Frankie Striped Series NGD...almost...

**nobozos** · 12.08.20, 01:53 PM

I will be receiving my new Frankie Striped Series this week, probably tomorrow. This probably requires a little back story. Over the summer, my local guitar shop had a Frankie hanging on the wall. I took my wife in and showed it to her, jokingly saying, "Hey, this would make a great 50th birthday present" never expecting her to actually commit to spending that amount of money on a guitar for me.

Fast forward to October. Eddie passes away, and I come home from work, go to the basement, and pour myself a few glasses of Tequila while I watch some Van Halen on Youtube. My wife comes home and says, "Well, if I had it, I would have given it to you today instead of waiting until your Birthday". She then proceeded to tell me that she went in to the guitar shop to buy the Frankie that was there (this was in about late August/early September), and it had just sold. At that time, she ordered one for me.

I went to the local guitar shop and let the owners know (I know them very well), that I had been told about the gift, and they didn't have to play dumb anymore. They said they had been told the guitar had a target shipping date of November. I was really hoping that it would arrive before my birthday in mid November, but no such luck. They said a lot of people were (as expected) coming in and wanting Striped stuff after the news of Eddie passing. One guy ordered a Frankie, and his estimated ship date is FEBRUARY!

Anyway, the shop just called and let me know it had shipped and should be here by the 10th. They immediately sold out of everything Striped they had within two days of Eddie passing. Pretty crazy.

**AFU** · 12.09.20, 07:03 AM

I ordered mine in May. It arrived early Oct. also my EVH Signature Wolf was supposed to take 3-5 months. Took 9!

**KS 5150** · 12.09.20, 01:08 PM

I have one on preorder right now. The preorder was made in the summer but the shop still had two unclaimed Franks, so I confirmed mine last week and paid a deposit. They aren't sure when it will arrive as EVH stock is trickling in, but there is a chance it may arrive before Xmas.

**nobozos** · 12.09.20, 02:03 PM

KS, Hope you have good luck getting it before Christmas. Was hoping to hear something today, but no news yet. It shipped on the 4th, so it shouldn't be too much longer. Who knows, with COVID, everyone ordering everything online, combined with online Christmas shopping, I'm sure shipping is pretty jammed up.

**KS 5150** · 12.09.20, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by nobozos

KS, Hope you have good luck getting it before Christmas. Was hoping to hear something today, but no news yet. It shipped on the 4th, so it shouldn't be too much longer. Who knows, with COVID, everyone ordering everything online, combined with online Christmas shopping, I'm sure shipping is pretty jammed up.

Yeah, totally. The guys at the shop said they aren't sure of a date. They had another one from this run they weren't expecting until late Dec-Jan, and it showed up about 3 weeks ago out of the blue. Fingers crossed that yours arrives right away! I'll be happy whenever mine shows up

**evhintexas** · 12.09.20, 04:03 PM

I ordered two from different places in mid November. Estimated shipping is March or April for both....

**nobozos** · 12.10.20, 02:04 PM

Shit! I didn't know my "NGD" would stand for "No Guitar Day". Still waiting... I know it shipped and should be here this week, but to quote a Tom Petty lyric, The waiting is the hardest part.

**turnbuckle** · 12.10.20, 05:46 PM

Originally Posted by nobozos

Shit! I didn't know my "NGD" would stand for "No Guitar Day". Still waiting... I know it shipped and should be here this week, but to quote a Tom Petty lyric, The waiting is the hardest part.

Oh come man, you're killing us!....

But not really

(I was gonna post a Patience meme, but I'm lazy

)

**nobozos** · 12.14.20, 07:56 AM

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Good News! I got the call on Saturday that my guitar had arrived. We went to the shop and picked it up. I will give you my impressions of the guitar:

First, and I know I'm not the only one to mention this, but I think at this price point, a case should be included. I purchased the case and it's no big deal, but it just seems kind of silly to have to pull this guitar out of a cardboard shipping box wrapped in a white foam blanket. Anyway, about the guitar:

My experiences in the past receiving an EVH guitar have been that it comes out of the case set-up, and pretty much in tune. Not the case with this guitar. All the bridge saddles were in a line with one another, so not intonation adjustment from the factory. In the grand scheme of things, not really a big deal, as most guitars require set-up when you receive them, but it is different from previous EVH guitar experiences. Once again, at this price point, I would have expected that little bit of extra attention.

The neck was adjusted fairly well, and only needed an eighth of a turn to set where I wanted it. Action did not require adjustment, and the Floyd was resting parallel on the body perfectly. The frets were dressed and polished to a nice slippery finish. The one thing I worried about from seeing other examples of this guitar was the aging on the neck. I've seen some where the headstock is much lighter than the fretboard, or where they got the neck very excessively dark. Not the case on mine. It came out beautifully aged and evenly matched.

