EVH

Wow! This little brother to the 100 watt EVH 5150III is an absolute monster of an amp. Still a tube amp like its big brother it sports 50 watts which sounnds like 250 watts when turned up. Sporting 2 6L6 power tubes and 6 12AX7 preamp tubes, this thing can hang with the best of them. Comes with MIDI footswitch and built in effects loop. UTILIZATION Very functional for gigging with its three channels allowing for clean, rhythm and lead settings. One difference from its big brother is that you have to share EQ controls on channel one and two while three has its own. I guess you can't have everything but this comes close to giving you just about everything. Manual is sufficient, no rocket science here. Easy to use and understand. SOUNDS Cleans are good enough in combination with effects through the loop. Rhythm channel is probably the best part of this amp, just pure tone like EVH himself would expect. It is as close to pure Marshall tone as I have ever heard from a non Marshall amp. Very pure sound, not muddy at all. You have all of the punch in all three channels you will ever need, hard to believe this is a 50 watt amp. Channel 3 is super over the top distortion with the inherant tonal quality of channel 2 but slightly thinner for cutting leads. Once again, way more gain than you will ever be able to use but so great it's there if you need it. The presence knob has so much range, it is almost impossible to get a tone you are not happy with. All of the tone controls simply work well and have the range needed to take this amp whereever you want it to go. OVERALL OPINION Having had the big brother 100 watter, this is a much better amp in a smaller package. Absolutely love the price point of this one. So much amp for the money, under $1,000! All three channels are extremely useable and bring something to the table. It has both cutting tone and bottom end power which makes it so close to the perfect amp. It is also very open and organic, not compressed like a transistor amp is. Just roaring, Marshallesque tone for any hard rock and even metal situation. Hard not to like this amp! Bottom line is, great price, great sound, comes equipt with a loop and midi footswitch, looks great and works perfect. The only downside was as mentioned, two channels sharing an EQ. If this bugs you, buy the 100 watter and problem solved.

The EVH Wolfgang Special was designed by Edward Van Halen and the team at Fender to bring a lower priced Wolfgang to market that offered all of the great feel and tone of the $3,000 American made model, but at a price point that the younger generation such as myself could afford. This model streets at about $1,300 and is made in Japan. It features a basswood body with maple top, maple neck with 22 vintage style frets, two EVH humbuckers, a locking tremolo system with D Tuna and a set of Gotoh 3 on a side tuners. Here is the full list of specs: EVH Wolfgang Special Solidbody Electric Guitar Features: Body: Basswood with Maple veneer top Neck: Quartersawn maple Fingerboard: AA birdseye maple; compound radius - 12" to 16" No. of frets: 22; Vintage Style Scale length: 25.5" Nut width: 1-5/8" Hardware: Chrome Tuning keys: EVH-branded Gotoh tuning machines 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've always liked the design of the Wolfgang, and this special is no exception. The general feel of the Wolfies that Ed has released over the years has always worked well with me. I actually slightly prefer the flat top models to the carved top ones, so that's a plus that the Japanese ones have over the USA models for sure. The design is definitely ergonomic. The guitars aren't featherweight, but they are light enough that it's comfortable to play and hold for extended periods. Checking out a few different ones showed that the weight really didn't vary much from guitar to guitar which was good. The upper fret access on these guitars is great as well, no real issues for me there. Getting a good sound out of these guitars is not difficult... when you find a good one. I've tried a few of them and they're wildly inconsistent in how they sound. The best of the bunch was a black one that had that KILLER brown sound on the bridge pickup... but the neck pickup didn't work. The other two I tried seemed progressively muddier and weaker sounding and didn't have any of the even order harmonics that I so love about Van Halen's tone. Oh well, c'est la vie I suppose. SOUNDS I've tried these guitars through mostly British voiced high gainer amps overall. The clean tones are decent enough out of these guitars. They aren't nearly as nice as many other guitars, but there's a promising sparkle that's hidden in there that can be coaxed out with the right settings and the right amplifier. The neck pickup has some good jazzier flavours and (in the right setting) the bridge pickup can get some twang for country chickin' pickin'. However, the point of these guitars for myself and nearly every other user is to get some raunch on the go. When these guitars are on, they do not disappoint. The best of the MIJ Wolfgang's I've tried had a very spongy feel that gave the tone a nice brown sound type sag, almost as though a variac was dimming the amp's voltage a-la Ed. However, too many of the ones I've tried have had a bit of a muddy characteristic to the tone and pickups... so I have to question their QC and consistency at this factory. When they're on they're great but you may have to play a few to get there. OVERALL OPINION All in all the EVH Wolfgang Special is a great guitar for someone who wants that great Van Halen rock tone on a budget. They're still not cheap guitars at about $1,300 new, but if you find one that sounds and feels right to you, snag it. I've tried a few and they don't always feel/sound right, but when they do, there's not much that will top it in that particular price point. Oh yeah, it also comes with a really awesome SKB striped case... how cool is that?

