I hate doing this... EVH black and white stripe body wood?

[TrueTone500]

I may get flamed for not knowing this, but here goes... Does anyone know what type of body wood was used to make EVH's black and white debut album guitar? I know he used an Ibanez Destroyer, so I assume all the tremolo work was done with the b&w guitar? Do my ears hear basswood?

 

[metalmaniac93]

Northern Ash!

 

[TrueTone500]

Northern Ash!

Thanks! I've ever played a Northern Ash guitar that I know of. I've heard he prefers Basswood, so I thought maybe...

Was this the primary guitar he used in those sessions?

 

[Anonymous]

Some people actually know this?

 

[metalmaniac93]

Northern Ash!

Thanks! I've ever played a Northern Ash guitar that I know of. I've heard he prefers Basswood, so I thought maybe...

He prefers Basswood since his days with Ernie Ball. Basswood was not used on guitars in the 1970's. There are articles/interviews stating that he hates Alder. I do not know why, but that is what was stated.

 

[reverymike]

A lot of that record was done with the destroyer. I remember reading that You Really Got me was the Destroyer (which makes sense because of the toggle on/off trick). But, yeah, I would imagine any of the stuff with tremolo dives would have been the Frankie.

 

[TrueTone500]

...I would imagine any of the stuff with tremolo dives would have been the Frankie.

Are you saying his red and white "Frankie" guitar is the same black and white 1st album guitar, repainted?

 

[metalmaniac93]

...I would imagine any of the stuff with tremolo dives would have been the Frankie.

Are you saying his red and white "Frankie" guitar is the same black and white 1st album guitar, repainted?

That is correct. Same body and with different necks over the years until he retired it.

 

[metalmaniac93]

Here is an interesting previous discussion on RT about this subject.

viewtopic.php?t=17374

 

[TrueTone500]

Northern Ash!

Thanks! I've ever played a Northern Ash guitar that I know of. I've heard he prefers Basswood, so I thought maybe...

He prefers Basswood since his days with Ernie Ball. Basswood was not used on guitars in the 1970's. There are articles/interviews stating that he hates Alder. I do not know why, but that is what was stated.

I've never been a fan of Floyd Rose tremolos on an Alder body, because (to my ears) the highs are just too bright. Most FR loaded guitars seem to be made of Alder, so I naturally avoided FR equipped guitars altogether.

Fast-forward >>> I purchased an EVH EBMM with a Floyd Rose a few months back, and I'm in heaven! At $1300.00, I didn't care what the body was made from, I wanted the guitar. After falling in love with it, I did some research and found that the EVH is made of Basswood with a maple top.

Fast-forward >>> I was doing some test-driving at Sam Ash, when I came across a Jackson Adrian Smith SDX. I was reluctant to plug it in, since (due to the weight) I assumed it was made of Alder. I decided to plug into a couple of Blackstar amplifiers, and was absolutely blown-away! Very similar to my EBMM EVH, but a bit warmer. After getting it home, I did some research... What do you know... Basswood!

The point of all this, is that I'm now able to get more authentic sounding 1st album EVH tones using these two guitars, compared to anything else I've ever owned. I've read that Ibanez was notorious in the 1970's for using dark Basswood for their bodies... Was the Ibanez Destroyer made of mahogany, or was is actually Basswood?

 

[TrueTone500]

...I would imagine any of the stuff with tremolo dives would have been the Frankie.

Are you saying his red and white "Frankie" guitar is the same black and white 1st album guitar, repainted?

That is correct. Same body and with different necks over the years until he retired it.

I did not f-ing know this! I thought the b&w was a Boogie Bodies guitar... Not Kramer. Cool to know, but damn!

Wait! Is it a Kramer, or was that just the neck?

 

[metalmaniac93]

Northern Ash!

Thanks! I've ever played a Northern Ash guitar that I know of. I've heard he prefers Basswood, so I thought maybe...

He prefers Basswood since his days with Ernie Ball. Basswood was not used on guitars in the 1970's. There are articles/interviews stating that he hates Alder. I do not know why, but that is what was stated.

I've never been a fan of Floyd Rose tremolos on an Alder body, because (to my ears) the highs are just too bright. Most FR loaded guitars seem to be made of Alder, so I naturally avoided FR equipped guitars altogether.

Fast-forward >>> I purchased an EVH EBMM with a Floyd Rose a few months back, and I'm in heaven! At $1300.00, I didn't care what the body was made from, I wanted the guitar. After falling in love with it, I did some research and found that the EVH is made of Basswood with a maple top.

Fast-forward >>> I was doing some test-driving at Sam Ash, when I came across a Jackson Adrian Smith SDX. I was reluctant to plug it in, since (due to the weight) I assumed it was made of Alder. I decided to plug into a couple of Blackstar amplifiers, and was absolutely blown-away! Very similar to my EBMM EVH, but a bit warmer. After getting it home, I did some research... What do you know... Basswood!

