Van Halen Frankenstein Template
Frankenstrat Stripe Template. It appears that Mr. Van Halen's stripe patterns are completely random. The Eddie Van Halen Frankenstein.
Now the fun part! Pull that tape off!!.CAREFUL. I know you are excited!
But let's do this right before we peel off the entire white coat along with the tape. The trick to pulling off the tape is to use your razor and lightly score the edges of the tape.
Even if you have taped things before and pulled the tape off no problem, JUST DO THIS! It's not that hard and doesn't take much time. So, score the edge of the tape ensuring the paint is not attached to the tape and pull up the tape lightly and slowly. If at any point, the paint starts coming up, reach for your razor and score it again. If the paint does come up beyond repair.give it another coat of white.
I know it sucks, but you've made it this far! Once you have the tape up, your guitar should look like this! Well not quite but it looks so amazing right?!Okay moving on. Next, reach for your tape again and let's lay out the next masking pattern.
Check mine out and copy if you'd like. Keep in mind, wherever you want a BLACK line on the end result, be SURE to mask THAT BLACK LINE ON THIS STEP. A brains lip here means no black line on the reveal.
I made the mistake of masking just ABOVE the third black stripe on the horn and therefore, I painted right over it. See the end result and you will know what I mean.
Also notice on the bottom and side, I created a little wavy design. IT was easy to do and you can be creative. And lastly, don't forget to put a stripe around the perimeter of the guitar as shown slightly on the second picture. You can see the end result in the next step to see what I mean. If you have made it this far, congratulations!
You have a guitar with something other than primer! The next step will be a pretty simple one. The hardest part of this step will be deciding how you want your taping to look.
More on that in a minute. Now that you have a solid black guitar, we are going to use tape in order to mask off the parts of the guitar that will STAY BLACK.
Keep in mind that there will be white coloring AND a red overcoat when the painting is done. I say this because you want to tape off everywhere you want a black stripe to SHOW. It sounds pretty obvious but when you go to tape off the white coat, you will see how a simple brain slip could leae you without any black coloring at the end of the project. Without further ado, take a look at my model.
If you want to replicate this, go for it. If you want to try your own spin, feel free to do that as well. There are many references online that show EVH's guitar that you can try to replicate.
I felt like I did a pretty good job at the striping. But first things first! Let's get that primer coat smooth! After the primer coat has had time to completely dry, you will want to get a piece of 1200 grit sand paper and LIGHTLY sand over the body to ensure that you have a smooth finish.
I stress lightly because the paint will sand off easily, especially around the edges and corners. This is your last chance to make sure the body is smooth to ensure the rest of the coats go on smoothly. IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBT THAT THE BODY ISN'T SMOOTH, TAKE THE TIME NOW TO EITHER SAND THE BODY FLAT OR BUILD UP A COUPLE MORE LAYERS OF PRIMER AND SAND AGAIN!
Don't be afraid or too impatient! You can buildup as many layers as you like and sand down until you get that perfect flatness. Once you are satisfied and any buildup layers of primer you may have added have had the time to dry, take a damp cloth and wipe over the entire surface to remove any and all dust and debris, especially focusing in areas such as the pockets and cavities. Let the guitar dry off for a few minutes, and ADD SOME PAINT, MAN! This process will be exactly the same as the process for applying the primer coat. Start off the guitar and start your spray.
Move the spray in an even motion towards the other edge of the guitar and continue off the edge to ensure you don't buildup a 'spot' of heavy paint. Continue back and forth, up and down, alternating directions with each layer. Revert back to to see the painting process and tips. When you are finished with that, your guitar should look like this! STEP 4: FINALLY APPLYING SOME PAINT! At this point, your newly sanded guitar body is AS SMOOTH AS YOU CAN PHYSICALLY GET IT.
Van Halen Frankenstein Specs
Right guys??? Like I said before, the better of a job you do on this initial prep steps, the better your end product will be! What you will want to do now is one of the easier steps: apply the primer base coat. Not much to it but follow these tips to get the best result, especially when using spray cans. The end result of this step should look like the following: Front View.
