Building a '78 EVH Frankenstrat Replica with a low budget (under $250)!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ค. 2024
- The #1 question I have been asked is "why did I use pinstripe tape instead of painting the thin stripes?". I'll answer this here...because this is the same way Eddie did it. The 1/8" pinstripes were eventually removed after a few tours. You can see evidence of the tape starting to peel in old photographs of Eddie's guitar. He removed all of the pinstripe tape before painting this with the red color. That's why the stripes are no longer visible on the guitar. Thanks for taking time to read this!
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:59 Fender "Starcaster" overview
01:47 Primer and Body modifications
03:11 Spraying black lacquer
04:27 The taped stripes!
04:55 Sample boards
05:10 Spraying white lacquer
06:21 Peeling the tape
08:35 Neck sanding and fret leveling
12:29 Fitting brass nut and applying Tru-Oil
13:30 Apply conductive paint to cavity
14:30 3M Pinstripe application
17:21 Assembly / Wiring / Setup
24:37 Final reveal - เพลง
You know what the trick was with Eddie? He built a cheap guitar, set it up exactly the way he wanted and learned constantly about how to improve it and played it wonderfully. No magic, no special mojo, just working towards the goal.
it’s called trial and error , and that is a called experience ….
To be fair, Eddie wouldn’t have been able to do anything he did without having an extremely rich musical ear, which is sometimes acquired and sometimes not.
to be fair, the 180 usd eddie spent in the mid 70s would translate to more or less 900 USD now so frankenstrat isn't exactly cheap by today's standard
@@davelisapaly6750nobody ever mentions that, for some reason (also, I think it’s actually a bit over $680 in 2024 USD)
You actually spent more than Ed did LOL! This just proves you don't have to spend a lot of money to build a nice guitar! Nice job!
Thank you very much!!!
Nothing at all against this build, but factoring in inflation, Ed’s Franky was a lot more than you think.
@@legatomisterioso7 I'm sure it was. Back then there wasn't an abundance of cheaper import parts. ;)
Well, what ed spent back in the 70's was actually more if you account for inflation.
Assuming parts, body and neck would be 200$ in 74' money then it would be about 1067$ in today
even though this is a few years old, it's still an amazing resource. you do a great job of going through the process!!! i'm in the middle of building a black and white and a 5150. thanks so much!!!
I appreciate that very much! Thanks for watching and good luck with your project! Cheers!
Who in the hell would put a thumbs down dislike to this? Very nice job! Thank you for the time and effort making the video.
Apparently 12 people that don't have a clue. Thanks for the compliments. I really appreciate it!!!
@patrick sutter - I agree! Hell, there's 15 now. It's either trolls, morons or wannabes. Great vid.
@@antithug7942 Thanks!
@@CoffeeDrinker71 Thanx for the thanks. It was a great build & video.
Man that is one. Hell of a job I love your loyalty. To Eddie and your self desire to not settle for nothing but the best excellent job man..if you want something done right do it yourself...
Thank you so much for the kind words. I totally agree. Plus when you do it yourself, you gain a ton of knowledge and experience.
I’ve been in the beginnings of building a Kramer Pacer Classic into my very own workhorse guitar. This video actually helped me a lot in terms of now knowing cheap ways to do some of the things I was gonna do to my Kramer.
Awesome! I'm glad the video helped!
@@CoffeeDrinker71I’m glad too, I just finished it a month ago and I hit a few bumps. But I managed to install the bridge pickup correctly on the second try, so hurray!
Stellar job my friend.....your attention to detail is magnificent!!! Very well done!!!
Thanks man!!!! :D
Great Job! You've inspired me to do my own. I already own (2) EVH striped series (Red/White and Black/Yellow), so adding the '78 will be great! I got the Starcaster body, a Seymour Duncan '78 Custom Pickup (heard it on Pete Thorn's channel), the Fender Mexican bridge, EVH pot, and Gotoh tuners, so I'm set to get started soon. I'm not too confident with the electronics, so I'll probably have my luthier (Deric Rush/Guitarworks/Greenwood, IN) get it finalized after I piece it together. Can't wait to get started and praying mine ends up half as good as yours did. Keep making AWESOME videos!!!👍
Hi Arlie! That is great to hear! I'm glad you are pursuing your own custom build! I hope you have fun on the journey! Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you are just wiring a single humbucker/volume pot, it should be fairly straightforward. I think I visited Guitarworks once... I hear a lot of good things about them. Take care!
