1983 ESP VH-160 Frankenstrat
ESP made replica of the "1982 Kramer ad guitar".
For EVH and also ESP aficionados, this is a real unicorn; there is no other official model of the 82 Kramer ad guitar,
and of this ESP version, I have not seen another one yet!
Unless you are quite familiar with all the early EVH axes, some explanation may help:
What is the Kramer ad guitar? Obviously it is the guitar which Ed is holding in this Kramer guitars ad, and it is a real guitar which he used on tour in US & South America in '82 & 83 on the Diver Down tour.
Youtube: 'Van Halen guitar solo buenos aires 1983' , 'Jamie's Cryin' Sao Paulo 83'
It can be identified visually in these ways:
It is a Frankenstrat, half-complete look
Painted hockey stick headstock
Unique stripe pattern
The Kramer ad guitar predates the 5150 (which wasn't a Frankenstrat) but neither guitar was made or intended for sale to the general public, they were built for/with Ed for his own use and thereby promotional & marketing purposes of other Kramer models in his endorsement deal.
ESP in the 80s was the OEM manufacturer for Kramer guitars.
This was obviously an unsanctioned copy for the domestic Japan market, but it is an actual ESP product; as proof see the 1983 guitar magazine ad for this model the ESP VH-160. In 1983, selling for 160,000yen making this quite an expensive guitar. Ed's actual Kramer ad guitar was made in in late 1982, with the 5150 appearing on the scene shortly after.
Making this 1983 ESP the very first replica VH guitar, and first 'Frankenstrat' made by a proper guitar company.
It features:
An ESP Magician bridge (the first Floyd Rose FRT-5 copy, itself being sold at a whopping 50,000yen at the time)
ESP LH-250 pickup
ESP stamped neckplate with serial number
Ridiculous attention to detail
Pretty much top of the line, and a typical ESP classic for the ages.
The ESP EVH-5150 guitar which came later, based on the 5150 guitar with the famous stripe pattern and the 5150 sticker on the body, is sometimes labelled by sellers as a "VH-250" though I haven't actually seen any proof of that. Proof is as such as what I have shown you in print, not just somebody's say-so. It is much more common and was in production in standard and relic versions throughout the 90s and 00s for the Japanese market and appears to have been actually marketed as Edwards sub-brand. They are nice, but there are literally hundreds of them, and so I doubt they are as rare or pricey as some sellers outside Japan would have you believe. As this 1999 magazine ad shows it had a street price of 120,000yen. Firmly a mass-produced mid priced model, not a premium guitar as the VH-160 more than a decade earlier.
The ESP EVH-5150 guitar which came later, based on the 5150 guitar with the famous stripe pattern and the 5150 sticker on the body, is sometimes labelled by sellers as a "VH-250" though I haven't actually seen any proof of that. Proof is as such as what I have shown you in print, not just somebody's say-so. It is much more common and was in production in standard and relic versions throughout the 90s and 00s for the Japanese market and appears to have been actually marketed as Edwards sub-brand. They are nice, but there are literally hundreds of them, and so I doubt they are as rare or pricey as some sellers outside Japan would have you believe. As this 1999 magazine ad shows it had a street price of 120,000yen. Firmly a mass-produced mid priced model, not a premium guitar as the VH-160 more than a decade earlier.
