You know what the trick was with Eddie? He built a cheap guitar, set it up exactly the way he wanted and learned constantly about how to improve it and played it wonderfully. No magic, no special mojo, just working towards the goal.
To be fair, Eddie wouldn’t have been able to do anything he did without having an extremely rich musical ear, which is sometimes acquired and sometimes not.
I knew Ed and have played five of his guitars. He started his Frankenstrat with a white Fender Strat, which body he frequently repainted, so the it’s second color scheme had black stripes, then repainted it predominantly red with white stripes in addition to the black. And because he quickly wore down the frets he frequently swapped necks including Charvels, Kramers, Karl Sandoval (who was the main assembler at Charvel). Ed also himself refretted some of the necks. Although he later commissioned Charvel or Karl or bought the premade, as above. None of these were “cheap” in quality, although some were relatively inexpensive at the prices he paid, and most were premium quality or custom made at superior quality. / / I don’t think anyone could buy anything Ed touched at a low price, moreover, it likely would have been improved by his killer mods. It would be awesome to have anything he touched! / / And there’s the modified Ibanez Destroyer, another great guitar!
Man that is one. Hell of a job I love your loyalty. To Eddie and your self desire to not settle for nothing but the best excellent job man..if you want something done right do it yourself...
I’ve been in the beginnings of building a Kramer Pacer Classic into my very own workhorse guitar. This video actually helped me a lot in terms of now knowing cheap ways to do some of the things I was gonna do to my Kramer.
@@CoffeeDrinker71I’m glad too, I just finished it a month ago and I hit a few bumps. But I managed to install the bridge pickup correctly on the second try, so hurray!
even though this is a few years old, it's still an amazing resource. you do a great job of going through the process!!! i'm in the middle of building a black and white and a 5150. thanks so much!!!
Great Job! You've inspired me to do my own. I already own (2) EVH striped series (Red/White and Black/Yellow), so adding the '78 will be great! I got the Starcaster body, a Seymour Duncan '78 Custom Pickup (heard it on Pete Thorn's channel), the Fender Mexican bridge, EVH pot, and Gotoh tuners, so I'm set to get started soon. I'm not too confident with the electronics, so I'll probably have my luthier (Deric Rush/Guitarworks/Greenwood, IN) get it finalized after I piece it together. Can't wait to get started and praying mine ends up half as good as yours did. Keep making AWESOME videos!!!👍
Hi Arlie! That is great to hear! I'm glad you are pursuing your own custom build! I hope you have fun on the journey! Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you are just wiring a single humbucker/volume pot, it should be fairly straightforward. I think I visited Guitarworks once... I hear a lot of good things about them. Take care!
One of the most awesome aspects of the Frakenstrat, is there were so many iterations of it, through the years as Ed changed stuff, that any one of theses builds can be fairly accurate. Nice job.
Thanks man! Yes...Oz needs our prayers for sure!!! Lord willing, he’ll be back on his feet in the next year or so and hopefully able to continue doing what he loves. He’s one of my biggest guitar influences!!!
Don’t mean it the way it sounds but you did the work with pro level tools and proper techniques so...not so budget friendly lol. But excellent job, you didn’t just slap junk together for a few dollars, it is real work. Great job!
thanks man! I totally understand. The tools weren't cheap, like you said, but if a guy already had those then he'd be in good shape. It really depends on the level of work a person wants to do I suppose. Thanks for watching.
I think y'all are missing the point here" I have some awesome pictures Eddie on the floor with about 8 guitars torn apart and you could tell by looking at his face he had a lot of chemicals on board. he had some wild idea going through his head building one super guitar out of a whole bunch of guitars. So of you may not be old enough to understand what it was like in California in the mid-to-late seventies and all through the eighties. it's a miracle any of the band members made it to the age they did I'll probably get some flat for this but I don't care y'all weren't there
Beautiful job!…this is exactly what I needed, bought a neck and a chunk of wood and want to build a replica for myself, EVH still lives in my mind, he’s not leaving until I get it done, Cheers!! 😎👏🏻🎸
Awesome! The paint and taping are really great. I didn’t realize all it took was 1500grit sand paper to help get that finish, plus Meguiar’s. How does the classic style tremolo do with dive bombing, like the open Low E string in Eruptions?
Thanks!!! Yeah, the wet sanding process is a little tedious but well worth it in the end. The tremolo stays in tune as good as could be expected for this style of trem. It doesn't always come back to "zero" but that's to be expected.
I got neck and body from GF in white and pinstriped it. I used their brown sound pickup which sounds pretty good. I don't think I spent $200 most parts were just salvage. It's mostly Wall art but it does play and sound decent. Yours must be way better. Good job!
