The EVHII Holy Grail

[Metalcop]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

Thanks to Kevin for posting the pics of my early Floyd. That is what an early Floyd Rose with fine tuners looks like! Now this one is super rare! Have any of you guys seen one like this? It has different saddles, the big block, non-removable bar, and super beefy fine tuners. These extreme close ups show that this one was definitely made by hand, most likely by Floyd himself, in the garage. Very cool. It is going on my San Dimas Charvel restoration project.

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

That one has the brushed chrome look and saddles like mine. However, my string blocks and saddle hold-down screws are silver. The bar on mine is the standard screw-in removeable.

[Metalcop]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

I agree with you, Greg, our Floyds are pretty close together in age. I think mine pre-dates yours, slightly, just because of the non-removable bar. Weird that yours has the chrome blocks and intonation screws? Mine may have some changed/updated parts, I'm not sure.

[~K~]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

[Hossman]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

Introducing the first fine tune Floyd Rose!!!!

[Black Mariah]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

Just remember that you can't EVER say that an item is/isn't something until you have hard proof. Just because that one trem doesn't look like anything made by Floyd Rose does not mean it isn't. There are a ton of weirdass prototype things floating around out there, and anything is possible.

Oddly, this might be the best thread on the forum right now.

[Shawn Lutz]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

that is true b.m but I can say that the gold trem on the B&Y isn't a Floyd prototype because I personally bought the exact one in chrome that came in a All Parts packaging.

[sully]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

i too have to agree that this was a great, yet confusing thread.... ahhh, i love you screw-counting freaks!

sully

[Black Mariah]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

Shawn Lutz: Really? Well, screw me then. /me goes off to smack himself in the head with a tack hammer.

[Hossman]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

I have been in contact with a technician who worked for VH in the late 70's early 80's.
He has read the posts on the board concerning the VHII guitar and thought everybody would be interested in the following information regarding the guitar and the timeline of events. These are his memories and views.

1977
He is playing the black strat. I have several pictures of him with this guitar. It has been verified that the Boogie's Body was all black before getting its white stripes. Sometime in early 77 it gets painted.

1978
Tours with the black and white guitar. I would call it a Charvel but I do not think that is accurate.

1978-1979
Ed gets the Black and Yellow VHII guitar. It comes with a Charvel bridge and a 21-fret neck with a black headstock. Around this time Ed also paints the black and white guitar with the red paint becoming the Frankie and puts the mid and neck pickups back in (un wired). At this time the Frankie still has the Fender Bridge, a small pick guard (just enough to hold the pot) and a badly worn CBS head neck.I have pictures of this exact set up with dates.Ed dose not like the way the Black and Yellow guitar sounds. He removes the neck from the Black and Yellow and puts it on the Frankie and starts the VHII tour. I have pictures and dates of this also. So far we have not seen the Black and yellow LIVE except for promotional use when it came from Charvel. I cannot find one picture or source that can confirm that Ed ever played the Black and Yellow in public when it had the Charvel Bridge and the black headstock.

1979
Somewhere in early 79 Ed hooks up with Floyd. Floyd gives Ed a black prototype bridge. Since the Frankie was Ed's main AX he elected to put the Floyd on the Black and Yellow along with a new 21 fret natural headstock neck making the VHII guitar the first to have a Floyd. I have backstage pictures showing the Frankie with the Fender bridge and the black head stock neck (with tape over the Charvel Logo) next to the VHII with the Floyd. This pretty much supports my timeline and puts aside the Frankie had the Floyd first.

1979 Tour
Ed cuts his finger after re stringing the Yellow and Black before a show. He leaves a bloodstain on the neck at the 10th fret.

1980
Ed dose not like the Black and yellow any more. He takes the neck and the Floyd off of it and puts it on the Frankie. This is verified as pictures from the 1980 tour that show the Frankie with the Floyd, the neck still sporting the blood stain at the 10th fret (supporting the theory that the neck came off the Black and Yellow) the center pickup removed and still sporting the micro sized pick guard. That is the last time we saw the Yellow and Black.
1981-82 Still using the Frankie but it now has a larger pick guard. It sports a non-fine tuner Floyd up until 1983. Sometime in 83 Ed gets a new Floyd. The VH II guitar is relegated to the closet where sometime years later it gets a new neck, a gold Floyd

Now the black and yellow story.
Like I said. I was on the road with VH from late 78 - 81. I was around Ed's stuff all day long. I cannot say how many VHII guitars Ed owned but I can say this. I only ever saw one. The guitar in all the live shots is the only VHII that I ever saw Ed with and I was around the equipment on a daily basis. I saw the guitar in its original configuration (Charvel bridge etc) only on one occasion and that was at a photo shoot in Burbank. The next time I saw it was when we were loading it on a truck. It had a new non-logo neck and a black plated prototype Floyd bridge. I have many pictures of Ed with this guitar clearly showing the black Floyd. This is the only configuration I ever remember Ed playing except that I do remember him changing pickups a few times. He did have another Floyd in the stage box which was nickel or chrome plated that I believe had a different weight block. It was the same as the black one and I believe that it was on the guitar from time to time. This plated Floyd was the first one to be installed on the Frankie when Ed went back to it. Not a well-known fact but the VHII guitar is actually broken at the neck pocket. Despite the fact that Ed is quoted as saying that he never really liked the tone of the guitar, this is the main reason that it was retired. I was not privy to the story surrounding the creation of the VHII. If you ask Ed he will tell you that other than routing the body and the paint that Charvel had little to do with the guitar and that it was his creation. Charvel obviously used Ed as a marketing tool figuring that they could make a few guitars painted like Ed's and sell them. This is where the Pre Pro came in. They were all striped differently and sold by Charvel. I have a sales flyer for the VHII guitar. Now since Ed is not endorsed by Charvel, it hits the fan. Charvel makes a few of the guitars and the rest is history. So I guess you could call the VH II the Holy Grail but I think for the wrong reasons. Charvel did not make a bunch of guitars for Ed. The guitar at the Hollywood Guitar center was one of them. Ed never owned or played that guitar. I was told by Chris Workman who was a sound engineer for VH that the guitar in the home video was another Charvel but that it did not belong to Ed it belonged to Alex and was a gift. Last but not least. I was a volunteer when Ed built the 5150 studio and moved almost all of his junk to the upstairs room. The VHII guitar was in a box without a neck or bridge on it and covered with dust. This was 84 I think. Again I never remember seeing another black and yellow guitar anywhere at Ed's place.

