Z-TARD Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 I'm not even really sure how this project started, like most of my other projects it was probably spawned from a surplus of parts left over from yet another project ("Hmmm... I got this extra valve cover lying around, guess I need ANOTHER Z to put it on"...etc.) The goal with this one is to create a replica of this guitar: Without of course spending this: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/EVH-Eddie-Van-Halen-Frankenstein-Replica-Electric-Guitar?sku=513703 About $300.00, a couple of hours on Ebay and a few other online guitar parts stores, along with a few weeks to wait for all the parts to come in and I have this: I'm in the process of painting it now, which will be followed by a lot of meticulous relic treatment to give it that aged, beat to hell look of the original. Thankfully Eddie wasn't that great at painting, so I'm not too worried about screwing it up and making it look bad, although it will be a pain to get all the stripes and wear spots located correctly. I have pretty much the whole week off of work due to the fires out here. So years from now, when the grandkids ask about what I did to survive the fires, I can just haul this thing out of the closet.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie05 Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 I'm confused... you're trying to replicate a guitar you already own? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4xwellmurd3r Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 the other one is PAINTED like it. this one will BE it. he already has the broken knob panel and the single volume knob off mounted with TONE (i hope) written on it. now just find a 1971 quarter, drill some holes, and chuck it in. oh yeah, and find a BURNT out 3-way switch to mount in the middle. make that humbucker a bit looser ^^ it's not supposed to be solidly mounted XP. this is gonna be sweet. I'd use the pics from that site as a guide, since apparently, it's a prefect replication of his cheap ass 150 buck guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S30TRBO Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 1 week from tomorrow I will see them!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!! :trippen: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 I'm confused... you're trying to replicate a guitar you already own? Yeah, the one in the background probably makes things a little confusing, It's actually a copy of another guitar used by Eddie, commonly refered to as the "5150". At first glance it looks a lot like the Frankenstein, but is actually quite a bit different. Here's a better picture of mine: Compared with the original: My 5150 isn't aged at all, apart from an area on the headstock that is missing some paint because I let some bonehead borrow it one time and he returned it with a nice ding in it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 the other one is PAINTED like it.this one will BE it. he already has the broken knob panel and the single volume knob off mounted with TONE (i hope) written on it. now just find a 1971 quarter, drill some holes, and chuck it in. oh yeah, and find a BURNT out 3-way switch to mount in the middle. make that humbucker a bit looser ^^ it's not supposed to be solidly mounted XP. this is gonna be sweet. I'd use the pics from that site as a guide, since apparently, it's a prefect replication of his cheap ass 150 buck guitar. Like this? I've been looking for a 1971 quarter for the better part of a month now. I'm begining to think they just didn't make any at all in '71. Either that or Fender bought the entire supply.... I found an old style 3 way switch on ebay to stuff in the center cavity, it's a newer production part for just under $10.00. The vintage switches from the 50's and 60's go for several hundred dollars themselves. Just for a switch. Vintage Fender parts are insanely priced. I'm starting to see how they feel the justification to charge $25,000 for this replica guitar.... They're nuts. I still need to find a single coil pickup to use for the neck position. I keep getting consistently outbid for them on ebay because I'm too cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roostmonkey Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Isnt that tone knob supposed to go to 11 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 1 week from tomorrow I will see them!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!! :trippen: Kick Ass! They're going to be at Cox Arena out here in November, which is only about a block away from my house. My wife and I were all set to get tickets as soon as they went on sale on the 15th of September. As luck would have it, she decided to go into labor the morning of the 15th. Naturally we spent all day in the hospital, and were too busy to get the tickets I remember distinctly between contractions she looked up at me and said "Honey, we're missing Van Halen tickets right now...." We did eventually get around to looking up the tickets, there were a few seats still available several days later on Ticketmaster. They wer $150 a ticket, and to the faaaaaaar right of the stage and all the way in the back row nose bleed section. They were far enough to the side so that you would probably be able to see the backside of the stage. Needless to say, we skipped it. Hopefully my house is close enough so that I'll be able to just sit in my back yard and hear them Here's a picture of my sons face when I told him we missed Van Halen: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 Isnt that tone knob supposed to go to 11 ? Heh Heh, no thread is complete without at least a reference to either Spinal Tap or Monty Python Now that you mention it, I might have to go look for one that does go all the way to "11" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X64v Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 I'll keep an eye on my quarters, if I come across one from 1971, I'll send it your way. How would you like it sent, via European, or African? