Erupt-bucker?

Pic: Gibson / Kramer

There's always a gainful return with any Van Halen associations - amplifiers, pedals & guitars, obviously. Looks like Kramer (to a larger extent, Gibson) would want a share of the proverbial Eddie pie. They are working closely with VH's ex-tech, Jim DeCola to manifest brown sounding humbuckers, to put it loosely. The way I see it, bearing the Kramer name is an easy excuse for a VH association as the late man himself embraced Kramer along the way. It's like, Eddie did some Kramer time back then & we should know better because we are Kramer. It's a semi-perilous endeavour because VH never sought after Kramer's expertise back then for his pickup needs, he tinkered & it paid off. 

Anyway, EVH has good pickups to deliver the brown sound. My rather recent experience with the '78 Eruption (Striped Series) can attest to that. Also, Seymour Duncan did well with the '78 humbuckers. Gentle reminder - these are the various manufacturer's interpretation of what makes a good VH-like tone. To say one manufacturer stands out above all else in this engagement is a little myopic.