NGD - Along time coming. EVH Frankenstein

[Zilthy]

So, I have had it a few weeks, almost a month, but I finally acquired the EVH Frankenstein.

This particular guitar has been a long, long, long time coming for me. Hailing back to when I started playing in 1985 and put black and white electrical tape stripes on my Harmony Flying V.

My first introduction to the striped guitar didn't come until 1984 though, and what I latched on to was the Kramer 5150 striped guitar with Eddie flying across the stage in the Panama video. The Frankenstrat was later. But, that was my introduction to Van Halen, and I was hooked. Fast forward many decades later, and through all of the Kramers, and the Charvel art series, I still did not have one. Finally, the EVH brand comes up, and I still passed on it. About 4 -5 years ago, I finally decided I was going to get one. At that time, I think the 5150 Striped had just come out, and was about $500 more than the EVH red/white/black striped series (non relic).

I *really* wanted the 5150, but thought, well, I will be satisfied with the regular striped series. Silly move. I did really want the 5150, and ended up getting one a couple of years ago. I should have just gone for that in the first place. When the Frankenstein striped came out at $2k vs $20k, I thought, well, that is neat, but I am really in to that first image I saw from the 1984 videos, I kind of gave it a passing glance, then moved on. Sure, the reviewers/deomos/etc were all talking about the 'mojo' of the Frankenstein, but I gave it little thought. Over the past couple of years, I started thinking about the Frankenstein more and more.

I finally decided to get one last month, and yeah. This feels different than the other EVH guitars I have had. In a very good way. Not that the others are bad, but the extra rolled fretboard edge, unfinished (oiled) neck, worn/satin finish on the body, it is just a comfortable joy to play.

And here is me enjoying the hell out of it, trying to not do too embarrassing of a job playing some of the Mighty Edward's work on the guitar. :)

 

The Link https://www.youtube.com/embed/cKRX2bCWc-Y?si=8liLOTcDriL4zpLJ

[rnolan]

Hey Zilthy, nice guitar and some great playing  :whoohoo!:

[Harley Hexxe]

Congratulations Zilthy,

  You did the right thing going for the guitar that you really wanted. I went through the same thing a year and a half ago and bought back a guitar that I used to own in the 80s.

   I've missed those guitars since I sold them and regretted that I did. Now that I've paid nearly five times what I paid for one back in the day, I find myself reaching for it more than any other of my guitars. When you have the right guitar in your hands, the magic happens, and you can't help yourself.

   I looked at those EVH guitars and kind of wondered if I'd like it as much as I do my other guitars. The ones that appeal to me the most from that line are the bumble bee and a Wolfgang model that I think it is called the special. (That's the black one with the ebony fretboard). I don't know if I'll ever get one since no one around here carries them and I can't even try one out. The last time I tried a Wolfgang model was when Eddie was still with Ernie Ball, and that was a pretty solid guitar, but there were a couple of small details I didn't like about it, so I didn't think much about it after that.

   I'm rambling now. Anyway, I'm glad to hear you found the "one" that flips your switch. You're getting great tone and pushing your playing out further which is exactly what a great guitar is supposed to make you do.  Enjoy!

[Dante]

Sweet axe, Zilthy! I sure like playing my Strats (which are similar to that Kramer body style) and I did have a Wolfgang for awhile, but I traded it for my H&K head, so that was a great trade....love that amp, and don't miss the guitar (Like Harley, I wasn't crazy about the Wolfgang...little things, nothing major, just not my cup o'tea)

Like you, I also decided "EFF IT, I'm getting what I want..." and bought my first real Gibson Les Paul. I have had other Gibsons, I still have my Explorer, had a Sonex 180 Deluxe in the 80s. And, I've had other Les Pauls - Ibanez PF160 was a TANK of a guitar, my Ibanez AR200 Goldtop is still what I consider my "go to" Lester but it shaped more like a double cutaway.

