Eddie Van Halen's Guitar Tech Tom Weber Restrings and Sets Up an EVH Frankenstein "Frankie" Guitar
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- Tom Weber stopped by Five Star Guitars to demonstrate the tools, techniques, and philosophies of setting up guitars for the world's biggest guitar heroes. Eddie Van Halen, C.C. DeVille, and many other six string stars have relied on Tom's expertise, consistency, and efficiency to get their instruments performance-ready while out on tour.
In this video, Tom restrings a limited edition custom shop Frankie. Throughout the process, Tom shares his time-saving techniques and go-to tools for getting the job done quickly. He patiently explains his approach to matching an instrument's setup to the player, providing reliable intonation and playability, and goes through each part of the process in-depth.
As Tom skillfully works through the setup, he shares his thoughts on component upgrades, tuner peg-head wrapping strategies, and even goes so far as to explain why gravity is an important consideration when tuning guitars for his artists!
Shot from multiple angles and close-up views, this tutorial is sure to inspire you to take your setup skills to the next level.
A huge thank you to Tom Weber for his time and expertise, Taft Stricklin for setting up logistics and connecting all of us together, and George Ross for equipment and setup.
A special thank you to the Five Star Guitars crew for endless hard work, creativity, and dedication.
Check out the String Stretcha used in the video:
For a limited time, buy one String Stretcha and get one 50% off
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Find Five Star Guitars online at:
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and social handles: @fivestarguitars
So realize this. EVH fired about a half dozen guitar techs quickly in the reunion days. This is the guy that stepped in and stuck around for almost a decade until the end. Dude is a gem. No ego just guitar
Learned the gravity fact from Jeff Healy’s tech. This guy is the best tech. Wish he’d stick around Cincy long enough for him to work on my stuff.
JH is another guitarist that was taken from us way too fucking soon. I loved his playing - and what I call his "litre of bourbon and 2 packs of cigs" singing. I loved his voice.
I gotta express my gratitude to this man for teaching me a few valuable tuning tips in 43 minutes that I have never known in my 4 decades of guitar playing! I am definitely adding these to my skill set!
Watching a master at work is somehow theraputic. One of the often missed tricks is that thing of having the retainer bar behind the nut low enough to make sure the string doesn't get pulled sharp when you clamp the locking nut.
Tom is the man! I've known him many years...he's worked for the best because he is one of the best
I’ve always thought of EVH’s Strat as proof that a talented player can put together what he can get their hands on and sound great on it. I would bet Eddie didn’t put over $150-$200 into his original and probably not that much. He used what he had and what was easily obtainable before the day’s of the internet. I know once he could he had a tech working on it but the first albums were recorded on what he, as a young guy who wasn’t a trained luthier, could put together. It’s a good thing to remember when you’re pining over that custom shop guitar you think will make you a better player, a great player will sound great on any decent, playable instrument.
True with any talented pro! You can pull any racket off the wall at Kmart, and a great tennis pro will beat you with it every time. Regardless of what you choose to use!
Most amateurs obsess over the gear, when time and money would be better spent on lessons and time on practicing!😀
I read that Eddie drove from Pasadena out to Azuza California, to Boogie Bodies and actually got a body that was a "2nd" for 50 bucks that was mahogany. He did not know what it meant ! Eddie thought it meant something like '2nd best body ever made' for that month...Boogie Bodies was started by Lynn Ellsworth and Wayne Charvel back in 1976. Lynn said this: "My next door neighbor was Jim Warmoth, a retired watch maker and steel worker. I sold him an interest in Boogie Bodies for $5,000 and like an idiot I gave him additional stock so that he and I both owned 50% of the company." His son, Ken Warmoth and Jim were secretly making equipment to produce the bodies and necks .. LOL .... Warmoth is still around today and have licensed Fender style necks.
BTW: I saw that original Strat in Guitar Center's front window on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood around 25 years ago. It looked like it had seen better days but it is a piece of EVH history... One day I was buying strings and some kid smashed the glass and ran down the street with several Famous Artist Rare Guitars ~ with GC Staff in hot pursuit! The kid threw the guitars, including Ed's Strat, in the gutter and ran off. GC Staff retrieved the guitars. After that cage like bars were put up to close off the entrance at closing time. LOL ! To me those are the glory days of Hollywood.
From an interview I believe the price was $50 for the body and $80 for the neck. The neck was a factory second because of a blemish, a knot Then the pickup from a Gibson 335 and a first year run Floyd Rose and there you go. If it was $300 I would be surprised. And look what he accomplished with it. I own a $6000 PRS Ten Top and haven't done Jack Shit with it.
