SOME KIND OF MONSTER

EVH’S NEW FRANKIE MODEL STRIKES THE BEST BALANCE BETWEEN AUTHENTICITY AND AFFORDABILITY OF ANY FRANKENSTEIN REPLICA TO DATE. HERE, WE TAKE AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT THE NEW MODEL, AND EXPLORE THE ORIGINS OF THE GUITAR IT IS BASED ON, WITH HELP FROM EDDIE HIMSELF

- Stuart Williams

Some guitar players follow. Others build on what came before to innovate with new ideas. More than simply pushing things forward, they propel them into territories that are difficult to comprehend. Eddie Van Halen is the living, breathing embodiment of the latter description in every area of his approach to the guitar. From pioneering techniques and sounds that simply hadn’t been heard in the way he did them before, to forensically experimenting with his gear, he’s a one-off whose influence reaches far and wide, having set new standards for decades to come with guitar designs, amp tones, effects chains and manipulation of the guitar that are now staples in multiple genres. If Hendrix made the guitar sound like it was communicating with aliens, we wouldn’t be surprised to learn that it was Van Halen on the other end of the line.

For now though, let’s just focus on that guitar. You know, the one that merged Gibson and Fender traits with an aesthetic so muddled it’ll leave your brain fried trying to describe exactly what it is you’re looking at. The guitar that created yet another new standard for the instrument...

Like Brian May’s Red Special, Eddie’s original Frankenstein is a unique instrument – assembled from seemingly disparate parts – to create something unmistakable. The downside? Replicating it requires the mind of the man who put it together. In 2007, EVH – Eddie’s guitar brand under the manufacture of Fender – did just that, tasking the Fender Custom Shop to painstakingly recreate the Frankenstein to exact details. Yours for £16,000 new, but the 300-unit limited edition nature means that if you can even find one, the original price-tag would be considered a snip.