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Van Halen modified the Frankenstrat several times. This photo shows the guitar in its final state, with red-over-white-over-black paint job. The top two pickups have been replaced with non-functional electronics: the center one with a selector switch and the upper one with a red single-coil pickup. The bridge slot contains the only working pickup, a slightly misaligned Gibson PAF humbucker with black plastic bobbins. A fragment of the original pickguard remains under the control bank. The volume control was functional, though capped with a knob labeled "TONE". An adhesive strip on the lower bout was used to store spare picks. The original Fender bridge and tremolo system has been replaced with a Floyd Rose tremolo system, which also required a new neck, fitted with a matched Floyd Rose locking nut.
The Frankenstrat, also known as "Frankie", is a guitar created by Eddie Van Halen. Its name is a portmanteau of Frankenstein, the fictional doctor who created a monster by combining body parts of the recently deceased, and the Stratocaster, a model of electric guitar made by Fender.
The Frankenstrat was Van Halen's attempt to combine the sound of a classic Gibson guitar with the physical attributes and tremolo bar functionality of a Fender Stratocaster. An early version of a Superstrat, the guitar was made from a Northern Ash Stratocaster body, with pickup routing which Van Halen modified to fit a Gibson PAF humbucking pickup in the bridge position.[1] The guitar has a maple neck and fretboard, chrome hardware, and was painted with a white over black design. This gave the appearance of a white guitar with black stripes. Later, red was painted over the original black and white. This now gave the appearance of a red guitar but was, in fact, just a third color sprayed over the original design. It has a standard six-string setup and a Floyd Rose tremolo.
In April 2019, the Metropolitan Museum of Art displayed the Frankenstrat guitar as part of the "Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll" exhibit.[2] A copy of the Frankenstrat is housed in the National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.[3]
^Obrecht, Jas (November 1978). "Eddie Van Halen – Heavy-Metal Guitarist from California Hits the Charts at Age 21". Guitar Player. Archived from the original on December 24, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
^"Eddie van Halen's Original 'Frankenstein' Guitar & 1978 Rig Exhibit". April 2019.
^"National Museum of American History Receives Eddie Van Halen's "Frankenstein Replica" Guitar" (Press release). Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Newsdesk. September 7, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
The Frankenstrat, also known as "Frankie", is a guitar created by Eddie Van Halen. Its name is a portmanteau of Frankenstein, the fictional doctor who...
guitar, and painting it in a similar way to his later, more famous, Frankenstrat. Inset into the V, he hand carved teeth and set two eyehooks and chains;...
humbucking Gibson PAF pickup in the bridge slot. This guitar, known as the "Frankenstrat" was featured on Van Halen's 1978 debut album Van Halen, and pictured...
(1953), Fender Stratocaster (1954), Rickenbacker 360/12 (1964), Van Halen Frankenstrat (1975), Paul Reed Smith Custom (1985) many of these guitars were "successors"...
LA-based English guitarist Allan Holdsworth, set up to use alongside his Frankenstrat guitar and the pre-amp section of an Echoplex, then recorded the solo...
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1967–1970, and was used on the Tommy, Live at Leeds, and Who's Next albums. Frankenstrat – also known as The Frankenstein, is an electric guitar created by Eddie...
September 8, 2022. "Wolfgang Van Halen Talks MAMMOTH II - Playing The "Frankenstrat" on "Take A Bow" & Much More". Jeffriespublished, Neil (August 4, 2023)...
to the guitar's body. Van Halen's infamous Frankenstein (a.k.a. the "Frankenstrat") guitar laid the groundwork for most of the custom guitars he played...
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Nirvana's In Utero, R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People and Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstrat guitar. According to Nielsen ratings, "I Dream of Jesus" was the most-watched...
guitarist Chip Kinman's decoration of his instrument and the famous Frankenstrat of Eddie Van Halen. The Kinmans continued to follow the roots rock direction...
(1955–2020), guitarist of hard rock band Van Halen, is notable for his "Frankenstrat", a crudely modified Stratocaster copy with the single-coil bridge pickup...
original designs for tee shirts—such as one with the Red Special and Frankenstrat crossed—and a mug. Brian May – guitar, vocals, production, keyboards...
Van Halen played a guitar built in such a manner which he called the "Frankenstrat". In 1971, General Mills introduced "Franken Berry", a strawberry-flavored...
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