@@valuedhumanoid6574 No, at first it didn't have a Floyd (when it was black and white) but a Fender Stratocaster tremolo. Also, the black and yellow guitar was Ed's first guitar with an early Floyd (without fine tuners). It was a later Floyd model that was put into the Frankenstein guitar (when it was red/black/white).
@@Stefan-Van-der-Pulst Right you are!
Tom should have his
Own series !!! What a treasure !!!
Thank you !!
This was not a setup guide, it was basically Tom changing strings.
Setting up a guitar would be, bridge height, Truss rod adjustment if needed, then intonating each string.
I like that the necks suppose to be precisely cut for the frets, but they never are perfect.
No he talked extensively about neck relief which is addressing the truss rod and then he talked extensively about intonation while doing so to the guitar. We watch the same video?
@@dahliafiend Maybe not... lol
@@dahliafiend He talked about it, but he didn't show you how to set the relief, or how to intonate a floyd.
He did give some good tips, but never this is how it's done.
What an opportunity to be there for this event & to meet the great Tom Weber!!!! Thanks you Taft & Geoff
Wow, loosened the locking bridge without loosening the nut... makes sense since he is holding down the trem. Very good info!
Was really hoping to see Tom's saddle intonation and bridge height adjustments.
Also I believe it was you that put a 9 volt battery under the floyd to stop it from moving when removing the strings.
@@chipperg25 a rolled up sock or polish cloth works really well. Wedges the Rose without any potential scratching.
@@chipperg25 it was Steve Vai's guitar tech that used the 9v battery trick....an older guy with an accent. He also talked about coming up with a hinged trem cavity cover on Vai's JEMs.
@@pcollenyt3683 Thomas Nordegg is his name
@@pcollenyt3683 everybody has an accent...
I stretch my strings by grabbing it at the 12 fret, which is half of the scale length, and you will get even pressure on the string, then I pull up on the string about 1 inch from the neck, sometimes up to 2”. I pull up at different parts of the string, up and down the neck, then keep tightening the tuner up to pitch. It works really well. I go lighter on the first three strings because they could break on you, especially the high E. I’ve been doing it for years and it works really well. On Floyd Rose’s, I keep the nut blocks and screws in loosely to keep the strings in the grooves of the nut. That string Stretcha looks like a good tool to have though.
Got the opportunity to play one of these when they came out way back when. I was surprised how high the action was out of the box, apparently set up exactly the way Eddie preferred it. The man worked hard to play that guitar, that's all I can say!
Yep.... I heard that is the original way he liked it with the floyd rose
If he strums extra hard he'd need it higher, no?
Ed always preferred low action as low as he could get it. His philosophy was why make it harder than it has to be. The guitar probably just needed a proper setup.
Wanna see a real EVH guitar? Tyler played one of EVH's Kramers before it was sold at action. Is said the action was insanely low. th-cam.com/video/mtCfpT9PdnY/w-d-xo.html
I just watched an unboxing on another channel of the EVH Custom Shop and the kid said it was as low as low could be. Which would back up what I've heard about him liking low action. I'm sure he had guitars with high action, he wasn't exactly a master of set-ups.
We should talk. I was Ed’s bus driver on the Reunion Tour with Dave. They each had their own bus for the first part of the tour then went on to a jet for the rest of the tour. He gave me a set of his GTR pick ups when they were trying to get a buzz out of his rig from one of his racks falling off the loading dock at the previous show. If memory serves me right they flew the guy in from Sweden that helped design his rig. I will try to reach you.
good video. 👍 that said, I wish he would have talked more about Eddie's set up preferences and how he set guitars up for Ed. Rock on!
That's what I thought this vid was going to be
Its hard to believe that experienced techs would be surprised by the gravity thing. That was one of the first things I ever noticed changing strings when I started nearly 20 years ago. And I am not a professional haha
I’ve been playing for a number of years (decades) and I came away with a couple of new things I hadn’t previously known. Cool deal to still pickup new things. Thanks for the tips!!
The relief and vindication of being shown how one of the worlds finest techs sets up and you have the same techniques I will be getting myself some string stretchers for sure and save my fingers 😀
Thank you so much for this content Mark from Mr G guitars and banjo 🙂
Jeff Healy's (RIP) tech must have loved his job.
Thanks.
Tom is an amazing individual! I met him several years ago when he stopped by Gateway Tire in Cincinnati to have a tire repaired at the end of the day. I had no clue who he was before that we've been friends ever since ! I'll also mention Tom is no slouch when it comes to playing either .