To be honest, none of my Gibsons (I'm up to 4 now) play half as nice as the Ibanez guitars, especially the semi hollow ones. Those necks are slim and fast. So, I practice with the Gibbys and gig with the Ibanez and Epiphones. I do love Burstbucker pickups tho, they sound nice

What's my point? I have no idea, but if you have the money to get what you want, do it. You only live once. If you don't have the money, either sell something or put a down payment on it and just keep the payments comfy until you get it.....DO IT ;)

Sometimes it works out and you have the dream guitar, sometimes you realize that guitar wasn't all you thought in the first place. Glad you found a keeper 

[Harley Hexxe]

Dante,

   You and I share the same mindset when it comes to guitars, we both like the slim, fast neck profiles. You would love both of my 1983 guitars as they don't have your typical Fender neck profiles.

   As for Gibson guitars, if you are looking for slimmer, more comfortable neck profiles, they only did that on the guitars from the early 60s to the early 70s. Those guitars are SOOOOO overpriced though that they are completely impractical. Since I'm such an oddball when it comes to guitars, I'll throw this out there right now. The only Gibson I would ever buy would be a 1971-1972 Les Paul Recording model. Just saying.

[Dante]

My Gibson V probably has the fastest Gibby neck, and it's light. So, I do bring that one a lot.

One thing I noticed about all the newer (post 2000) Gibbys, the nut is too dang tall. You can push down hard on your D chord and hear it going in/out of tune with the pressure

I do like guitars from the early/mid 80s - I have two Ibanez hollowbodies (ES339 size) from ''84 and '86 that simply spoil me, too easy to play, if there is such a thing.

I do stay away from Gibbys from the mid 70s because the're quality control wasn't all that great at the time, hence them attacking Ibanez with a Cease & Desist letter for making better Les Pauls than Gibson (aka the lawsuit guitars)

[Harley Hexxe]

Dante,

   It isn't just Gibson doing that, Fender does too. The nuts need to be grooved deeper and they all need to be set up and intonated from the factory, so that's not surprising to hear.

   The 70s were the Norlin years I think, and yeah just like CBS with Fender, they were focused on numbers and profits more than quality. I don't like the mid 70s and upward Gibsons either.

   Gibson still can't make quality guitars, so they sue everybody who can. I have one of the lawsuit guitars that I picked up a couple of months ago, it's an acoustic. I'll get around to taking some pics and posting it one of these days.

[rnolan]

The nut needs to be set up for the gage of string you are using and also how you like the feel on the first fret.  If you press down just in front of the 2nd fret and check how much it clears the 1st fret (bottom of strings forms straight edge or you can use a small ruler), that's what you need to adjust.  I like it low (~1/64th), others like it higher 1/32nd or even 3/64ths.

Also, you need to file the nut such that only half the string sits in the nut slot (easy for low E, careful on the plain strings) or you loose volume.  And the string should break over the nut (and saddles) at a minimum of 15 deg (why god invented string trees for strats) and the reason for angled peg heads.  Generally I also slightly angle the nut slot to ensure the contact point is the very front of the nut. 
 
The reason I ended up buying the JPLP was the neck (though initially I fell for the tiger striping).  It's the first Gibson neck I've ever really liked.  So it's a custom shop '59 replica (of Pages #1) which has been shaved even more.  I played a 1960 LP a friend has (worth $175k apparently).  It also has a nice thin neck, although not quite as nice as the JPLP.  I had my Epiphone SG neck shaved into a soft V (he copied my Anderson) which made it way nicer (for me) to play.

[Harley Hexxe]

Richard,

   The string trees on a Strat can be a mixed blessing. They can help with stock post tuners, but with staggered post tuners, you want to take them off, (like I did with my 1980 STRAT).

[rnolan]

Hey Harley, I agree, I saw Hipshot were doing the staggered post tuners, good idea, although I like to have at least 3 turns around the post, which partly comes from my early days when I needed to repair broken strings coz I couldn't afford to buy new ones.  But also because it helps with string break.  And then, not all string trees are equal either.

[Harley Hexxe]

Richard,

   With locking tuners, I only have 1/2 to 3/4 of a wrap around the post. Any more than that and tuning won't return to pitch.

    The staggered tuners help with the string break, as I've had no issues with that since I removed the trees. Most people love the sound of that Strat and want me to play it more, and I agree, it sounds great. It's just so bleeping heavy!

[Peter H. Boer]

Love the playing and the guitar  :banana-guitar:

[SAN]

Go Zilthy :headbanger: I can Imagine that, finally getting the guitar you were after a long time will give you fun for days, months, years to come