My Eddie Van Halen Replica

[EVERYTHINGELECTRON1C]

how much would it cost for you to make one of these?

[boostfiend]

@EVERYTHINGELECTRON1C; These days, I'm not sure! Many items have gone up in price since the Fender Replicas hit the market. If I were to take a stab in the dark though, probably 1k-1.5k. Minus the labor! :)

[johnnybeane]

sweet dude!

[GlitterFooter]

the dummy pickup looks kinda chodey

[boostfiend]

@GlitterFooter: hehe. I changed it soon after making the video. It looks much better now!

[ChrisCrescendo]

wow man... killer job... id love to play that thing :p

[boostfiend]

@ChrisCrescendo; Me too... it's gone now and I miss it dearly sometimes.

[stratovariusx100pre]

lucky bastard

[xGuitarStianx]

Do u make and sell ones?

[boostfiend]

@xGuitarStianx: I still make some custom guitars from time to time. I don't make and sell EVH clones since it'd be illegal. ...but no one ever said I couldn't make one and 'give' it away. Or, trade one. :)

[xGuitarStianx]

@boostfiend Hahha, then make a left handed and give away to me :DDDD

[boostfiend]

@xGuitarStianx - You got it! Just send me your address and a new Tobacco Burst Gibson Les Paul Standard (as a tip), I'll get to work on your order. Free of charge! :)

[xGuitarStianx]

@boostfiend Haha, nice one bud ;) Imma try to make myself a replica I think :p Youre homemades are killerguitars tho! Looks great :)

[MetalMonsterGuitar]

very cool

[Guitfiddlejase]

Nice work!

[TheInvalidChronicles]

give me that guitar!!! wait for it.... I KILL YOU!!!!

[ElChevelle]

least he could do was autograph it....Eddie shows his true colors.

[2346]

how do you put a floyd rose on a strat without routing?

[TheLukeDaniel]

its not a floating one

[2346]

so it just sits on the bridge

[BrianxAutumn]

get a strat that already has the body routed

[2346]

yea but eddies isn't routed to do high pitches his is normal strat routing

[BrianxAutumn]

oh nvm i think ive seen it at guitar center once. But its not free floating. Its kinda just jammed in and it only bends down but it rests on the body

[guitargodattheheart]

yeah he played charvils, krammers and gibsons but he made the original himself!

[kellylucas87]

best home made ive ever seen

[azazael07]

look harder.

[urmothasawhore123]

hey for your pickguard did you get a regular black strat one then cut it out?

[polkadotvguitar]

how did you do the relicing around the quarter?

[GuitarMaster325]

where did u get the neck?

[costa9449]

evh actually played a charvel

[DannyLanders01]

hes played a series of guitar with this paint job on it no just charvel others such as kramer steinberg ernie ball by the way amazing job on the guitar your very skilled crafstman

[costa9449]

but his main guitar the one everyone thinks is a strat is a charvel watch this video he clearly states its a charvel

[YonOtto]

ROFL! you tool

[CuriousGeorgeSwimmer]

nice, i made one but yours is spot on

[1029ron1029]

wow looke just like eddie ones!!!i mean the original...

[jahenx94]

nice music

[halieluvstroy]

awesome copy!!! check out our video of the evh frankie me and my wife are building

[JEHLERS928]

o and what do you do for the pick guard? do you like cut it? or what?

[JEHLERS928]

wow nice man thumbs up from me. im thinking of doing this. how much it cost?

[EvHstyleTaPMaster]

dude man thats awesome , i would probably do that before i killed someone to aquire 25000 to buy the actual replica , lol you even got the quarter screwed in place is it a 1971? because i heard that was a major problem fender custom shop had when making them that they couldnt find enough 1971 quarters,and how the hell did you "make " a humbucker

id love to know how to do that....

and one more question , how much did this cost you to make??

all around good job EVH would be proud

[danmt5qm9oy]

the only thing i see wrong is the tree coller on the head stock is not angled, but that is easy to fix

[dedbul]

do you paint the scratches on or actually scratch them? also do you use any kind of wood seal?