I think y'all are missing the point here" I have some awesome pictures Eddie on the floor with about 8 guitars torn apart and you could tell by looking at his face he had a lot of chemicals on board. he had some wild idea going through his head building one super guitar out of a whole bunch of guitars. So of you may not be old enough to understand what it was like in California in the mid-to-late seventies and all through the eighties. it's a miracle any of the band members made it to the age they did I'll probably get some flat for this but I don't care y'all weren't there
Amazing! Looks like it must be a real joy to play. Great work. This is my favorite version of Ed's guitar.
Thank you so much! Cheers!
One of the most awesome aspects of the Frakenstrat, is there were so many iterations of it, through the years as Ed changed stuff, that any one of theses builds can be fairly accurate. Nice job.
I agree!! Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@CoffeeDrinker71 now you have me wanting to build one lol…
Man oh man! Guys like u make me really wish that I was guys like you!
I love this video!!! Thank you for posting🙏🏻 Outstanding job! I can’t hardly wait to get this same project started and this video will be my guideline so thank you again 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Thank you so much for the compliments! I’m glad the video is helpful. Good luck with your project!!!!
I don’t think I can add anything more than what has already been said. Excellent work man, and your fret work is absolutely top notch! And when you changed the neck carve so effortlessly at the end…. Damn nice work brother 😎
Thank you so much! I greatly appreciate your compliments. Thanks for watching! Cheers!
Absolutely fine job sir! You’ve paid great tribute to one of the greats! That guitar just screams like it should!
Thank you so much! I appreciate the compliments.
Awesome build you really captured Ed's vision on what a super strat should be!!!
Thank you so much!
Beautiful job!…this is exactly what I needed, bought a neck and a chunk of wood and want to build a replica for myself, EVH still lives in my mind, he’s not leaving until I get it done, Cheers!! 😎👏🏻🎸
That's awesome!! Thanks so much!!! Good luck with your project!
What an absolutedly wonderful Job and beautiful video! Deeply inspiring - Thanks!
Thank you so much!!
Wonderful presentation. Superb tutorial!
Great job man, you made that one your own Eddie would be proud!
Thank you very much!
Incredible work Sir. Looks and sounds amazing. Cheers!
Thanks!!! I appreciate it! Cheers!
Brian, you did a fantastic job. Love it, how this guitar turns out. Unbelievable how someone dislike this job and guitar. Shame on them.
Thanks Peter! I really appreciate it.
That MOST TRIUMPHANT Ab chord when you revealed the case and opened it gave me chills. 😸
Thanks for watching and I appreciate your compliments!!! \m/
That was a cool dedication and build.
Thank you!!
Fantastic. A pleasure to watch and to listen to the excellent playing.
Thank you so much! I greatly appreciate it. Cheers!
the solos and riffs at the end are awesome
Thank you so much!!! I tried to get "close" without getting a copyright issue. I appreciate very much.
Another job well done. Looks and sounds great!
Thank you very much!!!
Love the Oz Fox axe! Praying for him this week.
Thanks man! Yes...Oz needs our prayers for sure!!! Lord willing, he’ll be back on his feet in the next year or so and hopefully able to continue doing what he loves. He’s one of my biggest guitar influences!!!
@@CoffeeDrinker71 I also love the Oz Fox axe.
Yellow and black attack.
Reminds me of Ed's bumblebee!!
Thoughts and Prayers for Oz and family!!!
@@michaelkennedy2190 Thanks man! I hope he makes a full recovery after treatment and surgery. I'm looking forward to seeing them on tour next year!
The sound and build are top-notch
Thank you very much! I appreciate it.
Very nice build , I’ve done a few with decent results, I liked your paint finish and overall approach to the build , I believe you captured the spirit of 1978 in this set up , bravo !
Thank you so much Rudy! I appreciate the kind words. ;)
You did an absolutely amazing job on this!!!
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
300 years in the future will Eddie have the same status as Mozart?
I believe he will! ;)
hes got that right now my dude.
As a musician or as a cooze hound?
Mozart who?
And then some
Dude, you nailed it! What a spectacular job!
Thanks man! Much appreciated!!!
Well done! I love that guitar when Eddie use to play.
Thanks!! :)
AWESOME vid man full of useful info
Thank you!!!!
Well done mate! You inspired me to build my own custom strat
Awesome! I'm glad you found this to be inspiring. That's what it's all about. Good luck on your Strat project!
I just found your channel and you do great work! I am a huge Van Halen fan ,grew up in the 70s and 80s listening to them.
Thanks for watching!!! Cheers!
