. Just obscene price tag. I guess those reflectors from the 70's sure cost a pretty penny. . .

[ReddRanger]

My thought is that this is probably how Eddie's version is. I don't think the intention was to have a 'master built' guitar. They painstakingly went over every detail of Ed's guitar to replicate it as it was.

If you've ever fiddled with partscasters you'll know that one man's gem could easily be sub par for another. They can be very personal creations. Knowing that Ed used inexpensive parts to begin with, I don't find it hard to believe that it would be difficult to play for anyone but him. Heck, just look at the thing. He's a tinkerer, but I don't remember him claiming to be a master luthier.

So I think $25k in this case is supposed to get you Ed's guitar...good or bad...but not necessarily the 'greatest strat ever'.

Just my $0.02.

[brent]

I posted a review last summer when I played it my conclusion was:

I think it would be basically a useless instrument to anybody but Ed, but that is probably EXACTLY what he was going for, it truly does seem like it was created by a crazy man, completely unique, seemingly haphazard and utterly whacked.

Full Review:


remember

Expensive guitars are cheap art.

this is more conversational sculpture than player's guitar

This ain't marketed to us players - it's marketed to people who think nothing of hanging 100's of thousands of dollars or even millions of dollars on their walls.

$25,000 grand for a replica guitar, put into context vs. a $100,000 lithograph is not really so outlandish, and that's the demographic.


here's my review from there in full:

I spent about half an hour playing and checking out the Frankenstein

It's really a pretty cool guitar, but mainly because you know it's very similar to what Ed has and plays right NOW, and the history of what it copies.

First surprise? it feels like an old strat, much moreso than the guitars it spawned, it has a definite strat vibe

It played really well, action was fast and loose.

It did seem to be a much more 'live' guitar than the EVH's, but still similar in feel.

The neck is the same 1-5/8" shape assymetrical one associated with ed, very grungy. The trem has that totally loose bar like on all his guitars I've seen up close, you'd think it unplayable that way but he does it. The spring and claw seem installed like an afterthought. The pickup is super low output, I think it's more strat like than the 78 which I find to be almost P-90 ish. The electronics assembly is something that if you saw it outside a guitar you'd swear it was for the recycling bin. The 'tone' pot has virtually NO resistance to it, like it would free spin.

The body is where it gets interesting, it is really banged up it's surface cratered from burns dings and bizzare different layers of paint. The reflectors are cracked and broken with glue residue from them really prevalent. There is duct tape, painted over tape, some of the stripes have pronounced ridges. Being ash, I expected it to be a lot heavier than it was. It is actually cleaner than the Ed guitars I've handled which were seriously grungy and rusty, these strings were even non-gangrene inducing. The distressing is also done in stages, to the body blank, black only, striped and finally red you can tell by the way the paint builds up , covers gouges, layers over old tape and the lines of the old stripes (the white was put on pretty thick and not sanded back I'm guessing. I was also surprised at how many screw holes it had in it.

Lot of cigarette burns as well. Huge couple of them one on the front of the upper bout, wonder if that's from nodding off playing with a smoke.

It was a fun experience, totally reinforced the 'tone is in your hands' I think it would be basically a useless instrument to anybody but Ed, but that is probably EXACTLY what he was going for, it truly does seem like it was created by a crazy man, completely unique, seemingly haphazard and utterly whacked.

I'd love to have one for the wall, it's an incredible conversation piece and a real representation of some important guitar history, you can literally see the evolutionary changes he made to it, if you look at it closely you can see all the remnants of the various paint jobs, including the original solid black he put down.

but at $25,000 it ain't for me or many others but out of the 5 they received 2 were sold and one reserved

[Sniper-V]

I think all these +20k dollar guitars Fender MI is putting out are just crazy!

I could only justify those prices on real "vintage" stuff.

That's me though...

[Tone_Terrific]

I've seen one ande was very impressed by the item as artwork and insight into EVH's approach. No way did it look neat. The perfectionists who babble about a little colour bleed around here would be aghast if presented with this. Actually, almost anyone would outright reject it based on the abuse it has sufffered; it looks worn, worn out.

Stiff FR- I would expect that from an upblocked trem. You have to be stiff to anchor it.
Heavy? It was based on a S-stlye Northern ash replacement body, right?
Gaps and questionable wiring look authentic.
Bad frets? It looked beat, really beat. Deteriorated playablity seems realistic.
Hard to play? I don't know how to tap with a high action but wouldn't doubt that EVH could.
Price- well, it is striking in a dumpster, surrealistic way, so, justifiable to those recreating the Hard Rock cafe in the spare loft, I suppose.

[Dr Git]

Buy yourself a cheap Raven West Stratocaster for $400...It too weighs between 9-10 lbs and sounds and plays fantastic.....Here's a pic of mine

[spcv]

Here's a Fender replica:


Here's the one I made:


Here's the back of the original, real one... notice the reflectors.


This is from the advertising trailer, showing the real one:


Here's the Fender replica:


Here’s mine:


Here’s the Real deal’s tuners:


Here’s the Fender’s:


Here’s mine:


Overall, I guess that for 25.000, Fender could have made a nicer job as far as accuracy goes… I mean if a poor joe can do it, why can't Fender? It was a nice effort, but not for the average guitar player - it's a collector item.