[boostfiend]

They are scratches, mostly done with the curved X-Acto blade. Sealer was 'Deft Lacquer" sealer. Good stuff! Use it on all my guitars.

[dedbul]

thanks man, i appreciate it

[Tectron1]

Its the 5 position switch

[boostfiend]

Yup! From a Telecaster. Finding an original is worthless though, as they sell for upwards of $300-350. That was a $12 copy that I made look old. Did the trick!

[chez117]

whats that thing in the middle?? i forgot

[texasranga]

i bet that the floyd rose would be a pain in the ass to install. You have to route out the back and everything... damn. your awesome,

[boostfiend]

The body was ready for the floyd, so it was quite straight forward. It was more difficult finding an old Floyd Rose Original... :) Thanks though. hehe.

[TheMadMusicMan]

@texasranga The "you have to rout a Strat to fit a Floyd" is false. That's only if you want it to be a low profile tremolo and to have tons of pull-up. The only thing sometimes needed is removing a tiny bit of wood for the arm's nut. Other than that the studs are the only things that need modifying.

[ACDCangus101]

what are u using to hold your picks? I have a replica i built.. The only thing i would need is the picks..

[boostfiend]

In true Eddie fashion... tear off a piece of duct tape, roll it into a tube with the sticky side out... press onto the body. Easy, easy easy. (Which is nice after a tough job of actually making the guitar.) :)

[ACDCangus101]

Thanks alot!! It worked to perfection!!

[Jon19932007]

very, very, very nice job

[Greenballed]

You say you had to modify the neck(M.Mite). Did you have to make the Floyd shelf a little deeper? I found all of mine has the nut a little higher than I'd like.

[boostfiend]

Mine was a little high as well. I truly can't remember what else I did to the neck. It was pretty good.

[Greenballed]

How did you get the pickup switch to look that old? I assume it was a new one?

Two years in a rain storm?LOL

[boostfiend]

It was a new 'repro' switch with a goldish plating. I 'scotch brite' 'ed the goldish stuff off then left it in water for a couple days. It's not quite as rusty as Eddie's, but it will be in time.  A lot of this guitar I left un-worn in certain places, so that normal playing would bring it right into the "Eddie realm". :)

[ViciousMaximus]

did u try to play it?

[boostfiend]

You betcha! It's a great playing guitar. If you check out annihilatormetal-dot-com, you'll see it's being played WELL. :)

[vhfan2020]

dude thats the best one i've seen so far! i'm building the red/white/black too and i just painted the red. quick question... urs looks like the paint is completely smooth, but mine you can feel the red above the black and white... how do u smooth that out?

[boostfiend]

Thanks! You can still feel the lines where the red went over the black/white. You can wetsand it carefully before you begin the 'wear' process, but don't go too far! It'll never be perfectly smooth, but that's the way it should be. :)

[vhfan2020]

cool thanx... you've been a big help!

[Greenballed]

Where did you get the neck? Mighty Mite? Did it already have the Floyd cut in?

[boostfiend]

Sorry for the delay. Yes, it's a Mighty Mite, with the Floyd shelf cut. I forget what I paid for it, but it was pretty cheap.

[Greenballed]

I got one as well. I had to file the shelf down a little as I found they are cut a little bit shallow. Overall they are great necks at half the price of others.

[Guitarchordhelper]

check out my evh replica finally up

[vanhalenguitarlesson]

Nice Job!!!!!

[megas13proto]

wats the song. btw freaken sweet ass replica

[boostfiend]

Thanks! The song is "Intruder" from the Diver Down album. It comes on directly in front of "Pretty Woman".

[BurstMan26]

You can probably sell that thing on ebay and get like 5000 bucks... If I had the cash I totally would! That looks scarily similar to the actual EVH replica. Is the quarter 1971? lol

[boostfiend]

I couldn't legally sell it; so I gave it to Jeff Waters. The quarter is a 1971-D, just like Ed's. I got it from a Pepsi machine as change and started the project soon after.