That guitar looks fantastic!! Thanks for sharing this and creating a build video with such good content. I’m going to try to build one after watching this. 🤞🏻
That's awesome! Good luck with your project! ;)
Don’t mean it the way it sounds but you did the work with pro level tools and proper techniques so...not so budget friendly lol. But excellent job, you didn’t just slap junk together for a few dollars, it is real work. Great job!
thanks man! I totally understand. The tools weren't cheap, like you said, but if a guy already had those then he'd be in good shape. It really depends on the level of work a person wants to do I suppose. Thanks for watching.
Too many players do not even know how to change strings let alone how to build something. Great Work!
Thank you so much!!! Cheers!
This is the best video I've ever seen!
Awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Cheers!
Really great video. May be the best one I’ve seen.
Thank you very much!!!
Nice job! I have an old starcaster lying around that I was going to get rid of, but after seeing your video I think I’m going to do the same thing to mine. 👍
Awesome man! Go for it! :). It was a lot of fun!
Brilliant and gorgeous job my man!
Thank you very much!!
Awesome! Can't wait to get started on my build, this is helpful!
Cool!!! Good luck on your project! :D
Loving your guitar tracks! tone is it!
Thank you! 🙂
Awesome job man, Eddie would be proud
Thank you!!!! :)
Awesome build dude! Been wanting to make one of these for a hot minute.
Thanks man! You should build one!!! Now is the time! :D
Outstanding! Nice work.
Thanks!!!
Brian.....I am impressed!
Thank you!!!! :D
And people think I'm crazy for taking belt Sanders to a PRS neck. I don't care about resale value I care about playability. By the way you did an incredible job with this
BINGO! If it doesn't work for you as a player then I say either modify it or sell it. LOL. Thanks for understanding!!!....and thanks for watching and commenting.
@@CoffeeDrinker71 looks like we have our head screwed on right (I'm not talking about my level of talent I'm just talking about the fact that I know how to play a guitar or someone and I'm not an arrogant fool. And I've met a lot of arrogant musicians over the past 30 years..lol). You got to do what makes you happy man.can't worry about nobody else thinks but you definitely got to fall in the pocket when you're playing with the band. Thank you for replying I appreciate it.✌️🙂✌️
@@ziggylayneable - Right on! I couldn't have said it better myself. Whenever my old band used to put out ads for a new member I always put in: No drunks, no addicts & NO EGOS!
Great job Brian!
Thank you!
Very nice execution on eruption. Well done mate.
Thank you so much! That means the world! Cheers!!!
Beautiful work!
Thank you so much!!!
Awesome! Going to do one myself with a full thickness Squire I picked up yesterday.
Cool!!!! Good luck on your project!!!! ...most importantly...have fun!!!!
that was a beautiful guitar man. good job you rock dude.
Thanks man! I really appreciate it. :)
Wow...nailed it on every level. Thanks
Thank you so much!! ;)
Love what you did, especially with a Starcaster!
Thanks!!! Yeah the Starcaster proved to be a pretty good platform to build from. Thanks for watching!
Damn.....EXCELLENT playing.
Wonderful build as well.
thank you so much! That means a ton!!! ;)
Nice job. I remember seeing those Starcasters at ToysRus several years ago and thinking that the body looked thicker than most less expensive strat models.
Thanks! Yes, correct....they are an excellent choice for building one of these budget Frankenstrats! ;)
What wood are these bodies made of ?
@@Leo_Safko Probably basswood or agathis.
@@CoffeeDrinker71 , What pickup did you use. Sounds great!
@@captainkirk70 It was a cheap $20 PAF style pickup that I found on eBay. I don't think the seller offers this particular one any more?
Great job, that same era of guitar was my first build
Thanks!! Honestly I prefer it over the R/W/B version.
Loved this video 👍👍 wow what a great build
Thank you so much! :)
Awesome job man!
Thanks for watching! :)
Excellent video and thoughtful tribute to the greatest rock guitarist and hard rock musician of all time. I'm currently building a bumblebee but having trouble with the soldering. Had it wired correctly but still no sound. Think I have bad solder or bad solder joints so the signal won't flow. Back to the drawing board but now have applied copper shielding tape so hopefully that helps.
Really nice job, man. I'm in the middle of my own black and white striped (reliced) EVH strat. I was online looking for some how-to's for this strat when I came across your video. Quite a few good take-aways. Thanks for those. Again, nicely done.✌
Thank you so much for the compliments! I appreciate it! I hope your project turns out well too!!! Cheers!