The point of all this, is that I'm now able to get more authentic sounding 1st album EVH tones using these two guitars, compared to anything else I've ever owned. I've read that Ibanez was notorious in the 1970's for using dark Basswood for their bodies... Was the Ibanez Destroyer made of mahogany, or was is actually Basswood?

I have a CS Charvel that is made of Basswood and it is very bright especially with a JB in it,which I removed. Great guitar though. The Ibanez Destroyer was either Korina or Ash based on the information I read. Some say it is Ash dyed to look like Korina? No real confirmation on this though.

http://www.woodytone.com/2011/06/29/wha ... s-shark-1/

 

[metalmaniac93]

...I would imagine any of the stuff with tremolo dives would have been the Frankie.

Are you saying his red and white "Frankie" guitar is the same black and white 1st album guitar, repainted?

That is correct. Same body and with different necks over the years until he retired it.

I did not f-ing know this! I thought the b&w was a Boogie Bodies guitar... Not Kramer. Cool to know, but damn!

Wait! Is it a Kramer, or was that just the neck?

The b&w was a Boogie Bodies guitar and he later painted it red. So it is not a Kramer Body.

 

[TrueTone500]

Northern Ash!

Thanks! I've ever played a Northern Ash guitar that I know of. I've heard he prefers Basswood, so I thought maybe...

He prefers Basswood since his days with Ernie Ball. Basswood was not used on guitars in the 1970's. There are articles/interviews stating that he hates Alder. I do not know why, but that is what was stated.

I've never been a fan of Floyd Rose tremolos on an Alder body, because (to my ears) the highs are just too bright. Most FR loaded guitars seem to be made of Alder, so I naturally avoided FR equipped guitars altogether.

Fast-forward >>> I purchased an EVH EBMM with a Floyd Rose a few months back, and I'm in heaven! At $1300.00, I didn't care what the body was made from, I wanted the guitar. After falling in love with it, I did some research and found that the EVH is made of Basswood with a maple top.

Fast-forward >>> I was doing some test-driving at Sam Ash, when I came across a Jackson Adrian Smith SDX. I was reluctant to plug it in, since (due to the weight) I assumed it was made of Alder. I decided to plug into a couple of Blackstar amplifiers, and was absolutely blown-away! Very similar to my EBMM EVH, but a bit warmer. After getting it home, I did some research... What do you know... Basswood!

The point of all this, is that I'm now able to get more authentic sounding 1st album EVH tones using these two guitars, compared to anything else I've ever owned. I've read that Ibanez was notorious in the 1970's for using dark Basswood for their bodies... Was the Ibanez Destroyer made of mahogany, or was is actually Basswood?

I have a CS Charvel that is made of Basswood and it is very bright especially with a JB in it,which I removed. Great guitar though.

I'm reading that the lighter yellow Basswood is brighter than the dark Basswood, so that me be it?

Basswood:
Basswood is a soft wood with tight grains. Its relatively inexpensive of all the usual guitar woods, and it’s easy on router bits in the factory, easy to sand, and easy to seal and finish. The softness of basswood means that sharp highs are dampened and smoothened. That helps offset the tinny sound associated with knife edged tremolo contacts. The softness also fosters a weaker low end. It’s light in weight, but not because of large pores. Rather it’s low in mass overall. Deep, breathy sub-lows aren’t resonated in Basswood. The reduction in these outer frequencies leaves the mids pronounced in a hypothetical response curve. Its very suitable for the typical guitar range, and very suitable for lead guitar, because of its pronounced “out front” sound. Complex overtones are muted along with the highs leaving a strong fundamental tone.

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm

I also found this... EVH says the "Frankie" was/is a Charvel parts guitar.

“Tell me about your guitar,” I began, referring to the distinctive white and black-striped guitar he’d just used onstage. “It’s a copy of a Strat,” Eddie responded. “It’s not a Fender. It’s by a company called Charvel. You know, I bought a body from them for 50 bucks and a neck for 80 bucks, slapped it together, put an old Gibson pickup in it, and it’s my main guitar. Painted it up, you know, with stripes and stuff. I just didn’t like the fact of having the standard rock-star setup – you know, a brand-new Les Paul and a Marshall. I was really into vibrato, so the reason I started dickin’ around that way is I wanted a Gibson-type of sound, but with a Strat vibrato. So I stuck a humbucking pickup in a Strat, and it worked okay, but it didn’t get good enough tone because Fenders are kind of cheap wood – they’re made out of alder or something. So then I found out about Charvel, which makes guitar necks and bodies out of ash. But the main reason I made it was to have something that no one else had. You know, I wanted it to be my guitar, an extension of myself. I hate store-bought, off-the-rack guitars. They don’t do what I want them to do, which is fuckin’ kick ass and scream!”

http://www.vhnd.com/2010/11/19/eddie-va ... -roth-era/

 

[metalmaniac93]

Who knows, but in one of his interviews he did saw the following about the weight of the guitar.