I don’t think I can add anything more than what has already been said. Excellent work man, and your fret work is absolutely top notch! And when you changed the neck carve so effortlessly at the end…. Damn nice work brother 😎
Beautiful job. That pickup sounds surprisingly good in that body… And the pic you used of Eddie at the end, is the all time coolest picture in all of music history.. Great work and great video. RIP Edward… Another thing. I LOVE that you have STRYPER videos on your channel.. They’re literally the only metal rock band left making killer music. They just keep getting better. And also, the Geoff Tate video. My favorite band of all time with Van Halen…
Thank you so much! Yeah, that pickup was a great surprise! It’s hard to believe it was a $20 no-name pickup. Thanks for the compliments on my other videos as well. I agree…Stryper is at the top of their game and sounding better than ever! Sounds like we have a lot of the same musical tastes!! :)
@@edscoguitar Here is the link! The seller runs out occasionally and relists later with a new link...so I wouldn't hesitate to order soon and have it ready whenever you need it. www.ebay.com/itm/363804366103?hash=item54b46e1517:g:S1gAAOSwsBtaFyH3&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAsHY9P5pImA1jvU1scf3mYSEt1fv9M5LA%2Fybvk%2F%2FmLzg2eGUnE0Z92FKlhO8sYzPjNO0p%2BQDbYfUX0XxbLrzHVJfXAjJGO5yzgAs%2FOMxm0CNKDX8jfsFvCy2M6%2FPvNtQcdvGaY2qH6Eb4ss1oCDH2NJRJa1RobaCsDkWv1vUofCkj7W5Abc8GnzxPFTsqAjrLl8IwDZo4sYdKttKeN7tcw7%2FyjEtMbexkpe%2FAOD%2Fk5FFG%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7b4-faUYw
Nice job. I remember seeing those Starcasters at ToysRus several years ago and thinking that the body looked thicker than most less expensive strat models.
Thank you so much for the compliments! Yeah, that's just a little jam that I wrote specifically for this video...just tried to capture the spirit of something Eddie might have played back then...but with much less talent! LOL. Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for watching! Cheers!
@@guyprovost Yes, it actually resolves in G major at the end. The riff and verses are bouncing between Em and C. The chorus section is G/Gsus to Em to C. The bridge makes the transition from G, to D...then G to A which is where the feeling of uplift comes in. I called this one "Pasadena Summer" and dropped the tracks on my Souncloud page. Here is link if you want to jam along! soundcloud.com/brian-cazzell
@@guyprovost Also, for the G chord, I'm playing it up high on the 7th fret of the G string and 8th fret of the B string...kinda like a diad chord, but still hitting the open D. Hope that makes sense.
And people think I'm crazy for taking belt Sanders to a PRS neck. I don't care about resale value I care about playability. By the way you did an incredible job with this
BINGO! If it doesn't work for you as a player then I say either modify it or sell it. LOL. Thanks for understanding!!!....and thanks for watching and commenting.
@@CoffeeDrinker71 looks like we have our head screwed on right (I'm not talking about my level of talent I'm just talking about the fact that I know how to play a guitar or someone and I'm not an arrogant fool. And I've met a lot of arrogant musicians over the past 30 years..lol). You got to do what makes you happy man.can't worry about nobody else thinks but you definitely got to fall in the pocket when you're playing with the band. Thank you for replying I appreciate it.✌️🙂✌️
@@ziggylayneable - Right on! I couldn't have said it better myself. Whenever my old band used to put out ads for a new member I always put in: No drunks, no addicts & NO EGOS!
Very nice build , I’ve done a few with decent results, I liked your paint finish and overall approach to the build , I believe you captured the spirit of 1978 in this set up , bravo !
WOW!!! A true labor of love. Excellent work. One question, and I might’ve missed it in the video, but won’t the pinstripes come off of the body with just normal wear and tear?
Yes, perhaps over time...just like Ed's guitar. The stripes will probably start to lift around a few of the corners where there is a lot of contact. But, that 3M pinstripe tape is pretty strong. He eventually pulled them off before painting the red layer.
I was kind of wondering the same thing, why not simply put the thin tape on during the paint process and peel off like the thick tape? Or was that not done for authenticity?
Great job! Watched one time and will have to study closer. Did you do any clear coat over the pinstripes, or were the pinstripes the last decorative item? I’m guessing the mass produced EVH 78’s pinstripes are actually painted?
Thanks for watching. No, I did not apply any clear coat over the tape....or on the paint actually. I just buffed out the Duplicolor then applied the pinstripes afterwards like Eddie’s original version. You can see in some of the photos how his tape was slowly peeling around the areas with heavy contact (forearm contour especially). But, you’re right the EVH Striped Series version is all painted included these pinstripes, then clear coated with poly.
@@chuckrossell8251 The lacquer dries to the touch within a few minutes. I gave it about 5-10 minutes between coats of the same color. After the black was fully dried (I waited a few days) then started the taping process. So, by the time the white was sprayed several days had passed. But the lacquer itself could be handled (cut and buffed) within 1 hour after spraying the final coat. It was very easy to work with.
Thanks for the responsiveness. Planning on doing something similar. Did you have to route for the humbucker, or are they already cut out like that under the pickguard?
@@chuckrossell8251 Very cool...good luck with your project. No, I didn’t have to route for the humbucker, it was already routed for that. However what I did was just raise the floor of the pickup cavity in mine since it was too deep.
the irony here wouldn't be lost upon edward, as he quickly switched his beautiful white w black striped finish for the red (as well as other "decoy" modifications) because so many people were trying to copy both his truly unique guitar and sound. :)
In 79 I was 15. Did same as Eddie reason only 1 volume. We both couldn't get em both to work. Lol. Back then. Open and closed circuits were New I guess ROCK ON!!! EVH.
I like how you painted the sides first (Reason for that) before i painted the white i would spray black over the tape so white wouldn't bleed through,seens you didn't have that problem.great job!!!
Thanks!!! That is a good techique/tip though! I'm glad you mentioned that. I'm currently working on a Bumblebee (with video series) and I did it the way you described. I painted the base yellow, then added the tape for the stripes, then painted a light mist coat of yellow again over the top of the tape before spraying the black (top color), that way the stripes are "sealed" under the tape which prevents the bleed-through from happening. Great comment! Thank you!