Brian, I continue to marvel at the work you do on these guitars. This one is particularly interesting given the budget build. Seems like a great, fun and inexpensive way to get into these tribute builds. I expect there to be a run on Starcasters in the aftermarket!
Thank you!!! I appreciate your kind words!! Yeah, I was suspecting there would be a run on these cheap Starcasters! LOL. Everything else is hard to find right now anyway. Thanks for commenting!
@@CoffeeDrinker71 I picked up a YAMAHA EC112 body with a Fender Starcaster neck. Didn't realize until after I placed my order. The jack isn't a match, but I'm hoping it'll be good enough for the project and price was right. I noticed your comment on your process to sand the back of the neck, followed by two coats of Tru Oil. The video doesn't show any sanding of the actual fretboard. Can you provide more details on what you do to the maple fretboard? Any tips would be appreciated. I'm going to research fret leveling, dressing. Starting my guitar repair journey in parallel with my playing guitar journey.
@@ChristopherMeinck For the fretboard I just took small pieces of 400 grit and sanded horizontally with the direction of the frets until I could see the bare wood showing through. I didn't manage to get all the factory finish off, but quite a bit. Enjoy the journey man...there's so much to learn about. ;)
@@CoffeeDrinker71 After the final coat of white paint, how long did you wait until wet sanding with the 1500 grit sandpaper?
@@ChristopherMeinck It wasn't very long...maybe a few days. Lacquer dries really quickly.
I got neck and body from GF in white and pinstriped it. I used their brown sound pickup which sounds pretty good. I don't think I spent $200 most parts were just salvage. It's mostly Wall art but it does play and sound decent. Yours must be way better. Good job!
Outstanding Ed would be proud nice build would love to seein you actually playing it but that's cool it looks great
Thank you so much! Actually, all of the tracks you heard on this video were recorded on this guitar. ;)
thanks for the great video and detail, planning on making my own
Good luck on your project! Thanks for watching!
the irony here wouldn't be lost upon edward, as he quickly switched his beautiful white w black striped finish for the red (as well as other "decoy" modifications) because so many people were trying to copy both his truly unique guitar and sound. :)
nice job this is a great build!
Thanks!!!
Thanks for not playing EVH riffs during the build. Nice work and the music is on point.
Thanks man! I really appreciate that!!! :D
You made that cheap neck look sweet!
Thanks!!! :D
Beautiful job. That pickup sounds surprisingly good in that body… And the pic you used of Eddie at the end, is the all time coolest picture in all of music history.. Great work and great video. RIP Edward… Another thing. I LOVE that you have STRYPER videos on your channel.. They’re literally the only metal rock band left making killer music. They just keep getting better. And also, the Geoff Tate video. My favorite band of all time with Van Halen…
Thank you so much! Yeah, that pickup was a great surprise! It’s hard to believe it was a $20 no-name pickup. Thanks for the compliments on my other videos as well. I agree…Stryper is at the top of their game and sounding better than ever! Sounds like we have a lot of the same musical tastes!! :)
@@CoffeeDrinker71 can u maybe send the link for the pickup since im trynna do a cheap 78' build too!
@@shindolifespinner7347 Here is the link! The seller runs out occasionally and relists later with a new link...so I wouldn't hesitate to order soon and have it ready whenever you need it. www.ebay.com/itm/363804366103?hash=item54b46e1517:g:S1gAAOSwsBtaFyH3&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAsHY9P5pImA1jvU1scf3mYSEt1fv9M5LA%2Fybvk%2F%2FmLzg2eGUnE0Z92FKlhO8sYzPjNO0p%2BQDbYfUX0XxbLrzHVJfXAjJGO5yzgAs%2FOMxm0CNKDX8jfsFvCy2M6%2FPvNtQcdvGaY2qH6Eb4ss1oCDH2NJRJa1RobaCsDkWv1vUofCkj7W5Abc8GnzxPFTsqAjrLl8IwDZo4sYdKttKeN7tcw7%2FyjEtMbexkpe%2FAOD%2Fk5FFG%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7b4-faUYw
@@CoffeeDrinker71 do u think i could for other alternative and Go for a Alnico V humbucker pickup with 8-9k resistance?
@@CoffeeDrinker71 what's your rig for the tone?
Outstanding
Nice work
Thanks!!!!
Great job!
Thank you!!!
That is my favorite evh guitar! Awesome video:-) I love working on guitars
Thanks!!! :)
Nice build, man!!!!!
Thanks!!!! :D
I like how you painted the sides first (Reason for that) before i painted the white i would spray black over the tape so white wouldn't bleed through,seens you didn't have that problem.great job!!!
