Eddie Van Halen’s iconic 1982 Kramer guitar is set to go under the hammer at Sotheby’s New York during the house’s first-ever ‘Grails Week’ from October 21, estimated to fetch between $2 to $3 million.
The black-and-white striped guitar, inspired by Van Halen’s famous ‘Frankenstrat’, debuted on the band’s 1982 ‘Hide Your Sheep Tour’. Van Halen himself customised the instrument at Kramer’s New Jersey factory, with photos reportedly showing him using an electric drill on it.
The guitar appeared in one of Kramer’s most famous ads, proclaiming, “It’s very simply the best guitar you can buy today,” and later featured in Van Halen’s ‘Hot for Teacher’ video. A similar instrument from that shoot sold for $3.93 million in 2023.
Van Halen gifted this guitar to long-time technician Robin ‘Rudy’ Leiren, inscribing: “Rude – It’s Been a Great Ten Years – Let’s Do Another Ten.”
Leiren sold it to Mötley Crüe’s Mick Mars, who played it on 1984’s ‘Dr. Feelgood’. The guitar comes with a letter of authenticity from Mars, describing it as “a great piece of history.”
Van Halen, who died in 2020 aged 65, helped the band release 12 albums between 1977 and 2020 and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.