Im 65 & learned From Lays gtr repair in Akron Ohio. You sir are spot on I set up Identical to you. I did not know about the string stretcher But I just ordered one thanx to you. peace from thre Sunshine State. Chiropractic Guitar Repair.
A master at work. Thank you for making this video. Really informative and down to earth.
Thank you Mr. Tom Weber for your time and expertise! I enjoyed this video and advice!
After watching Tom go thru this, I have a new found respect for professional guitar techs...what an eye opener!!!!
Thank you Tom 👍
Very nice information, Thanks Tom and Five Star. I would love to see more videos by professionals in the industry. The tips are so valuable.
Thanks Tom!
It has been interesting and informative. I will have to search around for the string stretchers, I have never seen those before and they would definitely save some wear and tear on my hands.
Please have an excellent and awesome day! ☀️
I'd love to spend my days working in a shop with people as dedicated and skilled as this guy. I bet he makes everyone around him want to do their best. I need more of that in my life. Also, my guitar is now in tune, and most importantly, NOW I know what the intonation sled things do on my floyd rose, as in I can explain it to someone else.
Cool, Nobody showed me how to do the over/under wrap and it just made sense to me nd I've been doing it since 86 :D Cheers! Nice episode
For years, I've been stringing my floyd guitars with the ball end through the tuning peg, then cut the string and clamp it at the bridge...
Good evening Tom.
I heard of you from a fellow guitarist in Tennessee that I tech guitars for here in Phoenix.
After I heard a description of you and saw a video of you I remember you striking Ed's pedalboard at the end of the VH show in Phoenix, AZ Sept. 2015.
I've had the privilege on studying tone and tech-ing guitars for my friends and I thought I knew a lot but with this video I've definitely increased much more from this video tonight.
I started taking lessons 1979 in 5th grade because I was told by Mom, then I heard Van Halen (One) in 8th grade 1983 and then decided for myself to learn on my own without being told.
In 1988 when I started to play electric and started my Eddie Van Halen Discipleship, I had to learn all I could from guitar magazine interviews, guitar maintenance books, and
guitar repair shops on how to work on guitars. Even with all the articles I read with Eddie, looking back now and even back then he seemed very secretive on a bunch of
guitar tone/tech-ing uses that took me 30+ years of playing/learning and tech-ing, etc.to know what I learned over the last 20 years online.
Thank God for the internet.
I'm genuinely grateful for your willingness to share this tremendously valuable info to the world...!!!
Sincerely,
John W
johnWphx
I met him at a guitar show back in 2018 in Cincinnati Ohio. He was a super cool guy.
I am getting a couple of string stretchas, great tool I've never seen before.
For years, I've been stringing up my floyd guitars through the tuning peg first, so the ball end is at the tuning peg and then I cut with a little excess at the bridge and clamp it there. Any reason why this is not a good idea? It's always seemed to work pretty well for me...
Thank you!!
Great tutorial video, Tom. Thank you!
wow ,thanks
Wow, that's a ton of good info on proper tuning! Thanks!!!
Excellent Tutorial. Thank you!!
excellent help...hope more watch....I learned something today!
I have the newer MIM Frankie and this excellent video answered a lot of little “how should I…?” questions I’ve had. I’m ordering 2 string stretchas from you guys right now.
Master class instruction here! I love tips and tricks like this.
Matt Bruck was Ed's guitar tech all the way back to the 90's.
I watched a video of Steve Vies tech. He leaves the ball end on and goes through the tuning peg. There are some very cool bene fits to that. 1 the strings don't break as easily due to the fact they don't unwind. 2 you don't like your fingers or damage your guitar case or bag. 3. I have found even greater tuning stability doing that.
Eddie gave a Wolfgang to one of my cousins and that's how it was strung up so all my Eddie guitars ebmm, PV, and Kramer are done the same.
Great video. Thank you!
Thought I was only going to watch 5 min before I knew it the video was over, love the knowledge I gained from it…
The gravity thing just totally blew my mind!
Hey Tom, it's Paul, I have to call you soon. The boys from Connecticut., You know I'm right n Florida since 2010., as you know.
We had some good memories in 2007-2008.
It was great that we had the chance to give Eddie my custom black strat with that gold anodized pick gaurd.
Amazing..learned some great tricks from this video.I been doing this for awhile (Jackson guitar factory in the 80s)and learned something new,.Love the gravity trick!
