1983 ESP VH-160 Frankenstrat
or Navigator VH-230 (sold, following for reference only)
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. However I've also come across an ad for a Navigator VH-230 which appears to be the same model, but with Floyd Rose, appearing the same year at a whopping price increase to 230,000yen!
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.
1995 ESP Edwards 'Eruption' B&W Frankenstrat (sold, following for reference only)
It boggles the mind to think that it was only in 2022, that the EVH company released the so-called '78 Eruption Frankenstrat in several versions. However in Japan they had been making credible attempts to replicate it for decades. Here is a very rare limited release ESP-made replica of the OG, VH-1 Frankenstrat.
As mentioned there have been custom shop and production line copies from the likes of Fender/EVH and Charvel in the past. But some so-called replicas even ignored basic elements and came with 22 frets, Floyd Rose bridge, etc. Totally off! The reason for glossing over these details, is that it all comes down to cost. The original VH1 Frankenstrat (in fact, all his early guitars) was totally unique in that it was a total hack job by Eddie himself with workshop tools. For a company to refit an assembly line in order to manufacture something with any number of idiosyncratic details, no matter how small; with 21 frets instead of 22 and synchro trem instead of Floyd Rose for example, would cost much more than they would be planning to sell it for. It is not actually the cost of the parts themselves, but the cost of variation from the assembly line model.
That is why the Made-In-Mexico striped series of this guitar is cheap, but is totally inaccurate! From the same base instrument they can make 4 or 5 versions of the striped series, just put different paint on them!
However, ESP under the Edwards line, no less, accomplished a much more accurate replica way back in 1995. What does that say about ESP and the Japanese guitar-making ethos? Dedication to perfection!
Here are the details they respected to capture the spirit of the original VH-1:
1. 21 frets
2. Brass nut
3. Slanted cutting of humbucker slot on pickguard
4. One "TONE" knob
5. Extra unused control holes, one big, one small
6. Pickup cavities actually routed under the pickguard, even though it may never be seen
7. Direct mounting of pickup
8. Copy of Gibson PAF pickup like Ed put in his. Most likely an ESP LH-200 which was based on a PAF, but with replica black "Patent Applied For" sticker on it
9. Synchro trem
10. Ash wood body, flamed neck, large headstock
11. Lightly lacquered
12. Raw unfinished neck as Ed's partscaster neck would have been
Though it looks unfinished, and the wood grain can be felt, in reality it must be sealed in some way to be waterproof and stain-proof. This is the genius of ESP!
Though coming under the Edwards line (no branding, just the "Produced by ESP" logo on the back of headstock) this limited edition would not have been cheap, costing as much or more than a standard ESP production model in the day. It just would not have been appropriate to brand it as one. For comparison I saw an ad in 2004 for a no-brand (manufacturer unknown) VH-1 Frankenstrat by Ikebe Music for 281,400yen!
Kramer 5150
Somebody's homemade refinish on the classic 5150 stripes design. I thought it looked pretty cool, and it has been finished with some skill. A nice matte finish, now sports a direct-mount Seymour Duncan SH-5, single "tone" knob, and original Floyd Rose.