Really nice job, man. I'm in the middle of my own black and white striped (reliced) EVH strat. I was online looking for some how-to's for this strat when I came across your video. Quite a few good take-aways. Thanks for those. Again, nicely done.✌
Very cool work. I love the white/black VH strat. Its just a nicer cleaner looking guitar then it was when it had its red paint job imo. I think one of the biggest secrets in guitar is finding the right pickups that you like the sound of. Ive been messing with Alnico magnet pickups lately.
Thank you! I agree, the white/black version was the best looking version IMO. ...and you are right! Finding the right pickup for a specific guitar is critical.
Nice job! I have an old starcaster lying around that I was going to get rid of, but after seeing your video I think I’m going to do the same thing to mine. 👍
I love this video!!! Thank you for posting🙏🏻 Outstanding job! I can’t hardly wait to get this same project started and this video will be my guideline so thank you again 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Brian, I continue to marvel at the work you do on these guitars. This one is particularly interesting given the budget build. Seems like a great, fun and inexpensive way to get into these tribute builds. I expect there to be a run on Starcasters in the aftermarket!
Thank you!!! I appreciate your kind words!! Yeah, I was suspecting there would be a run on these cheap Starcasters! LOL. Everything else is hard to find right now anyway. Thanks for commenting!
@@CoffeeDrinker71 I picked up a YAMAHA EC112 body with a Fender Starcaster neck. Didn't realize until after I placed my order. The jack isn't a match, but I'm hoping it'll be good enough for the project and price was right. I noticed your comment on your process to sand the back of the neck, followed by two coats of Tru Oil. The video doesn't show any sanding of the actual fretboard. Can you provide more details on what you do to the maple fretboard? Any tips would be appreciated. I'm going to research fret leveling, dressing. Starting my guitar repair journey in parallel with my playing guitar journey.
@@ChristopherMeinck For the fretboard I just took small pieces of 400 grit and sanded horizontally with the direction of the frets until I could see the bare wood showing through. I didn't manage to get all the factory finish off, but quite a bit. Enjoy the journey man...there's so much to learn about. ;)
That guitar looks fantastic!! Thanks for sharing this and creating a build video with such good content. I’m going to try to build one after watching this. 🤞🏻
I was thinking of doing the black & yellow stripe with a cheap $110 Ashthorpe single humbucker guitar from Amazon. But I'd need to cut a hole for the tremolo. I wonder what it would look like if the stripes were done with color shifting paint.....or a swirl. Hmmm.
The Bumblebee is a bit tricky to do accurately due to the cost of the Non-Fine Tuners Floyd Rose. But it's really cool and is something I'm considering to do as my next project.
great build dude!! it looks absolutely amazing! i just didnt like so much the way it sounded, i think it lacked a lot of the thick and full sound evh had and sounded a lot like single coils at times, but it still is an amazing build! hearing an interview of evh talking about how he built his guitar made me wanna build one of mine too, not a frankenstrat replica but definitely inspired by it lol
Thank you very much! ...and yeah I know what you mean about the tone. There's always room for more "tone chasing" LOL. Good luck with your project as well. Maybe you've seen my candy apple red version of a Franky?! I wanted it to be an "inspired" build but not a replica. Take care!
If I’m not wrong the Fender Starcaster Stratocaster style guitars have a maple body that if full thickness. I’ve heard very good things about the necks as well so it’s a great modding platform.
It very well could be maple..it was hard for me to tell that. But yeah, other than the original frets, these guitars are great for modding. :D Thanks for watching.
Excellent video and thoughtful tribute to the greatest rock guitarist and hard rock musician of all time. I'm currently building a bumblebee but having trouble with the soldering. Had it wired correctly but still no sound. Think I have bad solder or bad solder joints so the signal won't flow. Back to the drawing board but now have applied copper shielding tape so hopefully that helps.
I would say that normally it would...if you planned to preserve the finish. In this case I was simply trying to replicate Eddie's process of just spraying and buffing the color coats without a clear coat. It should wear over time naturally without any clear coat. So, it was just a personal choice here. Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
This past Xmas I picked up an old starcaster too but it has the humbucker two single coils so I wouldn't run into issues peace of mind 😆. Paid around same price from marketplace
Thanks so much! Ha! Yeah, I’ve been a huge Simpson fan since the first season…and then raised my kids on SpongeBob in the early 2000’s! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thanks!!! Actually you could feel the ridge along the edges of the stripes right after pulling the tape. But after I wet sanded the entire body with 1500 grit, those ridges were smoothed over and now they are barely noticeable.
I feel youre pain ive been playing my prs custom 24 sence 95 when i got it new . i got a new strat in 2015 its a great guitar but the fender scale and 22 fret neck is kinda strange now ha ha
2 years ago i got my first guitar, an aria pro II, i liked van halen and decided to paint it like the frankenstrat w/ red, i was scared to dmaage the insides cause i was new so i just taped the pickguard and the harware, so when i took off the pickguard a year ago to install a hotrail humbucker i just left a black sillhouette, a week ago i sanded it down and did the same thing all over again, this time more accurate, ut sadly mine has a swimming pool caity rather than th on you have with the holes only for the pickups, so it looks kind of off, and i dont have a humbucker, only a single coil sized hot rail humbucker, i cut th picguard etc and it looks nice, i ran out of tin for soldering, i got rid of the switch and 2 tone knobs cause id only have the pickup and volume, and thats it. but doing so i didnt measure or whatever and cut some wires too sort, no wi cant play it, i tried taping and braiding some wires together and nothing works, so now i have to wait until i get a job (im 15) or something cause i havent save dup nothing lol, but i really am proud
Rest in peace EVH! I must say and if EVH was here to ask what you built is probably way better than than some he had cobbled out. EVH's gift was as a musician not really a guitar builder on the same level. Can you imagine if he did build guitars at the same level as his playing?