The relic job on the body was very nice as well. It's not as accurate as the $25k guitar, but considering the effort it takes to match everything up perfectly, I think they did a great job. After all, I don't consider this to be a replica as much as a tribute guitar.

The guitar sounds terrific. I know they are using a Wolfgang pickup in this guitar, but it doesn't sound like other Wolfgang pickups I've heard. Not sure why, but it sounds like it has a midrange hump in it that isn't there on Wolfgang guitars. Maybe it's just my ears playing tricks on me, but I think it sounds different. There is a noticeable drop off in the treble when you roll the volume back from 10 to 7. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but something to be prepared for.

The only thing I can really find to complain about is the Floyd Rose. I don't know what they changed or if they are producing them in a different factory, but it is different than the other EVH branded Floyds I've played. Right off the bat, first thing I noticed was that the bottom high E string corner of the nut seems like it's very sharp on your index finger. I don't ever remember another feeling that sharp when you brush your finger against it playing a D chord. The next thing I noticed is that the fine tuning screws feel very rough to adjust. It's like the threads were cut and they have a bunch of burs on the threads is the best way I can describe it. The same with the threads on the Trem arm collar. It's very rough to get threaded on. Once you get it set up and playing, the operation of the trem seems good, but IMO, it just does not seem like it is the quality of the units I've played in the past. I may ultimately end up having to change out this Floyd system with an OFR, if for no other reason than the nut.

All in all, it's a great guitar. As a player, except for the nut, it is comfortable to play and sounds terrific. As a piece of wall art, it's pretty hard to beat as well. I'm very very happy. Don't get me wrong about the criticisms. I LOVE this guitar, but I'm not going to come on here and tell everyone a sunny story about how perfect it is just because I own one.

**Brett** · 12.14.20, 09:10 AM

Appreciate all the great feedback man. Glad you were able to finally get it and enjoy it. Glad to see your neck isn’t like some that I’ve seen were basically black. Yours actually looks good. I have had some issues with the fine tuners like you mentioned on the Floyd Special bridges I have but not on an OFR or even an FRT. See that would piss me off for that money to have anything wrong with a bridge like that. That is not a cheap guitar.

I still think if I were to go the route of having a Frank I would just build it myself. The thing for me is I’m just not the biggest fan of the Frank, I don’t like the look of it as much as the 5150. I’ve just never had a hankering to have one. I know blasphemy!!

All the best man have fun with it!

**nobozos** · 12.14.20, 09:41 AM

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**nobozos** · 12.14.20, 09:46 AM

Originally Posted by Brett

I have had some issues with the fine tuners like you mentioned on the Floyd Special bridges I have but not on an OFR or even an FRT. See that would piss me off for that money to have anything wrong with a bridge like that. That is not a cheap guitar.

You know, it seems like all the components are of decent quality, it just seems like they missed a finishing step with the hardware. It is frustrating, but I think if I were to run the fine tuners in and out with some oil a dozen or so times, that problem would be fixed. The thing that I find hard to live with is that nut. You're right though, that Floyd should be smooth as glass when you get it for a guitar that costs that much.

**Brett** · 12.14.20, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by nobozos

You know, it seems like all the components are of decent quality, it just seems like they missed a finishing step with the hardware. It is frustrating, but I think if I were to run the fine tuners in and out with some oil a dozen or so times, that problem would be fixed. The thing that I find hard to live with is that nut. You're right though, that Floyd should be smooth as glass when you get it for a guitar that costs that much.

It should absolutely be as smooth as glass. I just went to my office and turned the fine tuners on my basically brand new $900 Charvels and they are very smooth, and those are the FRT bridges. What you are experiencing sucks. I guess yeah you could try some oil and keep turning them and hopefully they’ll get better but that sucks that you even have to do that. I know it’s not the end of the world, and obviously it’s just a minor detail, but I think it’s lame that you even have to do something like that frankly on ANY guitar.

**MF5150** · 12.15.20, 02:45 PM

So disappointing to hear that the guitar doesn’t come intonated or even with a case as I always viewed this guitar as one hell of a feat.

The extensive relicing work for an IMPORT guitar is remarkable. Compared to the homemade Frankie’s that are typically painstakingly detailed, this guitar is not that far off. It’s a hell of a product offering, putting the Franky in so many more players’ hands.

But those omissions and oversights are unacceptable for a guitar at that price point. The guitar should be in a hard shell case and setup.

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