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.

EVANS 10 ONYX 2-PLY COATED
EVANS EC2 COATED 10 INCH
EVANS 12 GENERA G2 COATED TOM HEAD
EVANS 22 GENERA G1 COATED
BOSS M2 MULTI OVERTONE
BLACKSTAR ID CORE 40 V4 COMBO
EVANS 20 EQ4 BATTER CLEAR
EVANS 13 GENERA G1 COATED TOM HEAD
EVANS 10 GENERA G1 COATED TOM HEAD
EVANS 10 GENERA G2 CLEAR TOM HEAD
ORANGE ROCKER 15 GUITAR TUBE COMBO
IBANEZ GSR205B-WNF 5 STRING ELECTRIC BASS WALNUT FLAT
BOSS KTN-110B KATANA BASS AMPLIFIER
EVANS 10 J1 ETCHED
REMO 26 EMPEROR SMOOTH WHITE
ORANGE SUPER CRUSH 100 GUITAR AMP HEAD
EVANS EC2S FROSTED 8 IN.
FENDER BASSBREAKER 007 COMBO
TASCAM DR-10X MIC-ATTACHABLE AUDIO RECORDER
ORANGE CR50BXT BASS COMBO
EVANS 12 GENERA G1 COATED TOM HEAD
EVANS 12 ONYX 2-PLY COATED
EVANS 10 GENERA G2 COATED TOM HEAD
MOOER M999 PREAMP LIVE DIGITAL MULTI PREAMP MODELER
YAMAHA PACIFICA 012BLII ELECTRIC GUITAR BLACK
EVANS EC1 COATED 12 INCH
EVANS 16 GENERA G2 COATED TOM HEAD
EVANS 18 EQ3 BATTER CLEAR BASSDRUM HEAD
EVANS 22 EQ4 BATTER CLEAR
EVANS 22 EMAD2 BATTER CLEAR
EVANS 22 EMAD BATTER CLEAR
ORANGE CS50H CUSTOM SHOP HEAD
ORANGE PPC 212V
MOOER BLACK SECRET DISTORTION MDS1
EVANS 20 EQ3 BATTER CLEAR BASSDRUM HEAD
ORANGE DUAL BABY 100 ELECTRIC GUITAR POWER AMP
EVANS 10 UNO58 1000 COATED TOM HEAD
MOOER CRUNCHER DISTORTION
EVANS EC2S FROSTED 18 IN.
EVANS 24 EQ3 RESONANT BLACK
EVANS 26 EQ3 RESONANT BLACK
MOOER BLUES MOOD DRIVE
EVANS 13 ONYX 2-PLY COATED
BOSS KATANA MINI
BOSS SD1 SUPER OVERDRIVE
BOSS BC2 COMBO DRIVE
ORANGE MICRO DARK
EVANS EC1 COATED 10 INCH
DADDARIO ACCESSORIES STRAP PWSPL200
FENDER BASSBREAKER 007 HEAD
ORANGE MICRO TERROR HEAD
TASCAM DR-44WL AUDIO RECORDER
EVANS 18 GENERA G2 COATED TOM HEAD
EVANS 22 EMAD RESONANT BLACK
SHURE SM58LCE DYNAMIC MICROPHONE
EVANS 13 GENERA G2 COATED TOM HEAD
SUPRO DELTA KING 10 TUBE COMBO AMP BLACK AND CREAM
IBANEZ GRX70QA-TBB GIO TRANSPARENT BLUE SUNBURST
MOOER GREEN MILE OVERDRIVE
EVANS 16 ONYX 2-PLY COATED
IBANEZ UV70P-BK STEVE VAI 7-STRING
K&M 16220 GUITAR WALL MOUNT WOODEN CORK
IBANEZ GSA60WNF WALNUT FLAT 