EVH Striped Series '78 Eruption White with Black Stripes Relic (719)

On the cover of Van Halen’s 1978 eponymous debut album, Eddie Van Halen thrusts his black-and-white striped Strat-style guitar towards the camera as if he’s showing you the future. He played this guitar on his unprecedented and mind-blowing “Eruption” guitar solo, thus its nickname, and almost immediately, this monumental instrument became a timeless icon, symbolic of a paradigm shift in guitar-driven rock and roll.

Back when this trailblazing album first appeared, nobody had ever seen or heard a guitar like that because no such guitar ever existed. What was this? You couldn’t buy one.

That’s because he made it himself. The 22-year-old Eddie Van Halen had the mind of not only a great musician, but also of an innovative inventor—a constant tinkerer who was always messing with his gear. Eddie would say it was out of necessity as no off-the-shelf guitar had the features he needed to really do his job and realize his full potential. So, he took matters into his own capable hands — refretting the neck, installing a humbucking pickup which he potted in paraffin wax, as well a single master volume knob (famously labeled as “Tone”), brass nut and tailpiece from a ’58 Strat, cutting out and mounting his own homemade black and of course, coming up with iconic striped motif.

The all-new EVH Striped Series ’78 Eruption guitar combines many of those famed mods along with modernized features and a relic treatment.

The Stratocaster-style body sports Eddie’s famed white-and-black-striped paint job and has been paired to a quartersawn maple neck with a hand-rubbed satin urethane back finish. The 12”-16” compound radius maple fingerboard with 22 jumbo frets was designed for fast and furious playing styles with maximum comfort, while a heel-mount truss rod wheel makes for time-saving neck adjustments.

A single EVH Wolfgang humbucking bridge pickup provides classic Eddie Van Halen guitar tone – from crystal cleans to fat and rich mids and lows, while the brass nut and six-saddle vintage Fender Stratocaster synchronized tremolo bridge with a 43mm brass block allow for authentic EVH tone.

Other features include a skirted white Strat-style volume control knob (labeled “tone”) with 500K EVH Bourns low friction pot and treble bleed circuit, black pickguard, chrome hardware, oversized strap buttons, EVH neck plate and larger, ‘70s-style licensed Fender Strat headstock with gold EVH logo.

Series: Striped
Body Material: Basswood
Body Finish: Lacquer
Neck: Quartersawn Maple, EVH Modified “C” Backshape
Neck Construction: Bolt-On with Graphite Reinforcement
Neck Finish: Hand-Rubbed Satin Urethane
Neck Thickness: .790” at 3rd Fret & .810” at 12th Fret
Headstock: Large ‘70s-Style Licensed Fender Strat
Fingerboard: Maple, 12”-16” Compound Radius (304.8 mm to 406.4 mm)
Frets: 22, Jumbo
Position Inlays: Black Dot
Side Dots: Black
Nut (Material/Width): Brass, 1.6875” (42.86 mm)
Truss Rod Nut: Heel-Mount Truss Rod Adjustment Wheel
Tuning Machines: EVH-Branded Gotoh
Scale Length: 25.5” (648 mm)
Bridge: Six-Saddle Vintage Fender Stratocaster´Synchronized Tremolo Bridge with 43mm Brass Block
Tremolo Arm: Vintage-Style Tremolo Arm
Pickguard: 1-Ply Black
Pickups: EVH Wolfgang Humbucking (Bridge)
Pickup Color: Black
Pickup Switching: None
Controls: Volume (500K EVH Bourns Low Friction Pot) with Treble Bleed Circuit
Control Knobs: White Stratocaster-Style Skirt (Labeled “Tone”)
Hardware: Reliced Chrome
Strap Buttons: Oversized