Uh,except for the clean ungunked up fret board that is.I'm gonna enjoy smoking the cigarettes that leave the burn marks in mine!I hate to see 'em go to waste like that!😜
There was one guy who did his with little Cheerio sized eyehooks and I didn't even have the heart to tell him how rediculous and funny that looked on an otherwise pretty decent job!😮
Thanks Lawson. I have tried making EVH striped items in the past, but they never came out right. The red, black and white layers never looked right. So, I figured this time, if it's going to look the same it has to be made the same. Eddie didn't have a router to cut out the pick up hole. He used a chisel. So did I. I think it's these detailed steps that made this turn out so well. Thanks for watching.
7am here in Quebec drinking a coffe and watching a passionate guitar player buildinga Franky with taste ! Well done ! Oh and by the way , when the guitar was finished and showcased on a stand , your choice of choosing Eruption was awespme !
Thanks Dazzle, it came out much better than I had ever hoped. I'm so stocked to have it in my collection. When I get back to the states I will share some of my other guitars. I have some other unique and notable axes!
No words, I'm blown away. This was beautiful to watch and the way you put together all the music was perfect. This was amazing. Mission accomplished ❤🙏❤
Your work is awesome! I like your technique of blowing up the pics to life size dimensions for easy placement of everything. Very nice work. Also, great documentation of the parts and suppliers used. Thanks for a great video!
I was reading the description and read that you were looking for the reflectors. Ebay has some kits. Not sure how exact they are but I just saw them a few days ago.
Thanks man, I put a link in this videos description of a YT channel called Mills Custom Guitars and he made a SRV replica. Its amazing. Thanks for watching
@@OpenRoader Yep! I contacted him about it. He makes them, but he charges like $3,600 for one. You can get one cheaper if he uses cheaper components. I’ve resolved myself to trying at some point. Just waiting for the time and money to incest into the project. I got a baby on the way, so it’s gonna be a bit. 😂 Great work though. It turned out bitchin’!
I'm gonna build my own frankie guitar with an SG style guitar body of swamp ash and the neck of maple with rosewood fingerboard 24 frets with cross inlays because Eddie van halen was a guitar god
I know exactly how you feel and never thought I would ever own such a thing. Watch those other videos in the description below. They are so informative. I didn't think I could do it either, but after I saw those video, I went for it. I also found a seller on eBay that sells the reflectors, so I have finished the back. It is now 100% spot on! Thanks for watching and good luck!
@@OpenRoader it’ll be here on Saturday. And honestly bro, it’s a surreal feeling for me. Eddie Van Halen truly inspired as an adult to really pick up my guitar and have a true passion for it. And so buying his replica Frankenstrat motivates me more to keep going!🙏🏾
Thanks Chris. The first two cassettes I ever got were Rush Moving Pictures and Van Halen Women and Children First, Christmas 1981. I still have both. Thanks for watching and your comments.
Did you ever end up putting the reflectors on the back? I put them on mine, I think that really makes it. Thanks for posting your beautiful work. Awesome job brother!🤘
Jesus Christ! You've done everything so detail! You just blow my mind out! And plus your music arrangement was perfect! I already subscribe! And I'm the big fan of Van Halen too...
That body is spot on but why would you put a 22 fret neck on? Exact detail would include the neck. The neck you made resembles a Charvel and Kramer. Kramer necks have the wider spacing on the 12th fret unlike Charvel’s that are closer. I’m just curious that’s all.
There are so many versions of this guitar because Eddie rebuilt it so many times. I decided I would not build it as it is today, because it's worn out, so I wanted to go somewhere in the middle. Somewhere around 1983-84 when I remember it best. Thanks for watching
Thank you for sharing, just so I got this right: you used wood sealer, sanded the body then sprayed duplicolor black/white/red and that's it. Have you had any issues with the paint curing or peeling?
No peeling, no curling, but in hindsight, I wish I would have clear coated it in satin. But Eddie never did, so didn't. Since it's just paint, it looks flat compared to my other guitar's. Thanks for watching
Ultimately, this guitar ended up going to a proper guitar builder to have those adjustments made and I was not present when it took place, so I can't say. If your unsure, it might be a good idea to ask. The Stratocaster body style was never intended to have a Floyd Rose and there is very little margin for error down by the pick up pocket. But, it can be done! Thanks for watching
Thank you, it's hard to put an actual time on it. I would say I worked on it for three to four days getting it striped and painted and let it dry for a day in between each color. There was more time in preparing the body, fitting the parts and of course the aging and details. Thanks for watching and your comments
@@OpenRoader Maybe, you didn't catch why I said to a RUclipsr. I want nothing to do with Fender or EVH direct. Rather have it made personally. Support families.