Please everybody Keep in mind that these events happened more than 20 years ago and I tried to be as accurate as possible. These are facts as I remember them and how I saw them. I am sure some will contest what I have said and so be it. The funny thing is that I have talked to Floyd on one or two occasions 10 or so years ago and his story has changed each time as well as Wayne's and Grover's.
I don't think anyone remembers exactly what happened or when. The problems with debates on chat boards is that 98% of the topic matter is nothing more that hearsay handed down from one guy to the next. Everyone has a cousin whose sisters friend knows Eddie. Everyone is on a first name basis with Floyd and Wayne& Mike Charvel and Grover etc. How come there are so many different stories? The Van Halen timeline is pretty easy to replicate as the band was heavily photographed and publicized. There are literally thousands of pictures to tell the story so I find it hard to believe the discrepancies. I have a lot of VH things including piles of pictures. To clear up a few more things. There was a post buy a guy that said that Eddie had the first Floyd and Neal from Journey had the second or third. Not true. Floyd made many units before Ed had one. I can't even imagine how many different proto's he made. Also the statement that all the Prototypes/first generation Floyds that were US had no markings and the Japanese units had the name is not true. I have a picture of Ed holding the Frankenstrat the day that he put the Floyd on it and it has Floyd Rose stamped on it. I seriously doubt that Ed had a Japanese unit. But then again, this is only what I believe to be true.
Remember that these events and stories are how I saw and interpreted them. They may not be 100% as far as exact dates or 100% as far as accuracy. Like when I said that I only ever saw 1 VHII guitar in Ed's possession. Doesn't mean that he did not have 4 in the living room. Just means that is all I saw. Same with the Floyds. I only saw 2. Doesn't mean he did not have 20 at home.

[Hossman]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

My 0.02 cents [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
I think EVH is disregarded too much.

Look at what he did to revolutionize the strat and playing it.

single hum single volume idea
dive bomb wild wammy effects harmonics effects tapping etc.
first to introduce the floyd.
first to have a strat with explorer headstock.
first to have is own signature graphic ID.
first to have a super wide flat large fret fast neck.
first to dip pickups for less feedback.

I think I had read his interview at the same time where he was unhappy with the copying. But I would think anyone using the guitar onstage like Rick James guitarist was to compliment EVH in the same way someone would use a Les Paul as a compliment to Les or Wyld page or Slash. More of an appreciation. Now on the other hand since EVH was pissed a Jackson is a different story. But the public didnt know this and thought there was permision and they were being edorsed. I think if Jacksons ethics were correct and he had a legit agreement with EVH there would be a dime a dozen EVH. So I do not think The EVHII being dubbed the HG is for the wrong reasons. I think it is the HG because it is associated to EVH and EVH loved the guitar but it wasnt the sound that bothered him it was the copying and psycho effect that he could not stand the fact that Jackson was exploiting his inventions and ripping him off at the same time. Jackson clearly was after the marketing of anything EVH did. Just look at the strat with exp. head, It is so obvious even after being sued that Jackson was still after EVHs ideas. If it was the sound that bothered EVH he would have retired the guitar much sooner and continue to use the first one which he did up until the late 80s. Just my views [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[sully]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

great job hoss! i think that does clear up a few things... however, i'm still sayin jimi was the first to go nuts wth whammy barring...but that's really neither here nor there. kinda sounds like the b&y was really disliked, tho....

very interesting, and by far one of the best threads goin.

sully

[yogadork]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

yeah Hoss and Dan Armstrong was potting pickups for NYC musicians since the mid sixties and it could be argued that Eric Claptons SG was the first signiature graphic. I can tell you that I ruined a perfectly good 57 Les Paul goldtop in the late 60's by emulating it (with my own design of course [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] )But when all is said and done EVH is a bona fide guitar genius and how he took all these elements and carved out his own genre of music is astonishing. I must say that the only thing that bugged me about EVH was a certain lack of humility that seemed to limit the depth of what he was certainly capable of creating. Things like giving credit to Clapton instead of Hendricks always seemed hollow and self serving IMHO

[sully]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

too true chris.... i have to say that one of the many things that turned me off to evh was how he'd whine so much about how everyone tried to play like him...well, now no one does, and i bet he misses goin to a club and hearing someone tap.

i dunno, i could be wrong, and he may be the greatest humanitarian ever, but i gotta say he really comes off as a bitter little man... especially in recent years.

sully

[skidd]

Re: The EVHII Holy Grail

I think everyone on this board was influenced one way or the other by EVH. I really think the whole hot rod strat deal belongs to him (as a starting point)I know for me he was the be all end all when I was young. I never did like that paint job, but that's just me.