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.

PROTECTION RACKET 3014R SNARE CASE
MEINL NINO552 TRIANGLE
MOOER TRELICOPTER OPTICAL TREMOLO
PAISTE 16 PST 5 N ROCK CRASH
DUNLOP UNI WRENCH
GRETSCH G5426 JET CLUB SILVER
EVANS 22 EQ3 BATTER COATED
MEINL HD14AB HAND DRUM AFRICAN BROWN
MEINL MCJB CAJON BAG
YAMAHA YFL-422 FLUTE
YAMAHA SYNTHETIC KEY OIL HEAVY 20ML
PAISTE 18 PST 5 N RIDE/CRASH
STUDIO49 AX 2000 ALTO XYLOPHONE
HANNABACH 500HT HARD TENSION STRINGS
DW 9500D HI-HAT STAND DWCP9500D
YAMAHA YTR 8335GS CUSTOM XENO Bb TRUMPET GOLD BRASS BELL SILVER PLATED
HOHNER BRAVO II 48 RED SILENT KEY
VIC FIRTH 5A AMERICAN CLASSIC WOOD TIP
VIC FIRTH CMN CLASSIC METAL NYLON TIP
MEINL SONIC ENERGY SOLFEGGIO CRYSTAL SINGING BOWL 8" C5/Mi/528Hz
PROTECTION RACKET BOD16 BODHRAN CASE
PROTECTION RACKET 8114 SINGLE PEDAL BAG
K&M 49122 RACK&M OUNT STORAGE
DADDARIO ACCESSORIES 50JS02 JOE SATRIANI STRAP UP IN FLAMES
HOHNER SPECIAL-20 CLASSIC G-MAJOR
YAMAHA YSL 620 Bb/F PROFESSIONAL TENOR TROMBONE GOLD LACQUER
KLOTZ M2 MIC CABLE 7.5M XLR-XLR
MEINL NINOADJ4S WOOD DJEMBE
IBANEZ GRG121DX-BKF 