Ed's Franky (beneath the paint)

[garbeaj]

Oh jeez. I'm more than happy with my Musikraft Asuza/Franky clone and I'm super glad that I never had to deal with Duffy.

[rdodson]

My heart just goes pitter patter when I see the 0022 AZUSA. I wish the owner of that guitar would loan it out to Musikraft or Kne for an accurate replication. James Duffy did a pretty good replica and I sent him $260 for a copy, ha ha, never got the body, big surprise! Anyway the 0022 is pretty much exactly like the Franky, just check out the upper horn and the forearm roll over. I remember when that guitar went up for auction, I bid $780 and still did not get it. I would have bid $1,500 if I knew how crazy the other bidders were. Please, if you are out there, for the love of the VH community, let someone clone that body!!
I can understand that it would be tempting, but I would have never routed that body much less fit it with a Floyd, seeing this nearly brought tears to my eyes. Still, he did a good job of it I guess.

Well that guy owns the real "US Festival/Jump" Beak neck, which is attached now to #22, and is supposedly the most accurate Frank replica in the world.

Jimi would know.

[garbeaj]

My heart just goes pitter patter when I see the 0022 AZUSA. I wish the owner of that guitar would loan it out to Musikraft or Kne for an accurate replication. James Duffy did a pretty good replica and I sent him $260 for a copy, ha ha, never got the body, big surprise! Anyway the 0022 is pretty much exactly like the Franky, just check out the upper horn and the forearm roll over. I remember when that guitar went up for auction, I bid $780 and still did not get it. I would have bid $1,500 if I knew how crazy the other bidders were. Please, if you are out there, for the love of the VH community, let someone clone that body!!
I can understand that it would be tempting, but I would have never routed that body much less fit it with a Floyd, seeing this nearly brought tears to my eyes. Still, he did a good job of it I guess.

Well that guy owns the real "US Festival/Jump" Beak neck, which is attached now to #22, and is supposedly the most accurate Frank replica in the world.

Jimi would know.

Yeah, I'm completely with you and Phil, this would be a body that needs to be digitally mapped and preserved for posterity for sure.

[Strat78]

I wish Ed had never touched the Black and White, furthermore it would have been better if the guitar had been stollen on the first tour and miraculously returned to Ed in 2015. I know it is kind of narrow minded, but I could care less about any of the guitars that came after the original 77/78 guitar. The B/W was a heedlessly cobbled together stroke of genius. Seing the #22 with the duck neck and the Floyd just rips my heart out.

[garbeaj]

I wish Ed had never touched the Black and White, furthermore it would have been better if the guitar had been stollen on the first tour and miraculously returned to Ed in 2015. I know it is kind of narrow minded, but I could care less about any of the guitars that came after the original 77/78 guitar. The B/W was a heedlessly cobbled together stroke of genius. Seing the #22 with the duck neck and the Floyd just rips my heart out.

I know!!!

[Tone Slinger]

I wish Ed had never touched the Black and White, furthermore it would have been better if the guitar had been stollen on the first tour and miraculously returned to Ed in 2015. I know it is kind of narrow minded, but I could care less about any of the guitars that came after the original 77/78 guitar. The B/W was a heedlessly cobbled together stroke of genius. Seing the #22 with the duck neck and the Floyd just rips my heart out.

I know!!!

I agree with you both as well

That b&w era Franky just absolutely KILLED ! Ed broke so much ground on that particular version. I do have an old '85 or '86 interview with Ed where he claims that in a way he wished he had never stopped using the Fender vibrato tail-piece, claiming that he "understood it" concerning keeping it in tune. As I'm sure Phil and Allen know, to keep a 6 screw vintage style Fender tremolo in tune requires a very specific understanding/relationship.

[garbeaj]

I wish Ed had never touched the Black and White, furthermore it would have been better if the guitar had been stollen on the first tour and miraculously returned to Ed in 2015. I know it is kind of narrow minded, but I could care less about any of the guitars that came after the original 77/78 guitar. The B/W was a heedlessly cobbled together stroke of genius. Seing the #22 with the duck neck and the Floyd just rips my heart out.

I know!!!

I agree with you both as well

That b&w era Franky just absolutely KILLED ! Ed broke so much ground on that particular version. I do have an old '85 or '86 interview with Ed where he claims that in a way he wished he had never stopped using the Fender vibrato tail-piece, claiming that he "understood it" concerning keeping it in tune. As I'm sure Phil and Allen know, to keep a 6 screw vintage style Fender tremolo in tune requires a very specific understanding/relationship.

[EJSLPlexi]

I am another that really misses the Black/white strat, he looked so badass playing that one!
sounded like a freak of nature as well
That guitar to me is the most iconic rock guitar in history. everyone else is all into the red/white/black but truth be known
i hated that POS!
it is just a crying shame to why he changed it from B/W. everyone was copying it and he hated that.
I know he loved that guitar and it probably killed him to have to change it.
I personally would have kept playing it as is even if others were copying but eddie was really into having a guitar that was one of a kind.
He probably did total WTF when he seen the red/white and black one being cloned shortly after he made it that way
I mean who would want that thing is probably what his original thought was!

