# A Frankenstrat with a VERY COOL story :)



## piranha (Dec 11, 2007)

Hey guy's & gal's. I want to share a really cool guitar with you. The story may even surpass it.

I recently made a deal with a guy in Edmonton that I couldn't pass up.
I traded one of my Ibanez's for this beauty. It's a Riverhead model by a Japanese company called Headway. This is a Frankenstrat clone of Eddie's 1984 Kramer. The guitar is very unique. It was made in 1985 and it's serial number shows it's the 15th one made. It cost $1100 in 1985. The guy I got it off of was the original owner. Anyway here's how he got it...

One day at work in 1985 Bernard (the former owner) was at work reading the paper. As he was flipping and browsing through, a certain picture caught his eye. It was a model on the front page of the fashion pull-out pretending to play Eddie's Frankenstrat. What was interesting is it seemed to him to be a locally written article. Upon closer examination he was right. 
The footnote below the picture said 'Guitar from Long & McQuade'. Well for those who don't know, Long & McQuade music is one of Edmonton's most popular music shops. Well guess what Bernard had to do? He had to go and see if it was still there. Well, he immediately left work at the end of his shift and went straight to the store, and low and behold it was hanging on the wall. He played with it a bit and couldn't resist. He forked over the 1100 bucks.
While Bernard had several guitars, over 25 at one point, he told me this was always his main player. However he found that the last few years it wasn't being played as much so he thought it was time to move on so we struck a deal.

A few things I can tell you about the guitar are:
It has an exact copy of a Floyd Rose. It just doesn't have any engraving on it. Bernard attached a 1971 American quarter beside the bridge. It cost him 8 bucks for that bad boy. Apparently it was hard to find.
The guitar is in great shape. The fret board has that vintage look from wear but the frets are all fine. It also has a D-tuna but it doesn't exactly fit great just because the the closeness of the bridge to the body. As for the paint... it's all good. Only the white paint has faded to an off-white.

The company Headway is still around today. They make high end acoustic guitars. The Headway luthiers in 1981 started making electric guitars but in 1985, I believe, the factory burned down and they never did go back into electrics. I included a link below to tell you about more of the history of the Headway and it's affiliated companies.

I don't know how long I'll keep the guitar but I would have to have my socks knocked off to part with it.

A little info about Headway:
Japan Vintage Guitars - Bacchus Information

Original Kramer ad of the real Frankenstrat that mine was made to clone.









My Headway Frankenstrat









A copy of the actual newspaper article









Notice the footnote- 'Guitar from Long & McQuade


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## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

cool story...cute model...love the old stirrup pants shes wearing...did bernard ever track her down...???...


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## piranha (Dec 11, 2007)

jimihendrix said:


> cool story...cute model...love the old stirrup pants shes wearing...did bernard ever track her down...???...


Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha................................. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

it's neat that it has a documented history, even if it's not ehv himself. that (to me) is the best part.


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## copperhead (May 24, 2006)

Hey thats my mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## copperhead (May 24, 2006)

JUST KIDDIN i got to agree with jimi , a very cool story . congrats piranha very nice treasure


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

well aware of the Deviser group...I have 13 Bacchus guitars...and a Precision bass. Some things about that link...the person did not mention the Foxfire basses and guitars made by Headway, and I`ve got a Japanese Guitar Magazine from September 1982 with Brian guitars advertised so they were made well before the time line at that linked web site...the model shown is the BSM-8000, looks like they`re showing a model coming out that month...safe to assume they were around before that too...the Foxfires are in the same magazine.
Couple of years ago I bought a used Deviser Hamiltone clone that I was told by shop staff that it was custom ordered by a guy who was doing the club circuit playing SRV stuff...incredible guitar. In fact all my Bacchus guitars are from the vintage series bought 10 or more years ago, when they were dirt cheap because nobody wanted them...now of course they have been swept up in the feeding frenzy of MIJs. Got some limited editions...like the SRV first run #1...the ones with the brass block, later version came with a steel block...got their Charley model as well as the Muddy Waters tele. Great guitars, I remember when they stopped their clone production to concentrate on original models which I guess did not sell well because a couple of years later they started cloning again. Riverheads were displayed along side the Bacchus guitars at the time in local shops...pretty much looked identical but Riverheads sold for less for some reason. There were different Bacchus models, I got one top end tele that retailed for 200,000 yen...came stock with Fralin p`ups...bought it at a closing out sale for about 60% off. Still have all my old catalogs too. Hard to find them for the same prices I was getting them for 10 years ago but the same can be said for most of the MIJs that the big nosed round eyes devils were ignoring then but are paying big money for now.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

NIce man,..VERY nice. Just a side not. This guitar is not the Frankenstrat or A frankenstrat..but you got to know your VH Guitars a bit to know that..ahahait's a Guitar made by kramer for the magazine add basicaly, Eddie never played it. Just to promote more KRAMER sales wich were already starting to slow down a bit.

In anycase..greath find man...


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## xbolt (Jan 1, 2008)

Interesting guitar...looks pretty solid!

By 85 Kramer was actually just getting started and sales were not slowing down at all. 
They only started having troubles much later 89-91.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

Indeed xbolt. You are correct.

Kramer didn't have a problem with sales. In fact their biggest issue was backorders for their less expensive models due to a strike at the Korean plant which manufactured the necks and the poor management decisions as it pertains to wasted money. The more expensive models were MIJ and the interest in the brand didn't really suffer until the point of their demise.


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Very cool and a great story.

Guitar player or one of the mags had a great story on Kramer/Jackson, great read, it was two months ago maybe?


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

i miswrote what i wanted to say...my Bad....cause it's true in 85 it might be one of the biggest year for Kramer.. Kramer was paying a GOOD lump of Cash to Eddie to use a Kramer...and endorse his guitars. But Eddie was and still his a real pain in the ass has a DIVA to deal with, and even at that period, it was take it's tole. but By 85 there were not just getting started..they started in the late 70's actually.

in 85 Production was full tilt on the Baretta and Pacer right around the corner from here. i use to love check our the racks LOADED with baretta


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## piranha (Dec 11, 2007)

al3d said:


> i miswrote what i wanted to say...my Bad....cause it's true in 85 it might be one of the biggest year for Kramer.. Kramer was paying a GOOD lump of Cash to Eddie to use a Kramer...and endorse his guitars. But Eddie was and still his a real pain in the ass has a DIVA to deal with, and even at that period, it was take it's tole. but By 85 there were not just getting started..they started in the late 70's actually.
> 
> in 85 Production was full tilt on the Baretta and Pacer right around the corner from here. i use to love check our the racks LOADED with baretta


Yeah everything you said is true. It's cool to have a guy online who's into shred guitars. BTW..you have my dream guitar you beggar. That US Rg... if I had a G note I know exactly where it would be going. I hate when I see stuff like that for sale because you feel like you won't see another one like it again. I'm almost tempted to put my amp up for sale but then I won't have anything to play through. Anyway thanks for posting in my thread bro.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

In 1986 and 1987 Kramer sold more than Gibson and Fender. Technically Eddie was endorsing the Tremolo and who knows how much he got paid by Kramer to do the ads - that would be an interesting bit to know but George Lynch wasn't offered much by Kramer so he signed with ESP (who was making Kramer's stuff anyway). Eddie apparently actually went to the Kramer factory in New Jersey and made a bunch of guitars as well. A lot of pretty cool old stories about that stuff.


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## xbolt (Jan 1, 2008)

BTW These are my non-frankenstrated Kramers...Eddie personally left these intact.


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