EVH Frankenstein vs Striped?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nitrobattery
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Nitrobattery

Nitrobattery

Well-known member
So, GAS has struck hard.

I recently set up an EVH Frankenstein relic for a student of mine and absolutely fell in love with it. I'm not normally a Floyd guy, but the dive-only Floyd paired with the D-Tuna is just a blast. That said, I've always loved the look of the black and white version with the black pickguard. The '78 Eruption version of that guitar doesn't have a Floyd, but I totally missed that they make a black and white striped version WITH a Floyd, it's just not relic'd and seems to have a less cool pickup.

For those of you that own, or have played both, is there anything quality-wise that I'd be missing if I snagged a striped series black and white vs grabbing the Frankenstein...or is it mainly just the relic job and the pickup that's different between the two?

And just for fun, here's a quick video of me hacking my way through Eruption with the STL Andy James 5150III plugin.

 
Can't answer your question but great job on the 'solo'. In your version I could actually here more of the notes than the original - probably because you played cleanly and it wasn't drenched in reverb. I also like your take on the tapping outro - using different strings vs just the 5th as usually tabbed out. :yes:
 
GreatRedDragon said:
Isn't it a standard EVH Wolfgang in both the Striped and Frankie guitars?
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That's what I'm wondering. There's an $850 price difference, so if it's just a relic job and a pickup that's different, I'll grab the white and black one with a Floyd.
 
311splawndude said:
Can't answer your question but great job on the 'solo'. In your version I could actually here more of the notes than the original - probably because you played cleanly and it wasn't drenched in reverb. I also like your take on the tapping outro - using different strings vs just the 5th as usually tabbed out. :yes:
Click to expand...

Thanks! I can't play anything like Ed, but it's fun anyway.
 
Detroit ABA said:
I think all the specs are the same with the exception of the relic job
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Awesome. That's what it looks like browsing the specs, but I've never played the non-relic so I just wanted to double check.
 
I've owned a couple striped Bumblebees and played a Frankie. The main difference I noticed was how comfortable the Frankie neck was. It felt perfectly worn. Not sure if it was just the relic job or maybe the neck shape was different too. Also, the fretwork on the Frankie maybe had more attention to detail. Polished like mirrors and perfectly rounded fret ends.
 
I have a black and white EVH Art Series, idk what the Frank neck is like, but the Art series is more like an Ernie Ball EVH than a Charvel.,
 
guitup too said:
I've owned a couple striped Bumblebees and played a Frankie. The main difference I noticed was how comfortable the Frankie neck was. It felt perfectly worn. Not sure if it was just the relic job or maybe the neck shape was different too. Also, the fretwork on the Frankie maybe had more attention to detail. Polished like mirrors and perfectly rounded fret ends.
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So what I'm hearing is, that I should get both :)
 
Nitrobattery said:
That's what I'm wondering. There's an $850 price difference, so if it's just a relic job and a pickup that's different, I'll grab the white and black one with a Floyd.
Click to expand...

From what I can tell , that's it. Probably costs MORE for the floyd vs the dinky trem they put on the relic and the relic isn't even ash or alder so the markup on these things is UGE. I am over floyds now but yes once you stretch out the strings and fine tune, they are pretty damn solid and they bomb like nothing else. Still prefer an old school trem if you can sell part of your soul and apply all the tricks to keep it in tune.
 
Nitrobattery said:
So, GAS has struck hard.

I recently set up an EVH Frankenstein relic for a student of mine and absolutely fell in love with it. I'm not normally a Floyd guy, but the dive-only Floyd paired with the D-Tuna is just a blast. That said, I've always loved the look of the black and white version with the black pickguard. The '78 Eruption version of that guitar doesn't have a Floyd, but I totally missed that they make a black and white striped version WITH a Floyd, it's just not relic'd and seems to have a less cool pickup.

For those of you that own, or have played both, is there anything quality-wise that I'd be missing if I snagged a striped series black and white vs grabbing the Frankenstein...or is it mainly just the relic job and the pickup that's different between the two?

And just for fun, here's a quick video of me hacking my way through Eruption with the STL Andy James 5150III plugin.

Click to expand...


Geez, these plugins are sounding better and better. I think i can tell it's digital but if you hadn't told me I might be going off about the tone. :-/ gulp.
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
Geez, these plugins are sounding better and better. I think i can tell it's digital but if you hadn't told me I might be going off about the tone. :-/ gulp.
Click to expand...

Right?!

Just for fun though, here's the same performance re-amped into my Friedman BE-100. No pedals/boosts, just some delay in the DAW.

 
I've had both. The Frankie has a roasted maple neck to make it look dirtier. The relic is/was a fun toy. Both sound the same. I think if you got the Bumblebee you'd always be wondering about the Frankie. I don't own either anymore because I wanted other guitars and could get the EVH tones from other guitars I have.

If you have the coin, get the Frankie. It's a fun guitar to play. I've seen the used market prices dropping for these as the new ones are becoming more available.
 
By the way -- the necks on the striped 5150 and the 5150 guitars are completely different than the other striped series. The 5150s are rounder and less like hot rodded necks most of us play. I think they're closer to the Wolfgang models. I did NOT like the 5150 series one I had.
 
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