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I found this interesting because usually the topic of company integrity comes up here every so often on topics such as Dimarzio double cremes and what not.....:
EVH: No kidding! It looks like a Strat, but it only has one pickup in it, one volume knob, no tone, no fancy garbage. It's painted the way I like 'em, and it's rear-loaded - you know, it doesn't have a pickguard. I'm not saying my guitar is "Wow, the new guitar," but it is a guitar that you could not at the time buy on the market. This guy kind of exploited my idea, so I'm suing him. See, I feel kind of ****ed doing that, but all I want him to do is stop. I don't give a damn about the money. But the main reason I did that was to have something that no one else had. You know, I wanted it to be my guitar, an extension of myself. Just the other night - Christmans Eve - I went to the Whiskey. A band called Weasels was playing, and the lead guitarist had a guitar exactly like mine. I just don't understand how someone could walk onstage with my guitar, because it's my trademark. You know, when people see a freaked-out striped guitar like that, with one pickup, one volume knob, they obviously know it's mine.
GP: There goes your identity.
EVH: Yeah. And also, him selling it and advertising, makes it seem to the fans like I'm selling myself. They don't know that I'm against it. They think that I'm out for the bucks. That's not it at all. So it's kind of a drag. There's another guy too...See, I've rewound my own pickups before, and a guy named Seymour Duncan, I got pissed at him too. He called me up and said, "Can we use your name for a special pickup?" And I said no. Next time I pick up Guitar Player magazine, there's a special Van Halen model customized Duncan pickup. I called him up and said, "What the hell's goin' on?" So he stopped finally. It's just kind of weird you know.
GP: You're getting exploited.
I found this interesting because usually the topic of company integrity comes up here every so often on topics such as Dimarzio double cremes and what not.....:
EVH: No kidding! It looks like a Strat, but it only has one pickup in it, one volume knob, no tone, no fancy garbage. It's painted the way I like 'em, and it's rear-loaded - you know, it doesn't have a pickguard. I'm not saying my guitar is "Wow, the new guitar," but it is a guitar that you could not at the time buy on the market. This guy kind of exploited my idea, so I'm suing him. See, I feel kind of ****ed doing that, but all I want him to do is stop. I don't give a damn about the money. But the main reason I did that was to have something that no one else had. You know, I wanted it to be my guitar, an extension of myself. Just the other night - Christmans Eve - I went to the Whiskey. A band called Weasels was playing, and the lead guitarist had a guitar exactly like mine. I just don't understand how someone could walk onstage with my guitar, because it's my trademark. You know, when people see a freaked-out striped guitar like that, with one pickup, one volume knob, they obviously know it's mine.
GP: There goes your identity.
EVH: Yeah. And also, him selling it and advertising, makes it seem to the fans like I'm selling myself. They don't know that I'm against it. They think that I'm out for the bucks. That's not it at all. So it's kind of a drag. There's another guy too...See, I've rewound my own pickups before, and a guy named Seymour Duncan, I got pissed at him too. He called me up and said, "Can we use your name for a special pickup?" And I said no. Next time I pick up Guitar Player magazine, there's a special Van Halen model customized Duncan pickup. I called him up and said, "What the hell's goin' on?" So he stopped finally. It's just kind of weird you know.
GP: You're getting exploited.
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