TOM WEBER!!! Oh my gosh! You sold me my Hamer Chaparral Custom in 1987 at Rhythm City in Buckhead. So cool that I happened on this video. Great video and hope you are doing well out there. And I still have the Hamer :)
Great video! Any chance you can do an in depth video like this one on how to do perfect intonation on a Floyd Rose guitar PLEASE??
Pretty please 🙏
The ball ends don't have to come off, he doesn't want to cause any damage to it but uses a oversized allen wrench and drops it straight on the body several times.
right. he didnt even block the trem to change the strings and it took him 45 minutes to do a 15 minute strings change.
@@1peanut You don't need to block the trem if it rests against the body as the body is acting as the block.
I don’t play guitar, but I enjoyed watching a Master Craftsman. Thanks for the knowledge.
Enjoyed the video but what's with he camera focus? both Tom and the Frankenstein are out of focus for almost all the video when it's front on?!
This one is for Floyd rose users when you string a guitar put the ball end/wound end at the tuner and then start winding
nice. I have had a FR for about 40 years and I learned somethings ( and had my prejudices affirmed!). I do like to hit my saddles with a little powdered graphite to help the strings glide more easily. On a standard bridge and nut I also graphite the nut.
That was so informative Tom thanks so much !!!
Precision is Everything! Excellent Video Thanks
This was beyond awesome 🤘🤘🤘!! Learned so much!!! Thank you!!!🙏🙏🙏
That's a righteous Turner
LOVE his attitude...
As a player, this is gold.
Wow, really had those nut clamps on SUPER TIGHT!!!
I have a feeler gauge that I use to place between the clamping block and nut block to keep it from twisting and causing a sharp/flat situation between two strings lock by the same block….. my weird knowledge of Floyd Rose systems goes back to 1984 and I have seen every flaw in it but also understand what value it has for acrobat guitar playing!!! Long live EVH and techs who know how to keep their guy in tune!!!
My first guitar came with an OFR and I did pretty well at learning how to set it up… Better than my local shop did!
Actually I managed to figure out most of these little tricks this gent showed us…
Hope you are well Tom! Thanks for the lessons!
Never knew about the gravity issue.... fascinating. Great video. 👍
I love that he talks about excessive relief-I have been told you can run very little relief without any fret rattle-just don’t see how it’s possible to do that comfortably.
I’m hoping he addresses that in a future video.
If you pick or strum with excessive force you will get fret rattle even with excessive relief. The player has to play within the fret rattle limit when playing if they don't want rattle. Just the way it is. So 0.010in relief is plenty. My relief range is 0.005in to 0.010in.
@@jfo3000 Yeah, I target like 0.011 to 0.07. I just have bad technique I guess.
@@gdhi11 Just guessing that Townsend might have had relief more I'm that range, depends on your approach. My buddy played Holdsworth's guitar and told me "I couldn't see air under the strings." So yeah Townsend vs Holdsworth setups...a pretty wide range, but the guitar can suite all performance styles it would seem. That makes it a great tool for everyone.
@@jfo3000 I meant .007. Depends on the guitar. With rounder radius guitars, I'm generally closer to 0.012. On flatter radius guitars, I'm closer to 0.009 or so. I think people define fret rattle differently. Obviously you can exaggerate fret rattle by hitting the strings harder, and having them buzz against a neighboring fret (so fret at 1, buzzing against 2/3) but I've run into other issues that prevent super flat necks without using higher action. For example: 9.5" necks with the relief set to about 0.008 will basically fret out with big bends at the 10th, 11th, 12th, and sometimes 13th if you have low action. I've been playing long enough that I've seen some incredible stuff done with setups, but I am not buying the idea that having a nearly flat neck is a technique thing when physics says otherwise. It's also worth noting that fret rattle, even if it's not detectable through the amp effects your sustain which is why I'm kind of looking at Tom Weber and going "how exactly do you accomplish a low-relief setup?"
I've also been fortunate enough to play some pro player's guitars. I didn't see any special sauce in setups there, basically a little bit of relief and what you'd expect from the action--and it really varied based on player preference and style like you mentioned. Holdsworth's guitars were probably right on the frets, whereas some of the people I've crossed paths with were everywhere in between. Point is, it aligned with what you'd expect, if they played hard, their was more relief and higher action.