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 I'll keep an eye on my quarters, if I come across one from 1971, I'll send it your way. How would you like it sent, via European, or African? African, of course. I seem to remember the African swallow having a slightly higher average airspeed velocity, in addition to the increased payload carrying ability... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S30TRBO Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Kick Ass! Yea I bought my tickets back in August Section 6 floor seats for a whopping $148. Oh well this is a once in a lifetime to see all 3/4 of them LIVE!! http://www.vhlinks.com/links/ Check this link out some nice pics: http://www.vintagekramer.com/5150e.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4xwellmurd3r Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 just looked through some change i had. oldest one i have is from '81 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e_racer1999 Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 i'll look for a 1971 quarter to sell you ;0 also, i have a pickup in one of my strat's i'll give ya. it will need some finishing though, as the plastic is black instead of maroon. what part of SD are you in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 i'll look for a 1971 quarter to sell you ;0 also, i have a pickup in one of my strat's i'll give ya. it will need some finishing though, as the plastic is black instead of maroon. what part of SD are you in? I'm right off the west side of the SDSU campus, seriously only about a block or two from Cox Arena. I'm still hoping I can hear the concert from there Thanks for the offer on the pickup! I still have a few bids in on Ebay, so depending on how those go I might take you up on it. I found an electronics store in El Cajon that has a bin full of old scraps of red linen phonelic, like fiberglass but brownish-red in color. This is what the bobbins are made from on the real version. I'm thinking I can probably butcher a newer pickup and replace the black plastic bobbin with this stuff. Another idea I had was to use a single coil driver for a Fernandes sustainer unit in the neck position, hidden under a cover made from the red phonelic. That would kill two birds with one stone really, I'd get the single coil look, and I'd finally have a guitar with a sustainer unit. Hmmmmm....... Cool sustainer demo from Youtube: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e_racer1999 Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 killer idea! but ya, i'm out in santee, so let me know what you think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4xwellmurd3r Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 ugh, i went through ALL the quarters in my register today. and found 5 1974's 2 1978's 1 1978 2 1988's a few 1980's TONS of 1990+ a 1973 a 1965 and various other years i forgot of. BUT NO 1971's!!! (i'll keep checking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted October 28, 2007 Author Share Posted October 28, 2007 Thanks for the help guys, nowhere else on the internet would people be willing to gut parts out of their own guitars, or dig through cash registers for obscure coins to help someone else out with an odd project like this. HybridZ kicks ass! Fortunately, it looks like I finally have all the parts I need to finish this scavenger hunt of a guitar project. I won a bid for a vintage style Telecaster pickup on Ebay, it looks correct for the application, but may still need the red phenolic mod done to it. It has a big chrome cover over the coil now, hard to tell whats under there. It was pretty cheap though.... I went to the carwash yesterday to hose off all the ash that fell on my Jeep from the fires out here. I put a $5 bill into the change machine, and the first quarter I picked up out of the pile that came out of the machine was an almost mint looking 1971! I might actually have to beat it up a little bit to make it look more "Vintage" because it's in such good condition. I've been working on the paintjob over the last few days, here's what I have so far: This is after 4 coats of black rustoleum spray paint, wetsanded between every other coat. Hard to see in this pic, but the woodgrain is still visable in several locations. Copying a crappy paintjob is a lot easier than trying to make it look all perfect and stuff Front side after masking and spraying with white rustoleum. Wet sanded with 2000 grit and buffed with an old wife beater tank top (seriously) Note authentic 1971 quarter near the bridge area. This is one of only like, 12 or so 1971 quarters known to exsist on the entire planet..... Backside of paintjob. Once the white paint has had a few days to cure, I'll start beating the crap out of it to give it that "Keith Richards" look prior to masking and spraying red. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4xwellmurd3r Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 I swear, in 1974, the government made quarters like the PLAUGE. i came across 10 DIFFERENT 1974 quarters today going through my register and our tip jars. WTF at least you found one. I'd say stick it under your insole and walk around for a week with it in there. it'll come out all nice and "aged" lol. then drill 4 holes and permanently mount it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted October 28, 2007 Author Share Posted October 28, 2007 Found a site with tons of high resolution images of the Fender replica. These are higher quality than the images on the EVH Gear or Fender websites. Supposedly, every little nick, scratch, and ding is replicated on the Fender version. Looks like I'll be pretty busy.... http://www.samedaymusic.com/product--EVH2205150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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