“This exceptional instrument combines the legendary features that defined early Van Halen with modern performance enhancements”: EVH Gear unveils the Star TOM, a shred machine with a single ‘bucker, kill-switch and no-fuss Tuna-Matic bridge

EVH Gear has unveiled the Star TOM, reworking Eddie Van Halen’s World Invasion-era cult classic for a limited edition run of electric guitars that arrive with three options and a spec list that’s tailor-made for any player looking for a no-fuss high-performance option for rock and metal.

This one is not a period-correct replica of Eddie's Danelectro hybrid build; the Coke bottle headstock has been swapped out for a hockey stick. But it does offer a neat twist on the original, and if you as high-performance hardtail electrics go, they don't come much more flamboyant than this.

The bridge is a big selling point for those players who just don’t need a whammy bar to be getting in the way. Even on a metal guitar, many do not need the extra work of setting up a Floyd Rose double-locking vibrato. The Star TOM is for them, with the wonderfully titled Tuna-Matic Stoptail bridge letting you just get on with things.

That’s not to say the Star TOM lacks the features to get the pulse racing. We ask you to turn your attention to the instrument’s lower horn where you will find a red arcade-style button which activates a kill-switch for stuttering staccato effects that sound so good with a saturated drive tone and there’s some feedback or an open chord you want to disrupt.

The Star TOM might have been inspired by Eddie Van Halen but fans of Tom Morello, John 5 et al could have a lot of joy out of this.

Fundamentally, the Star TOM is a big old hunk of solid basswood carved into a shape that has endured since the ‘80s and is as the name suggests much like a star. If playing in your front room, just be careful you don't knock over a vase while executing an Eddie Van Halen scissor kick. We all get carried away sometimes.

Attached to this we have a bolt-on neck that’s carved from a single piece of quartersawn maple, finished with satin-smooth hand-rubbed satin urethane for a gum-free feel, and you can be guaranteed that its EVH Modified C backshape is suitably svelte and speedy.

There is a single EVH Wolfgang humbucker at the bridge position, which is hooked up to a minimalistic control circuit featuring the aforementioned kill-switch (or button) and a master volume knob.

As per Eddie Van Halen’s preferences, this is a low-friction EVH Bourns pot that makes volume swells nice and easy, with a treble bleed feature ensuring that you lose none of the top end whenever you roll the volume back.

The Star TOM has a compound radius fingerboard, the 12” to 16” ebony ‘board here is all about facilitating virtuosity. There are over-sized buttons for securing your guitar strap. Again, handy for the scissor kicks.

There are 22 jumbo frets, a 25.5” scale length… EVH Gear has outfitted the six-in-line banana headstock with a set of EVH-branded Gotoh tuners. There is a Graph Tech Tusq XL nut. You can make adjustments to the truss rod via a spoked wheel at the top of the fretboard.

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EVH Gear is offering the Star TOM in Vintage White, Silverburst and Stealth Black (the latter finish doesn’t look to be on the brand’s website as yet).

These are priced £/$1,299 and are available now. See EVH Gear for more details.