Eddie Van Halen’s Fender 150XL Strings

Eddie used these strings in the early days, from the late 70s, and probably until he switched to Earnie Ball in the mid-80s. According to Eddie, he would actually boil these strings so would stretch more easily.

Yeah, Fender 150XLs. I stretch them to death. With that new Rose thing, I boil the strings so they stretch, because if you just put them on and clamp it down, the strings stretch out on the guitar. I just take a pack and let it boil for 20 minutes in the hot water. And then I dry them in the sun, because otherwise they rust. But I only use them one night anyway, so who cares if they rust?

“Young Wizard of Power Rock” By: Jas Obrecht Guitar Player (April 1980)

The 70s Fender 150XL string set had the following gauges: 9-11-15-24w-32-40. The exact same was available until very recently, but Fender decided to continue it. The closest you can get to it, without making a custom set, is the new official EVH Signature set by Fender, which measures 9-11-16-24-32-42.