I really don't have an opinion on where it should go. It's his decision. Maybe he'll give it to Wolfgang, maybe it'll go to Christy's and we'll see how much it really is worth. BTW, I read a review on the Frankenstein replica. It really is an ugly guitar. Especially with all the bike reflectors all along the back of the body. If you or I came up with this monstrosity, we wouldn't be able to give it away, let alone sell it. Now, the EVH 5150 II, that's seems like a really nice amp!

If the average guy on the street tried to pawn this guitar off to the nearest music store, the only reason that I can think of that he would get any money for it is that it has the very first Floyd Rose ever made. They are highly collectible. Neal Schon has the second and Brad Gillis has the third one. Gillis has been buying them up because he doesn't like the fine tuners. He feels they get in the way. He also thinks they were made a little tougher because the steel was cast harder and they were hand made. His guitar is another monstrosity.

I finally saw the review in GW, and while a fun interesting read, unless you are very rich and a dedicated EVH fan, or an art collector, I've got a whole lot of other things I would spend 25k on. But it is a tediously constructed replica, must have taken a lot of artistry to recreate all the blemishes, fret wear, dings, and scrapes. If I did all that work I'd want 25 gs for it too!

As for the original? The smithsonian. Got to love the point made in the article that, here is a guy whose playing like nobody out there, has tone like nobody out there, and a guitar that nobody out there can just go buy or emulate. That my friends is the epitome of the genious of Eddie Van Halen. What an artist! And, I'm not even a fan! My mom would probably be able to take one look at that axe and know whose guitar that was. Iconic, and something I would rather not see wind up among the millions of high end axes in some collectors warehouse.

Sallen,

I agree. That guitar belongs in a place where people can see it. Today's popular music would probably be quite different if it weren't for VH and that ugly guitar.

I am a Van Halen fan, a little. I loved Balance. I also loved the work with Diamond Dave. I always thought that the Peavey Wolfgang was one of the most wonderful. I played one. It feels like his guitar, even. If that makes sense. It was like picking up a Joe Satriani model, or Steve Vai. It sounds odd, but they just feel like their guitars.

I really don't remember any guitars having floyds and locking nuts before VH came along. There were no wild factory paint jobs. I don't think strats even came with humbuckers back then, but I could be wrong about that. Basically you had Gibsons, Fenders, and maybe Rickenbackers, and a very few others. The thing I like about Van Halen is he's an innovator. Everything about him was different. From the way he played to the hardware he used. I've heard so many people argue that VH isn't the fastest, or best. But if you look at him from that point of view you miss the picture completely.

I remember seeing Van Halen when they opened for Sabbath back in early 79'. I didn't know much about them then. The first album had been out for about a year or so and it took a while for people to learn about these guys for some reason. Once the guitar heads found out, that first album took off like a bat outta' hell. I was way up in the nose bleeds so I couldn't see exactly what Ed was doing, but I remember hearing him do Eruption and I thought sheesh how many fingers does this guy have? I was just too far away to see exactly where his right hand was and he kept moving around but of all of the concerts I had been to prior I had NEVER heard anything like that. Suddenly in the early 80's there were VH clones and wanna' be's everywhere. I think the only one that wasn't a knock off but still utilized the same influences was Randy Rhodes. The both basically came from the same music scene.

I think that EVH is our generation of guitarist's most humble hats off, but I also think that there could be another out there, who is just as great. I don't think that anomolies are flukes. Look at what he started!!! I believe that every now and again someone comes along and breaks the mold, and changes history like EVH. And when they are here we must acknowledge them.