EVH's Rasta Guitar

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I skipped the Gibson Director of Brand Experience part (on purpose), but here it is anyways for the completionists:

 
It’s always good to get to play a “famous “ guitar to give you an insight into the player . I’ve played 5 of Ed’s personal guitars and they are interesting by how unremarkable they are. With one notable exception. The 5150 is very lightweight and resonant with a really good acoustic tone. Playability is pretty average though with smallish frets and a medium action. The pickup was almost single coil in character because of the damage to the slug coil . Love it though. I am making a replica of it at the moment.
IMG_4229.jpeg

Halfway through the process.
 
Eagle said:
It’s always good to get to play a “famous “ guitar to give you an insight into the player . I’ve played 5 of Ed’s personal guitars and they are interesting by how unremarkable they are. With one notable exception. The 5150 is very lightweight and resonant with a really good acoustic tone. Playability is pretty average though with smallish frets and a medium action. The pickup was almost single coil in character because of the damage to the slug coil . Love it though. I am making a replica of it at the moment.
View attachment 34845
Halfway through the process.
Click to expand...

He always struck me as someone who wasn’t too precious about his gear, but more as a utilitarian tinkerer who enjoyed finding a way to get what he wanted out of what he had available.

Like more of a “rip something out of this guitar and slap it in that one so it works” than a “audition 50 pickups to find the perfect one” mentality. Just make it work.

More of a mad scientist than a neurosurgeon.

At least in the early years.
 
metropolis_4 said:
He always struck me as someone who wasn’t too precious about his gear, but more as a utilitarian tinkerer who enjoyed finding a way to get what he wanted out of what he had available.

Like more of a “rip something out of this guitar and slap it in that one so it works” than a “audition 50 pickups to find the perfect one” mentality. Just make it work.

More of a mad scientist than a neurosurgeon.

At least in the early years.
Click to expand...
From early on Ed could have anything he wanted. He was super picky and always was with a great ear . Just listen to how "in tune" the distorted minor chords are on VH1. This involved tuning the guitar to a particular chord voicing on a rhythm part . He was exactly the test 50 pickups guy but he would reject them on one strum and wasn't able to really do the mods in his head himself. By 5150 he was realising that sometimes you find a good neck or body by accident. Ed was 100% that the guitar needed to sound great acoustically first . This was the reason behind thin paint no shielding and the pickup screwed directly to the body with no adjustment. Also the JB in 5150 was damaged and he preferred it damaged. It stayed right up to the PV pickup that was designed to replicate the sound of the broken one (the MM pickups were not trying to copy the 5150 exactly and are pretty different sounding.)
 
Eagle said:
From early on Ed could have anything he wanted. He was super picky and always was with a great ear . Just listen to how "in tune" the distorted minor chords are on VH1. This involved tuning the guitar to a particular chord voicing on a rhythm part . He was exactly the test 50 pickups guy but he would reject them on one strum and wasn't able to really do the mods in his head himself. By 5150 he was realising that sometimes you find a good neck or body by accident. Ed was 100% that the guitar needed to sound great acoustically first . This was the reason behind thin paint no shielding and the pickup screwed directly to the body with no adjustment. Also the JB in 5150 was damaged and he preferred it damaged. It stayed right up to the PV pickup that was designed to replicate the sound of the broken one (the MM pickups were not trying to copy the 5150 exactly and are pretty different sounding.)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, maybe some of my view of him is off base. I always assumed, for example, that screwing the pickup directly to the body had more to do with just making it work with what he had available than with the sound.
 
Eagle said:
From early on Ed could have anything he wanted. He was super picky and always was with a great ear . Just listen to how "in tune" the distorted minor chords are on VH1. This involved tuning the guitar to a particular chord voicing on a rhythm part . He was exactly the test 50 pickups guy but he would reject them on one strum and wasn't able to really do the mods in his head himself. By 5150 he was realising that sometimes you find a good neck or body by accident. Ed was 100% that the guitar needed to sound great acoustically first . This was the reason behind thin paint no shielding and the pickup screwed directly to the body with no adjustment. Also the JB in 5150 was damaged and he preferred it damaged. It stayed right up to the PV pickup that was designed to replicate the sound of the broken one (the MM pickups were not trying to copy the 5150 exactly and are pretty different sounding.)
Click to expand...

Off topic but I always have thought the neck was the biggest influence on the acoustic sound of the guitar, not just the feel. From your experience do you find that to be the case, or have you had particular bodies that really opened up the guitar as well?
 
Jarick said:
Off topic but I always have thought the neck was the biggest influence on the acoustic sound of the guitar, not just the feel. From your experience do you find that to be the case, or have you had particular bodies that really opened up the guitar as well?
Click to expand...
Yes for the fundamental tone but the body has to resonate with the neck harmoniously or you get dead spots. It’s the “everything matters” again really.
 
Andy, how did you get to play Ed’s guitars? I mean I have an early Wolfgang but that’s not exactly the same. 😝
 
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