Fender | Eddie Van Halen Stratocaster “Frankenstrat”

The Frankenstrat, also known as the “Frankenstein”, is a guitar created by Eddie Van Halen. Its name is a portmanteau of Frankenstein, the fictional doctor who combined body parts to create a monster, and the Fender Stratocaster, an electric guitar made by Fender. A copy of the Frankenstrat is housed in the National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

The Frankenstrat was Van Halen’s attempt to combine the sound of a classic Gibson guitar with the physical attributes of a Fender. It was made from a Northern Ash Stratocaster body, with pickup routing which he modified to fit a Gibson PAF humbucking bridge pickup. The guitar has a maple neck and fretboard, chrome hardware, and was painted with a black and white striped design until arriving at its final combination of red background with black and white stripes. It has six-strings and a Floyd Rose tremolo.