I also put my own frets in, using large Gibsons. There is only one volume knob – that’s all there is to it. I don’t use any fancy tone knobs. I see so many people who have these space-age guitars with a lot of switches and equalizers and treble boosters – give me one knob, that’s it. It’s simple and it sounds cool. I also painted this guitar with stripes. It has almost the same weight as a Les Paul.” - See more at: http://www.woodytone.com/2010/06/28/wow ... 7hZq9.dpuf

 

[metalmaniac93]

Northern Ash!

Thanks! I've ever played a Northern Ash guitar that I know of. I've heard he prefers Basswood, so I thought maybe...

He prefers Basswood since his days with Ernie Ball. Basswood was not used on guitars in the 1970's. There are articles/interviews stating that he hates Alder. I do not know why, but that is what was stated.

I've never been a fan of Floyd Rose tremolos on an Alder body, because (to my ears) the highs are just too bright. Most FR loaded guitars seem to be made of Alder, so I naturally avoided FR equipped guitars altogether.

Fast-forward >>> I purchased an EVH EBMM with a Floyd Rose a few months back, and I'm in heaven! At $1300.00, I didn't care what the body was made from, I wanted the guitar. After falling in love with it, I did some research and found that the EVH is made of Basswood with a maple top.

Fast-forward >>> I was doing some test-driving at Sam Ash, when I came across a Jackson Adrian Smith SDX. I was reluctant to plug it in, since (due to the weight) I assumed it was made of Alder. I decided to plug into a couple of Blackstar amplifiers, and was absolutely blown-away! Very similar to my EBMM EVH, but a bit warmer. After getting it home, I did some research... What do you know... Basswood!

The point of all this, is that I'm now able to get more authentic sounding 1st album EVH tones using these two guitars, compared to anything else I've ever owned. I've read that Ibanez was notorious in the 1970's for using dark Basswood for their bodies... Was the Ibanez Destroyer made of mahogany, or was is actually Basswood?

I have a CS Charvel that is made of Basswood and it is very bright especially with a JB in it,which I removed. Great guitar though.

I'm reading that the lighter yellow Basswood is brighter than the dark Basswood, so that me be it?

Basswood:
Basswood is a soft wood with tight grains. Its relatively inexpensive of all the usual guitar woods, and it’s easy on router bits in the factory, easy to sand, and easy to seal and finish. The softness of basswood means that sharp highs are dampened and smoothened. That helps offset the tinny sound associated with knife edged tremolo contacts. The softness also fosters a weaker low end. It’s light in weight, but not because of large pores. Rather it’s low in mass overall. Deep, breathy sub-lows aren’t resonated in Basswood. The reduction in these outer frequencies leaves the mids pronounced in a hypothetical response curve. Its very suitable for the typical guitar range, and very suitable for lead guitar, because of its pronounced “out front” sound. Complex overtones are muted along with the highs leaving a strong fundamental tone.

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm

I also found this... EVH says the "Frankie" was/is a Charvel parts guitar.

“Tell me about your guitar,” I began, referring to the distinctive white and black-striped guitar he’d just used onstage. “It’s a copy of a Strat,” Eddie responded. “It’s not a Fender. It’s by a company called Charvel. You know, I bought a body from them for 50 bucks and a neck for 80 bucks, slapped it together, put an old Gibson pickup in it, and it’s my main guitar. Painted it up, you know, with stripes and stuff. I just didn’t like the fact of having the standard rock-star setup – you know, a brand-new Les Paul and a Marshall. I was really into vibrato, so the reason I started dickin’ around that way is I wanted a Gibson-type of sound, but with a Strat vibrato. So I stuck a humbucking pickup in a Strat, and it worked okay, but it didn’t get good enough tone because Fenders are kind of cheap wood – they’re made out of alder or something. So then I found out about Charvel, which makes guitar necks and bodies out of ash. But the main reason I made it was to have something that no one else had. You know, I wanted it to be my guitar, an extension of myself. I hate store-bought, off-the-rack guitars. They don’t do what I want them to do, which is fuckin’ kick ass and scream!”

http://www.vhnd.com/2010/11/19/eddie-va ... -roth-era/

There is nothing wrong with Alder. It is a great wood and Charvel uses Alder, Ash, and Basswood for most of their builds. As far as store bought guitars. I see nothing wrong with them.

