Number Four (of Five) Kramer Stryper guitars hand-made by Eddie Van Halen
In 1984 with James Paul DeCesare at the Kramer factory in N.J.,
Played by EVH on his 1984 Van Halen World Tour and his 5150 tour in 1986.
1984. Kramer. Stryper 5150 (Eddie Van Halen). Red & White Van Halen Stripes.

Eddie Van Halen Remembered Jared James Nichols 1986 Kramer Stryper

Offset asymmetrical double cutaway solid body. This is one of five Kramer Stryper guitars hand-made by Eddie Van Halen at the Kramer factory in N.J. and then used by him on his 1984 Van Halen World Tour and his 5150 tour in 1986. Hand-painted in red with 'criss-cross' white stripes and the remains of five black marker tape stripes on the body face. This iconic axe weighs just 7.40 lbs. One-piece solid poplar 12 1/2 inch wide, 1 3/4 inch deep body, contoured on the back and bass-side top edge. One-piece Eastern Hard Rock Maple neck with a mahogany 'skunk stripe', a nut width of just under 1 11/16 inches, a scale length of 26 inches and a very fast thin-medium profile. Straight-Back Banana-Style headstock in matching red with similar white stripes and "Kramer" in black on the wide white stripe and a black tape across the face by the 'G' tuner and a cigarette burn by the low 'e' tuner. Locking nut assembly and single-bar string retainer. Individual Schaller M6 Mini 'rotomatic' tuners with seven sided metal buttons. Maple fretboard with 22 jumbo frets and black dot position markers. Black side dot position markers. Six-bolt neck plate with "Kramer / C5150 / Made in USA." Inside the neck pocket written in black marker by Kramer assembly foreman James Paul DeCesare is "JPD / EVH #4." Single Seymour Duncan Custom Humbucker 'slanted' in the bridge position with an output of 14.12k. Single volume control with seven-sided black plastic control knob taken directly from an MXR Flanger effects pedal. The single potentiometer is fitted with an RC network to keep the tone even at all volumes and is stamped "134 822X" (Centralab May-July 1982) Last number of week obscured by solder. Combined Floyd Rose bridge and locking vibrato unit with two springs and six individually adjustable saddles. Complete with the original tremolo arm.

As would be expected this guitar has been played - and has had a professional headstock repair by Kramer (see provenance). The paintwork is worn, the fretboard filthy - the strap buttons are ‘eyelet screws’ as usual on Eddie's guitars - this guitar sings 'EVH' at you… Housed in the original Kramer three-latch, rectangular black hardshell case with black leather ends and black plush lining.

Provenance:

1. Letter from James Paul DeCesare (Foreman of Assembly at Kramer 1983-1986) on Kramer Music Products, Inc. headed paper

"Owner: James Paul DeCesare - Serial #: C5150 - Year Built: 1984 - Manufactured by: Kramer Music Products, 685 Neptune Boulevard, Neptune, NJ 07753 (Ceased operations in 1990. This guitar is one of five built for the 1984 Van Halen World Tour (One of the other four can be seen in the video for "Panama" c. 1984 and "Hot For Teacher" c. 1984). Because of mismatched plans, only two of the five went out on the World Tour; the third was given away in a promotional drawing at the June 1984 NAMM Show (National Association of Music Merchants), and the remaining two fell into the hands of myself and one other Kramer employee at that time.
This guitar features a solid Poplar wood body made at the Kramer woodworking plant in Westbrook, CT. The neck is constructed of Eastern Hard Rock maple, with a special "Banana-Style" headstock, traced from the headstock of a 1958 Gibson Explorer. This headstock does not tilt back; the non-tilt headstock is a feature found only on the original guitars built for Van Halen. Any standard production models built in later years (of which there are approximately two to three dozen) featured a banana headstock that was the "tilt-back" version. (An example of this tilt-back headstock can be seen on the Edward Van Halen Model hanging on the wall at the Hard-Rock Cafe in New York). While this a small difference in design, it does mark the difference between an authentic and a production model.
As for the finish applied to the instrument, Edward often balked at "nice" paint jobs and therefore chose simply to have lacquer sprayed on, and left that way. Not only did he not want the finished buffed to a gloss, he actually requested that the body be scuffed on the floor, scraped against sanding belts, hit with screwdrivers, etc., prior to assembly. All of the guitars were finished with a simple white lacquer from a can, and the red overlay was R&M Lacquer, 1980 Corvette Red.
The electronics are simple and to-the-point, as are in most of the guitars Edward plays today. The pickup is a Seymour Duncan Custom, wired to a single volume pot (fitted with an RC network to keep the tone even at all volumes). The bridge is Edward's favorite choice, an original Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, and the tuning pegs are Schaller M6 Minis. The knob fitted on the volume pot was taken directly from an MXR Flanger effects pedal, which Edward often used on his own home-built guitars. Upon flipping the guitar over, you will notice a 6-bolt pattern neck attachment, as requested by Edward when the guitars were being built. This was important to keep the neck firmly in place, considering the amount of movement practiced on stage by Van Halen. Most standard-production guitars feature 3 or 4 neck attachment bolts.
Signed: James Paul DeCesare, Foreman of Assembly, 1983-1986 1111 Green Grove Road, Neptune, New Jersey 07753. 201/922-8600

