Joe Satriani Says Eddie Van Halen Would’ve Killed Him If He’d Seen His Modified Frankenstrat

Iconic guitarist Joe Satriani recently joined The Mitch Lafon and Jeremy White Show for an interview during which he claimed that Eddie Van Halen would have probably killed him after seeing the modifications he made on his Frankenstrat.

Throughout his music career, Eddie Van Halen preferred using custom equipment. The guitarist is mainly associated with his iconic guitar, Frankenstrat, a custom guitar he created using different guitar parts. Although building Frankie didn’t cost Eddie that much, he sold its replicas under his own EVH brand for around $25.000 after it became his signature guitar.

Eddie attempted to combine the sound of a classic Gibson guitar with the tremolo bar functionality and physical attributes of a Fender Stratocaster while building the Frankenstrat. The guitar has a maple neck and fretboard, a standard six-string setup, and a Floyd Rose tremolo. Moreover, it was originally painted red with black and white stripes.

In an interview with The Mitch Lafon and Jeremy White Show, the talented guitarist Joe Satriani revealed that he himself also made a custom guitar out of a replica of Eddie’s Frankenstrat. He then jokingly said that Eddie would probably come back and kill him if he knew about his modifications.

Moreover, Satriani stated that he feels like he has to show his version of Frankenstrat whenever someone talks about Eddie Van Halen. At some point during the conversation, Jeremy White told Satriani that Eddie would be proud if he knew Satriani made his own guitar out of Frankie. As a response, the guitarist agreed and said Eddie was a tinkerer and a great inventor.

During the conversation, Joe Satriani said:

“I’ve just been playing with this thing [shows his Frankenstrat]. It’s my own mod on Frankenstein. I mean, Eddie’s going to come back and kill me, but I just added a Sustainiac, a clear pickguard, removed the stuff that doesn’t do anything, and then I added a kill switch.

I didn’t do this myself, Master Luthier Gary Brawer did it for me. So, yes, anytime someone says Eddie Van Halen, I feel compelled to show this guitar.”

He then continued:

“This is from Bananas At Large, and they were kind enough to get one of these for me. Sounds really good, fun guitar.”

Jeremy White then told him the following:

“At the end of the day, Eddie would be proud that you took it and made it your own because that’s exactly what he did.”

Satriani then stated:

“Yeah, he was a tinkerer and a great inventor, thank God.”

You can watch the full interview below.