On the cover of Van Halen’s 1978 eponymous debut album, Eddie Van Halen thrusts his black-and-white striped Strat®-style guitar towards the camera as if he’s showing you the future. He played this guitar on his unprecedented and mind-blowing “Eruption” guitar solo, thus its nickname, and almost immediately, this monumental instrument became a timeless icon, symbolic of a paradigm shift in guitar-driven rock and roll.
Back when this trailblazing album first appeared, nobody had ever seen or heard a guitar like that because no such guitar ever existed. What was this? You couldn’t buy one.
That’s because he made it himself. The 22-year-old Eddie Van Halen had the mind of not only a great musician, but also of an innovative inventor – a constant tinkerer who was always messing with his gear. Eddie would say it was out of necessity as no off-the-shelf guitar had the features he needed to really do his job and realize his full potential. So, he took matters into his own capable hands – refretting the neck, installing a humbucking pickup which he potted in paraffin wax, as well a single master volume knob (famously labeled as “Tone”), brass nut and tailpiece from a ’58 Strat, cutting out and mounting his own homemade black and of course, coming up with iconic striped motif.
The all-new EVH® Striped Series ’78 Eruption guitar combines many of those famed mods along with modernized features and a relic treatment.
The Stratocaster®-style body sports Eddie’s famed white-and-black-striped paint job and has been paired to a quartersawn maple neck with a hand-rubbed satin urethane back finish. The 12″-16″ compound radius maple fingerboard with 22 jumbo frets was designed for fast and furious playing styles with maximum comfort, while a heel-mount truss rod wheel makes for time-saving neck adjustments.
A single EVH Wolfgang® humbucking bridge pickup provides classic Eddie Van Halen guitar tone – from crystal cleans to fat and rich mids and lows, while the brass nut and six-saddle vintage Fender® Stratocaster synchronized tremolo bridge with a 43mm brass block allow for authentic EVH tone.
Other features include a skirted white Strat-style volume control knob (labeled “tone”) with 500K EVH Bourns® low friction pot and treble bleed circuit, black pickguard, chrome hardware, oversized strap buttons, EVH neck plate and larger, ’70s-style licensed Fender Strat headstock with gold EVH logo.

DADDARIO ACCESSORIES AUTO-TRIM 3+3 PWAT332L
IBANEZ GSA60WNF WALNUT FLAT
K&M 150/1 BASSOON STAND
EVANS E13ER15 E-RING 13 CLEAR WIDTH 1.5
ROLAND PSB7-230EU POWER ADAPTOR
AKG K712 PRO
KLOTZ TITANIUM PSP ANGLED 4,5M SUPREME GUITAR CABLE WITH SILENTPLUG
MEINL 17BYZANCE MEDIUM THIN CRASH
K&M 210/8 MICROPHONE STAND
MEINL 18BYZANCE MED.THIN CRASH BRILLIANT
DADDARIO ACCESSORIES AMERICAN STAGE PW-AMSM-10
EVANS 12 GENERA G1 COATED TOM HEAD
KLOTZ M1 MIC CABLE 10M XLR-XLR
M-AUDIO AIR 192X6 AUDIO INTERFACE
PROTECTION RACKET 10x9 TOM CASE
YAMAHA YTR 8345G CUSTOM Bb TRUMPET GOLD BRASS BELL
PROTECTION RACKET 9022 DRUM MAT MARKER
DADDARIO ACCESSORIES POLISH CLOTH PWPC1
PEARL RS525SC/C ROADSHOW DRUMSET JET BLACK
YAMAHA YFL 517
DADDARIO EJ12 80/20 BRONZE
MEINL TAH2AB HEADED TAMBOURINE
FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 4I4 4TH GEN USB AUDIO INTERFACE
DADDARIO ACCESSORIES RENEW STRING CLEANER
K&M BOTTLE HOLDER 160/2 BLACK
HOHNER SPECIAL-20 CLASSIC F-MAJOR
YAMAHA YHR-672N PROFESSIONAL DOUBLE FRENCH HORN NICKEL-SILVER
STAGG SCL70 CLASSICAL GUITAR WITH SPRUCE TOP NATURAL SATIN
ERNIE BALL NYLON BALL END
YAMAHA BB 234 RASPERRY RED
K&M ADJUSTABLE STUDIO NEAR-FIELD MONITOR STAND BLACK
ERNIE BALL HYBRID SLINKY 09-46
FENDER POUR OVER ENVELOPE FILTER
MEINL MDAB DARBUKA BAG
MEINL 18BYZANCE MEDIUM CRASH
KEELEY DYNATREM DYNAMIC TREMOLO
AKG PERCEPTION 170
PROTECTION RACKET 5015-10 TOM CASE
DADDARIO EJ16 PHOSPHOR BRONZE
PROTECTION RACKET 5129-10 TOM PADDED DRUM CASE GIG BAG
DADDARIO WOODWINDS RICO JAZZ ASAX 3M FILED
EVANS 10 GENERA G2 CLEAR TOM HEAD
SHURE BETA91A CONDENSER BOUNDARY MICROPHONE
K&M 16280 GUITAR WALL MOUNT WHITE
PROMARK C-RODS COOL RODS
HOHNER BLUES HARP F-MAJOR
FENDER AMERICAN VINTAGE STRAT®-TELE® SADDLE HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT SCREWS (12)
MOOER ENSEMBLE KING CHORUS PEDAL
THOMASTIK-INFELD VIOLIN STRINGS 135 DOMINANT 1/2 MEDIUM
GEWA CONTACT MICROPHONE CM-1
MOOER RAGE MACHINE METAL DISTORTION PEDAL
ROLAND JC-22 JAZZ CHORUS
YAMAHA DTX 402K ELECTRONIC DRUM KIT
IK MULTIMEDIA IRIG 2
KLOTZ M1 MIC CABLE 5M MALE XLR-JACK
PROTECTION RACKET 9114 DJEMBE BAG
YAMAHA ARIUS YDP-145 DIGITAL PIANO WHITE
PEARL RS585C/C ROADSHOW DRUMSET JET BLACK
STAGG BX BASS LIMITER
VIC FIRTH AMERICAN CLASSIC HICKORY 7AN NYLON TIP
YAMAHA PACIFICA 311H VINTAGE WHITE ELECTRIC GUITAR 