Rockin' the mini-strat

[XAdrian21340]

what kind of guitar is that?

[edwinmaier]

@XAdrian21340 It's a Squier mini-Stratocaster

[ed0985587]

don't know why all the bashing comments on this video? awesome playing.

[edwinmaier]

@ed0985587 Thanks!

[AMEANKITTEH]

"Crap, guitar cord is tangled........ Crap, still tangled......" Few seconds later. Beast Mode!

[JCRJr1]

Not bad but 100 times Eddie did it better

[metallisabbath]

omg its sandman from spiderman 3!!

[TheMatthew67]

sounds like a kramer guitar and what this guy is trying to be the next eddie van halen

[Weiszcracker]

Very fast

[NedN00b]

A while back, they revised the Mini-Strat design a bit & sold it as a Starcaster. I don't think they sold it for very long. It had an extra tone knob, sealed tuners, and it seemed to be made from laminated planks, (end to end) instead of plywood. It also had a three-layer laminated pick guard. They're both great guitars -- especially for travel. I like the updated features on the Starcaster version, though. (if you can find it) Good video.

[ChrizRockster]

Hold a note for longer than half a second every now and then! There are a couple more bags of feeling held in one note with vibrato than a million tapping licks. EVH is the perfect balance of that.

[chiefbigbeef52]

Haha. Still tangled.

[Davesintexas]

OMG....THE MANs A GIANT>..Must be 11 feet tall look how tiny that guitar looks in his massive hands......

[ZwingUri2]

david hasselhof lol

[buccia1993]

You are a mini-Van Halen!

[Myogramme]

I like the guitar

[brandon2139]

you should try playing "throes of perdition" by trivium.

[StormBlitzM37AL]

7 people think that guitar design is from atreyu's guitarist.

[JCNEAL20]

from the side he looks like the father from malcolm in the middle lol

[samo0701]

That's like the best of both worlds album cover guitar that eddy van-halen uses were did you get it I want one

[YeraYGuitar]

where are the melodies?

[skaterocker666]

EVH style!!!!

[doublebiancu96]

@skaterocker666 only the style?, man, he is looks exactly like eddie, am i the only one that notice that?

[skaterocker666]

@doublebiancu96 yes i noticed that

[9pasadena9]

pretty good man

[edwinmaier]

@9pasadena9 Thanks!

[ShaggyDawg]

WTH?? You dont look like the type that can play that good! LOL! More like an accountant. j/k. Nice job, man.

[edwinmaier]

@ShaggyDawg Thanks. :)

[twohandtap]

Hey great mods, I love iτ!. Do you think τhat this guitar could be modded with a tremolo?

[edwinmaier]

@twohandtap Thanks. You would have to route it for a tremolo cavity. There was a website called rondomusic that was selling single-humbucker mini-guitars with trems. They don't appear to have them anymore, though.

[Bobby59]

LOL awesome! What pickups you install?

[edwinmaier]

@Bobby59 Thanks. The humbucker is a Jackson out of an early 90s Charvel Fusion. It's marked "J90" on the back.

[mashala7887]

dude sickest stuff ever sick mod on the guitar and sick playing

[edwinmaier]

@mashala7887 :) Thanks!

[edwinmaier]

@mashala7887 :) Thanks!

[TheJagwires]

nice guitar playing! i just ordered one of these yesterday and im gonna modify it... but ima put vintage 60's-70s stuff on it so sorry.. :/ im not ur kind in music but i really like ur playing :D

[edwinmaier]

@TheJagwires I bet that will turn out pretty cool. Thanks for the complement!

[iMohawkKid]

0:42 ... you totally jizz to your own guitar skills ;)

[iMohawkKid]

is this how big the 3/4 size guitar is ???

[edwinmaier]

@iMohawkKid Yep.

[iMohawkKid]

@edwinmaier cheers I was tryin to find a video of the size on youtube so im not lookin at a picture and just guesing... btw great guitar playing!

[edwinmaier]

@iMohawkKid Thanks!

[wickedwizardofspeed]

who look like Hal from Malcom in the Middle.

great playing this was awesome to watch haha

[slepkava100]

VAN HALEN

[porousorifice]

FrankenSquire!!!

[markojev]

This is evidence that you can rock out hardcore and sound fucking awesome on any guitar :DDD

[spystyle]

A+

[edwinmaier]

@spystyle Thanks!

