My ol' pre-production 1980/1081 Charvel VH Striped...

[LouieAtienza]

[The Growler]

So what kind of amp do those deer play it through?

Pre-production? How did you (or the deer) wind up with it?

[LouieAtienza]

Originally Posted by The Growler

So what kind of amp do those deer play it through?

Pre-production? How did you (or the deer) wind up with it?

Those humBUCKers can drive any amp! In Charvel world we classify pre-production as the limited run of pre-serialized Charvels; before they geared up with tooling to crank them out. I spent a lot of doe on it!

Currently in the custodianship of a good friend...

[The Growler]

It sounds like a nice addition to your herd.

[Dru Edwards]

Sweet. I take it you just bought it?

[LouieAtienza]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Sweet. I take it you just bought it?

Maybe 11 years ago.... just brought up as an oldie but goodie... Doesn't get much purer th@then 1 hum, v-trem, 1 volume knob....

[BTF]

NICE!

I LOVE the Charvels and Kramers with the Strat or Scoop headstock. I don't care for the later banana headstocks, though. I swear Eddie's Frankenstrat sounded ballsier with the scoop than the banana:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOmHNsthoeo

[LouieAtienza]

Ah, the "BEAK!" I have one left, a Pacer Special, 1 EMG 80, kill switch (probably added to save the battery,) Floyd, and the craziest airbrush work ever... I think, sort of H.R. Geiger inspired. Never could find out anything about the artist. I have two banana head Barettas, an '84, and an '85, but both need neck work (unfortunate slipping scarf joints.) I reboarded one and it has stabilized some. I had a Kramer Voyager with a Strat headstock(!) and a rare Condor (kind of like a pointy Explorer.) Had a minty Stagemaster arch-top. Man I wish I could have kept them all!

[redir]

That's awesome. I'd love to have that guitar. Do you have the tight spandex pants to boot?

[LouieAtienza]

Originally Posted by redir

That's awesome. I'd love to have that guitar. Do you have the tight spandex pants to boot?

No I wouldn't subject myself to the humiliation! It is a beast to play, the unpotted pickup squeals like a pig, the early Charvel necks were pretty beefy, and the heavy Northern ash and brass parts gave this thing some weight. Sounds great, but it's a bit like hog tying I suppose.

On another note, this is one of two that I know of personally that are (or were) yellow with black stripes. Most were black with yellow stripes, and no two were alike. The story is that Grover Jackson made a hundred or so of these, until EVH wrote them a cease-and-desist letter, apparently because Grover marketed them as the VH guitar without consent. I don't know what Eddie's relationship was with Grover but they did make him the VH logo guitar as well as a serialized bumblebee... and Michael Anthony also had a custom Charvel as well.