Thanks!!! That is a good techique/tip though! I'm glad you mentioned that. I'm currently working on a Bumblebee (with video series) and I did it the way you described. I painted the base yellow, then added the tape for the stripes, then painted a light mist coat of yellow again over the top of the tape before spraying the black (top color), that way the stripes are "sealed" under the tape which prevents the bleed-through from happening. Great comment! Thank you!
That's came out awesome
Thanks!!!
In 79 I was 15. Did same as Eddie reason only 1 volume. We both couldn't get em both to work. Lol. Back then. Open and closed circuits were New I guess ROCK ON!!! EVH.
Totally badass!!
Great job on the guitar
Thank you very much!
I keep it simple respect Eddie. Play as is!
Nice sound track, especially the one that end at 12:25. Very inspiring! Thanks for the video!
Thank you so much for the compliments! Yeah, that's just a little jam that I wrote specifically for this video...just tried to capture the spirit of something Eddie might have played back then...but with much less talent! LOL. Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for watching! Cheers!
@@CoffeeDrinker71Yeah, it really has an upbeat to it, uplifting. Is it on a major scale ?
@@guyprovost Yes, it actually resolves in G major at the end. The riff and verses are bouncing between Em and C. The chorus section is G/Gsus to Em to C. The bridge makes the transition from G, to D...then G to A which is where the feeling of uplift comes in. I called this one "Pasadena Summer" and dropped the tracks on my Souncloud page. Here is link if you want to jam along! soundcloud.com/brian-cazzell
@@guyprovost Also, for the G chord, I'm playing it up high on the 7th fret of the G string and 8th fret of the B string...kinda like a diad chord, but still hitting the open D. Hope that makes sense.
@@CoffeeDrinker71 Yes, makes sense.. It is REALLY catchy... I was making diner and humming your tune.... Just so you know lol!
Very nice tone as well.
Thank you very much. Yeah those presets from 3 Sigma Audio really nailed the early VH vibe. ...and the pickup was surprisingly good for the price!
great quality video
Thank you!
Great video! 2 of my frankys are starcasters..wonderful project guitars
Thanks!!! That's cool!
Very clean replica!
Thanks!
Good work! Just like my build, just used what I had. Keep it up.
Love your videos man. Really enjoy the Spongebob and Simpsons stuff in all the videos too haha
Thanks so much! Ha! Yeah, I’ve been a huge Simpson fan since the first season…and then raised my kids on SpongeBob in the early 2000’s! Thanks for watching and commenting!
This is awesome! Thanks! 😃
Thank you!!!
Great video and Great job 👍👍♥️
Thank you!!!
Oh hey a starcaster. That's what I have. And a frankenstrat style is what I'm planning to do to it. Nice 🤘🎸
Cool! Good luck with your project!
Awesome! The paint and taping are really great. I didn’t realize all it took was 1500grit sand paper to help get that finish, plus Meguiar’s. How does the classic style tremolo do with dive bombing, like the open Low E string in Eruptions?
Thanks!!! Yeah, the wet sanding process is a little tedious but well worth it in the end. The tremolo stays in tune as good as could be expected for this style of trem. It doesn't always come back to "zero" but that's to be expected.
Wilkinson tremolos lock.
First world tour was with standard tremolo. Floyd's are exaggerated
The end of eruption pedals. Standard tremolos in hands of competent guitarists are all you need
@@bobravenscraft5376 that and a ton of lube ;)
nice job ! love it
Thanks!!
great build dude!! it looks absolutely amazing! i just didnt like so much the way it sounded, i think it lacked a lot of the thick and full sound evh had and sounded a lot like single coils at times, but it still is an amazing build! hearing an interview of evh talking about how he built his guitar made me wanna build one of mine too, not a frankenstrat replica but definitely inspired by it lol
Thank you very much! ...and yeah I know what you mean about the tone. There's always room for more "tone chasing" LOL. Good luck with your project as well. Maybe you've seen my candy apple red version of a Franky?! I wanted it to be an "inspired" build but not a replica. Take care!
Considering I’m near the age where Eddie built the eruption guitar, I’d think it’ll be a great first build. I’ll be using this video for reference 🤘
Awesome!!!
Very cool work. I love the white/black VH strat. Its just a nicer cleaner looking guitar then it was when it had its red paint job imo. I think one of the biggest secrets in guitar is finding the right pickups that you like the sound of. Ive been messing with Alnico magnet pickups lately.
Thank you! I agree, the white/black version was the best looking version IMO. ...and you are right! Finding the right pickup for a specific guitar is critical.