[Nikkoo1985]

sick... O_O

[MatKiller1197]

you look like sandman

[BassnGuitarMan]

No Floyd!?! Poser!

jk- This is the hardest rocking mini I've seen. cudos

[edwinmaier]

@BassnGuitarMan Thanks! :)

[shredabilly13]

Have you been reading dave celentano's books, flying fingers, or just look him up tapping. You sound very similar.

[edwinmaier]

@shredabilly13 I'm not familiar with him but I'll check it out. Thanks.

[cgrw1]

OMG Its Hugh Laurie!!!!!

[BuddhaMaster84]

this mini strat is quiet modified... humbucker custom paintshop nice

[galaxieman24]

Not a bad little guitar, but you need to put on heavy strings if you want to tune to E. At least an 11-48 gauge.

[edwinmaier]

@galaxieman24 No argument from me on the string gauge. I think it had 10s on it when I shot this and they were crazy slack. Since it was for my son, though, I didn't want him to be fighting the strings.

[galaxieman24]

@galaxieman24 11's are still pretty slack. Still not too bad for my son. I'll put 12s on mine when I get one!

[tecvawn]

hes my hero

[Ericclapton325]

Theres a reason eddie went wireless and thats because they tangel. Maybe you should follow him in those footsteps as well

[akguitar94]

can me and ur son trade dads?

[edwinmaier]

@akguitar94 That's very kind of you. Thanks.

[ShortestStraw0677]

who gives a fuck where u bought them shorts? if u can play like that the first person who ask u wear u bought them is either deaf or a complete fuck tard!

[edwinmaier]

@ShortestStraw0677 Thanks!

[f15ceagle2341]

i hear that the mini strat from squier sucks and is really bad. is that true?

[edwinmaier]

@f15ceagle2341 I think it's meant as a guitar for people starting out. It's a plywood body and it doesn't seem to want to stay in tune well. With a little setup, though, it plays ok.

[artifact26]

@f15ceagle2341 well the mini by itself is not great , you need to modified it to sound decent at best .. i have one and even after modding everything form a to z .. the neck is still a cheap neck IMO .. nothing like a real fender stratocaster .

Instead of throwing money on a mini .. you should try to have a luthier built one completely for you . thats my next move .

cause the 2004 fender strat jr made in mexico in 2004 are impossible to find .

[f15ceagle2341]

how u make the guitar like that? did u paint it? did u put the humbuckers in?

[edwinmaier]

@f15ceagle2341 It started out red. I painted the white and black stripes and put the humbucker in.

[U266]

What is the total length of this guitar? I need one for travel - cheers, and nice playin

[edwinmaier]

@U266 Thanks! It's about 35 inches long.

[foreveralive]

Bwahaha.....very cool, man.

[edwinmaier]

@foreveralive Thanks!

[mcclaindebbie]

damn, that is some eddie van halen shit lol...i just brought home my sons fender tonight n after he saw this vid, he wants to rip open the box

[edwinmaier]

@mcclaindebbie That is very cool! I hope he really enjoys playing.

[mrtzjam]

What? No whammy!

[RcUniverseGuy]

haha fuckin rock star

[krish633]

that kinda looks like a van halen paint job

[RowanStephen]

pretty sick guitar, personaly i think u shouls fill the hole in between the pick ups just so there isnt that space there.

[lilskaters7]

Lmao.. Dorks R Us xD!

[Crazyboy3OOO]

how did you fit the pickups without the pickguard

[edwinmaier]

@Cazyboy3OOO For the humbucker, I glued some balsa wood shims inside the cavity to get the height right. I pressed nails into the pickup mounting screw holes to hold the humbucker in place. The neck pickup is held with nails straight in to the body.

[Reki34]

@edwinmaier the mini have 9's or 10's on it???

[edwinmaier]

@Reki34 10s.

[THESTRATATTACK]

The mini strats are fun!...played through a big amp they sound amazing haha

[tmcgwow]

cool entrance fail but it's ok because you make up for it with awesome guitar playing.

[edwinmaier]

@tmcgwow Thanks!

[bluedude801]

were did you get that guitar did it come painted like that?

[edwinmaier]

@bluedude801 It started as a red Squier Mini Strat. The white and black paint came from Home Depot.