2. Letter from Danny Perkins, President of Backstage Distributions, dated July 4th 1998, stating how he was introduced to Eddie Van Halen and his personal guitar tech Zeke Clark, by Randy Bachman on August 20th, 1986

"During my 20 years of acquiring rock and roll memorabilia for my personal collection, many Hard Rock Cafe worldwide locations, and the Guitar Hall of Fame’s 50 million dollar collection, I have certain favorite pieces. Edward Van Halen’s Kramer Stryper has been one of the top 10 pieces I have ever had the pleasure to own and play daily since 1988.
On August 20, 1986 I met up with my old pal Randy Bachman who was opening up for the Van Halen 5150 tour. I was introduced to Edward Van Halen and his personal guitar tech Zeke Clark and shown his rig and guitars. There were several strypers some with 5150 painted on them and others without. Zeke mentioned that they were all handmade by Eddie at the Kramer factory in NJ. I asked several questions about the specs of the guitar and was shown one that had just split at the headstock the day before and was going to be returned to Kramer. I was also shown the back of the headstock of his main #1 guitar with the exact same damage, which had been repaired. Eddie had just given one of his guitars to Randy Bachman’s son in trade for a hat and later the two groups signed up as supporters for a new non-profit organization Bikers Against Drunk Drivers.
It wasnÂ’t until a couple of years later when the Kramer company had troubles that I was offered the very Kramer Stryper with the busted headstock I had seen backstage earlier, by James Paul DeCesare, Foreman of Assembly Kramer Music Products. I had a choice of several guitars that were at the plant for repairs etc., including the Hot For Teacher Kramer, but chose the road piece.
The serial number is C5150 and is one of only 5 made for the road. It cannot be confused with the promotion giveaway models (36) because of its straight headstock, 6 bolt backplate, and the pickup/bridge-mounted directly to the body. Also exclusive is the RC network fitted to the volume pod to keep the tone even at all volumes.
I acquired the stage used Peavey 5150 amplifier directly from Jay Tashjian Analog Engineer of Peavey Sept. 12, 1996. The amp had been blown by Eddie on tour and replaced by the company. It still has Eddie Van Halen’s personal levels marked directly on the amp face as well as other notes with black marker and tape. The amp can be seen in Guitar World Magazine showing his entire rig.
Together these items make a historic display of one of the world’s top 3 guitar players of all time. While on display at my office at the Montreal Hard Rock Cafe, the guitar was played by many of the world’s top guitar players and entertainers.
Danny Perkins, President, Backstage Distributions Inc.
[The amp is not included]

Condition: More detailed condition reports and additional photographs are available by request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that the lot is in very fine condition. Please message us through the online bidding platform or email Guernsey's at auctions@guernseys.com to request a more thorough condition report.