When you think of Eddie Van Halen, you think of the stripes. You think of that Frankenstein’s monster of a guitar with the bicycle paint and the wonky wiring. You definitely don’t think of a pristine, burst-finished Gibson. But here’s the thing: Eddie Van Halen with Les Paul guitars is a combo that actually happened way more than most fans realize.
Honestly, it’s kinda funny. We all know Ed as the guy who "broke" the guitar industry by sticking a humbucker into a Strat body because he hated how both brands felt on their own. But if you dig into the early days—and even the peak years—you’ll find that the Les Paul was basically his "ex" that he couldn't quite stop calling.
The Goldtop That Started The Fire
Before he was the King of the Frankenstrat, Eddie was just a kid in Pasadena with a dad who played jazz. In 1969, Jan Van Halen bought Eddie a 1969 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop.
This wasn't some museum piece. It had those noisy P-90 "soapbar" pickups. Eddie, being Eddie, couldn't leave well enough alone. He basically treated that guitar like a science experiment. He ripped out the bridge P-90 and hacked a hole in the wood to fit a full-sized humbucker.
Why? Because he wanted to sound like Eric Clapton in Cream.
"People tripped at the sound I was getting," Eddie once said. He used to hide the bridge pickup with his hand while playing at the Whisky a Go Go so other guitarists couldn't steal his "secret." That Goldtop was his main squeeze until it was reportedly stolen in 1975. If that guitar hadn't gone missing, we might never have seen the striped guitars. Think about that.
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That Time He Bought Two 1950s Bursts
By 1980, Van Halen was the biggest band in the world. Ed had some cash. So, he went to see Norman Harris (the legendary Norm from Norm’s Rare Guitars).
He walked out with two of the most expensive guitars on the planet: a 1958 and a 1959 Les Paul Standard. We’re talking about "holy grail" guitars.
But Ed wasn't a collector. He was a player. He actually took one of those million-dollar (nowadays) guitars on tour. There’s a famous photo from the 1980 "Invasion" tour where he's holding a Les Paul with the neck pickup completely missing. Just a gaping hole in the wood.
Norm Harris was reportedly horrified. Most people would treat a '58 Burst like a holy relic. Eddie? He probably thought the neck pickup was getting in the way of the vibration or something. He didn't care about the "vintage value." He just wanted it to scream.
What Did He Actually Record With A Les Paul?
You can hear the Gibson influence if you know where to listen. While the Ibanez Destroyer (The Shark) handled a lot of the heavy lifting on the first album, Eddie reached for the Les Paul for specific "flavors" later on.
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- And the Cradle Will Rock...: That thick, crunchy rhythm? That’s a Les Paul.
- Dirty Movies: He used a 1950s Les Paul for some of the overdubs here to get that specific mahogany growl.
- Runnin' With The Devil: While the main tracks are the Destroyer, Eddie often used a white Les Paul as a backup for this song live because it didn't have a tremolo bar. It stayed in tune better for those heavy chords.
He also had a weird affinity for Les Paul Juniors. There’s a 1955 Junior he used live in 1978. It’s just one pickup and a slab of wood. It fit his "simple is better" philosophy perfectly.
The Bromance With Les Paul Himself
You can't talk about Eddie Van Halen with Les Paul without talking about the man himself. In 1988, they finally met for a Guitar World interview and a tribute show.
It was adorable. Eddie acted like a nervous kid meeting his grandpa. He kept kissing Les on the cheek.
Les Paul, the guy who literally invented the solid-body electric guitar and multitrack recording, looked at Eddie and basically said, "You're the one carrying the torch now." They were both tinkerers. They both hated how guitars were "supposed" to be built.
Les told Eddie that there were three people who changed everything: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and Eddie.
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Why He Never Made It His Main Axe
So why didn't he just play a Gibson?
Basically, they were too heavy. And the scale length was "wrong" for his hands. Eddie liked the 25.5-inch scale of a Fender because it felt snappier. A Les Paul is 24.75 inches. It feels "slinky," which is cool for blues, but for the high-speed acrobatics of "Eruption," Ed wanted more tension.
Also, the Gibson headstock is notorious for breaking. Eddie threw his guitars around. He dropped them. He soldered them in hotel rooms. A Les Paul is a delicate instrument compared to a Frankenstein guitar made of ash and maple.
How To Get That "Eddie On A Gibson" Tone
If you have a Les Paul and want to chase that early VH sound, you don't need to route out your guitar.
- Low Output Humbuckers: Stop using high-gain "metal" pickups. Ed used old PAF-style pickups that were actually quite weak. Let the amp do the work.
- The "Brown" Sound: It’s all about the mids. Turn your bass down. Turn your treble to about 6. Crank the mids.
- Vintage Tremolo: Okay, this is the hard part. You can't really do the "dive bombs" on a standard Les Paul without ruinng it. But for the rhythm stuff? A Les Paul actually gets closer to the Van Halen I sound than a modern Strat does.
Next Steps for Your Tone Quest
If you're looking to bridge the gap between these two worlds, your best bet is to look into "Super-Strats" that use Gibson-style mahogany bodies but Fender-style necks. Or, if you’re brave, find a beat-up Les Paul Studio and try swapping the bridge pickup for a Seymour Duncan 78 Model. It’s specifically designed to mimic the pickup Ed used in his early days. Just don't go hacking up a 1958 Goldtop unless you want a lot of guitar collectors crying in your DMs.