The EVH Striped Series Frankie is a tribute to (although not quite a re-creation of) Eddie Van Halen’s iconic red, black, and white Frankenstrat guitar — complete with a worn-in relic’d finish. Built from a solid chunk of basswood, this solidbody electric guitar growls with the best of them, while exhibiting rock-solid mids that can cut through a manic rhythm section with ease. A direct-mount Wolfgang humbucker nails Eddie’s classic tone, especially when you use it to push a British-voiced amp. Benefit from a comfortable quartersawn maple neck and fast-playing compound-radius fingerboard. Perform effortless dive-bombs with an EVH-branded Floyd Rose double-locking tremolo. The Striped Series Frankie is teeming with classic Van Halen aesthetics, but most importantly, it provides killer tone and lightning-fast playability. This axe belongs in every Van Halen fan’s guitar collection.

Eddie’s Frankenstrat — a brief history

There are very few guitars out there that are as famous as Eddie Van Halen’s favorite 6-string sidekick, lovingly known as "Frankenstein." This guitar was Eddie's attempt to combine the sound of a classic single-cut solidbody guitar with the physical attributes and tremolo bar functionality of a Fender Stratocaster. Eddie started with a Strat-style body, added a maple neck, crudely mounted bridge PAF humbucker, and eventually a Floyd Rose tremolo system (with a 1971 quarter as a bridge stop). Other unconventional modifications included a non-functioning neck pickup and a dummy selector switch jammed into the middle pickup position, a strip of double-sided masking tape for holding picks, large screw eyes in lieu of strap buttons, and a distinctive black and white (and later red, black, and white) paint job with bicycle reflectors.

EVH Wolfgang humbucker nails Eddie’s tone

The Striped Series Frankie comes loaded with an EVH Wolfgang humbucker. Superhuman chops aside, Eddie forged his unmistakable sound through incessant tinkering with guitar parts and pickups. To achieve his signature tone, Eddie paid particular attention to different pickup windings. Wolfgang humbuckers are the direct product of Eddie’s tone chasing, and they nail his classic lead tone: stinging, singing highs, snarling mids, fat brown sound, and all. Thanks to this killer pickup, Frankie delivers Eddie Van Halen’s classic tone — instantly.

Compound-radius fretboard makes chording and soloing effortless

The EVH Striped Series Frankie features a super-playable 12"–16" compound-radius fretboard. That means its fingerboard has a 12" radius down by the nut, which makes it easy to grab chords and strum rhythms. As you move up the fretboard where you’re more likely to bend notes, the fretboard flattens out to a 16" radius, which allows you to more easily bend notes, effectively offering you extra fretboard space so you’re less likely to run off the edge. Ultimately, the Striped Series Frankie’s compound radius makes transitioning between rhythm and lead playing effortless.

A spot-on cosmetic duplicate of Eddie’s original

The Striped Series Frankie endeavors to be a spot-on cosmetic duplicate of Eddie’s original, and it shows — DIY aesthetic and all. Routed for an HSS pickup configuration, Frankie includes a dummy single-coil neck pickup and 5-way blade selector switch wedged into the middle position. It also boasts a white skirted Strat-style single volume control knob (labeled TONE, just like the original), a custom black pickguard, and relic’d chrome finish. And to top it off, the Striped Series Frankie features the original’s famed red, white, and black-striped paint job and a worn-in relic’d look. The Striped Series Frankie is as close to the real thing as you’re going to find at this price. Get yours today from Music Experience!

What EVH Says...

Widely regarded as the most recognizable electric guitar ever, Eddie Van Halen’s iconic and revered Frankenstein™ guitar now comes your way with a price tag the everyday musician can afford in the form of the EVH® Striped Series Frankie. Sporting Eddie’s famed red with white-and-black-striped paint job and a worn-in reliced look, the all-new Frankie features a basswood Stratocaster®-style body paired to a graphite-reinforced quartersawn maple neck. An oiled finish on the back of the neck allows for hours of playing comfort, while the 12”-16” compound radius maple fingerboard with 22 jumbo frets was designed for fast and furious playing styles. Routed for an HSS pickup configuration just like Eddie’s original, Frankie features an EVH Wolfgang® humbucking bridge pickup with a dummy Strat® neck pickup and a dummy five-way blade housed in the middle position. A sturdy and dependable EVH-branded Floyd Rose® locking trem and Floyd Rose locking nut work in tandem for precise tuning even with extreme changes in pitch, while the EVH D-Tuna® retunes to drop-D and back with strict accuracy at the flick of a finger. Other unique features include a white skirted Strat-style single volume control knob (labeled “tone”), custom black pickguard, reliced chrome hardware, standard strap buttons and EVH neck plate.

Bolt-On Quartersawn Maple Neck With Eddie Van Halen's Modified "C" Backshape

Bolt-on is a type of neck construction that joins the maple neck to the body of the guitar with screws or bolts, resulting in bright tone with more control. The quartersawn grain runs the length of the neck and as well as being visually appealing, is less susceptible to shrinking, warping or splitting. Graphite-reinforcement rods flank the truss rod for even more increased neck stability, while your fretting hand will feel right at home on the modified “C”-shape neck, which has a .790” thickness at the 3rd fret and .825” at the 12th fret.

12"-16" Compound Radius Maple Fingerboard

The innovative 12"-16" compound radius maple fingerboard design gradually flattens toward the heel from its smaller and more rounded profile at the nut for unparalleled comfortable chording and riffing near the nut and seamless bending near the heel. Maple is a dense wood that produces bright, snappy tones, articulate notes with bite and a tight low end.

Eddie's Famed Frankenstein Pickup Mods

To throw imitators off his scent, Eddie faked people out by hacking into his original Frankenstein guitar and screwing a three-way switch sideways into the middle position and housing a non-functional single coil pickup in the neck position. The Frankie guitar follows suit, featuring an EVH Wolfgang humbucking bridge pickup with a dummy Strat neck pickup and a dummy five-way blade housed in the middle position. The direct mount EVH Wolfgang bridge humbucker with Alnico 2 magnets is hotter and delivers rich harmonics, cutting highs and snarling mids.

Unique Cosmetics & Appointments

Other standout appointments of this fan favorite include a reliced red with white-and-black-striped paint job, reliced hardware, custom black pickguard, top-mount Strat-style output jack and white skirted Strat-style single volume control knob labeled “Tone.”

EVH-Branded Floyd Rose Locking Trem, R3 Locking Nut and EVH D-Tune

Eddie Van Halen was the first player to popularize the innovative Floyd Rose locking tremolo, even advising Floyd Rose on his early designs to integrate round disc finger-type tuners that you would see on a cello or violin. Now universally embraced, our EVH-branded Floyd Rose bridge features our EVH logo stamped on the bridge plate, steel saddles and a solid brass block. The Floyd Rose bridge and R3 (43 mm) locking nut is a professional-grade double-locking design that secures the strings in the saddle and nut, providing ultimate tuning stability and dynamic tremolo action. Standard equipment on Eddie’s personal guitars since the early ‘90s, the EVH D-Tuna is a unique patented device that enables players to drop the E to D and back, in an instant.