Eddie Van Halen’s trademark style black and white stripe abstract design with red paint guitar will lead Sotheby's upcoming 'Rock and Pop' auction on October 24.
Eddie Van Halen’s trademark style black and white stripe abstract design with red paint by Van Halen; based on his original “Frankenstein” guitar. Guitar inscribed on body by Eddie Van Halen to Rudy Leiren, his guitar technician in the 1980’s: Rude - Its Been a Great Ten Years – Lets Do Another Ten. Eddie Van Halen Guitar shows extensive wear from playing.
Eddie Van Halen visited the Kramer factory in Neptune, New Jersey to do modifications to this instrument. (He can be seen working on the guitar with an electric drill in photographs.) In addition, the guitar is featured in a famous Kramer advertisement. Rudy Leiren eventually sold the guitar to Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars who played it extensively while recording the band’s album Dr Feelgood and other recordings.
This guitar was played on tour by Eddie Van Halen in 1982 and 1983 at concerts in the United States and South America with photo documentation including shows in Philadelphia, Caracas, Venezuela; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Back of headstock reveals: #1 Edward Van Halen Model.
Eddie Van Halen (1955-2020) was a self-taught guitarist who reinvented what it meant to be a guitar player, pioneering an entirely new lexicon on his instrument through virtuosity and a variety of electronics. Among his innovations was “two-handed tapping” in which both hands sound the strings from the fingerboard, enabling him to create fluid phrasing at extraordinary speed. His work ultimately helped redefine the hard rock genre.
The original “Frankenstein” guitar was from 1975 which this guitar is based upon, represented Eddie Van Halen’s goal of combining some of the best elements of Fender and Gibson electric guitars into a single new musical instrument that was not commercially available at the time. Van Halen was endlessly striving to create the ultimate guitar for tone, playability and dependability. This Kramer guitar personifies not only EVH’s innovative playing style but also his passion for design and engineering. This guitar is amongst his most iconic and identifiable instruments, encouraging copies from other manufacturers and inspired generations of fans to design their own instruments.
Main Image: Eddie Van Halen's Kramer Guitar, Courtesy Sotheby's