In 1978 Van Halen's self-titled album debuted a new sound that reached No. 19 on the Billboard 200, featuring the unprecedented expressiveness of Eddie Van Halen's guitar playing on tracks such as "Eruption." Now 40 years later, EVH Gear is distributing 78 reproductions of the black-and-white beauty that Eddie Van Halen created himself.
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Trigger warning: If you suffer from chronic guitar lust or need more space for your collection's "guitar farm," the following information could send you over the edge. Details of the Eruption model's construction on EVH Gear's site begin, "After first starting out with his '58 Fender Strat, Eddie decided he wanted a heavier piece of wood." The description concludes, "Although it didn't take long to build and although the whole shebang cost him less than $150, this guitar would change the world."
"Of all the guitars I've ever built, the white and black guitar will always be my favorite because it did all the things I needed a guitar to do, which prior to that guitar did not exist," Van Halen said in a statement. "So much changed because of it. I recorded the first album with it and did the first world tour with it. The '78 Eruption tribute is as close to my original in sound and feel as humanly possible. I'm incredibly proud of it."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Eruption?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Eruption</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/eddievanhalen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@eddievanhalen</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/evgear?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#evgear</a> <a href="https://t.co/Q9cqRCiwsu">https://t.co/Q9cqRCiwsu</a> <a href="https://t.co/J7jE41yyQ8">pic.twitter.com/J7jE41yyQ8</a></p>— EVH Gear (@evhgear) <a href="https://twitter.com/evhgear/status/1012341641280094208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2018</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The '78 Eruption guitar is the entry version, including a "period-correct" G&G guitar case, autographed vinyl copy of Van Halen, certificate of authenticity as well as a photo, sticker and booklet. Forty of these will be offered for sale. Only 30 of the '78 Eruption Relic packages will be offered, including everything in the basic tier, plus the guitar's technical specifications.
The Super 78 package kicks this up a notch and only eight are for sale. The G&G case is weathered, and a "period-correct" strap, oil, strings, and picks are included, as well as an additional vinyl album. The kicker is Eddie Van Halen playing "Eruption" on the actual guitar itself, signing the Super '78 and the included video clip of said activities on a thumb drive with the purchase.
We can cherish Van Halen's accomplishments and look back 40 years without necessarily needing to own one of these reproductions. But for those who want to get in line for the 78 '78 Eruptions can do so via EVH Gear's website. And if you can't get your hands on one — just don't turn green.
