Brad737

I met Eddie Van Halen in 1998. It was very brief, but I told him how much I loved his music, and how he made me pick up the guitar. He was SUPER nice to me, and gave me a big hug when I told him that. I got to ask a couple more quick questions, stuff about amps and tubes. He wasn’t just playing dumb. He clearly had NO idea of which tubes sounded best in the somewhat new 5150s, where to get good EL-34s, etc. It was sad, to be honest. This was a few years before he hit rock bottom. (You probably remember the NAMM photos of him dressed like a hobo, and drunk out of his mind.). But my impression of him was a sweet, insecure guy who was being absolutely consumed by the music industry. (Keep him drunk and happy! Every 4 years, plug him into an amp and hit Record!). The whole point of this post is when we parted ways, he put his arm around my neck again, and shook my hand. I was shocked. Ed’s hands were HUGE. His right hand swallowed mine. I’ve since read that he could play from the 1st to 7th fret without moving his hand. Likewise, he could stretch from the 5th to 12th frets, or from the14th to the end of the fretboard.

I’ve been working on fixing some of the issues with this Strat. Honestly, it’s a cool guitar, but it’s obvious the prior owner was pretty much a novice when it comes to working on guitars. The headstock had a really poor paint job upon close inspection…lots of overspray, poor masking, etc. And I already mentioned the crooked decal. At some point, I’m going to replace the neck with a proper CBS headstock. But I’m going to just slap another logo on it for the time being. The body had some issues as well. The pickguard didn’t fit around the Floyd, so I had to trim it to allow full trem travel. Also, the previous owner cut the pickguard funny around the bass side of the trem. The intonation was really far off, but now it plays in tune, and I can dive bomb with the best of them. Of course, I had to replace the knobs with correct SG “reflectors”. Electronically, the guitar was a mess. The first thing I did was apply copper shielding to the cavities. Next, I replaced the gnarly single-coils with two Dimarzio FS-1s, the middle being RW/RP. I had to completely rewire it. The previous owner used a 2-pickup switch, instead of the correct 3-pickup selector. I was getting the Neck & Middle pickups on two of the positions. Now, I have Neck, Neck/Middle, and Bridge positions. I added two 500k pots, as the previous owner reused the stock 250k pots. I added a 470k resistor so the single coils see 250k, but the L500L sees 500k. It now sounds great in all 3 positions, and the Volume and Tone work well. All in all, it’s not a very accurate replica, more of a tribute really. But now, it plays and sounds great. This is my favorite of Al’s guitars, and it was a fun project. I’ll probably play it like this for a little while before tackling the neck replacement.

Thanks for the input! Im going to swap in a set of 500k pots. I ordered some carbon film resistors. I think it’s a good idea to only use one resistor on the neck pickup. I’m using two Dimarzio FS-1s for the single coils. The middle pickup is RW/RP. My guitar currently has a double-cream L500L, but I’m thinking of replacing it with a black one. Honestly, I think the black one will look better, even though cream is “correct”. Thanks, Brad

I’m sort of in a quandary with this guitar. I know that Lerxst replaced the covered Gibson humbucker with a double-cream Bill Lawrence L500L. And the previous owner dutifully fitted the correct bridge pickup. But I’m going to be brutally honest and admit I think the guitar looks funny with the double-cream. I’ve already purchased a double-black L500L with the chrome surround, which I think would look a whole lot better. Would you guys go with the “correct” double-cream, or go with what you think would look best? Here’s a quick representation of a black pickup in the bridge…

Hello, all. I’ve been collecting parts for a Red Strat build. I know it’s not technically a Hentor, but Alex’s Candy Apple Red Strat with the mirror pickguard is my favorite guitar from that era. In an odd coincidence, I was browsing the used gear at Guitar Center’s website, and stumbled upon a Fender Powerhouse Deluxe Stratocaster that someone had already modded. I got it for $599 plus tax and shipping. I probably overpaid somewhat, but it appears a lot of the work has already been done. On the plus side, it has an alder body, as most 70s Strats had. (I know the white Hentor is ash.). And this has a rosewood fretboard, as the original has. This guitar was built before Fender switched to Pau Ferro fretboards. The guitar survived a terrible packing job, and managed to arrive safely. I only had time to spend about 30 minutes with it so far. It plays really well, and is in pretty nice condition. There are a few issues that I definitely need to address though. First of all, I think this guitar sat around for quite awhile without being played. The frets are crusty and in desperate need of a good polish. I’m going to have to trim the pickguard a little, as the Floyd fouls on the back edge of the pickguard, preventing full dive bombs. As far as electronics, I have no idea what the singlecoils are, as I’ve yet to dig into it yet. I’ve already purchased a pair of Dimarzio FS-1s, including a RW/RP for the middle position. I’m really interested to see what’s in there, because the single-coils don’t sound very good, but the guitar is really quiet, regarding 60-cycle hum. The bridge pickup certainly looks to be an authentic l though I’m probably going to swap it for a black “Bill & Becky” L500L I purchased awhile back. I know Alex used a cream pickup in his red Strat, but I just don’t think the cream looks right. If I were a betting man, I’d wager that whoever put this guitar together used the original 250k pots, as it sounds just a little muddy to my ears. Of course, it may just be a case of incorrect pickup heights. I’m really eager to tear into this puppy and see what all is inside. The big issue for me is the neck. As I’m sure you know, Alex’s guitar has the big CBS headstock. This one has the smaller headstock and vintage Kluson-style tuners. I’d normally just leave it as is, but evidently a blind drunk applied the headstock logo. It’s completely crooked, and looks like crap! I should point out that I bought a WD neck with ebony fretboard and paddle headstock awhile back. I could have it routed for a locking nut, get the CBS headstock shaped, and have the headstock painted. But I think that would be a pricy proposition. Or, I could just try to sand the clear coat enough to replace the decal and call it good. Decisions, decisions…

I realize this topic is ancient. But I’m a bit stumped. The wiring diagram above isn’t visible, but I found this one online. Is it the same? I’ve wired up a few guitars in my day, but I’m certainly no expert. First of all, what pot values do you all use? Since I’ll probably spend 99% of my time on the bridge pickup, I’m assuming a pair of 500k pots are the way to go. Next, what value cap do you suggest for the tone pot? Lastly, using the 3-way toggle, is there a way to add a 250k resistor so the single coils only see 250k? Thanks, Brad

The black Porkflapsocaster has been in a Canadian museum for several years.

Thanks for the input, folks. I haven’t bought a bass amp yet. I’ve just been playing it at low volume through my guitar amps. I ended up buying a Crafted in Japan version of Geddy’s bass. I added a couple touches to make it seem a little cooler. I’ve been considering getting the Tom Brantley pickups, but I watched a YouTube video, and I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between stock Jazz pickups and the Brantleys.

Hello, all. I have a Voodoo Lab Analog Chorus for my pedalboard. It’s supposed to be an exact clone of the Boss CE-1 circuit, but with both Speed and Intensity knobs. It sounds great on pretty much all settings. But I was wondering if anyone could share some good settings to get some of Al’s early tones? Thanks, Brad

Hello, all. I’ve played guitar for 30+ years. I’ve never owned a bass, but my kids are about old enough to start playing, so I thought it would be a good idea to get a bass rig. I’m obviously going to get a Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, but I have absolutely no idea where to start as far as amps go. Can any of you recommend a good beginner bass amp? Thanks, Brad

I’d like to bring this thread back from the dead. My favorite version of the Hentor was the red one. Was Alex’s regular enamel or candy apple red? In googling red Hentors, I can’t tell which is the real one, and which ones are replicas. Thanks, Brad