Eddie Van Halen’s 1982 Kramer Electric Guitar Expected to Fetch Up to $3 Million at Auction

A guitar previously owned by Van Halen sold for an estimated $3.9 million in April 2023.

Eddie Van Halen attends the George Lopez Foundation 10th Anniversary Celebration Party at Baltaire in Los Angeles, Calif., on April 30, 2017. Jerod Harris/Getty Images for George Lopez Foundation

A Kramer electric guitar played by late musician Eddie Van Halen, founder and lead guitarist of the rock band Van Halen, is expected to fetch between $2 million and $3 million when it goes up for auction later this year.

Sotheby’s revealed on Tuesday that the 1982 instrument will lead its upcoming “Rock & Pop” auction event, with bidding scheduled to begin on Sept. 24 and close on Oct. 24. Other classic rock and contemporary pop memorabilia will also be up for sale, including items from Freddy Mercury, Prince, Michael Jackson, Elvis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan.

Van Halen, who died in October 2020 at the age of 65, customized the red guitar, which features a white and black striped design, at Kramer’s factory in Neptune, New Jersey.

It was modeled after his 1975 “Frankenstein” guitar, which combined “some of the best elements of Fender and Gibson electric guitars into a single new musical instrument that was not commercially available at the time,” Sotheby’s auction listing reads.

“This Kramer guitar personifies not only EVH’s innovative playing style but also his passion for design and engineering,” the listing continues.

“This guitar is amongst his most iconic and identifiable instruments, encouraging copies from other manufacturers and inspired generations of fans to design their own instruments.”

Van Halen played the guitar while touring throughout the United States and South America from 1982 to 1983, as evidenced by photos taken at his band’s concerts in Philadelphia, as well as Caracas, Venezuela; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The guitarist inscribed the instrument to Rudy Leiren, his longtime friend and guitar technician. The inscription reads: “Rude - Its Been a Great Ten Years – Lets Do Another Ten. Eddie Van Halen.”

Leiren later sold the guitar to musician Mick Mars, the lead guitarist for Mötley Crüe, who played it extensively while recording the heavy metal band’s fifth studio album “Dr. Feelgood,” released in 1989.

A yellow-and-black Charvel guitar, customized for Eddie Van Halen in the 1980s, which sold for $67,500 in New York on Feb. 27, 2016. Guernsey's via AP

Several of Van Halen’s guitars have already been sold at auction, including his 1982 black and yellow-striped Charvel guitar, which fetched $67,500 in 2016.

According to Sotheby’s, the upcoming auction lot for Van Halen’s 1982 Kramer guitar will also include the instrument’s factory case and a letter of authenticity from Mars, which reads in part: “Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Also it’s a great piece of history.”