 

[TrueTone500]

Northern Ash!

Thanks! I've ever played a Northern Ash guitar that I know of. I've heard he prefers Basswood, so I thought maybe...

He prefers Basswood since his days with Ernie Ball. Basswood was not used on guitars in the 1970's. There are articles/interviews stating that he hates Alder. I do not know why, but that is what was stated.

I've never been a fan of Floyd Rose tremolos on an Alder body, because (to my ears) the highs are just too bright. Most FR loaded guitars seem to be made of Alder, so I naturally avoided FR equipped guitars altogether.

Fast-forward >>> I purchased an EVH EBMM with a Floyd Rose a few months back, and I'm in heaven! At $1300.00, I didn't care what the body was made from, I wanted the guitar. After falling in love with it, I did some research and found that the EVH is made of Basswood with a maple top.

Fast-forward >>> I was doing some test-driving at Sam Ash, when I came across a Jackson Adrian Smith SDX. I was reluctant to plug it in, since (due to the weight) I assumed it was made of Alder. I decided to plug into a couple of Blackstar amplifiers, and was absolutely blown-away! Very similar to my EBMM EVH, but a bit warmer. After getting it home, I did some research... What do you know... Basswood!

The point of all this, is that I'm now able to get more authentic sounding 1st album EVH tones using these two guitars, compared to anything else I've ever owned. I've read that Ibanez was notorious in the 1970's for using dark Basswood for their bodies... Was the Ibanez Destroyer made of mahogany, or was is actually Basswood?

I have a CS Charvel that is made of Basswood and it is very bright especially with a JB in it,which I removed. Great guitar though.

I'm reading that the lighter yellow Basswood is brighter than the dark Basswood, so that me be it?

Basswood:
Basswood is a soft wood with tight grains. Its relatively inexpensive of all the usual guitar woods, and it’s easy on router bits in the factory, easy to sand, and easy to seal and finish. The softness of basswood means that sharp highs are dampened and smoothened. That helps offset the tinny sound associated with knife edged tremolo contacts. The softness also fosters a weaker low end. It’s light in weight, but not because of large pores. Rather it’s low in mass overall. Deep, breathy sub-lows aren’t resonated in Basswood. The reduction in these outer frequencies leaves the mids pronounced in a hypothetical response curve. Its very suitable for the typical guitar range, and very suitable for lead guitar, because of its pronounced “out front” sound. Complex overtones are muted along with the highs leaving a strong fundamental tone.

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm

I also found this... EVH says the "Frankie" was/is a Charvel parts guitar.

“Tell me about your guitar,” I began, referring to the distinctive white and black-striped guitar he’d just used onstage. “It’s a copy of a Strat,” Eddie responded. “It’s not a Fender. It’s by a company called Charvel. You know, I bought a body from them for 50 bucks and a neck for 80 bucks, slapped it together, put an old Gibson pickup in it, and it’s my main guitar. Painted it up, you know, with stripes and stuff. I just didn’t like the fact of having the standard rock-star setup – you know, a brand-new Les Paul and a Marshall. I was really into vibrato, so the reason I started dickin’ around that way is I wanted a Gibson-type of sound, but with a Strat vibrato. So I stuck a humbucking pickup in a Strat, and it worked okay, but it didn’t get good enough tone because Fenders are kind of cheap wood – they’re made out of alder or something. So then I found out about Charvel, which makes guitar necks and bodies out of ash. But the main reason I made it was to have something that no one else had. You know, I wanted it to be my guitar, an extension of myself. I hate store-bought, off-the-rack guitars. They don’t do what I want them to do, which is fuckin’ kick ass and scream!”

http://www.vhnd.com/2010/11/19/eddie-va ... -roth-era/

There is nothing wrong with Alder. It is a great wood and Charvel uses Alder, Ash, and Basswood for most of their builds. As far as store bought guitars. I see nothing wrong with them.

Yeah... But back in the 70's, there were no off-the-shelf super-strats that I recall. The first guys I can recall playing modded Strat's was Glenn Tipton and Dave Murray.

 

[marvcus]

Lynn Ellsworth at Boogie Bodies sold the wood to Eddie for that 1st guitar. Northern Ash is correct.
Flame maple for the neck.

Check this interview: http://lynnellsworthguitars.com/frankenstein/

 

[TrueTone500]

Lynn Ellsworth at Boogie Bodies sold the wood to Eddie for that 1st guitar. Northern Ash is correct.
Flame maple for the neck.

Check this interview: http://lynnellsworthguitars.com/frankenstein/

But why would Ed say it's a Charvel?

Okay... I get it now. Thanks for posting this.

 

[311splawndude]

But why would Ed say it's a Charvel?

Okay... I get it now. Thanks for posting this.

He said lots of things back then.....