You know what the trick was with Eddie? He built a cheap guitar, set it up exactly the way he wanted and learned constantly about how to improve it and played it wonderfully. No magic, no special mojo, just working towards the goal.
it’s called trial and error , and that is a called experience ….
To be fair, Eddie wouldn’t have been able to do anything he did without having an extremely rich musical ear, which is sometimes acquired and sometimes not.
to be fair, the 180 usd eddie spent in the mid 70s would translate to more or less 900 USD now so frankenstrat isn't exactly cheap by today's standard
@@davelisapaly6750nobody ever mentions that, for some reason (also, I think it’s actually a bit over $680 in 2024 USD)
I knew Ed and have played five of his guitars. He started his Frankenstrat with a white Fender Strat, which body he frequently repainted, so the it’s second color scheme had black stripes, then repainted it predominantly red with white stripes in addition to the black. And because he quickly wore down the frets he frequently swapped necks including Charvels, Kramers, Karl Sandoval (who was the main assembler at Charvel). Ed also himself refretted some of the necks. Although he later commissioned Charvel or Karl or bought the premade, as above.
None of these were “cheap” in quality, although some were relatively inexpensive at the prices he paid, and most were premium quality or custom made at superior quality. /
/
I don’t think anyone could buy anything Ed touched at a low price, moreover, it likely would have been improved by his killer mods. It would be awesome to have anything he touched!
/
/ And there’s the modified Ibanez Destroyer, another great guitar!
You actually spent more than Ed did LOL! This just proves you don't have to spend a lot of money to build a nice guitar! Nice job!
Thank you very much!!!
Nothing at all against this build, but factoring in inflation, Ed’s Franky was a lot more than you think.
@@legatomisterioso7 I'm sure it was. Back then there wasn't an abundance of cheaper import parts. ;)
Well, what ed spent back in the 70's was actually more if you account for inflation.
Assuming parts, body and neck would be 200$ in 74' money then it would be about 1067$ in today
Who in the hell would put a thumbs down dislike to this? Very nice job! Thank you for the time and effort making the video.
Apparently 12 people that don't have a clue. Thanks for the compliments. I really appreciate it!!!
@patrick sutter - I agree! Hell, there's 15 now. It's either trolls, morons or wannabes. Great vid.
@@antithug7942 Thanks!
@@CoffeeDrinker71 Thanx for the thanks. It was a great build & video.
Man that is one. Hell of a job I love your loyalty. To Eddie and your self desire to not settle for nothing but the best excellent job man..if you want something done right do it yourself...
Thank you so much for the kind words. I totally agree. Plus when you do it yourself, you gain a ton of knowledge and experience.
Stellar job my friend.....your attention to detail is magnificent!!! Very well done!!!
Thanks man!!!! :D
I’ve been in the beginnings of building a Kramer Pacer Classic into my very own workhorse guitar. This video actually helped me a lot in terms of now knowing cheap ways to do some of the things I was gonna do to my Kramer.
Awesome! I'm glad the video helped!
@@CoffeeDrinker71I’m glad too, I just finished it a month ago and I hit a few bumps. But I managed to install the bridge pickup correctly on the second try, so hurray!
300 years in the future will Eddie have the same status as Mozart?
I believe he will! ;)
hes got that right now my dude.
As a musician or as a cooze hound?
Mozart who?
And then some
even though this is a few years old, it's still an amazing resource. you do a great job of going through the process!!! i'm in the middle of building a black and white and a 5150. thanks so much!!!
I appreciate that very much! Thanks for watching and good luck with your project! Cheers!
Great Job! You've inspired me to do my own. I already own (2) EVH striped series (Red/White and Black/Yellow), so adding the '78 will be great! I got the Starcaster body, a Seymour Duncan '78 Custom Pickup (heard it on Pete Thorn's channel), the Fender Mexican bridge, EVH pot, and Gotoh tuners, so I'm set to get started soon. I'm not too confident with the electronics, so I'll probably have my luthier (Deric Rush/Guitarworks/Greenwood, IN) get it finalized after I piece it together. Can't wait to get started and praying mine ends up half as good as yours did. Keep making AWESOME videos!!!👍
Hi Arlie! That is great to hear! I'm glad you are pursuing your own custom build! I hope you have fun on the journey! Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you are just wiring a single humbucker/volume pot, it should be fairly straightforward. I think I visited Guitarworks once... I hear a lot of good things about them. Take care!
One of the most awesome aspects of the Frakenstrat, is there were so many iterations of it, through the years as Ed changed stuff, that any one of theses builds can be fairly accurate. Nice job.
I agree!! Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@CoffeeDrinker71 now you have me wanting to build one lol…
Amazing! Looks like it must be a real joy to play. Great work. This is my favorite version of Ed's guitar.
Thank you so much! Cheers!
Great job man, you made that one your own Eddie would be proud!
Thank you very much!
Man oh man! Guys like u make me really wish that I was guys like you!
Love the Oz Fox axe! Praying for him this week.
Thanks man! Yes...Oz needs our prayers for sure!!! Lord willing, he’ll be back on his feet in the next year or so and hopefully able to continue doing what he loves. He’s one of my biggest guitar influences!!!
@@CoffeeDrinker71 I also love the Oz Fox axe.
Yellow and black attack.