Rear View Notice that I do have some slight bumps and uneven body finish. I took these pictures before my finished primer coat. Because I failed to get a PERFECTLY smooth body, I had to buildup quite a bit of primer layers and sand smooth. Throughout the rest of the tutorial, you will see those dings start to fade. But this is a great example of what any dings in the body will look like once painted, which is why I STRESS, STRESS, and STRESS that you take your time in the beginning steps and foundation.
Apply multiple, thin, light coast rather than one heavy coat. I know, I know, you put all this work into prepping your body and you just want to put some damn paint on already! But again, trust me. There is nothing worse than having to put all that work of taking paint OFF just to spray on thick and have to remove THAT layer as well. So, spray on one light coat.
Van Halen
Your guitar will probably look half gray, half wood at this point. Wait about 15 minutes to dry.
Return and spray on another coat about the same density. Spray on another coat.
Rinse and repeat this process until you get a good coverage over your entire body. You don't need a thick layer but be advised you will be sanding this coat lightly. So be sure to get enough primer base to ensure you won't sand to the wood. Let the paint dry and put light coats on! When you spray the first coat, start with a horizontal spray from left to right, right to left, in a snake pattern down the guitar body. When spraying each row, start your spray off the edge of the guitar and move your arm (and inherently, the spray) onto the body of the guitar. This will ensure that you don't end up with a 'starter' blob of paint that will drip.
End each row by releasing the trigger off the other edge of the guitar. Start the next horizontal row but repeating the above. Do not continue to hold the spray trigger as you move row to row down the body of the guitar. Doing so will give the guitar uneven coverage and make it more likely to end up with paint dripping. On the second layer, repeat the above spray technique. However, instead of going in a horizontal pattern, use a vertical pattern.
Some paint sprayers have a nozzle that can turn to adjust the flat side of the spray. If so, utilize this. If not, it may be easier for you to turn the guitar sideways (rotate 90 degrees). When you finish with applying a good, evenly covered coat, let the guitar dry and cure for AT LEAST 48 hours! Paint, especially from a can, will tend to do some shifting while drying and curing.
Now normally this is not a big deal and usually isn't noticeable on other project you may use spray paint on. However, due to the multiple layers of paints and lacquers we will be using, we want to do our best to ensure that everything on the base layers is good and ready for other layer to go on top. So with that being said, go find a bag of Doritos, a couple good movies, and WAIT for your baby to dry! Of course you guitar players could be practicing also. But don't worry. Nobody is watching.:) After that,!
Step Links: -. Your next step in the process will be to fill any holes and dings you may have from the body of the guitar.
I used some Bondo (the stuff used on cars) to fill any existing screw holes or dents in the guitar. Once I filled the holes and let the Bondo harden, I took some light sandpaper (maybe 400 grit or higher) and sanded the body to a smooth finish all the way around. Again, as this being the prep work, the better of a job and more time you take doing these first steps the better your finish will be in the end. Take your time and do it correctly! Anyway, you want the smoothest, nicest finish you can get in this step. Sand all the dings out.
And look everywhere! Look in the cavities, on the back, on the sides, in the horn pockets. The trick on this step is to apply the Bondo to the point where it is a little bit higher than the surface of the rest of the guitar. That way when the Bondo dries, you can sand down the high points to make the surface flat. If you apply the Bondo at surface level, you may see some low spots when the Bondo dries and will be forced to apply a second layer of Bondo, which means you will have to. Do I dare say it??? But get that body flat, flat, flat!
Once you have your 'precious' flat and smooth go on to, the primer base coat! Step Links: -.
Eddie Van Halen Frankenstein Guitar
First, start out by choosing one side of the body to work on (I started with the front). You will stay on this side until it is complete. When you have chosen which side you will be working on first, pour a liberal amount of paint stripper onto the center of the body. Take your paintbrush and spread the stripper around the body working in small areas at a time.
I divided my body into quarters to give you a good idea of how big of an area to work with. Let the stripper soak into the paint for about 10 minutes. Then, take your plastic (not metal) scraper and scrape off the stripper. More likely than not, you will not be able to get all of the paint off in the first try. You will have to repeat the process a couple of times especially on some guitars which use a higher quality clear coat. Here is a (blurry,sorry) picture of what my guitar looked like before and after my 1st coat of stripper. Continue this process until the paint is completely off the side you are working on.
