Eddie Van Halen's Guitar Tech Tom Weber Restrings and Sets Up an EVH Frankenstein 'Frankie' Guitar

Tom Weber stopped by Five Star Guitars to demonstrate the tools, techniques, and philosophies of setting up guitars for the world's biggest guitar heroes. Eddie Van Halen, C.C. DeVille, and many other six string stars have relied on Tom's expertise, consistency, and efficiency to get their instruments performance-ready while out on tour.
In this video, Tom restrings a limited edition custom shop Frankie. Throughout the process, Tom shares his time-saving techniques and go-to tools for getting the job done quickly. He patiently explains his approach to matching an instrument's setup to the player, providing reliable intonation and playability, and goes through each part of the process in-depth.
As Tom skillfully works through the setup, he shares his thoughts on component upgrades, tuner peg-head wrapping strategies, and even goes so far as to explain why gravity is an important consideration when tuning guitars for his artists!
Shot from multiple angles and close-up views, this tutorial is sure to inspire you to take your setup skills to the next level.
A huge thank you to Tom Weber for his time and expertise, Taft Stricklin for setting up logistics and connecting all of us together, and George Ross for equipment and setup.
A special thank you to the Five Star Guitars crew for endless hard work, creativity, and dedication.

Check out the String Stretcha used in the video:
For a limited time, buy one String Stretcha and get one 50% off

Find Five Star Guitars online at:

and social handles: @fivestarguitars

[SuperBuzz]

So realize this. EVH fired about a half dozen guitar techs quickly in the reunion days. This is the guy that stepped in and stuck around for almost a decade until the end. Dude is a gem. No ego just guitar

Learned the gravity fact from Jeff Healy’s tech. This guy is the best tech. Wish he’d stick around Cincy long enough for him to work on my stuff.

[sparkimoto]

I gotta express my gratitude to this man for teaching me a few valuable tuning tips in 43 minutes that I have never known in my 4 decades of guitar playing! I am definitely adding these to my skill set!

[chrisdunnettmusic]

Tom is the man! I've known him many years...he's worked for the best because he is one of the best

[Cakedogs]

Send my thanks to Tom Weber, this video was a treasure trove of tricks and tips I haven’t discovered yet. Definitely for the more advanced user but great concepts for new techs too

[southtombob]

I’ve always thought of EVH’s Strat as proof that a talented player can put together what he can get their hands on and sound great on it. I would bet Eddie didn’t put over $150-$200 into his original and probably not that much. He used what he had and what was easily obtainable before the day’s of the internet. I know once he could he had a tech working on it but the first albums were recorded on what he, as a young guy who wasn’t a trained luthier, could put together. It’s a good thing to remember when you’re pining over that custom shop guitar you think will make you a better player, a great player will sound great on any decent, playable instrument.

[e.g.systems]

Watching a master at work is somehow theraputic. One of the often missed tricks is that thing of having the retainer bar behind the nut low enough to make sure the string doesn't get pulled sharp when you clamp the locking nut.

[wodewose]

Tom should have his
Own series !!! What a treasure !!!
Thank you !!

[JohnnyBeane]

Awesome Tom! I played one of those years ago and it was incredible!!!

[timshadgett]

For years, I've been stringing up my floyd guitars through the tuning peg first, so the ball end is at the tuning peg and then I cut with a little excess at the bridge and clamp it there. Any reason why this is not a good idea? It's always seemed to work pretty well for me...

[zigzagrz]

Wow, loosened the locking bridge without loosening the nut... makes sense since he is holding down the trem. Very good info!

[sambowmanmusic]

I met him at a guitar show back in 2018 in Cincinnati Ohio. He was a super cool guy.

[flashy]

I stretch my strings by grabbing it at the 12 fret, which is half of the scale length, and you will get even pressure on the string, then I pull up on the string about 1 inch from the neck, sometimes up to 2”. I pull up at different parts of the string, up and down the neck, then keep tightening the tuner up to pitch. It works really well. I go lighter on the first three strings because they could break on you, especially the high E. I’ve been doing it for years and it works really well. On Floyd Rose’s, I keep the nut blocks and screws in loosely to keep the strings in the grooves of the nut. That string Stretcha looks like a good tool to have though.

[idlevandal]

I stick a flat toothbrush handle under the back of my Floyd Rose when changing strings, so you don't need to tilt it forward. It's also close to the perfect height so when you do the initial tune after a string change and remove the toothbrush handle it's pretty much good to go, just stretch the strings a little..

[CobraKaiPlatoon]

Tom Weber should have a series! Amazing!! 🤘

[TheDizzack]

Was really hoping to see Tom's saddle intonation and bridge height adjustments.

[JeppVH]

Finally showing using the index finger to push the string down as the winder tunes up to pitch. Soo many vids on YT do NOT show this vital step. A+ all the way Tom!

[rossnettleship]

My first guitar w/ a Floyd rose was my Kramer Focus 6000 that I bought in ‘86. I’ve had several guitars since w/ a Floyd Rose. Today I restrung my axe in a brand new way. Pretty cool!!

[JimSlimjimCassi]

This was not a setup guide, it was basically Tom changing strings.
Setting up a guitar would be, bridge height, Truss rod adjustment if needed, then intonating each string.
I like that the necks suppose to be precisely cut for the frets, but they never are perfect.

[alexanderkarl]

Tom thanks for your time and hard work over the years. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🍸

[shokid]

Awesome Video glad to see Tom is sharing his EVH guitar setups