EVH Frankenstein Relic review – a slice of pure Eddie Van Halen innovation, without the stripes

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$1,499/£1,269, evhgear.com

Whisper it, but there’s a genuine chance Edward Van Halen’s legacy as an innovative electric guitar and amp designer could well outlive his legacy as a game-changing and stratospheric player. That idea is not as outlandish as it might seem – it’s worth remembering that in his day, Les Paul was the world’s most famous and respected guitarist, who innovated in ways nobody had ever dreamed of before. But 70-odd years later, he’s much more famous for the guitar that bears his name than any of his trailblazing musical achievements alongside Mary Ford.

And as much as Eddie popularised techniques in Van Halen that were subsumed by the guitar gods that followed him, his guitar and amp tinkering changed the sound of rock guitar. Just take Eddie’s most famous creation – the Frankenstein, or FrankenStrat – that guitar alone popularised the use of a humbucker in an S-type guitar, the Floyd Rose tremolo system, and jumbo fret-wire. As with Les Paul, it almost doesn’t matter whether you’re a fan of Van Halen’s music – chances are you’ve been indirectly influenced by his legacy.

What is the difference between the Relic series and the Striped series?

There’s probably no more famous relic than Eddie’s Frankenstein, and it is EVH’s replica of that icon – the ‘Striped Series Frankenstein Frankie’ – that forms the basis of the more subdued EVH Relic series, sharing almost identical specs.

However, there are many guitarists who value individuality, and the prospect of sporting a signature guitar – whether its namesake is an influence or not – is a violation of their identity, so the most iconic signature guitar of all time – a red, white, and black striped beaten up bits-o-caster – is never going to be on their radar. This prompted the relic series, offering the same guitar but in several ‘standard’ finishes, including this sunburst relic.

What on earth is going on with the electrics and why is the neck so worn-looking?

Eddie had little in the way of finesse when it came to modifying guitars. His approach was very much function over form, which is why the Frankenstrat replicas have a crudely chiselled-out bridge pickup cavity, redundant neck pickup, and dormant pickup selector in the middle pickup cavity. Yes, you read correctly, the neck pickup here purposely does not work – which should be of little surprise given there’s no functioning pickup selector!

King Edward knew how to create a neck carve that’s for sure. I remember many years ago a friend passing me a Peavey Wolfgang – a signature model he first created with the US company back in 1996. I still have an abiding memory of how perfect that neck carve felt – slim with a comfy set of shoulders. The Relic’s neck is not too dissimilar in terms of dimensions, and the worn-in aspect – including ground-in grime – offers an enhanced level of comfortability and playability. As a fan of chunkier necks, it takes a special kind of slim neck to turn my head, and this is certainly one of them. It’s an absolute joy to play and its rounded shoulders mean your thumb isn’t grabbing mostly fresh air when reaching over the top, and the 12-16” compound radius allows me to set the action pretty darn low, with zero threat of fretting out being detected.