Thanks for watching, good luck on your build. Detailed pictures from the 2019 New York Metropolitan Museum of Art www.vhnd.com/2019/04/01/eddie-van-halens-1978-touring-rig-and-original-frankenstein-guitar-exhibit/
I’ve been thinking about making one of these and using the dragon fire Frankie kit but am only hesitating to buy it because of the Floyd rose the kit comes with? Does it stay in tune? Have you had any problems with it? Would you recommend the Floyd rose in the kit or should I get a different one? Thanks in advance!
first things first; wow! This is a great video and the frankie turned out amazingly! I noticed you went for a 22 fret neck as opposed to a 21 fret one like Eddie's original, was this a choice for playability etc? I know even the EVH replicas have a 22 fret neck too now. Again, great video and killer guitar!
When I started the research for building this guitar, I looked at tons of pictures. The pictures of the guitar at the New York museum showed the guitar basically how it is today. It's pretty worn out. So I decided to age it to about 1985-86-ish. So depending on what era your looking at or fond of, you'll see some difference's. Thanks for watching and your comments
Where can I find the print outs you used that were scale to the guitar? I’m trying to do a build of my own but can’t find how to print to scale like that.
I found high quality pictures from when this guitar was at the New York museum of art on display with a bunch of other famous guitars. I measured and resized and printed them. Good luck with your build
Where did you find the pictures of the body that could be scaled and not blurry? Also how did you get them perpendicular to lens so that nothing was distorted? This turned out so great and I wanna make mine just as accurate!
There is a link in the video description to where I found the pictures. I did have to manipulate the pictures in Photoshop to square them up and resize them. Then I printed and taped them together. Best of luck on your build
@@OpenRoader thank you! How did you know when they were squared up? I'm using inkscape and new to it, but I'll experiment some I'm very excited about my project as its a little unique... I'd happily share the finished product with you if you'd like! If not, no worries. I appreciate the insight \m/
@@OpenRoader Also, if you're sill looking for reflectors, The Trogley guitar show did an in-depth look at the fender custom shop frankenstrats. I believe they were "sate-lite" brand
Great job! Could you tell me where you got the printable pics? Was it trial and error getting them to the right size, or how did you do it? Thanks for any help you can give.
Thanks Gee, all the pictures I used came from here: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/752454 I measured the length of the real guitar body and then used the measuring tool in photoshop of enlarge the photos to that size. I had to use screen shots from the link above as they have it set so they can not be copied. Good luck with your build
@@OpenRoader I’m going to assume that Eddie understands my finances and knows that I can’t afford the real thing. Besides, anyone can buy a guitar. The pride of playing one that I customized is impossible to put monetary value on. Be well man!
It's the one that came in the Frankie kit I bought, the link should be in the description. TBH, she's more wall art than stage shredder. Thanks for watching
Awesome, remember to check out the links in this video description to learn more details about this build. Pictures of Eddie's real guitar and where to get parts
Just get a beretta and give it the same paint job,that's all eddie was going for.He just wanted the whole guitar painted without a pickguard.The 1984 is the final stage until he wanted to make his own guitar,not fond of the body style he made.I prefer strat bodies for sitting comfort.He said it himself if it were not for the floyd the guitar was made with second hand crap and it was a piece of crap.I have an original Barreta and built the black and white with a floyd and invader from a Fender plays great,feels better than the charvel i checked out.Last thing I want is a guitar that most people if they did not know eddie would strip the floyd and pickup out and throw the rest in the garbage.Met eddie 2008 and that is what we talked about.told him I made a Boogie body mighty mite neck grover tuners and floyd rose with a JB.,I did not paint it and put a acrylic gold reflective pickguard.1989 circa. my friend was holding on to it and when I came back to get it he said he gave it away and said it was a piece of crap.Every part on it was of the top quality back then.But it did not have the fancy paint job so his friend had to give it back so he could give it to me.He said it was a piece of crap and threw it out.Now this guy cant play but own like 10 1400$ guitars.That shows us how important a specific guitar can be to an individual.I admit a mighty mite neck is not the best,but back then that was all you could get,short of a fender neck or second hand off another.Put a real floyd on it if you make one,they stay in tune and flutter perfectly when setup correct.Those cheap floyd copies even the specials from floyd have soft metal,they roll over the blades and hang the bridge up.The German made ones are what you want.
@@OpenRoader thank you! I’m trying to make one myself. This is the first time I’ve seen someone hand chiseling the pickup pockets, everyone else uses expensive routers. I think hand chiseling is much more of a homage to the original
No not at all, since this video, I purchased the exact reflectors for the back, aged the fretboard with graphite powder and added a few vintage VH guitar picks to the duct tape strip on the front, other than that, she it done and plays beautifully. Thanks for watching and your comments.
