VH 1979 tour & guitars

[jimi22812]

Great stuff jimi!

About that b+w pic above of Ed wearing the gaffer-tape moustache... I guess that was taken when they were rehearsing for the 79 tour? There's another pic from that set where DLR is wearing spandex. Here's a pic from that time in color:



I mean, how long did they need to rehearse? Could these pics have been taken in early Mar before the 3/25 tour opener at Fresno? That would date the franky getting painted red in Mar 79.

Honestly, Seabean, I don't know the dates, but that would seem to fit...
Aftertall, they came off the road from the '78 tour in December of that year and then supposedly hopped right back into the Sunset Studios to record VH II!

As far as the Franky going from this...

...to this...

... I guarantee you disassembling it, taping it up, painting it red and slapping it back together was probably a one or at the most, two day affair!

[plexified]

All I can say Jimi is WOW , you rock , awsome info ! The origional Snake was carved and returned with the Dano neck ? Sweet . Ed tweaked it still , the opening show clips on you tube have that thing SCREAMING , one of his best live sounds IMHO . There ya go . The man is insane !

[jimi22812]

The origional Snake was carved and returned with the Dano neck ? Sweet .

No, I'm not saying that, I'm pretty sure only the body was sent to John Sterry to be carved out and painted- not the neck.
That neck, by the way, went ended up the Star guitar...
Pre-paint and pre-Floyd...

...repainted black and Floyd in place...

Ed tweaked it still , the opening show clips on you tube have that thing SCREAMING , one of his best live sounds IMHO . There ya go . The man is insane !

I agree completely- it sounded phenomenal on 03/25/79!

[hiwatt72]

Those pictures with the b/w Charvel (notice the pinstripes are missing; they were tape) and the vest and black tape mustasche are from Holland shows on their 1st shows there, I believe. After England with Sabbath.

[jimi22812]

Those pictures with the b/w Charvel (notice the pinstripes are missing; they were tape)...

Yes, that's right, the pinstripes were tape. Here's an excellent shot of the back that clearly illustrates that fact- the pinstripes can seen over the painted lines:

...and the vest and black tape mustasche are from Holland shows on their 1st shows there, I believe. After England with Sabbath.

As for this shot being from Holland...

... I say no. There are plenty of pictures of the Franky in it's original state (black pickguard, one humbucker, pinstripes applied) after the May '78 Dutch shows so,...

[Seabean]

I agree, I have the Zlozower VanHalen book, and on the page entitled "1979" there's a picture of Ed onstage at some outdoor show, and you can see the rack of Marshall heads he kept off to the side-stage for the 79 tour (I noticed that rack when I saw them in Philly), and the Marshalls behind Ed in that B+W photo match the layout of the heads in the Zloz book photo.

[hiwatt72]

Interesting-- in the shot of the back of the guitar, he's using the spring cover. I would have thought he never used those.

[jimi22812]

Interesting-- in the shot of the back of the guitar, he's using the spring cover. I would have thought he never used those.

It was on one minute and off the next...

[plexified]

Geez , ya think he could have used larger screws to hold on the trem cover ? Oh they were tone impliments , ha ha . I still hope EVH releases a reissue strap !

[jimi22812]

I still hope EVH releases a reissue strap !

Some of his old "straps" may have loked cool, but I don't see how any of them could been even remotely comfortable or easily adjustable! I mean, he used dog chains, painted ropes, small luggage shoulder straps, handbag straps... he really was a crazy bastard!

[hiwatt72]

Looked like he had parachute or pilot safety belts (whatever they're called-restraints?) sometimes, too.

[jimi22812]

Looked like he had parachute or pilot safety belts (whatever they're called-restraints?) sometimes, too.

Believe it or not, those contraptions are WWII "Gunner's Safety Belts" used by the side machine gun operators in B-17s and B-24s!

[plexified]

Jimi ! Insane ! thats some cool stuff bro , love your documents I still think he could do a great reissue strap series and maybe introduce the bomb . Perhaps rack storage up top , effects to go to on the bottom and some wheels ! now were talking . An ATA certified container to be handled by PAN AM professionals ! Never gets lost , dropped or delivered late . EVH style . Now were pimpin !

[hiwatt72]

man, jimi, you're good!

So, maybe you can explain the squiggle design, on the black/white guitar it's above the pickguard, on nearly every striped gtr after that it was somewhere on the front side. Is it a stylized bird? some screwed-up masking he liked the look of?

[jimi22812]

So, maybe you can explain the squiggle design, on the black/white guitar it's above the pickguard, on nearly every striped gtr after that it was somewhere on the front side. Is it a stylized bird? some screwed-up masking he liked the look of?

No way I can say for sure, but more then likely it was just a piece of left over tape that was wrinkled or stretched out and he simply stuck it on his black and white Franky. When he painted it red, he obviously elaborated on the design by adding a few more.
The "squiggles" show up on many of the Kramers that were painted for him by Kramer employees, but oddly enough, they are absent on the ones painted himself like "5150" or "1984".
When Ed striped up the 2004 and 2007-08 concert played Charvel Art Series he used the "squiggles" motif on quite a few of those guitars.