[vhfanjack]

One more question (sorry), how did you get the taped parts that are'nt quite black, but are darker than the red (like the last black stripe on the horn)? Did you tape the black stripe for like 3 coats and then take the tape off and spray over it with 2 coats of red?

[boostfiend]

That's actually black under the red. That cardinal red is quite thin and transparent. It naturally does that - just like the paint Ed used.

[vhfanjack]

Thanks

[blahman178]

wow that relic job is spot on! holy shit man that's sick!

[boostfiend]

Thank you! :)

[vhfanjack]

In the parts where the paint is rubbed off/faded away, did you sand it away?If not, how did you do it?

[boostfiend]

I used 1500 grit sandpaper and wetsanded. It gives that worn look with no sanding marks.

[vhfanjack]

Did you do that all over the body, or just on the faded away parts? (Sorry for thee bother)

[boostfiend]

No bother at all.  I wet sanded the whole body, to get the nice shine out of it without a clear coat. It's best to wetsand first, then start your 'wear'. Then you won't turn the wood red were it's worn thru. For the more worn areas, you just keep on sanding until you get the desired look.

[vhfanjack]

Thanks a lot man.

[boostfiend]

"Intruder" - which leads into "Pretty Woman" on 'Diver Down'.

[HeadOnCollision5150]

did u make your neck look all worn up like Eddies? if so how did u do it?

[boostfiend]

First, I sanded off all of the clear and rubbed the neck with cigarette ashes - but any ashes should work. Next, I lit about four smokes and let them burn themselves out on the headstock. Finally, I got my hands good and dirty and played the hell out of it a few times. With no clear, it'll naturally get dirtier if you choose to skip the 'ashes' step. Just takes a little longer. The brighter the Maple, the dirtier it'll look.

[vhfanjack]

Do you put clear on afterward, or just leave the neck un-varnished?

[ccasando94]

I want one so bad I can taste it.

[modernworrior]

ehh what is the piece called beside the volume knob that looks like an ash tray , wut is its function?

[boostfiend]

If you mean below the volume knob; that's the output jack. Oddly enough, I firmly believe Eddie used the output jack as an ashtray many times, which explains the perfect cherry burn off to one side.

[boostfiend]

Yeah, he contacted me too. Telling me my comments here are "Completely unnecessary" - I guess there was nothing wrong with the neck - except the truss rod, four LOW frets, crooked nut mounting holes and crooked tuner holes. Not to mention the head wasn't the right shape. ...and I'm still out $80 bucks! I hope you get a good one, Green.

[arwt241]

that thing is fuckin sexy

[HeadOnCollision5150]

how did u get the worn look on the body and the cigarette burns on the neck?

[boostfiend]

The worn look comes from several techniques. For heavy wear, I use a 1500 grit sandpaper and wetsand. That gives you a worn look without sandpaper marks. Then I also used an x-acto knife with the 'halfmoon' rounded blade for the scrapes and scratches. Cig burns on the neck and body were done with cigaretts. :)

[1485x]

hello, can anyone help me?! EVH uses a strange guitar pick holder thing, its on the right side of the guitar, the picks kinda stick onto it, is it just duck tap or something ? please help :)

[boostfiend]

It's just duct tape. Just make a tube with the tape and press it onto the horn of the body.

[vanhalenkid]

where did you get that neck!!

[88mpny]

COOL. Eddie is my favorite too. I just got a White Fender Strat w/ Floyd. Installed a Seymour Duncan TB-4, has a great sound.

[boostfiend]

Right on! Love those Floyds. :)

[xtec1977]

I've heard that the pick up on Eddie's was a 78. I thought it was a 55. Any thoughts?

BWS

[boostfiend]

Eddie used quite a few. The first that went in was a modded Gibson PAF from a 335. Then he also used others including Di'Marzio for a short time, but found them too hot. The confusion may come from the Seymour Duncan pickup first being called the "EVH", then later being called the "Model 78" - either way the SD Model 78 is amazing! Just a great sounding pickup.