One problem and very important detail you missed Eddie's actual Frankie body was a basswood body not an ash body his bumblebee was an ash body and eddie did not like the tone of it but the 2007 limited run edition was a, swamp ash body and that's because chip Ellis did them and got every detail right except it bieng a basswood and that's because chip Ellis made the same mistake most make in thinking the Frankie was made of swamp ash just like the bumblebee but also because fender likes swamp ash and a lot of strats from fender are made of swamp ash. Just like fender today with jackson guitars for which goes back to Wayne charvel who Eddie bought the original basswood body from is trying to fenderize the Jackson necks with skinny 4m truss rods and put 6105 medium jumbo frets on jackson necks and make them In China when everyone under the sun who has ever played a jackson or charvel guitar pre fender knows it's super jumbo fretwire on jackson necks and double action truss rods with 7mm hex nuts installed just like Gibsons and those necks are strong as hell just like Eddies necks were. So yes Eddie's Frankie had a strat style neck on it but it was strong as hell and even had the skunk strip on it. And by the way in 1984 Eddie's Frankie actually had a kramer banana headstock on it. As Eddie would test different necks and swap them around often. So my advice is if you want to make an exact replica of Eddie's Frankie and various guitars you better get the guitar body wood down correctly too and the neck and the fretboard accurate but If you want to make it your own and do your own variations on Eddie's style guitar that's cool too as Eddie would tell you don't copy me but do your own thing. But if you want to make exact replicas and call them that you better use the exact woods I used on my body and necks and fretboards.
@@OpenRoader understand and Eddie would say do your own thing for me I am literely stepping into eddies shoes myself as right now I feel like he did in the late 1970s where no one makes what I want or even there is a lot of companies Chinese ones trying to knock off eddies kramer body I did find a basswood strat body with the, cutouts to do eddies original Frankie with the black and white before he changed it so I may do 2 variations on that but with doing the kramer 5150 I am just going to have to get basswood blanks due to my own technical specs more along with the neck. And fret preferences. VS Eddie. I checked yesterday and saw on ebay 2 diferent Chinese kramer 5150 bodies one with single humbucjer and one with 2 humbuckers and they said basswood bodies but if you look at the pictures it's not basswood it's African mahogany big difference. Now to be fair Eddie did love the Frankie replicas chip Ellis did even if chip Ellis made the mistake of swamp ash VS basswood as remember eddies bumblebee was made of swamp ash but eddie never liked the tone of that one that's buried with dime. But just be careful and remember to truly honor Eddie be you and do your own thing and remember the message of Eddie and the spirit of the original Frankie which one was you don't need to spend a lot of money to build a great guitar and 2 if you can't get what you want make it yourself or build it yourself.
Well done on the replica. I wanna make one of my own. Would you mind helping me out with your enlarged pictures? I'll gladly pay your for copies, or access to them somehow. How did you manage to get print-outs of the actual size?
Hi Opengee, I printed them in actual size and printed it in pieces and then taped them together. I measured the length of the guitar body and used photoshop to enlarge the picture until it was the same size as the guitar using the measuring tape feature in photoshop. I printed the bottom, middle and top and cut and taped them together. Let me know if this works for you
@@opengee I found them on line. If you want the copies of what I have, I can get them to you through my Patreon. You could subscribe for 1 month for $1 and we can speak privately and I can either send you download links or direct copies. Might be worth the $1. www.patreon.com/openroader
Thanks for sharing! If you have a minute, we uploaded an Eddie Van Halen tribute video. As fellow music fans, we'd love if you would check it out. It's on our page. Don't go too hard on us :)
Hi man. I'm not a commercial youtuber... actually i'm not a youtuber at all... but i want to make i video on how to add a bunch of details (collected in years and years before now) to the EVH Frankie Striped Series 2020 that finally (after almost a years from the order) landed in my house. You know this affordable "replica" fro EVH is just good... but no 1971 quarter, no eye hoocks, no reflectors... and i have all this stuff ... plus i have an original Floyd Rose bridge (instead the EVH branded mounted) and a Seymour Duncan Custom Shop "78 Model" pickup that i want to mount replacing the Wolfgang (more modern sounding... but i want the old original sound). So... that said... i want just make a video of the "modding process" e put it on YT without any commercial or sponsor or monetizing interest. Just a pure and simple video for "academic purposes". AND a video like this without music... is nothing. The long short Man: can you help me to know (and i know nothing about this) how can I "legally" put some Van Halen songs (just some intros... about 20 or 30 sec.) without been hitted with copyright strikes or other YT measures... just like you did in your videos? BTW... your video is one of the best on the Tube! Tnx man!
Thanks for your comments. I think your idea would make a great video. I haven't seen someone do a full new to old conversation yet. As for the commercials and licensing and use of VH music, my video is not monitized by me, so any commercials you see are part of the "rights to use the music" and in that agreement of me using VH music in this video, RUclips pays that money to the publisher of the music. So I have no say over the commercials, but do get to use the music for legally. Best of luck with your project.
