How Come...... (Van Halen Content)

[la szum]

.... everyone started chasing Supestrat tones after Van Halen's 1st Album when many of the tracks are
reported to have been an Ibanez Shark/Destroyer?

Seriously, even to this day when you see people trying to recreate and replicate the "Brown Sound" and/or
cop the vibes and tones on the original Van Halen no one uses a Destroyer/Explorer style guitar.

How is this not obvious, and how did it come to pass??

Was it the Trem on Frankie? Was it because a Superstrat was so radically different? A Strat with an Humbucker
in the Bridge?

How come the Destroyer/Explorer body type didn't blow up in the same way as Superstrats did?

 

[Stone]

The album Cover

 

[hemmelight]

I guess it was because the superstrat was a cool new direction for guitars at that point, primarily?
All the real EVH geeks seem hip to the Destroyer being a huge part of those early albums, maybe because they bother to actually research this stuff properly.

 

[Stone]

1970s Ibanez Destroyer 2459 – The Shark​

The guitar known as “The Shark” started life as a mid-70s Ibanez Destroyer, Ibanez’s answer to the Gibson Explorer. Eddie got this guitar in 1977, right before recording sessions started for Van Halen’s debut album. The guitar was originally a natural wood finish but Eddie painted it white, before adding tape, and then spraying it red to create another striped guitar. He used a chainsaw to cut out a huge chunk of wood from the lower part of the body and the rough cut he left resembled sharks teeth, hence the name “The Shark”.


This guitar was used to record the band cover of the Kinks hit, You Really Got Me as well as all the non-tremolo tracks on the album.

 

[PLX]

 

[Stone]

Lets Look at at it from a Marketing Point, New band trying to hit the Scene, what shall we use on the Cover? that will be a easily recognizable guitar
shape ?

EVH: well i do have a striped Modded Fender Stratocaster
Marketing: Yes the Fender shape is very Recognizable
EVH: but I mostly used the Ibanez Explorer style modded by me
Marketing: too risky not many people know this shape or brand + you mauled it and it wont be recognized
DLR: Go with the Strat

 

[Eagle]

The trem on the album is a Mighty Mite brass unit.

On a fender block. It originally just had the stock Fender unit.

 

[Eagle]

1970s Ibanez Destroyer 2459 – The Shark​

The guitar known as “The Shark” started life as a mid-70s Ibanez Destroyer, Ibanez’s answer to the Gibson Explorer. Eddie got this guitar in 1977, right before recording sessions started for Van Halen’s debut album. The guitar was originally a natural wood finish but Eddie painted it white, before adding tape, and then spraying it red to create another striped guitar. He used a chainsaw to cut out a huge chunk of wood from the lower part of the body and the rough cut he left resembled sharks teeth, hence the name “The Shark”.


This guitar was used to record the band cover of the Kinks hit, You Really Got Me as well as all the non-tremolo tracks on the album.


View attachment 9783

It's silver not white. It does look white in pictures though.

 

[la szum]

The trem on the album is a Mighty Mite brass unit.
View attachment 9784
On a fender block. It originally just had the stock Fender unit.

Wow! I totally forgot about Mighty Mite. What a throwback. Are they still around?

Pretty sure I have a few of their old pickups around here somewhere.

Any thoughts on the new Frankie Relic'd Series from EVH??

 

[Eagle]

Yes they are good but not as good value as the MIM Wolfgang Special.

 

[Baba]

Didn’t Page NOT use an LP on every song, yet . . .

 

[la szum]

Didn’t Page NOT use an LP on every song, yet . . .

Haha! Precisely!

 

[la szum]

You reminded me of one of the best things on the Internet. I never tire of watching this. So. Good!