So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

tone?

tone?

New member
Before i go on, plaese lets not turn this into a 'what it should be worth thread'
that has been done to death. i just want to go over my impressions of the axe my guitar hero played.


It is a total POS! lol

i cant believe up close how 'rough' the guitar really is.

Ok here is a question for whoever went to see and play one. What struck me the most was the weight of the guitar. Its like a FEATHER!
I couldnt believe how light the darn thing was! Its is as light if not lighter than the Eric Johnson strat. Plus it has a floyd big block in it. which makes it even lighter.
I really thought that it was supposed to be north hard ash and was heavy. It was silly light.
I cant say it was easy to play either. the neck was kind 'U' shaped to me and had no wax or anything on it. it was rough and dirty as hell.
I didnt play it through an amp but it did have tons of harmonics. i cant say i liked the feel of it at all though.
Good thing actually that i got the store owner to let me see it. They are kinda weird here.

So yeah, the axe my guitar hero played sucks! LOL well you know what i mean. I came home and kissed my EBMM Axis.
No wonder he doesnt play the darn thing anymore! lol

i just cant get over how light the thing was. Funny thing is that whoever saw it here on the forum didnt say that. I can be mistaken. I mean i sat and talked about it with the guy from the store for a long time. and we both agreed that it is a feather!

The sound of that guy is totally in HIS FINGERS! end of story.
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

It's hard to say if EVH's own Frankenstein is bad though, just because of a replica that is. I mean, he promotes them as if he can't tell them apart, but that's probably hogwash.

I'd like to try a replica sometime. Some people seem to be blown away by them, and some say they're garbage.
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

Well I played it, at least the one in Guitar Center Carle Place NY. Sure, it looked like it could use a truss rod adjustment to play how I want- any guitar I pick up usually needs one, but it did play great. I plugged it into a Mesa Dual Rec, and it sounded great- it sounded more VH-1, while My Axis has a slightly more modern, more refined sound.

If you put them side by side I'd still get the Axis
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

No i wasnt blown away like i though i would be. I was kinda let down and not.

It was like a total piece of junk. Yeah these things are totally subjective so i am sure people with differ, just like anything else.

Even if i had the money i wouldnt buy it. I have played other guitars that are just beautiful compared.
It did have quite a distinct sound though( unplugged) , i am pretty sure. It was kinda 'hollowy' and bright at the same time. My Axis sound is a bit close but much nicer to my ears at least unplugged. I wanted to hear it unplugged to see what it sounded like.

Just the weight blew me away and i havent heard anyone mention that as an observation. I was sitting with the guy that opened the case and we both were freaked out by that.

not for me i guess..
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

Pete Galati said:
It's hard to say if EVH's own Frankenstein is bad though, just because of a replica that is. I mean, he promotes them as if he can't tell them apart, but that's probably hogwash.

I'd like to try a replica sometime. Some people seem to be blown away by them, and some say they're garbage.
Click to expand...

There's an interview with EVH where he used a black sharpie to write all over the back of the original Frankie so he could tell it apart from the replicas. You know, if he doesn't have 20/20 vision it probably would be very difficult for him to tell them apart. I doubt he's going over it with a fine tooth comb like we would to see if it's a match.

EVH also said the replicas play and sound better than the original.
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

Well I played it, at least the one in Guitar Center Carle Place NY. Sure, it looked like it could use a truss rod adjustment to play how I want- any guitar I pick up usually needs one, but it did play great. I plugged it into a Mesa Dual Rec, and it sounded great- it sounded more VH-1, while My Axis has a slightly more modern, more refined sound.

If you put them side by side I'd still get the Axis
Click to expand...

I would TOTALLY get the Axis, side by side. The neck on the Axis is to die for!

I thought that the action was pretty high as well compared to what i play.
But man, didnt the weight freak you out and that hollowness cause of the lack of the weight??
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

Well since he got "nice" guitars his sound has been...well nonrevolutionary!!!
Not dangerous, not interesting, this new trend with übernice guitars have not exactly created great music in spades.....most of the guitars used for the good sounds, are not very nice or perfect...that is why they sound great!
They have a special sound, not a nice sound!
I am done with furniture guitars for sure;)
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

Well since he got "nice" guitars his sound has been...well nonrevolutionary!!!
Not dangerous, not interesting, this new trend with übernice guitars have not exactly created great music in spades.....most of the guitars used for the good sounds, are not very nice or perfect...that is why they sound great!
They have a special sound, not a nice sound!
I am done with furniture guitars for sure
Click to expand...

yeah man, but i dont think it had to do with the look of his guitars that was directly related to the good music or bad music, whichever way you put it.
Dont forget that most of the first album was made on the Ibanez Destroyer. Alot of people forget about that.
I dont really care what a guitar looks like, just as long as it sounds great. But the specific guitar i didnt like the neck on. Not nearly as nice as the Axis. not even close for me.
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

the pickup was the EVH Seymour Duncan model.
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

EVH crafted this guitar to his very personal needs over time. It's really a well worn glove that only fits him. If we all did that with our guitars, we'd have our own perfectly fitting gloves. I wouldn't expect a guitar that personalized -- original or replica -- to work all that well for me. It's like putting someone else's retainer in your mouth -- it's not going to fit.