Reminds me of Ed's bumblebee!!
Thoughts and Prayers for Oz and family!!!
@@michaelkennedy2190 Thanks man! I hope he makes a full recovery after treatment and surgery. I'm looking forward to seeing them on tour next year!
Don’t mean it the way it sounds but you did the work with pro level tools and proper techniques so...not so budget friendly lol. But excellent job, you didn’t just slap junk together for a few dollars, it is real work. Great job!
thanks man! I totally understand. The tools weren't cheap, like you said, but if a guy already had those then he'd be in good shape. It really depends on the level of work a person wants to do I suppose. Thanks for watching.
That MOST TRIUMPHANT Ab chord when you revealed the case and opened it gave me chills. 😸
Thanks for watching and I appreciate your compliments!!! \m/
I think y'all are missing the point here" I have some awesome pictures Eddie on the floor with about 8 guitars torn apart and you could tell by looking at his face he had a lot of chemicals on board. he had some wild idea going through his head building one super guitar out of a whole bunch of guitars. So of you may not be old enough to understand what it was like in California in the mid-to-late seventies and all through the eighties. it's a miracle any of the band members made it to the age they did I'll probably get some flat for this but I don't care y'all weren't there
Beautiful job!…this is exactly what I needed, bought a neck and a chunk of wood and want to build a replica for myself, EVH still lives in my mind, he’s not leaving until I get it done, Cheers!! 😎👏🏻🎸
That's awesome!! Thanks so much!!! Good luck with your project!
Awesome! The paint and taping are really great. I didn’t realize all it took was 1500grit sand paper to help get that finish, plus Meguiar’s. How does the classic style tremolo do with dive bombing, like the open Low E string in Eruptions?
Thanks!!! Yeah, the wet sanding process is a little tedious but well worth it in the end. The tremolo stays in tune as good as could be expected for this style of trem. It doesn't always come back to "zero" but that's to be expected.
Wilkinson tremolos lock.
First world tour was with standard tremolo. Floyd's are exaggerated
The end of eruption pedals. Standard tremolos in hands of competent guitarists are all you need
@@bobravenscraft5376 that and a ton of lube ;)
I just found your channel and you do great work! I am a huge Van Halen fan ,grew up in the 70s and 80s listening to them.
Thanks for watching!!! Cheers!
I got neck and body from GF in white and pinstriped it. I used their brown sound pickup which sounds pretty good. I don't think I spent $200 most parts were just salvage. It's mostly Wall art but it does play and sound decent. Yours must be way better. Good job!
I don’t think I can add anything more than what has already been said. Excellent work man, and your fret work is absolutely top notch! And when you changed the neck carve so effortlessly at the end…. Damn nice work brother 😎
Thank you so much! I greatly appreciate your compliments. Thanks for watching! Cheers!
Beautiful job. That pickup sounds surprisingly good in that body… And the pic you used of Eddie at the end, is the all time coolest picture in all of music history.. Great work and great video. RIP Edward… Another thing. I LOVE that you have STRYPER videos on your channel.. They’re literally the only metal rock band left making killer music. They just keep getting better. And also, the Geoff Tate video. My favorite band of all time with Van Halen…
Thank you so much! Yeah, that pickup was a great surprise! It’s hard to believe it was a $20 no-name pickup. Thanks for the compliments on my other videos as well. I agree…Stryper is at the top of their game and sounding better than ever! Sounds like we have a lot of the same musical tastes!! :)
@@CoffeeDrinker71 can u maybe send the link for the pickup since im trynna do a cheap 78' build too!
@@edscoguitar Here is the link! The seller runs out occasionally and relists later with a new link...so I wouldn't hesitate to order soon and have it ready whenever you need it. www.ebay.com/itm/363804366103?hash=item54b46e1517:g:S1gAAOSwsBtaFyH3&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAsHY9P5pImA1jvU1scf3mYSEt1fv9M5LA%2Fybvk%2F%2FmLzg2eGUnE0Z92FKlhO8sYzPjNO0p%2BQDbYfUX0XxbLrzHVJfXAjJGO5yzgAs%2FOMxm0CNKDX8jfsFvCy2M6%2FPvNtQcdvGaY2qH6Eb4ss1oCDH2NJRJa1RobaCsDkWv1vUofCkj7W5Abc8GnzxPFTsqAjrLl8IwDZo4sYdKttKeN7tcw7%2FyjEtMbexkpe%2FAOD%2Fk5FFG%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7b4-faUYw
@@CoffeeDrinker71 do u think i could for other alternative and Go for a Alnico V humbucker pickup with 8-9k resistance?
@@CoffeeDrinker71 what's your rig for the tone?
Too many players do not even know how to change strings let alone how to build something. Great Work!
Thank you so much!!! Cheers!
Nice job. I remember seeing those Starcasters at ToysRus several years ago and thinking that the body looked thicker than most less expensive strat models.
Thanks! Yes, correct....they are an excellent choice for building one of these budget Frankenstrats! ;)
What wood are these bodies made of ?
@@Leo_Safko Probably basswood or agathis.
@@CoffeeDrinker71 , What pickup did you use. Sounds great!
@@captainkirk70 It was a cheap $20 PAF style pickup that I found on eBay. I don't think the seller offers this particular one any more?
Nice sound track, especially the one that end at 12:25. Very inspiring! Thanks for the video!
Thank you so much for the compliments! Yeah, that's just a little jam that I wrote specifically for this video...just tried to capture the spirit of something Eddie might have played back then...but with much less talent! LOL. Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for watching! Cheers!