@@OpenRoader Tnx man for your kind reply about my project. About the use of VH music, my question actually is HOW you get that agreement with RUclips? Did you put the music and then set some options about the use of the music when you upload the video? Or do you need to contact RUclips to get that agreement BEFORE I.e.: did you writed the list of music credits and licensing that are after your first comment below the video screen... or that credits were added by RUclips? Tnx again
I just made the video, uploaded it and after, RUclips sent me an email message that "the owners of the music get paid bla, bla, bla. No worries. Basically, you can't make money off it. No big deal
@@OpenRoader Ok... Tnx 1000 Man! I promiseI won't bore you anymore with this annoying questions!! ;-). I'll just contact you only with the link to my video when it's ready... if you are intersted at it. Tnx again and again great job with your wondeful replica!
this video needs more views. this has gotta be the most spot on replica i’ve ever seen
Man, that mean allot, thank you. Feel free to share 🙂
Uh,except for the clean ungunked up fret board that is.I'm gonna enjoy smoking the cigarettes that leave the burn marks in mine!I hate to see 'em go to waste like that!😜
@@garyhundsrucker7771 yeah but it’s a maple neck that’ll happen overtime
Since this video, I went and used graphite powder to age the neck and added the reflectors on the back. Thanks for watching
There was one guy who did his with little Cheerio sized eyehooks and I didn't even have the heart to tell him how rediculous and funny that looked on an otherwise pretty decent job!😮
He created the actual 2 guitars to make 1 !!! Now that's dedication and craftsmanship 👍👍👍👍
Thanks Lawson. I have tried making EVH striped items in the past, but they never came out right. The red, black and white layers never looked right. So, I figured this time, if it's going to look the same it has to be made the same. Eddie didn't have a router to cut out the pick up hole. He used a chisel. So did I. I think it's these detailed steps that made this turn out so well. Thanks for watching.
Amazing. I honored him by buying 4 EVHs including a reliced Franky. This is a whole different level. Truly built from scratch,
That must be awesome to see them all together
Now that's a proper way to honor the legend that is EVH. Nicely done!!
Thank you, I'm glad it came across that way. Thanks for your comments
RIP To the GUITAR LEGEND Eddie Van Halen
7am here in Quebec drinking a coffe and watching a passionate guitar player buildinga Franky with taste ! Well done !
Oh and by the way , when the guitar was finished and showcased on a stand , your choice of choosing Eruption was awespme !
Thank you very much, I really appreciate it
BEST background music EVER!!!!! And a great Frankenstrat replica also!
Thanks Darren, much appreciated
Dr. Frankenstein! alive! It’s Alive! IT’S ALIVE!
😁😁😁👍
Bloody good work! I love the little detail of the lit ciggies/joints tucked into the strings. Back when I used to smoke that was something I did 🤘😎✌
Thanks Dazzle, it came out much better than I had ever hoped. I'm so stocked to have it in my collection. When I get back to the states I will share some of my other guitars. I have some other unique and notable axes!
Freaking awesome
You have inspired me to build my own EVH guitar :) Thanks for this video !
Congratulations on yours !
AWESOME MAX! You can do this!
😮 bro!!! INCREDIBALLS!
Thank you
Really well done man, loved Eddie.
Incredible work sir. Just simply INCREDIBLE.
Thanks Chuck, much appreciated
Starting mine here soon too…
No words, I'm blown away. This was beautiful to watch and the way you put together all the music was perfect. This was amazing. Mission accomplished ❤🙏❤
Thank you RR, I really appreciate your comments. =vh=
Beautiful tribute. Beautiful guitar. =vh=
Thank you
When u ended with Eruption, Epic!,now this makes me want to Van Halenize my Strat copy!
Glad you enjoyed this video. Eddie was the master! Good luck with your strat
@@OpenRoader Thanks
beautiful
Thanks Gary
Looks amazing! 🤩
Thank you, came out pretty good 😁
Absolutely fantastic…well done👍
Thanks Eddie (VH) jr.
best!!!! video on stripping a Frankenstrat BIG TIME!!! thank you Randy
Thanks Randy, means allot
Pretty epic work. You man Wow ! Nice job!
Thanks man. I'm really proud of it. I got it on a stand next to the TV, so I can just glance over. Lovin' it
Your work is awesome! I like your technique of blowing up the pics to life size dimensions for easy placement of everything. Very nice work. Also, great documentation of the parts and suppliers used. Thanks for a great video!
Thank you for your kind words. Much appreciated. Thanks for watching
I was reading the description and read that you were looking for the reflectors. Ebay has some kits. Not sure how exact they are but I just saw them a few days ago.
Since posting, I have found and installed the exact reflectors. Thanks for the heads up
@@OpenRoader from ebay?
Looks like eddie has some scalloping of the higher fretts
Awesome build! Eddie's looking down smiling.
Thank you Art
what a talent you are . amazing 🤩
Thank you, much appreciated, very proud of this project. Thanks for watching
Awesome idea putting the red cover over the dummy pickup.. looks killa great work.🤘🏼
Thanks, much appreciated
Damn, this is 💫ART✨
Thank you
I give ya a 10! Great work man!
Thank you very much
Great job Man!
Thank you
That's awesome. I'm more of a blues guy and I have always wanted to recreate SRV's Number 1. A bit too ambitious for my skills though.
Thanks man, I put a link in this videos description of a YT channel called Mills Custom Guitars and he made a SRV replica. Its amazing. Thanks for watching
@@OpenRoader Yep! I contacted him about it. He makes them, but he charges like $3,600 for one. You can get one cheaper if he uses cheaper components. I’ve resolved myself to trying at some point. Just waiting for the time and money to incest into the project. I got a baby on the way, so it’s gonna be a bit. 😂 Great work though. It turned out bitchin’!