[nickbaldeagle01]

You've got some awesome skill there Edwin. You should make more videos.

[edwinmaier]

@nickbaldeagle01 Thanks! Just trying to find time for it....

[L2112Lif]

That was an awesome Cadenza... And the guitar wasn't half bad either. :P

[Guitarrmann]

do you know where I can get a left handed ministrat?

[edwinmaier]

@Guitarrmann I did some looking around but I couldn't find one. That's a drag -- seems like somebody should make one.

[ForceFedGrunge]

@Guitarrmann you should get a right handed one and turn the strings round so it looks like a mini hendrix one! :D

[edwinmaier]

@ForceFedGrunge That is really, really tempting....

[ForceFedGrunge]

@edwinmaier hehe yeah would be cool cause it could look like mini hendrix or even mini cobain! :D

[mitch69err]

your a shredder man, im in a band we play parkway drive stuff. you probs wouldnt know them they are a bit heavier.

[edwinmaier]

@mitch69err Thanks. I just looked them up on YouTube and checked out "Sleepwalker". Really good guitar sound and they are TIGHT. Thanks for the tip!

[deathcore1239]

strat+EVH paintjob=unoriginal and boring

the playing was good though. i give you 5 stars on that one

[bbender1986]

this is way better than i thought it would be..nice van halen paint job by the way

[chaosmyr]

Hah i did something similar with my squier strat. I made it over to look like George Harrison's and the things plays so well. it is still a squier but in my opinion it plays just as well as my gibson sg, idk why but it is sweet.

[SwaggaBoy666]

Took u 26 seconds to start th fuckin video I turned it off

[SlaughteredDecay]

Fucking cool guitar ! Rock on!

[acecepeda]

LOL... CAble tangled up fas funny... Rockin awesome

[edwinmaier]

@acecepeda Thanks. :)

[fenderstrat71]

edwin van halen

[ManuelKingz]

Rock on eddie van halen guitar lol

[aplayrmrc]

dude i so wish you were my dad

[edwinmaier]

@aplayrmrc :) Thanks.

[TheVoiceNextDoor]

@aplayrmrc Agreed!

[DX3ii]

wow u a great rocking dad!!!

[VinCeXMS]

lol just saw that your name is edwin instead of eddy xD your last name is not van halen is it :P Hey i have a question. I play the guitar for like almost a year and i'm gonna buy an electric guitar. I like metallica, van halen, guns n roses ( like every type of rock and metal but not death metal etc ) Shall i get a ibanez grg70dxj or a squier bullet strat? Plz tell me

[edwinmaier]

@VinCeXMS Personally, I think I'd go with the Ibanez. I looked at both of them online and I think I'd want the Ibanez humbuckers for the heavier stuff. Good luck!

[VinCeXMS]

@edwinmaier thx for the advice man ^_^ appreceite it

[deathcore1239]

@VinCeXMS neither. gio ibanez's suck and so do squires. get like an rg321 or something. theyre made better, sound better, work better, look better, last longer and are only like $100-$200 more. win-win-win-win-win-win situation

[VinCeXMS]

DUDE!!!!! YOU'RE THE NEW VAN HALEN!!!!!

[edwinmaier]

@VinCeXMS :) I'm a long way from him but thank you.

[Psiho007]

you look kinda like Doctor COX from The Scrubs xD

[tacos50000]

your great!!! :)

[edwinmaier]

@tacos50000 Thanks! That's very kind of you.

[megatroll]

Wow, that sounds extremely awesome!

You did an amazing job on your son's axe! :D

Duh, I wish I would have had such a cool dad back when I was a kid.

(T~T) Peace!

[edwinmaier]

@megatroll Thanks!

[greenorange75]

Let's kill the 5 people who thumbs downed this video!

[tpanczak]

Fuckin A!

[edwinmaier]

@tpanczak Thanks!

[jgoldston96]

i gotta have one of those!!

[ElectricG]

great playing, no idea what kind of idiots gave this thumbs down

[edwinmaier]

@ElectricG Thanks!

[johnmcchavs]

Very fun! Bravo!

[edwinmaier]

@johnmcchavs Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[aidylloyd1]

What effects are you using?