@@CoffeeDrinker71Yeah, it really has an upbeat to it, uplifting. Is it on a major scale ?
@@guyprovost Yes, it actually resolves in G major at the end. The riff and verses are bouncing between Em and C. The chorus section is G/Gsus to Em to C. The bridge makes the transition from G, to D...then G to A which is where the feeling of uplift comes in. I called this one "Pasadena Summer" and dropped the tracks on my Souncloud page. Here is link if you want to jam along! soundcloud.com/brian-cazzell
@@guyprovost Also, for the G chord, I'm playing it up high on the 7th fret of the G string and 8th fret of the B string...kinda like a diad chord, but still hitting the open D. Hope that makes sense.
@@CoffeeDrinker71 Yes, makes sense.. It is REALLY catchy... I was making diner and humming your tune.... Just so you know lol!
And people think I'm crazy for taking belt Sanders to a PRS neck. I don't care about resale value I care about playability. By the way you did an incredible job with this
BINGO! If it doesn't work for you as a player then I say either modify it or sell it. LOL. Thanks for understanding!!!....and thanks for watching and commenting.
@@CoffeeDrinker71 looks like we have our head screwed on right (I'm not talking about my level of talent I'm just talking about the fact that I know how to play a guitar or someone and I'm not an arrogant fool. And I've met a lot of arrogant musicians over the past 30 years..lol). You got to do what makes you happy man.can't worry about nobody else thinks but you definitely got to fall in the pocket when you're playing with the band. Thank you for replying I appreciate it.✌️🙂✌️
@@ziggylayneable - Right on! I couldn't have said it better myself. Whenever my old band used to put out ads for a new member I always put in: No drunks, no addicts & NO EGOS!
AWESOME vid man full of useful info
Thank you!!!!
You made that cheap neck look sweet!
Thanks!!! :D
Very nice build , I’ve done a few with decent results, I liked your paint finish and overall approach to the build , I believe you captured the spirit of 1978 in this set up , bravo !
Thank you so much Rudy! I appreciate the kind words. ;)
WOW!!! A true labor of love. Excellent work.
One question, and I might’ve missed it in the video, but won’t the pinstripes come off of the body with just normal wear and tear?
Yes, perhaps over time...just like Ed's guitar. The stripes will probably start to lift around a few of the corners where there is a lot of contact. But, that 3M pinstripe tape is pretty strong. He eventually pulled them off before painting the red layer.
I was kind of wondering the same thing, why not simply put the thin tape on during the paint process and peel off like the thick tape? Or was that not done for authenticity?
Great work though
Awesome build you really captured Ed's vision on what a super strat should be!!!
Thank you so much!
I want a Bumblebee one - with a life size replica of Darrel Dimebag included in the case!!
RIP Dime…
Well done! I love that guitar when Eddie use to play.
Thanks!! :)
Great job! Watched one time and will have to study closer. Did you do any clear coat over the pinstripes, or were the pinstripes the last decorative item? I’m guessing the mass produced EVH 78’s pinstripes are actually painted?
Thanks for watching. No, I did not apply any clear coat over the tape....or on the paint actually. I just buffed out the Duplicolor then applied the pinstripes afterwards like Eddie’s original version. You can see in some of the photos how his tape was slowly peeling around the areas with heavy contact (forearm contour especially). But, you’re right the EVH Striped Series version is all painted included these pinstripes, then clear coated with poly.
How long between coats of paint?
@@chuckrossell8251 The lacquer dries to the touch within a few minutes. I gave it about 5-10 minutes between coats of the same color. After the black was fully dried (I waited a few days) then started the taping process. So, by the time the white was sprayed several days had passed. But the lacquer itself could be handled (cut and buffed) within 1 hour after spraying the final coat. It was very easy to work with.
Thanks for the responsiveness. Planning on doing something similar. Did you have to route for the humbucker, or are they already cut out like that under the pickguard?
@@chuckrossell8251 Very cool...good luck with your project. No, I didn’t have to route for the humbucker, it was already routed for that. However what I did was just raise the floor of the pickup cavity in mine since it was too deep.
the solos and riffs at the end are awesome
Thank you so much!!! I tried to get "close" without getting a copyright issue. I appreciate very much.
the irony here wouldn't be lost upon edward, as he quickly switched his beautiful white w black striped finish for the red (as well as other "decoy" modifications) because so many people were trying to copy both his truly unique guitar and sound. :)
In 79 I was 15. Did same as Eddie reason only 1 volume. We both couldn't get em both to work. Lol. Back then. Open and closed circuits were New I guess ROCK ON!!! EVH.
Awesome job man!
Thanks for watching! :)
That was a cool dedication and build.
Thank you!!
Awesome! Going to do one myself with a full thickness Squire I picked up yesterday.
Cool!!!! Good luck on your project!!!! ...most importantly...have fun!!!!
Brian, you did a fantastic job. Love it, how this guitar turns out. Unbelievable how someone dislike this job and guitar. Shame on them.
Thanks Peter! I really appreciate it.
I like how you painted the sides first (Reason for that) before i painted the white i would spray black over the tape so white wouldn't bleed through,seens you didn't have that problem.great job!!!
Thanks!!! That is a good techique/tip though! I'm glad you mentioned that. I'm currently working on a Bumblebee (with video series) and I did it the way you described. I painted the base yellow, then added the tape for the stripes, then painted a light mist coat of yellow again over the top of the tape before spraying the black (top color), that way the stripes are "sealed" under the tape which prevents the bleed-through from happening. Great comment! Thank you!