@@Sainte305 Wow, yeah, I could see it. That guy REALLY gets in there deep! Good luck with that new baby. Plenty of time down the line for toys.
I'm gonna build my own frankie guitar with an SG style guitar body of swamp ash and the neck of maple with rosewood fingerboard 24 frets with cross inlays because Eddie van halen was a guitar god
Epic!
Fantastic work! A beauty of a replica.
Thanks D, much appreciated
Gorgeous work!!! Attention to detail. You just need the reflectors.
Thank you, since this video, I have obtained the reflectors and they are installed. Thanks for watching
I'm so jealous. I've wanted this guitar since I was 8. Wish I had your talent
I know exactly how you feel and never thought I would ever own such a thing. Watch those other videos in the description below. They are so informative. I didn't think I could do it either, but after I saw those video, I went for it. I also found a seller on eBay that sells the reflectors, so I have finished the back. It is now 100% spot on! Thanks for watching and good luck!
Killer job!!
Thank you Terry
My Frankenstrat Replica comes in next week and I’m so excited 😭🔥🔥🔥
That's awesome! Burn it up for Eddie
Did your Frankenstrat arrive? What are your thoughts?
@@OpenRoader it’ll be here on Saturday. And honestly bro, it’s a surreal feeling for me. Eddie Van Halen truly inspired as an adult to really pick up my guitar and have a true passion for it. And so buying his replica Frankenstrat motivates me more to keep going!🙏🏾
Dude, that's what it's all about. Same reason I built this one. Something special to own for sure
great job my friend
Thanks Tim
First cassette I ever bought was Van Halen. Awesome work man
Thanks Chris. The first two cassettes I ever got were Rush Moving Pictures and Van Halen Women and Children First, Christmas 1981. I still have both. Thanks for watching and your comments.
excellent👍🏻
Thanks man
Nice job!
Thank you and thanks for watching
Excellent job I hope I can have as much patience as you did while building this
Thank you Eddie, crank up some VH and channel the power
Nice work!!!
Thanks Michael
nice
Did you ever end up putting the reflectors on the back? I put them on mine, I think that really makes it. Thanks for posting your beautiful work. Awesome job brother!🤘
I did! I managed to find the exact ones that Eddie used on eBay. I agree, made all the difference. Thanks for watching and for your comments.
So the real red Frankenstrat was actually the white one Eddie first used? İ didnt know that! Amazing job by the way, kardeşim. Cheers!
Yes, crazy huh! He restriped it multiple times over the years. Thanks for watching
Jesus Christ! You've done everything so detail! You just blow my mind out! And plus your music arrangement was perfect! I already subscribe! And I'm the big fan of Van Halen too...
Thank you very much for those kind words. And thank you for subbing
@@OpenRoader You're welcome and you earn it.
That body is spot on but why would you put a 22 fret neck on? Exact detail would include the neck. The neck you made resembles a Charvel and Kramer. Kramer necks have the wider spacing on the 12th fret unlike Charvel’s that are closer. I’m just curious that’s all.
There are so many versions of this guitar because Eddie rebuilt it so many times. I decided I would not build it as it is today, because it's worn out, so I wanted to go somewhere in the middle. Somewhere around 1983-84 when I remember it best. Thanks for watching
Best I’ve seen! AMAZING work! Can I ask what you used for the pick strip? rolled duct tape or gaffer tape? 🍻
I used duct tape, doubled over lengthwise. Thank you for your comments
@@OpenRoader Cool! Thanks for the reply🙏🏼
You used very affordable method but very effective.
I still need to add up all my receipts. I'm guessing I'm in the $500 range, not to bad
Thank you for sharing, just so I got this right: you used wood sealer, sanded the body then sprayed duplicolor black/white/red and that's it. Have you had any issues with the paint curing or peeling?
No peeling, no curling, but in hindsight, I wish I would have clear coated it in satin. But Eddie never did, so didn't. Since it's just paint, it looks flat compared to my other guitar's. Thanks for watching
when top mounting the floyd rose,did yiu use a neck shim for proper action?
Ultimately, this guitar ended up going to a proper guitar builder to have those adjustments made and I was not present when it took place, so I can't say. If your unsure, it might be a good idea to ask. The Stratocaster body style was never intended to have a Floyd Rose and there is very little margin for error down by the pick up pocket. But, it can be done! Thanks for watching
Great Video, music was Awesome. How long did that take to paint?
Thank you, it's hard to put an actual time on it. I would say I worked on it for three to four days getting it striped and painted and let it dry for a day in between each color. There was more time in preparing the body, fitting the parts and of course the aging and details. Thanks for watching and your comments
I'd pay to have one built for myself. Northern Ash and all.
I think you can buy them. I'm almost certain EVH Guitars offers them
@@OpenRoader Maybe, you didn't catch why I said to a RUclipsr. I want nothing to do with Fender or EVH direct. Rather have it made personally. Support families.
