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.

Specifications:

• Headstock: Large '70s-Style Licensed Fender® Strat®
• Neck Material: Quartersawn Maple
• Neck Finish: Hand-Rubbed Satin Urethane
• Neck Shape: EVH® Modified "C" Backshape
• Neck Construction: Bolt-On with Graphite Reinforcement
• Neck Thickness: .790" at 3rd Fret & .810" at 12th Fret
• Fingerboard Radius: 12"-16" Compound Radius (304.8 mm to 406.4 mm)
• Fingerboard Material: Maple
• Position Inlays: Black Dot
• Side Dots: Black
• Number of Frets: 22
• Truss Rod Nut: Heel-Mount Truss Rod Adjustment Wheel
• String Nut: Brass
• Nut Width: 1.6875" (42.86 mm)
• Nut Material: Brass
• Body: Basswood
• Body Finish: Lacquer
• Body Material: Basswood
• Bridge: 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Fender® Strat® Synchronized Tremolo with 43mm Brass Block
• Tremolo Block: Brass
• Pickguard: 1-Ply Black
• Pickup Covers: Black
• Control Knobs: White Stratocaster®-Style Skirt (Labeled "Tone")
• Hardware Finish: Reliced Chrome
• Tuning Machines: EVH®-Branded Gotoh®
• String Trees: Single Wing with Tall Metal Spacer
• Strings: EVH® Nickel Plated Steel (.009-.042 Gauges)
• Tremolo Arm: Vintage-Style Tremolo Arm
• Neck Plate: 4-Bolt Standard
• Strap Buttons: Oversized
• Bridge Pickup: EVH® Wolfgang® Humbucking
• Controls: Volume (500K EVH® Bourns® Low Friction Pot) with Treble Bleed Circuit
• Included Accessories: Tremolo Arm, Hex Keys, User Manual, & EVH® Striped Series Gig Bag, Truss Rod Wrench, 2.5 mm Hex