[edwinmaier]

@aidylloyd1 The distortion comes from a SansAmp GT2. The reverb is either from a Digitech RP50 or I added it with Sound Forge later -- can't remember which.

[wasid13]

what a lucky son

[gooney0]

Passing on the EVH style to the next generation good for you!

[edwinmaier]

@gooney0 I'd love to take credit for that but my son was already way into Van Halen long before I broke out the paint. :)

[SuperLespaul666]

The Sound Is Godd Dude!

[edwinmaier]

@SuperLespaul666 Thanks!

[undrclasshro]

i have a squier strat mini. i guess its ok it just duznt always stay in tune

[Vnypoc]

dude, where did you get the Jorts? 

[hipidude12]

Wow ur fucking sick dude!

[edwinmaier]

@hipidude12 :) Thanks

[edwinmaier]

@chadwick275 Thanks!

[Koreanflow]

To think that such an epic sound could even come out of a mini squier is beyond my level of comprehension. RIDICULOUS, HAHA!

[edwinmaier]

@Koreanflow :)

[Noush1975]

@Koreanflow

look at the pickups ;)

[MrLosfuegos]

@Koreanflow Proof that the tone really is in the fingers!

[stevanstreet]

dude ...how did you put in the humbucker ?? :o and what kind is it ?? ... digging the sound

[edwinmaier]

@stevanstreet Thanks. It came out of a 90s Charvel. It has a sticker on it that says "J-90". I had to glue in some wood shims to get the height right, then I just used nails to mount it.

[evh001]

thats awesome, i love that guitar i'm probably the biggest eddie fan and that guitar and playing was amazing i would even buy a guitar like that one!

[edwinmaier]

@evh001 Thanks! It was a fun little project.

[MrRedman]

Nice skills.

You resemble Doug Savant from Desperate Housewives lol.

[edwinmaier]

@MrRedman Thanks!

[metaluntiltheend]

dude.... you have some skills

[edwinmaier]

@metaluntiltheend Thanks!

[EPITHEORISIS]

xaxaxaaxax oua xaxaxaxaxax :P

[arrisfilms]

Looks a lot like mine but i dont have the black and white lines

[xquickstrykex]

how old is your son? because i have an 11 year old nephew and was debating whether to buy him the mini or the regular squier strat for his birthday. im not sure if he should start on the mini or regular sized to get comfortable with it

[MCFisheyeProductions]

@xquickstrykex regular definitly unless hes short

[xquickstrykex]

@MCFisheyeProductions thanks for the tip

[edwinmaier]

My son was 3 when he got the guitar. He starting playing around with it at 5. I did the paintjob when he was 8.

At age 11, I think it depends on what he's most comfortable with. The mini might be easier to start out but it won't be long before he will want a full size. The full size will probably stay in tune better, too.

[garciawr2]

what the hell you put on that guitar its amazing

[edwinmaier]

Thanks. It's running through a SansAmp GT2, Digitech RP-50 for reverb, and an Epiphone Valve Junior.

[JaimeBiosensor]

good jam dude, and crazy fingers

[edwinmaier]

@JaimeBiosensor

Thanks!

[chechubelo]

sounds amazing ! what did you modded on it?

[edwinmaier]

Thanks. I put in a Charvel humbucking pickup and a 500K volume pot from Stewart MacDonald. The rest was paint and pickguard.

[chechubelo]

@edwinmaier nice ! , where can i get one of that ? i think i cant get it from a guitar store right? did you took it apart from a guitar? , what if i buy another humb pick

[edwinmaier]

I bought the Squier mini-strat online for my son as a Christmas gift. When he wanted to put the stripes on and mod it, I found the humbucking pickup was in my spare parts box.

[malefactoredpunk]

hahahaha I love the harmonic face at the end.

[mungbean6]

Ha, that's awesome you did that for your son...sounds pretty darn good too, good job.

[edwinmaier]

Thanks! :)

[hgsbnt]

great sounding 3/4 guitar ... my son (8 yo) would like to learn to play the electric guitar and I was wondering which one would be the best to start with ... Ibanez Mikro 3/4 Guitar GRGM21 or the Squier by Fender Mini Strat? Thanks

[edwinmaier]

I've never played the Ibanez but it looks cool.

My experience with the Squier is that it doesn't want to stay in tune for long. It was also a challenge to intonate it at normal pitch.