What an absolutedly wonderful Job and beautiful video! Deeply inspiring - Thanks!
Thank you so much!!
The sound and build are top-notch
Thank you very much! I appreciate it.
Thanks for not playing EVH riffs during the build. Nice work and the music is on point.
Thanks man! I really appreciate that!!! :D
Really nice job, man. I'm in the middle of my own black and white striped (reliced) EVH strat. I was online looking for some how-to's for this strat when I came across your video. Quite a few good take-aways. Thanks for those. Again, nicely done.✌
Thank you so much for the compliments! I appreciate it! I hope your project turns out well too!!! Cheers!
Absolutely fine job sir! You’ve paid great tribute to one of the greats! That guitar just screams like it should!
Thank you so much! I appreciate the compliments.
Outstanding Ed would be proud nice build would love to seein you actually playing it but that's cool it looks great
Thank you so much! Actually, all of the tracks you heard on this video were recorded on this guitar. ;)
Well done mate! You inspired me to build my own custom strat
Awesome! I'm glad you found this to be inspiring. That's what it's all about. Good luck on your Strat project!
Turned out beautiful , great job brother .
Thank you so much! I appreciate it.
Very cool work. I love the white/black VH strat. Its just a nicer cleaner looking guitar then it was when it had its red paint job imo. I think one of the biggest secrets in guitar is finding the right pickups that you like the sound of. Ive been messing with Alnico magnet pickups lately.
Thank you! I agree, the white/black version was the best looking version IMO. ...and you are right! Finding the right pickup for a specific guitar is critical.
This is the best video I've ever seen!
Awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Cheers!
Nice job! I have an old starcaster lying around that I was going to get rid of, but after seeing your video I think I’m going to do the same thing to mine. 👍
Awesome man! Go for it! :). It was a lot of fun!
Great job, that same era of guitar was my first build
Thanks!! Honestly I prefer it over the R/W/B version.
Oh hey a starcaster. That's what I have. And a frankenstrat style is what I'm planning to do to it. Nice 🤘🎸
Cool! Good luck with your project!
I've got that same Korg tuner, had it for the last 16 years.
@@shinosukenohara5721 Ha! That’s cool. Those Korg tuners are rock solid and will probably out last me! LOL
Fantastic. A pleasure to watch and to listen to the excellent playing.
Thank you so much! I greatly appreciate it. Cheers!
Love what you did, especially with a Starcaster!
Thanks!!! Yeah the Starcaster proved to be a pretty good platform to build from. Thanks for watching!
Always ❤️ the white and black axe ! That was Eddie !
Add the dog chain / leash for the guitar strap.
Great playing 🎵 !
Thank you!!!
I love this video!!! Thank you for posting🙏🏻 Outstanding job! I can’t hardly wait to get this same project started and this video will be my guideline so thank you again 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Thank you so much for the compliments! I’m glad the video is helpful. Good luck with your project!!!!
I bet Dime and Eddie are up in heaven jamming right now
I bet they are too! Cheers!
Very nice execution on eruption. Well done mate.
Thank you so much! That means the world! Cheers!!!
I keep it simple respect Eddie. Play as is!
Thank you for this video tutorial. You did a really amazing job !
I will be doing the same thing to a Squier Affinity Stratocaster.
That will look really cool with the blue color! Good luck with your project!
Brian, I continue to marvel at the work you do on these guitars. This one is particularly interesting given the budget build. Seems like a great, fun and inexpensive way to get into these tribute builds. I expect there to be a run on Starcasters in the aftermarket!
Thank you!!! I appreciate your kind words!! Yeah, I was suspecting there would be a run on these cheap Starcasters! LOL. Everything else is hard to find right now anyway. Thanks for commenting!
@@CoffeeDrinker71 I picked up a YAMAHA EC112 body with a Fender Starcaster neck. Didn't realize until after I placed my order. The jack isn't a match, but I'm hoping it'll be good enough for the project and price was right. I noticed your comment on your process to sand the back of the neck, followed by two coats of Tru Oil. The video doesn't show any sanding of the actual fretboard. Can you provide more details on what you do to the maple fretboard? Any tips would be appreciated. I'm going to research fret leveling, dressing. Starting my guitar repair journey in parallel with my playing guitar journey.
@@ChristopherMeinck For the fretboard I just took small pieces of 400 grit and sanded horizontally with the direction of the frets until I could see the bare wood showing through. I didn't manage to get all the factory finish off, but quite a bit. Enjoy the journey man...there's so much to learn about. ;)
@@CoffeeDrinker71 After the final coat of white paint, how long did you wait until wet sanding with the 1500 grit sandpaper?
@@ChristopherMeinck It wasn't very long...maybe a few days. Lacquer dries really quickly.
That guitar looks fantastic!! Thanks for sharing this and creating a build video with such good content. I’m going to try to build one after watching this. 🤞🏻
That's awesome! Good luck with your project! ;)
I was thinking of doing the black & yellow stripe with a cheap $110 Ashthorpe single humbucker guitar from Amazon. But I'd need to cut a hole for the tremolo. I wonder what it would look like if the stripes were done with color shifting paint.....or a swirl. Hmmm.
The Bumblebee is a bit tricky to do accurately due to the cost of the Non-Fine Tuners Floyd Rose. But it's really cool and is something I'm considering to do as my next project.
Really great video. May be the best one I’ve seen.
Thank you very much!!!
