Last year, EVH broke from Frankenstein tradition by offering Eddie Van Halen’s most iconic electric guitar in flat, relic’d, “civilian” colorways – red, white and black, essentially deconstructing the striped colors of the original Frankie. Now the company has branched out even further with three limited-edition finishes that depart from the stripes lineage altogether.
For 2024, EVH has unveiled three fresh looks for its stripped-back shredder: Vintage Sunburst, Blueburst and – our particular favorite – Silverburst. If Adam Jones and Bill Kelliher ever joined the SuperStrat army, this is what they’d be playing.
It’s great to see these models getting a fresh lick of paint, but otherwise, they’re spec’d as per last year’s guitars – and yes, that means the neck pickup is only there for show, as per the original Frankie. You can connect it up if you so desire, however, to pair with the high-output Wolfgang bridge humbucker, which EVH reckons “nails Eddie’s classic tone”.
The guitar’s basswood body comes “complete with a worn-in relic’d finish”, and is paired with an EVH Modified C Backshape-profile svelte quartersawn maple neck. The maple fretboard boasts a 12”-16” compound radius and is fitted with 22 jumbo frets.
Hardware is as you’d expect, with a D-Tuna Floyd Rose tremolo for divebombs and instant access to drop D tuning, plus a brass tremolo block, 1.69” locking nut and EVH-branded Gotoh tuners.
EVH expert Chris Gill certainly rated the Frankenstein Relic in his review earlier this year, concluding that it “provides all of the vibe, tones and high-performance attributes of the Frankenstein guitar in a package that allows players to make their own visual and aural statements.”
The new Limited Edition Frankenstein Relic Series models are available now for $1,549. EVH Gear has more info.
