“The fact that my name is also Kramer is a happy coincidence”: an amateur luthier has created a tribute to Eddie Van Halen’s striped 5150 tour guitar that replaces the paint stripes with solid wood

An Eddie Van Halen solid wood striped tribute guitar.

Over the years, we’ve seen too many takes on Eddie Van Halen’s classic ’80s striped electric guitars to count, but this build by self-described “Van Halen fan and hobbyist woodworker” Ryan Kramer is going to stick in the memory.

The amateur luthier, based in Boulder, CO, got in touch with Guitar World to showcase a unique build that emulates the striped paintwork pattern of the Kramer guitar Van Halen used on the band's 1986 5150 tour, using solid blocks of wood.