Gotcha, yeah, I don't have the desire to go through the effort of making another one of these. This was a massive amount of work.
gonna be making my own one soon, ive been looking for pictures like the ones you have but cant find any decent ones. where did you get yours from?
Thanks for watching, good luck on your build. Detailed pictures from the 2019 New York Metropolitan Museum of Art
www.vhnd.com/2019/04/01/eddie-van-halens-1978-touring-rig-and-original-frankenstein-guitar-exhibit/
@@OpenRoader cheers, that will help out alot
Absolutely, long live EVH!
I’ve been thinking about making one of these and using the dragon fire Frankie kit but am only hesitating to buy it because of the Floyd rose the kit comes with? Does it stay in tune? Have you had any problems with it? Would you recommend the Floyd rose in the kit or should I get a different one? Thanks in advance!
I would probably replace all the playing hardware for the good stuff if you really plan to use it. Might as well have the best.
first things first; wow! This is a great video and the frankie turned out amazingly! I noticed you went for a 22 fret neck as opposed to a 21 fret one like Eddie's original, was this a choice for playability etc? I know even the EVH replicas have a 22 fret neck too now. Again, great video and killer guitar!
Thank you for the kind words. I went with a 22 fret for price and availability. Thanks for watching
Sometimes Ed used 22 fret necks so it’s all good
When I started the research for building this guitar, I looked at tons of pictures. The pictures of the guitar at the New York museum showed the guitar basically how it is today. It's pretty worn out. So I decided to age it to about 1985-86-ish. So depending on what era your looking at or fond of, you'll see some difference's. Thanks for watching and your comments
Where can I buy all the accessories?
I bought most of it here: dragonfireguitars.com/Frankie-Kit-Guitar-Hobby-Special-Combo-Package-5150.htm
Where can I find the print outs you used that were scale to the guitar? I’m trying to do a build of my own but can’t find how to print to scale like that.
I found high quality pictures from when this guitar was at the New York museum of art on display with a bunch of other famous guitars. I measured and resized and printed them. Good luck with your build
Where did you find the pictures of the body that could be scaled and not blurry? Also how did you get them perpendicular to lens so that nothing was distorted? This turned out so great and I wanna make mine just as accurate!
There is a link in the video description to where I found the pictures. I did have to manipulate the pictures in Photoshop to square them up and resize them. Then I printed and taped them together. Best of luck on your build
@@OpenRoader thank you! How did you know when they were squared up? I'm using inkscape and new to it, but I'll experiment some
I'm very excited about my project as its a little unique... I'd happily share the finished product with you if you'd like! If not, no worries. I appreciate the insight \m/
@@OpenRoader Also, if you're sill looking for reflectors, The Trogley guitar show did an in-depth look at the fender custom shop frankenstrats. I believe they were "sate-lite" brand
@@Zakk_Ross Thank you, I ended up getting a pair some time back
What kind of wood it’s in the body?
I used ASH. That is what Eddie said he used
Great job! Could you tell me where you got the printable pics? Was it trial and error getting them to the right size, or how did you do it? Thanks for any help you can give.
Thanks Gee, all the pictures I used came from here: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/752454
I measured the length of the real guitar body and then used the measuring tool in photoshop of enlarge the photos to that size. I had to use screen shots from the link above as they have it set so they can not be copied. Good luck with your build
@@OpenRoader Thanks a lot. Still gathering supplies but should get to work pretty soon. I appreciate the advice.
No prob, have a look at the other videos in the description, great info there. Good luck on your build
Where did you buy the body?
I bought it off ebay. I was just looking for a Strat body made of Ash. Nothing real special about it
I think we are required by law to use "Eruption" to unveil our EVH home projects. I did it too! Great job man, it looks dead on.
Thanks Mark, yeah Eruption is a must. I just waited for the big reveal. R.I.P. EVH
@@OpenRoader You know, I wonder if Ed would be proud of us for painting our own guitars or pissed at us for not buying official EVH ones. Haha 🤔
Haha, yeah, not sure. I really wanted to build mine to the 1983-85 era, used but not a total wreck like it is today. Just like I remember it 😁👍
@@OpenRoader I’m going to assume that Eddie understands my finances and knows that I can’t afford the real thing. Besides, anyone can buy a guitar. The pride of playing one that I customized is impossible to put monetary value on. Be well man!
I totally agree
What kind of Floyd rose did you use? How is it holding up
It's the one that came in the Frankie kit I bought, the link should be in the description. TBH, she's more wall art than stage shredder. Thanks for watching
What is the liquid being applied at 3:13?
Wood sealer, clear
@@OpenRoaderthanks bro I think I’m gonna make my own
Awesome, remember to check out the links in this video description to learn more details about this build. Pictures of Eddie's real guitar and where to get parts
Which sealer did you use? Thank you!
The stuff I used was a clear medium satin. It added just the right shading. Just off of clear.