Use a screwdriver with an old t-shirt or towel wrapped around it to get into the pockets and hard to reach areas. Patience is the key in this step. Do your best to remove all of the paint. NOTE: When working close to the edge of the guitar, allow the paint stripper to run off the sides a bit. It will make it easier when you finish both faces and have to move on to the edge of the guitar. Be sure to keep your area clean throughout the process as this will make it much easier to work. When you are done with the side you are working on, clean your area and get it ready for the next side.
One of the most memorable guitars in rock is the Van Halen I Frankenstrat. Everything about the guitar, from the forward thinking vision and construction of the guitar, to the striped paint finish, represented a whole new way of thinking with the guitar itself. This guitar is crucial to the development of the Van Halen sound, as well as everything that followed in rock music after Ed first blazed the scene in southern California.
This is really, the guitar that started it all for Eddie Van Halen. Photo courtesy It came out of a genuine desire for the ultimate sound and a frustration with the limitations of guitars available in the 1970s. Back then, there were a limited amount of resources and guitars present at the time that could replicate the sound that any aspiring guitarist could create. Far from wanting to directly copy others, Eddie was out to bend the rules of the guitar itself (and possibly break a few along the way). It was a combination of his three main guitars that he used before becoming famous: the Gibson Les Paul; Fender Stratocaster and Gibson ES-335. Indeed, Eddie is quoted in an interview as stating: “I combined the four elements (that was wanted) into the Frankenstein” 1. Although Eddie had already tried placing a humbucker on his Fender Stratocaster, the guitar still did not sound to his liking.
Eddie’s first Frankenstrat came out of a combined frustration with his previous main guitars. Photo courtesy Indeed Ed made his Frankenstrat using parts famously from Wayne Charvel’s shop using spare parts that were available, namely Boogie Bodies parts. It was done on the cheap, with the total cost of the body and neck coming to $130US at the time, relatively cheaply done. The individual costs were $50 for the body, and $80 for the neck 2. Strangely enough, according to some sources 3, Ed purchased the guitar neck at a discount with a large knot in the wood as he believed it would perform better. Wayne Charvel was crucial in assisting Eddie Van Halen with building his first Frankenstrat, along with other guitars. Picture courtesy Since there were no such things as Fender Stratocaster bodies with humbucker positions carved out in the bridge position at the time, Eddie carefully measured and chiselled out a humbucker slot into the bridge position of the Stratocaster body.
He then conceived his idea of his white with black stripes paint job on his guitar. To achieve this, he had on his hands masking tape in 1/8 inch and ¾ inch size. He initially painted the guitar black using Schwinn bicycle paint that he may have used on his paper route. Once it had dried, he used said masking tape in a patterned style on his guitar. He then spray painted it white to achieve the layered look, and removed the masking tape.
Once this was achieved, he then placed the bridge humbucker from his Gibson ES-335 (a PAF pickup which stands for Patent Applied For) into the body of the guitar. Although the original Frankenstrat had this pickup installed, it would change over the years, this was the original pickup used. He had a limited knowledge of electronic circuitry, so there was no tone control. Instead, he wired a single volume control to the circuitry. Indeed, Eddie has said on numerous occasions that his first Frankenstrat was a combination of a Gibson and Fender sound. Photo courtesy The body was a basic Fender Stratocaster (with CBS style headstock) maple neck and fingerboard, with Schaller tuning pegs and Gibson Jumbo frets. Once he had compiled the main elements of the guitar together, he added a Fender vintage tremolo system from his 1957 Fender Stratocaster 4.
This was due to his belief that the newer Stratocaster tremolo systems did not work as efficiently as the vintage tremolo systems. To cover up the work that Ed did on his guitar, he placed a black pickguard over the pickups, leaving a place open for the humbucker. The result was, as Eddie put it, “It was neat. I really felt that I was on to something when I built that guitar, because you couldn’t buy anything like it at the time.” Indeed, his guitar, along with his guitar playing, completely changed the way the music industry was working with the sound of the electric guitar. The cover of the Zero demo tape, produced by Kiss’s Gene Simmons, where Ed first used his original Frankenstrat on recording. Photo courtesy I will provide a link for you on all you need to know about how to assemble a Van Halen I Frankenstrat. This website has the rundown on the physical stats of the Frankenstrat as well, similar to what I have placed for other guitars.
You can find it here:.