Wonderful presentation. Superb tutorial!
great build dude!! it looks absolutely amazing! i just didnt like so much the way it sounded, i think it lacked a lot of the thick and full sound evh had and sounded a lot like single coils at times, but it still is an amazing build! hearing an interview of evh talking about how he built his guitar made me wanna build one of mine too, not a frankenstrat replica but definitely inspired by it lol
Thank you very much! ...and yeah I know what you mean about the tone. There's always room for more "tone chasing" LOL. Good luck with your project as well. Maybe you've seen my candy apple red version of a Franky?! I wanted it to be an "inspired" build but not a replica. Take care!
When i made my VH-1, i added the pin striping before the white spray paint. It turned out great. Didn't know it was the incorrect way to do it 😅
It's totally cool. Some people prefer those pinstripes to be sprayed instead of taped regardless of what Eddie did! As long as your happy! ;)
Wow...nailed it on every level. Thanks
Thank you so much!! ;)
Incredible work Sir. Looks and sounds amazing. Cheers!
Thanks!!! I appreciate it! Cheers!
If I’m not wrong the Fender Starcaster Stratocaster style guitars have a maple body that if full thickness. I’ve heard very good things about the necks as well so it’s a great modding platform.
It very well could be maple..it was hard for me to tell that. But yeah, other than the original frets, these guitars are great for modding. :D Thanks for watching.
Awesome job man, Eddie would be proud
Thank you!!!! :)
Excellent video and thoughtful tribute to the greatest rock guitarist and hard rock musician of all time. I'm currently building a bumblebee but having trouble with the soldering. Had it wired correctly but still no sound. Think I have bad solder or bad solder joints so the signal won't flow. Back to the drawing board but now have applied copper shielding tape so hopefully that helps.
Brian.....I am impressed!
Thank you!!!! :D
Great job Brian!
Thank you!
Great work! I just had a question. Does the Lacquer paint not require a clear coat?
I would say that normally it would...if you planned to preserve the finish. In this case I was simply trying to replicate Eddie's process of just spraying and buffing the color coats without a clear coat. It should wear over time naturally without any clear coat. So, it was just a personal choice here. Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Dude, you nailed it! What a spectacular job!
Thanks man! Much appreciated!!!
Great video! 2 of my frankys are starcasters..wonderful project guitars
Thanks!!! That's cool!
This past Xmas I picked up an old starcaster too but it has the humbucker two single coils so I wouldn't run into issues peace of mind 😆.
Paid around same price from marketplace
That is my favorite evh guitar! Awesome video:-) I love working on guitars
Thanks!!! :)
Damn.....EXCELLENT playing.
Wonderful build as well.
thank you so much! That means a ton!!! ;)
You did an absolutely amazing job on this!!!
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Another job well done. Looks and sounds great!
Thank you very much!!!
Considering I’m near the age where Eddie built the eruption guitar, I’d think it’ll be a great first build. I’ll be using this video for reference 🤘
Awesome!!!
@@CoffeeDrinker71hey man! I started ordering the parts for this beauty! I’m so excited to build one of eddies best guitars!
Love your videos man. Really enjoy the Spongebob and Simpsons stuff in all the videos too haha
Thanks so much! Ha! Yeah, I’ve been a huge Simpson fan since the first season…and then raised my kids on SpongeBob in the early 2000’s! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Brilliant and gorgeous job my man!
Thank you very much!!
Great skill & talent you have
Thank you very much!
Nice work
Thanks!!!!
Great job. Can you tell me can you feel a ridge where the white paint meets the black body. As in the border lines?
Thanks!!! Actually you could feel the ridge along the edges of the stripes right after pulling the tape. But after I wet sanded the entire body with 1500 grit, those ridges were smoothed over and now they are barely noticeable.
@@CoffeeDrinker71 thanks for taking the time to reply 👍
Loving your guitar tracks! tone is it!
Thank you! 🙂
Nice job! I wouldn’t be able to deal with just 21 frets though.
I feel youre pain ive been playing my prs custom 24 sence 95 when i got it new . i got a new strat in 2015 its a great guitar but the fender scale and 22 fret neck is kinda strange now ha ha
2 years ago i got my first guitar, an aria pro II, i liked van halen and decided to paint it like the frankenstrat w/ red, i was scared to dmaage the insides cause i was new so i just taped the pickguard and the harware, so when i took off the pickguard a year ago to install a hotrail humbucker i just left a black sillhouette, a week ago i sanded it down and did the same thing all over again, this time more accurate, ut sadly mine has a swimming pool caity rather than th on you have with the holes only for the pickups, so it looks kind of off, and i dont have a humbucker, only a single coil sized hot rail humbucker, i cut th picguard etc and it looks nice, i ran out of tin for soldering, i got rid of the switch and 2 tone knobs cause id only have the pickup and volume, and thats it. but doing so i didnt measure or whatever and cut some wires too sort, no wi cant play it, i tried taping and braiding some wires together and nothing works, so now i have to wait until i get a job (im 15) or something cause i havent save dup nothing lol, but i really am proud
That's really cool that you are attempting your own EVH "DIY" makeover! :) I'm sure you will get it up and running soon! Cheers!
Rest in peace EVH! I must say and if EVH was here to ask what you built is probably way better than than some he had cobbled out. EVH's gift was as a musician not really a guitar builder on the same level. Can you imagine if he did build guitars at the same level as his playing?
I agree! :D
Awesome build dude! Been wanting to make one of these for a hot minute.
Thanks man! You should build one!!! Now is the time! :D
Beautiful work!
Thank you so much!!!
Outstanding! Nice work.
Thanks!!!