[rgorke]

I know he says people were copying him but where are all these copies? Or was it just in his mind?

[jnew]

I wish Ed had never touched the Black and White, furthermore it would have been better if the guitar had been stollen on the first tour and miraculously returned to Ed in 2015. I know it is kind of narrow minded, but I could care less about any of the guitars that came after the original 77/78 guitar. The B/W was a heedlessly cobbled together stroke of genius. Seing the #22 with the duck neck and the Floyd just rips my heart out.

I know!!!

I agree with you both as well

That b&w era Franky just absolutely KILLED ! Ed broke so much ground on that particular version. I do have an old '85 or '86 interview with Ed where he claims that in a way he wished he had never stopped using the Fender vibrato tail-piece, claiming that he "understood it" concerning keeping it in tune. As I'm sure Phil and Allen know, to keep a 6 screw vintage style Fender tremolo in tune requires a very specific understanding/relationship.

Yep, that it does. Mine does a pretty good job if I tune up while while whomp'n on it some. And I always tune up to the note, Never down tune to the pitch. And after hammering on it, if you can finish out a solo where you can bend the E, B and G strings, it's in real good shape.

[garbeaj]

I know he says people were copying him but where are all these copies? Or was it just in his mind?

This was really a statement against Grover Jackson and his unauthorized "Van Halen Model" guitars like the "Entertainment Tonight" yellow and black Charvel, but I'm certain there were other companies worldwide that copied his guitars cosmetically and technically.

[rdodson]

Hondo was making striped strats pretty quick. Copies? No. But cheap strat copies with stripes? Yes.

I know he says people were copying him but where are all these copies? Or was it just in his mind?

This was really a statement against Grover Jackson and his unauthorized "Van Halen Model" guitars like the "Entertainment Tonight" yellow and black Charvel, but I'm certain there were other companies worldwide that copied his guitars cosmetically and technically.

[Bore Em at the Forum]

Hondo was making striped strats pretty quick. Copies? No. But cheap strat copies with stripes? Yes.

I know he says people were copying him but where are all these copies? Or was it just in his mind?

This was really a statement against Grover Jackson and his unauthorized "Van Halen Model" guitars like the "Entertainment Tonight" yellow and black Charvel, but I'm certain there were other companies worldwide that copied his guitars cosmetically and technically.

If I was a betting man, I'll bet Ed saw some striped guitars when VH went on that first Japan tour. Japanese guitar companies were much more notorious for getting on the copy train at record time, especially in that era. Maybe that's what drove Ed a bit nuts and sent him home looking for a red spray can.......

...cos I certainly don't recall seeing in catalogs, or even on Ebay in the last 15 years, a late 70's Strat copy with stripes. Now, when you get to 1980 with Grover....and maybe 80-82 with Hondo and Tokai, then yes -much more prevalent. But that's way after Ed slapped the red paint on.

Wondering if maybe he also might've had a guitarist in another band show up on one of the VH bills who had striped their guitar? Not necessarily a "name" player - that would certainly have set him off.

[Bore Em at the Forum]

I wish Ed had never touched the Black and White, furthermore it would have been better if the guitar had been stollen on the first tour and miraculously returned to Ed in 2015. I know it is kind of narrow minded, but I could care less about any of the guitars that came after the original 77/78 guitar. The B/W was a heedlessly cobbled together stroke of genius. Seing the #22 with the duck neck and the Floyd just rips my heart out.

You and me both. It really made no sense whatsoever to me. While I certainly wouldn't turn down owning the Jump neck, that era of the Franky was a tiny snapshot in its history (Us Fest & Jump video). Then retired. I just couldn't molest a pretty much stock Azusa body for THAT neck. I wouldn't be standing around with a guitar with a Kramer neck on it laying claim to having the "closest thing to the real Franky" in my hands. It's not even close. You'd have to have a 1977-78 Ellsworth neck on that body to even start to make that claim.

And let's face it, Ed's Azusa Franky body had its blaze of glory PRE Floyd. The Floyd wasn't added to his guitar as a tone enhancement. It made Franky more of a road-worthy utility guitar.

[Tone Slinger]

I had a 'LOTUS' brand guitar. This was '83 or so, and it was well used by the time I got it. It was basically like the BEE, but it was white with black stripes. Rear loaded, a lone hb'er and a strange looking floyd Rose copy tremolo.

By the way, Ed still has the original Ellsworth neck that was on the B&W striped era Franky. I take it that all that is wrong with it is the botched Floyd Rose nut shelf. He could have that fixed no problem. He could also take the floyd back off the Franky and put the '58 (or was it a '61 ?) Fender Tremolo back on. I'm sure he still has that too.