Chris Holmes Destroyer

[vanhalen5150]

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[vanhalen5150]

Photobucket sucks. Seems like the Lyle bridge is a block of brass with nickel plating. I've seen reissues but they where not made like that.

[vanhalen5150]

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[garbeaj]

Well I'll be damned...I had no idea that Lyle made actual guitars! I thought they only made parts! Cool find Shannon! It is a Japanese company so it would go to follow that the bridge is metric like the original Ibanez, Greco and Penco Destroyers and lawsuit Les Pauls and SGs...

Can you post a close up of the headstock? Just curious to see the contours more closely and the truss rod cover...

[vanhalen5150]

The headstock is smaller than the Ibanez. The pickguard and truss cover had been replaced with the tortoise stuff you see. That white pickguard is actually the original. Someone had removed the pu's and put in Ephiphones for some reason. It has the "D" shaped vintage Schallers on it as well. I think the pots are original si maybe I can get a date off of those. Im sure its an early 60's though.

[garbeaj]

The headstock is smaller than the Ibanez. The pickguard and truss cover had been replaced with the tortoise stuff you see. That white pickguard is actually the original. Someone had removed the pu's and put in Ephiphones for some reason. It has the "D" shaped vintage Schallers on it as well. I think the pots are original si maybe I can get a date off of those. Im sure its an early 60's though.

Whoa! Nice tuners...same as what I put on my Destroyer and same as those on the 1975 NAMM mahogany prototypes of the Ibanez Destroyers. I'm guessing it is the same era as the Destroyers...mid to late 70s.

I like that guitar! I would make a replica of the Holmes Destroyer with it...you've already got the correct bridge and that is one of the more difficult to come by pieces. The tuners are kick ass...stick a black pickup ring Super 70 with cover on it and you have the basics. If you go whole hog and paint it with the same color it would be cool...although it is difficult to ascertain whether it was red, orange or salmon depending on the lighting. Looks like red in the Doug Anderson "Van Halen Museum" footage of the guy playing the actual Holmes Destroyer.

[vanhalen5150]

I don't think those are original tuners. From what Ive read they only made the Lyle Explorer in the 60's. The fact any of these even still exist is amazing.

[JimiJames]

kool

hrm... so, that is the bridge I see on his Shark & not on the CH Destroyer which would be Gibraltar and not a Lyle...
(difference in studs)

On the tuners; IIRC EVH's were Starburst

[garbeaj]

kool

hrm... so, that is the bridge I see on his Shark & not on the CH Destroyer which would be Gibraltar and not a Lyle...
(difference in studs)

On the tuners; IIRC EVH's were Starburst

That's correct, though I call them "asterisk" tuners...but yeah, that's what was on Ed's original. I went for the old "D" logo Schallers on my Destroyer because they are more reliable and Ed did use them on the original Frankenstein and other guitars. And of course they were used on the 1975 NAMM prototypes. The "Star" and the "Starburst/asterisk" tuners fail quite often...or so I've been told and so I've read.

That's interesting about the "Gibraltar" bridge...never heard of them. Well spotted...are they a different company from Lyle that made guitars with harmonica style bridges or guitars with such bridges as Lyle did?

[garbeaj]

I don't think those are original tuners. From what Ive read they only made the Lyle Explorer in the 60's. The fact any of these even still exist is amazing.

I agree, those tuners were way nice to be used on a somewhat off-brand guitar...somebody must have upgraded on that particular guitar. I guess Lyle was way ahead of it's time and certainly way ahead of Ibanez to be making what would come to be known as "lawsuit" guitars a full decade before Ibanez. That's got to be an exceedingly rare guitar.

[Funky Hunky]

Looks like the bridge pickup is missing in the Destroyer too.

[JimiJames]

... let's back up a minute...

The bridge that's on CH appears to be a stock Ibanez Gibraltar as printed in their ad.


The bridge on the 2nd Destroyer is either an Ibanez stock brass or a Gibson ABR type.


Same bridge on the 1st Shark.


The bridge that's on the 2nd Shark is definitely a Lyle.


Neither had a Lyle Destroyer.


What we hear recorded is a Gibraltar, then. The huge difference is that the Gibraltar has salty nuts...

[garbeaj]

I guess the Gibraltar was stock on some Destroyers? Mine had a regular metric Ibanez bridge in chrome that looks pretty close to a regular Gibson ABR. The gold metric bridge (I don't think it is brass, just gold finished color) that was on the guitar before the Lyle bridge was certainly a gold metric Ibanez bridge. The standard Gibson ABR doesn't fit unless you dowel and re-drill and I'm pretty sure Ed didn't do that.