James... « A bit pricey but it IS eddie's guitar »
Published on 01/26/12 at 18:22 Color: Tobacco burst
Body: Basswood core, 1 1/2" thick
Top: AA maple, arched, 1/2" thick
Neck: Quartersawn maple with two graphite reinforcement rods
Fingerboard: AA birdseye maple; compound radius - 12" to 16"
No. of frets: 22; stainless steel, vintage size
Scale length: 25.5"
Nut: Floyd Rose #2 locking nut, 1.625"
Nut width: 1-5/8"
Hardware: Chrome
Tuning keys: EVH-branded Gotoh tuning machines, chrome with pearloid buttons
Bridge: EVH-branded Floyd Rose locking tremolo with EVH D-Tuna
Pickups: Two EVH humbuckers, hard-mounted
Pickup switching: 3-way switch
Controls: Bourns low-friction pots (1x250k, 1x500k)
Case: SKB case with molded stripes
UTILIZATION
I had gassed for this guitar for quite some time, and truthfully I am not even a huge van halen fan. I just happen to think Eddie knows a thing or two about guitars, even though his products are pretty obviously overpriced by a slight margin. The design of the Wolfgang is nothing new and it's truly a love or hate style of guitar. It's definitely not a super strat. The neck is a different beast from the previous guitars EVH has endorsed. It has more of a compound radius thing going on and is especially easy to get your hands around toward the low frets. I can't say it's the best neck I've ever played or anything but it is comfortable.
A lot of the price I think is dictated by the small upgrades that have been put into the guitar like high quality pots and other internal hardware. A lot of high end guitars still need some minor hardware upgrades but admittedly the wolfgang really doesn't need any provided you like the pickups.
SOUNDS
People knock this guitar for a number of reasons. After spending a lot of time with mine I have discovered it really sounds best through a specific few amps. The newer EVH amp is obviously one of them, but it seems to like high gain marshall style amps a lot too. If you're being picky, and I am, you will find that there's not a lot of other amps that this guitar likes. In fact I basically play it through my Splawn quick rod and CAE OD100 and that's it. Kind of a sad fact but what are you gonna do? It also sounds okay through a Soldano SLO. But what guitar doesn't?
It's not a super versatile guitar. It gets the eddie thing down and also does some hair metal stuff. Other than that it's just eh.
OVERALL OPINION
This is a lot of money to spend on a guitar that can admittedly only do a few things really well. I think it's a well made but probably a bit overpriced guitar. Used they are a decent deal. The quality is up there with Jackson USA if that tells you anything. Pretty darn good. It isn't my go to shredder usually. Sometimes I ponder selling it but it's so fun to play panama on, I can't help but keep it. Eddie fans will buy this and for good reason.
Body: Basswood core, 1 1/2" thick
Top: AA maple, arched, 1/2" thick
Neck: Quartersawn maple with two graphite reinforcement rods
Fingerboard: AA birdseye maple; compound radius - 12" to 16"
No. of frets: 22; stainless steel, vintage size
Scale length: 25.5"
Nut: Floyd Rose #2 locking nut, 1.625"
Nut width: 1-5/8"
Hardware: Chrome
Tuning keys: EVH-branded Gotoh tuning machines, chrome with pearloid buttons
Bridge: EVH-branded Floyd Rose locking tremolo with EVH D-Tuna
Pickups: Two EVH humbuckers, hard-mounted
Pickup switching: 3-way switch
Controls: Bourns low-friction pots (1x250k, 1x500k)
Case: SKB case with molded stripes
UTILIZATION
I had gassed for this guitar for quite some time, and truthfully I am not even a huge van halen fan. I just happen to think Eddie knows a thing or two about guitars, even though his products are pretty obviously overpriced by a slight margin. The design of the Wolfgang is nothing new and it's truly a love or hate style of guitar. It's definitely not a super strat. The neck is a different beast from the previous guitars EVH has endorsed. It has more of a compound radius thing going on and is especially easy to get your hands around toward the low frets. I can't say it's the best neck I've ever played or anything but it is comfortable.
A lot of the price I think is dictated by the small upgrades that have been put into the guitar like high quality pots and other internal hardware. A lot of high end guitars still need some minor hardware upgrades but admittedly the wolfgang really doesn't need any provided you like the pickups.
SOUNDS
People knock this guitar for a number of reasons. After spending a lot of time with mine I have discovered it really sounds best through a specific few amps. The newer EVH amp is obviously one of them, but it seems to like high gain marshall style amps a lot too. If you're being picky, and I am, you will find that there's not a lot of other amps that this guitar likes. In fact I basically play it through my Splawn quick rod and CAE OD100 and that's it. Kind of a sad fact but what are you gonna do? It also sounds okay through a Soldano SLO. But what guitar doesn't?
It's not a super versatile guitar. It gets the eddie thing down and also does some hair metal stuff. Other than that it's just eh.
OVERALL OPINION
This is a lot of money to spend on a guitar that can admittedly only do a few things really well. I think it's a well made but probably a bit overpriced guitar. Used they are a decent deal. The quality is up there with Jackson USA if that tells you anything. Pretty darn good. It isn't my go to shredder usually. Sometimes I ponder selling it but it's so fun to play panama on, I can't help but keep it. Eddie fans will buy this and for good reason.