I do think Shims might play into this, but that's part of the reason I asked. I don't feel a shim is a good solution as they have a tendency to change over time as they absorb moisture etc. depending on what you make them out of.
thanks for taking the time to explain the thought process.Im mostly a self taught tech. just to take care of my own instruments.. Ive done a decent job with what I have, but never realize the Floy rose parts wear out so quickly. It explains why the titanium parts are so expensive... cause they are worth it. I have an Ibanez guitar that I just quit playing cause it wont stay in tune. I figured it was because it was a cheap one. Now I have something to look for. I did finde grooves in the locking nut blocks and I sanded them down smooth by hand with some wet dry 400 grit paper. Also I didnt know the string streatcha was to be slid the entire lenght of the string. Thanks again for the information!
Thank you for the information and the tools!
My Ibanez has the FR. Been jamming on it since 1997 and no issues yet.
Thanks for all of your insight tom!
Replacing clamping blocks every two shows is some hell of guitar playing.
Thank you sir !!! Great !!! Appreciate your knowledge and I am sorry for your lost of a friend. This is great !!!
good tips, some I already learned the hard way, like the gravity tuning. Thanks!
This Guy is RainMan of the GuitarTechnicians………..X’cellent instructor😎
Thanks Tom, I learned a few new things today
Wow! Thank you for this sir.
Great video! Been playing forever and can always learn something new about re-stringing and relief set up! Thanks so much.
Superb, got a lot of great tips and I'd never heard not seen those string stretchas. Will be seeking them out. Many thanks.
14:49 ... I feel ya buddy! Great idea!!!
AMen appreciate that brother Great. video
Just by you doing the set up, to me increases value especially if you knick it on accident due to your meticulous work. I due absolutely understand about being a perfectionist though. You are the man, who is also part of the magic of the axe.
I don't live that close to it, but I have been in 5 Star a few times, and if the situation presents itself and I am close to that store, and I have the time, I for sure will stop in because it's a good one.
I found your demonstration fascinating. Thanks so much for your explanation...
You're like the Bob Ross of guitars.. pretty little strings
Loved the video! Thanks Tom!!
Great video! The Bill Edwards locking nut is the best. His design alleviates this "twisting action of the FR nut
Hey Tom great video sir!! I ordered three string stretcha's. I'm not a professional guitarist or guitar tech.
I do work on my own guitars. And do some guitar building thanks to Warmoth. I figure if the string stretcha's good enough for EVH'S guitar tech I know it's good enough for me. Thanks for sharing the love my brother 🙏
I place a rubber eraser under the back side of the bridge while tightening the string retainer screws.
Cool. I just put an FRX on my BC Rich Mockingbird about a week or so ago. I did every thing right as you showed except I did not pay attention to the strings crossing the locking nut and sitting flat before locking them down. Luckily I have had no issues so far other then the nightmare trying to set intonation on that bad boy. Maybe add in the need for that funny tool to hold and move the saddles under tension. I improvised and muddled thru it but that would have been a HUGE help had I known about them before I tried setup. NOWHERE in the literature does FR state the need for that tool. Had to come across it in a video by accident.
Great job with this video of a master. The production is first-rate. Nicely done.
Since you will not be busy with ed the next few weeks if you would like you could be my tech on my northeastern American tour.
We kick off the tour at the toms river vfw on August 19th be there around 11.30 am.
aug 20th - Tom's River Nursing Home? showtime 3p?
Awesome video! Thanks for this
Absolutely fine presentation, must watch for techs, play'yaz two!
I’m so glad you proved with a strobe tuner about how tuning (and intonating) a guitar laying flat is inaccurate. There is some clown on TH-cam that has a channel “Dave’s World Of Fun Stuff” that says it doesn’t matter. He always says “what is playing position?” I wouldn’t let him even look at my guitar.
Totally agree. Dave is a hack.
2:20 found it: Bondhus 13256 3mm T-Handle Hex Driver 6"
Awesome stuff, thanks Tom!
Absolutely brilliant thank you
The real advantage to using the Gibson knot is locking the string on the post of the machine head. This , if done correctly, can be very useful for many applications. First on a guitar that does not have a locking nut or locking machine heads, it can prevent slippage. Second, for guitars that don’t have a machine head that loads down the shaft ( Fender ) , the string will be exposed. When the remainder of the string is cut back it creates a metal prick or thorn; not good. When the string is captured under the string in the Gibson knot you can tear off the remaining excess string , there by creating a prick/thorn less machine head . Thirdly, for quick string changes, the knot allows you to get the string locked into place faster, due to needing less wraps around the machine heads post . There are many good ways to achieve nearly the same thing. Don’t forget to stretch your strings .
Thanks! Great stuff!
Good video, didn’t really set it up, just showed us how to string a Floyd properly. Still enjoyed it and got some good advice.
Funny. Amazon ran out of Stretchas two days after this video posted. I got mine!