[CaramelMarshmallow]

YOU SPENT HOW MANY YEARS???

[boostfiend]

Umm, 1.

[rckrdude07]

wow awesome work dude. I'm incredibly jealous

[ten8goa]

spray paint look is the way to go. like the original

[ten8goa]

LOOKS GREAT. HATE THE FACTORY GLOSS

[woodrn]

Great, great, great job! Looks awesome! I'm jealous. I can't wait to finish mine. Good job again... should make a video of you playing it so we can hear it?! What pickup did you use?

[boostfiend]

It's no longer in my home. I gave it to a dear friend. - The pickup WAS a homemade, but I switched it out for the amazing Seymour Duncan Model 78.

[DarkxSword]

It's By Far the Greatest Replica i've Seen on Youtube man!! Great Job, I Hope Mine Will be as Cool as Yours!! :)

[guitarcbhero]

thts fender replica!!

u didn't make it

[RuneScapeNetworks]

1000 hours well spent my friend (as long as it sounds as good as it looks)

[mxr80]

hey awesome job man, what paints did you use exactly? and you didnt clear coat right? like the original. I'm looking at using the Dupli-color Pro Aerosols (Laquer) in gloss white and gloss black for a vh1 semi-replica i wanna make myself. no clear coat.

[boostfiend]

Thanks a lot!

[jwax5150]

question;why are the saddel things on the flod all differnt the one low ones hig ect

[jeter5150]

intonation adjustments

[boostfiend]

That's how Eddie did it. :)

[DaanJM]

did you make that on your own? that's fucking sick man, great job!!

[supermushy]

wat is the song

[boostfiend]

"Intruder" from Diver Down - imagine "Pretty Woman" coming next... :)

[guitarshreddanny969]

wow man that is exact

[Christian4life777]

good job man thts like almost exact

[theratfarmer]

eye hooks are too shinny. lol.

nice back ground music.

[meandmybassguitar]

where did you buy it im only 10 but that frankenstein

[boostfiend]

I made it from many parts. :)

[6stringANDacoke]

sweet fukin guitar man..do u ever give it a run or do u just keep it for show?

[boostfiend]

It's played nearly everyday. Thanks for the kind words. :)

[boostfiend]

OOps! Someone asked - "Where did you get the thing holding the picks?" - it's a folded piece of duct tape - in true Eddie fasion.

[rokrntrainin]

thx man

[boostfiend]

Last comment removed due to legal reasons. Sorry.

[GiveMeCereal]

I'll give you $25,000 for it.

[boostfiend]

Sold! lol

[GnrSlashLDB]

looks awesome

how long did you let the paint cure before you put it back together?

[boostfiend]

About 24hrs before I started to "wear" it. It was weeks before it was all put together.

[johnnybeane]

Very nice guitar man!

Good job!!

JB

[Gothman]

so i'm not the only crazy person who spent 25 grand on a guitar rock on dude! long live Van Halen!

[bwoodatstate]

What is that thing between the red and black pickups?? It looks like it has some screws in it? Also, does anyone know what kind of neck is on the original frankenstrat??

[boostfiend]

It's a Fender Tele pickup selector switch, part #CRL1452. It's not functional, of course - as per Eddie's guitar. The neck on the original varies between years. I made this copy based off the Early 1983 Frank. After the cigarette burn near the output, but before the Kramer neck.

[someweirdkid95]

The neck on the original Frakenstein was a Kramer neck. I have a Kramer Pacer from 1982. Traded an Ibanez off for it.

[boostfiend]

Actually, it was a Charvel, then A Fender, then even a Danelectro. He changed necks quite often. In 83 he switched to the "Duckbill" Pacer Neck.

[BigBrowz]

Nice.

[ThexplicitNV1]

Nice Job !!!!

[JasonzBrain]

That body looks familiar.....heeeeeeeeeeeeeeet­!

[commment]

Looks Great !

[boostfiend]

Thanks! It looks much better in person. hehe.