- Keith
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

Well I am talking about everything until 1984...that record has crap sounds!!
The Destroyer was also fiddled with....those are great guitars...not a piece of furniture, but somthing that gets the job done!
Eddie just played, modded away...but in that reckless way to get results...
Today all the bedroom players sit and strum a single string on their overly flamed PRS, or what ever they fancy....going ahh I can hear something....ohh I can feel something on the neck....uuh I see something on the deck...:D
Not very rock'n'roll....hehe today everything is so nice, refined, perfect, all in all dreadful
if you ask me...I do not mind the nice guitars...it has just become the trend, and I do have one with a quilt top myself...but it is no perfect selected woods guitar..;)
The Frankenstrat represents the way VH was, and has become again it seems...something raw and not so pretty...which I dig.
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

Rid said:
Well I am talking about everything until 1984...that record has crap sounds!!
The Destroyer was also fiddled with....those are great guitars...not a piece of furniture, but somthing that gets the job done!
Eddie just played, modded away...but in that reckless way to get results...
Today all the bedroom players sit and strum a single string on their overly flamed PRS, or what ever they fancy....going ahh I can hear something....ohh I can feel something on the neck....uuh I see something on the deck...:D
Not very rock'n'roll....hehe today everything is so nice, refined, perfect, all in all dreadful
if you ask me...I do not mind the nice guitars...it has just become the trend, and I do have one with a quilt top myself...but it is no perfect selected woods guitar..;)
The Frankenstrat represents the way VH was, and has become again it seems...something raw and not so pretty...which I dig.
Click to expand...

If I'm not mistaken, Jimmy Page used to shave down the necks on his beautiful 50s Les Pauls. Another example of someone making a guitar his own, and saying "Screw it. This is my guitar, and I'm making it mine!" Very ballsy. Very rock 'n' roll.

- Keith
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

tone? said:
the pickup was the EVH Seymour Duncan model.
Click to expand...

Not quite...

The pup was designed by Duncan, but it is not the same as the current '78 model. There is a whole thread floating around here about it.

I played one myself, and to me it was just a dirty well broken in guitar. I understand that the guitar is iconic to some, but just not for me.
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

tone? said:
the pickup was the EVH Seymour Duncan model.
Click to expand...

Not to be confused with the Custom Shop '78 Model formerly known as the EVH model. The '78 and the EVH in the replica are "not" the same pickup. The only way to get the pickup in the replica is to buy the guitar.

I've seen one of the replicas up close but didn't play it. I think I was too busy looking at it closely to see all the little details in it and in awe that I'm seeing this thing in person. Sure, it's a replica, but a replica of what one of my guitar heroes played (BTW, he uses one on the current tour). I just thought it was cool as hell to see it like that.

I've got my own frankenstrat. It's been played constantly for 14 years, had many pickup changes and a few pickguard changes. But it fits me and does what I want/need it to do. There's some that pick it up and can't play it but it's like an old shoe to me. It's not the prettiest one I own, but it's the best sounding.
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

Well the one I played was HEAVY- as heavy, if not heavier than my Les Paul- it wasn't featherweight at all.

Sure, the guitar looks like junk. But the fret job is perfect- no dead spots- and huge frets.

I like it- but even if it was $1200- I wouldn't buy it- it's Ed's guitar. Maybe build one out of parts the same way Ed did instead.
 
Re: So i saw and played the EVH Frankenstrat replica today....

Rid said:
....huge action and old rusty strings...
Click to expand...

Yeah, Jennifer Batten has been quoted saying the same thing. To the sum of 'I don't know how the guy played the thing.'

Regardless, what amazes me is if I happen to skim these things on the web, how much so everyone is floored, or flabergasted to find out particular nuances regarding the man and his guitars.


tone? said:
Dont forget that most of the first album was made on the Ibanez Destroyer.
Click to expand...
And that was even more of a messed up guitar. A DIY project which fit his needs at the time, and hangs on the wall of his home studio today.

tone? said:
the pickup was the EVH Seymour Duncan model.
Click to expand...
Actually I don't believe it is. It's definitely a Custom Shop Seymour Duncan pickup, but not the same model as the '78/EVH. For one thing they aren't allowed to discuss the make up of it, which btw, is completely understandable. The '78 being a variant of a PAF, essentially a rewound PAF with all of the same materials as it should have to be a regular PAF pickup, the magic is in the wind (I'm sure of, and don't care to know the specifics of really.) It uses 42PE wire, as Seth designed the original PAF's to use. The examples of the pickup in this Replica guitar appear to be wound with 44 gauge wire. I could be wrong, as I'm just going off of appearance, and really don't care to delve into what it is anyway.

KGMESSIER said:
If I'm not mistaken, Jimmy Page used to shave down the necks on his beautiful 50s Les Pauls.
Click to expand...
The neck that you're taking about on his "#1" Burst was already shaped like that when he bought the guitar from Joe Walsh. Had it ever been shaved? Dunno.

For what it's worth, I've recently played one of the "Lenny" Replicas, and that is a very light guitar too. Of course that particular guitar was.
 
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