Two iconic, customized Eddie Van Halen guitars hitting auction block after his death
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Two iconic guitars owned, customized and played by Eddie Van Halen are hitting the auction block after the legendary rocker’s death earlier this month.
Both instruments were hand-striped by Van Halen in the distinctive style that was part of his signature stage aesthetic dating back to the 1970s, according to Julien’s Auctions.
One of the guitars is a 2004 EVH Charvel Art Series electric guitar with a black-and-white abstract design echoing the guitar god’s 1978 Van Halen I guitar. The front is signed “Eddie Van Halen," and an inscription in Van Halen’s handwriting says “San Antonio Texas / 9-28-04.”
The guitar comes with an EVH humbucker pickup “with evidence of a cigarette burn to the front” and photos of Van Halen hand-applying the guitar’s stripes and playing the instrument on stage in San Antonio.
The second guitar was hand-built at Van Halen’s 5150 home studio with his guitar tech Matt Bruck, Julien’s said.
It features a red body with black and white stripes and a maple neck and fingerboard. The guitar was gifted to Van Halen’s close friend Bryan Cash, the owner of Cash’s Centenary Oyster House in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1991.
An inscription from Van Halen reads, “Yo Bryan, Let’s get shucked up,” and is signed “Eddie Van Halen 5150.” The guitar comes with a pick and two backstage passes, one labelled “Bertinelli Guest.”
Both instruments will go under the hammer as part of Julien’s “Icons & Idols Trilogy: Rock ‘N’ Roll” auction starting Dec. 5.
They’re expected to fetch between $40,000 and $80,000 each.
Eddie Van Halen died Oct. 6 at the age of 65 following a lengthy battle with cancer.
“As we were preparing for our annual ‘Icons & Idols: Rock and Roll’ auction lineup, we were stunned to hear the sad news of Eddie Van Halen’s passing last week,” Julien’s Auction’s president Darren Julien said in a statement.
“We are honored to include at this event two of his iconic guitars from his brilliant and blazing career as one of rock’s greatest and most gifted guitar heroes,” he said.
The upcoming “Icons & Idols” auction also will feature a Fender Stratocaster played – and smashed – by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain during the band’s 1994 In Utero Tour.
Cobain gifted by the piece of grunge history to an audience member after the band’s performance at the Palais Omnisport de Rennes in France on Feb. 16, 1994. The expected selling price is between $60,000 and $80,000.
A Swarovski crystal-studded white nylon glove Michael Jackson wore during the Jackson brothers' 1984 Victory Tour is expected to sell for between $50,000 and $60,000.
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