EVH Striped Series Frankie Electric Guitar. Red/White/Black Relic

Eddie Van Halen’s trusty Frankenstein is one of the most widely recognized electric guitars of all time, and with the EVH Striped Series Frankie, the style and sound of that iconic instrument are within reach of the everyday musician. EVH configured the electronics to match Frankie’s simple layout, then added painstaking cosmetic touches, creating a reliced work of art that lives up to Eddie’s iconoclastic original.

Sporting Eddie’s famed red paint job with black and white stripes, the Striped Series Frankie sports a worn-in reliced look. In addition to wear-and-tear marks, the guitar also sports the idiosyncratic details that gave Frankenstein its name, including the dummy Strat pickup in the neck position, the tilted bridge humbucker, master volume knob labeled “tone” and the pickguard with mismatched holes.

But don’t be distracted by the looks — this guitar is meant to be played. Frankie features a basswood Stratocaster®-style body paired to a graphite-reinforced quarter-sawn 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, direct mount, run through a single volume control knob for pure sound. In addition to the dummy Strat neck pickup, there is 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.

With unmistakable looks and simple, pure sound, this Frankie tribute deserves a special place in any collection.