Everything else seems like a spray can of lung cancer away. The satin is prolly safest. 3m respirators are trash when it comes to clear coat.
Just get a beretta and give it the same paint job,that's all eddie was going for.He just wanted the whole guitar painted without a pickguard.The 1984 is the final stage until he wanted to make his own guitar,not fond of the body style he made.I prefer strat bodies for sitting comfort.He said it himself if it were not for the floyd the guitar was made with second hand crap and it was a piece of crap.I have an original Barreta and built the black and white with a floyd and invader from a Fender plays great,feels better than the charvel i checked out.Last thing I want is a guitar that most people if they did not know eddie would strip the floyd and pickup out and throw the rest in the garbage.Met eddie 2008 and that is what we talked about.told him I made a Boogie body mighty mite neck grover tuners and floyd rose with a JB.,I did not paint it and put a acrylic gold reflective pickguard.1989 circa. my friend was holding on to it and when I came back to get it he said he gave it away and said it was a piece of crap.Every part on it was of the top quality back then.But it did not have the fancy paint job so his friend had to give it back so he could give it to me.He said it was a piece of crap and threw it out.Now this guy cant play but own like 10 1400$ guitars.That shows us how important a specific guitar can be to an individual.I admit a mighty mite neck is not the best,but back then that was all you could get,short of a fender neck or second hand off another.Put a real floyd on it if you make one,they stay in tune and flutter perfectly when setup correct.Those cheap floyd copies even the specials from floyd have soft metal,they roll over the blades and hang the bridge up.The German made ones are what you want.
Thanks for sharing
How did you do with the pickup height?
I actually sent this guitar to a professional shop to have the whole thing dialed in and tuned properly
Oh thanks, what should be the distance between the pickup and string should be? @@OpenRoader
This is something I struggled with, I would ask a professional or go to a guitar shop for that answer, sorry
Do you have the links to those printed Frankenstrat images you used?
I screen shot'd them from here: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/752454
@@OpenRoader thank you! I’m trying to make one myself. This is the first time I’ve seen someone hand chiseling the pickup pockets, everyone else uses expensive routers. I think hand chiseling is much more of a homage to the original
That's how Eddie did it. With a chisel 👍
@@OpenRoader yep exactly. Great job!
Thanks man, best of luck with your build
Nicely done. Anything you wish you did different?
No not at all, since this video, I purchased the exact reflectors for the back, aged the fretboard with graphite powder and added a few vintage VH guitar picks to the duct tape strip on the front, other than that, she it done and plays beautifully. Thanks for watching and your comments.
One problem and very important detail you missed Eddie's actual Frankie body was a basswood body not an ash body his bumblebee was an ash body and eddie did not like the tone of it but the 2007 limited run edition was a, swamp ash body and that's because chip Ellis did them and got every detail right except it bieng a basswood and that's because chip Ellis made the same mistake most make in thinking the Frankie was made of swamp ash just like the bumblebee but also because fender likes swamp ash and a lot of strats from fender are made of swamp ash.
Just like fender today with jackson guitars for which goes back to Wayne charvel who Eddie bought the original basswood body from is trying to fenderize the Jackson necks with skinny 4m truss rods and put 6105 medium jumbo frets on jackson necks and make them In China when everyone under the sun who has ever played a jackson or charvel guitar pre fender knows it's super jumbo fretwire on jackson necks and double action truss rods with 7mm hex nuts installed just like Gibsons and those necks are strong as hell just like Eddies necks were. So yes Eddie's Frankie had a strat style neck on it but it was strong as hell and even had the skunk strip on it. And by the way in 1984 Eddie's Frankie actually had a kramer banana headstock on it. As Eddie would test different necks and swap them around often.
So my advice is if you want to make an exact replica of Eddie's Frankie and various guitars you better get the guitar body wood down correctly too and the neck and the fretboard accurate but If you want to make it your own and do your own variations on Eddie's style guitar that's cool too as Eddie would tell you don't copy me but do your own thing.
But if you want to make exact replicas and call them that you better use the exact woods I used on my body and necks and fretboards.
That's a lot of valuable information there, good for the next guy, I won't be building another one myself
@@OpenRoader understand and Eddie would say do your own thing for me I am literely stepping into eddies shoes myself as right now I feel like he did in the late 1970s where no one makes what I want or even there is a lot of companies Chinese ones trying to knock off eddies kramer body I did find a basswood strat body with the, cutouts to do eddies original Frankie with the black and white before he changed it so I may do 2 variations on that but with doing the kramer 5150 I am just going to have to get basswood blanks due to my own technical specs more along with the neck. And fret preferences. VS Eddie. I checked yesterday and saw on ebay 2 diferent Chinese kramer 5150 bodies one with single humbucjer and one with 2 humbuckers and they said basswood bodies but if you look at the pictures it's not basswood it's African mahogany big difference.
Now to be fair Eddie did love the Frankie replicas chip Ellis did even if chip Ellis made the mistake of swamp ash VS basswood as remember eddies bumblebee was made of swamp ash but eddie never liked the tone of that one that's buried with dime.
