A Spot-on Reproduction of Eddie Van Halen’s Bumblebee
The EVH ’79 Bumblebee is a limited-edition replica of Eddie Van Halen’s “Bumblebee” guitar. Built to mirror Bumblebee’s configuration during Van Halen’s 1979 world tour, this magnificent axe features an ash Strat-style body with iconic black and yellow stripes. Its oil-finished bird’s-eye maple neck boasts a custom carve, along with a flat, 12”-radius fingerboard. Park this electric guitar in front of the right amp, and you’ll experience true-to-the-original tone, thanks to a specially designed EVH ’79 Bumblebee humbucker. Want to dive-bomb? What Van Halen aficionado doesn’t? That’s why the ’79 Bumblebee boasts a proto-locking nut and tremolo that re-creates the early Floyd Rose design found on the original guitar. Complete with period-correct Schaller S-engraved tuning machines and eye-screw hook strap buttons, the EVH ’79 Bumblebee has been relic’d to replicate the wear and tear of life on the road. Each EVH ’79 Bumblebee has been hand-signed by Eddie Van Halen on the back of its headstock.
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The history of the ’79 Bumblebee
After Van Halen catapulted to fame in 1978, legions of guitarists began to emulate Eddie Van Halen. Players began appropriating his two-handed fingertapping technique. And many aspiring luthiers built black and white-striped Frankenstrats in their basements and garages (the iconic red paint job came later). Ever the innovator, Eddie responded by creating a black and yellow-striped variant of his famous guitar, dubbed “Bumblebee.” Built at the Charvel factory, this guitar featured a Strat-style body, maple neck, and maple fingerboard. It also boasted a modified DiMarzio humbucker and an early locking tremolo. After it was featured on Van Halen II’s back cover and played on Van Halen’s 1979 tour, Bumblebee was largely retired. In 2004, Bumblebee was placed in Darrell "Dimebag" Abbot’s Kiss Kasket after the celebrated guitarist’s untimely death, as it was Dimebag’s favorite guitar in Eddie’s collection.
Replicates the custom electronics of the original
The original Bumblebee featured a DiMarzio humbucker retrofitted with a PAF magnet. After Eddie hand-wound the modified pickup, he dipped it in paraffin wax and placed copper tape around the windings. The EVH '79 Bumblebee comes loaded with an EVH ’79 Bumblebee bridge humbucker. This pickup was voiced especially for this guitar to best replicate the sound of the original. A single volume control gives you everything you need to rein in this great-sounding pickup. The guitarists here at Sweetwater have found that you can produce a massive range of tones by manipulating this one knob. If you use the right amp, everything from mild breakup to full-throttle cacophony is easily within your reach.
Period-correct proto-locking nut and tremolo
Eddie Van Halen’s Bumblebee is widely considered to be the first guitar equipped with a locking tremolo. Although Floyd D. Rose had installed prototype locking trems on his own instruments, in 1979 he gave the first finished model to Eddie as a promotional gift. After he installed this proto-locking tremolo on Bumblebee, Eddie removed its neck and swapped it with the one from his original Frankenstrat, which had been modified to accommodate a locking nut. The EVH ’79 Bumblebee includes a replica of the proto-locking tremolo system, along with a replica of the original Frankenstrat’s unfinished maple, 12”-radius neck — the configuration that was used on Van Halen’s 1979 world tour.
EVH '79 Bumblebee Features:
- Limited-edition replica of Eddie Van Halen’s “Bumblebee” guitar
- Built to Van Halen 1979 world tour specs
- Ash Strat-style body with iconic black and yellow stripes
- Oil-finished bird’s-eye maple neck with custom carve
- Flat, 12”-radius bird’s-eye maple fingerboard
- EVH ’79 Bumblebee humbucker is a spot-on reproduction of the original
- Proto-locking nut and tremolo re-creates an early Floyd Rose design
- Period-correct Schaller S-engraved tuning machines
- Eye-screw hook strap buttons
- Relic’d to replicate the wear and tear of Van Halen’s 1979 tour
- Hand-signed by Eddie Van Halen
Lots of cool extras!
- Custom-made Anvil hardshell case
- ‘70s-era Fender Super Bullets strings
- Van Halen ‘70s tortoiseshell picks
- Exclusive collector’s Bumblebee booklet
- Young Guitar book Van Halen Live Tour in Japan 1978 & 1979
- Autographed items including a certificate of authenticity
- 8” x 10” 1979 concert photo of Eddie Van Halen
- Vinyl copy of Van Halen II