But just be careful and remember to truly honor Eddie be you and do your own thing and remember the message of Eddie and the spirit of the original Frankie which one was you don't need to spend a lot of money to build a great guitar and 2 if you can't get what you want make it yourself or build it yourself.
Love Live the Frankenstrat and EVH
Well done on the replica. I wanna make one of my own. Would you mind helping me out with your enlarged pictures? I'll gladly pay your for copies, or access to them somehow. How did you manage to get print-outs of the actual size?
Hi Opengee, I printed them in actual size and printed it in pieces and then taped them together. I measured the length of the guitar body and used photoshop to enlarge the picture until it was the same size as the guitar using the measuring tape feature in photoshop. I printed the bottom, middle and top and cut and taped them together. Let me know if this works for you
@@OpenRoader where did you get the detailed pics?
@@opengee I found them on line. If you want the copies of what I have, I can get them to you through my Patreon. You could subscribe for 1 month for $1 and we can speak privately and I can either send you download links or direct copies. Might be worth the $1. www.patreon.com/openroader
@@OpenRoader I subscribed!
@@opengee Thanks man, message sent
Build a 5150 next or a circles guitar
I'm thinking of building the Dean guitar Sammy Hagar used on the VOA album and in the "I Can't Drive 55" music video
Fine job.... I just don't like the grain showing.... But awesome job bro
Thanks Jim, yeah, I'm kind of with ya, but that's how worn out the real one is. Thanks for watching
Awesome! But.....does it PLAY as good as it looks ?
It could if it had a good guitar player to shred with it. I'm a horrible guitar player, but I'm a huge EVH fan! Thanks for the comment
@OpenRoader I feel your pain ! I used to do pretty well. Even got to play along side a couple of my heroes. Now age, and work kinda ruined that. Lol
At least you got to that stage
@@OpenRoader Yeah. Good times ! But, I've never built a Frankie replica that rivals the best out there ! Great accomplishment, man !!
Thank you Chris, I really appreciate it
looks like you didn't use a sealer coat...
but also, it's excellent work!
Nope, neither did Eddie
Thank you
@@OpenRoader yes he did...essentially confirmed by Johnnie B guitars videos.
Thanks for sharing! If you have a minute, we uploaded an Eddie Van Halen tribute video. As fellow music fans, we'd love if you would check it out. It's on our page. Don't go too hard on us :)
I'll have a listen
I checked you guys out, you ROCK!
Hi man. I'm not a commercial youtuber... actually i'm not a youtuber at all... but i want to make i video on how to add a bunch of details (collected in years and years before now) to the EVH Frankie Striped Series 2020 that finally (after almost a years from the order) landed in my house. You know this affordable "replica" fro EVH is just good... but no 1971 quarter, no eye hoocks, no reflectors... and i have all this stuff ... plus i have an original Floyd Rose bridge (instead the EVH branded mounted) and a Seymour Duncan Custom Shop "78 Model" pickup that i want to mount replacing the Wolfgang (more modern sounding... but i want the old original sound).
So... that said... i want just make a video of the "modding process" e put it on YT without any commercial or sponsor or monetizing interest. Just a pure and simple video for "academic purposes". AND a video like this without music... is nothing.
The long short Man: can you help me to know (and i know nothing about this) how can I "legally" put some Van Halen songs (just some intros... about 20 or 30 sec.) without been hitted with copyright strikes or other YT measures... just like you did in your videos?
BTW... your video is one of the best on the Tube!
Tnx man!
Thanks for your comments. I think your idea would make a great video. I haven't seen someone do a full new to old conversation yet. As for the commercials and licensing and use of VH music, my video is not monitized by me, so any commercials you see are part of the "rights to use the music" and in that agreement of me using VH music in this video, RUclips pays that money to the publisher of the music. So I have no say over the commercials, but do get to use the music for legally. Best of luck with your project.
@@OpenRoader Tnx man for your kind reply about my project.
About the use of VH music, my question actually is HOW you get that agreement with RUclips?
Did you put the music and then set some options about the use of the music when you upload the video?
Or do you need to contact RUclips to get that agreement BEFORE
I.e.: did you writed the list of music credits and licensing that are after your first comment below the video screen... or that credits were added by RUclips?
Tnx again
I just made the video, uploaded it and after, RUclips sent me an email message that "the owners of the music get paid bla, bla, bla. No worries. Basically, you can't make money off it. No big deal
@@OpenRoader Ok... Tnx 1000 Man! I promiseI won't bore you anymore with this annoying questions!! ;-).
I'll just contact you only with the link to my video when it's ready... if you are intersted at it.
Tnx again and again great job with your wondeful replica!
No problem, if you have any questions, hit me up. Looking forward to seeing your video, please let me know when it's finished
But you haven‘t got the evh reflectors 😏
Since this video, I have found the EXACT reflectors and they are installed 😁👍
@@OpenRoader it was just a joke. your guitar looks perfect. rock on
@@parallel9941 Thank you and thanks for watching