Eddie Van Halen has easily made more money of his line of products that he has with albums sales. One of the biggest bands in rock and roll history and probably one of the most if not the most influential guitar player in history. SO many young players as well as the old dudes worship this guys technique and ability to play the guitar. Eddie Van Halan was never an endorsement guy when the fab for started back in the 70's but late the saw the value and potential to make millions of amps, guitars, cables, straps, picks, pedals, clothing, cables, speakers, etc. EVH 5150 III Head Features * Made to Edward Van Halen's exacting specs. This is the exact amp used in the studio and on stage by one of the only true living legends of the guitar. * Heavy duty hardware and construction, vertically-mounted preamp tubes with premium sockets. It's rugged and roadworthy! * Custom made transformers and special biasing help achieve Edward's fabled Variable AC effect. * Lower-noise preamp circuitry. Less hiss & hum than many ultra-high gain amplifiers. * Preamp designed to add extremely high harmonic content. Makes notes seem to jump out of the guitar, and inspires creative, unpredictable playing. * Step on what you want footswitch with color-coded LEDs: instantly select any of the three channels with one button push; selection is easily visible on a darkened stage; FX loop can also be selected. UTILIZATION * Output: 100 Watts RMS * Ohms: 4, 8, or 16 Ohms (selectable) * Channels: Three channels with channel switching * Covering: Ivory textured vinyl covering with a EVH striped metal grille * Weight: 55 lbs. (25 kg) * Dimensions: * Height: 10.25 in. (26 cm) * Width: 29.75 in. (75.5 cm) * Depth: 11.5 in. (29.3 cm) * Power Tubes: Four 6L6 tubes * Preamp Tubes: Eight 12AX7 tubes * Four-button footswitch included SOUNDS This is the third edition of the 5150 Eddie Van Halen amplifiers. His first two were with Peavey and those were simply named 5150 and 5150 11. People nickname this amp the 5153 for simplicity sake. This amp has three channels of operation. The first one being a very good and usable clean channel that can actually get a little overdrive to the tone. The next one being a rhythm channel which is a very high gain channel used for Eddie rhythm tone and basic plexi type settings. The third channel and this is the fire breather of them all is a no holds barred super high gain channel. It sounds nothing like the early VH1 or Vh11 days but more of what he has evolved into as a player. This channel is the lead for obvious reasons but the most explosive channel that any of his previous amps ever could match. The original amps were great too and still used by many players and even professionals, but there is a great versatility to this amp that the 5150 or 5150 11 could never achieve. OVERALL OPINION At new these amps come in right at around $1999. A good price for a great versatile amp. I have seen them used other places for around $1200. So they drop about 40% on the used market. Great amps and I highly recommend them.

This is a great solution to quickly drop tuning a trem guitar. I slapped this on my Charvel in no time, fine-tuned it as per the instructions and have never looked back. A quick press and pull and you get chunky drop D tuning in perfect pitch. This is a great tool from a gigging perspective as it makes for one less guitar I have to lug around. You can quickly and easily switch from drop D to regular and vice versa. Installation was as easy as removing the string lock screw on the low E string and replacing it with the one provide with the Dtuna. Once you get it attached you simply tune the E down to D and use the fine tuner on the Dtuna to get it perfect. After that your E is pretty much perfect with maybe a slight adjustment on the tuner. My only advice would be to make sure to block your trem so it is fully locked against the body, any play will create havoc and you will never get it right. I would also suggest reading the manual, which is simple and quick. There is an order to set it up and if you don't do it right, you won't get the results you hope, trust me. This is a great musician’s tool to make a great guitar even greater and more versatile. Comes in black, gold and chrome. This is a great device and works as promised. Well worth the cost. Keep in mind this does not work on a full floating trem or a trem that is recessed into the body of the guitar. I have this on my EVH Wolfgang and my Charvel and only wish it could work on my Ibanez. Great design and clever device, highly recommended!

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.

EVH guitars is a company Fender started in collaboration with Eddie Van Halen. A few years ago Fender hooked up with EVH to make a line of replica Frankenstrats for EVH to play live. These guitars went over so well they decided to start up a company together to continue making the stuff EVH liked. They put out a new version of the 5150 amp and now they are continuing the Wolfgang style guitars EVH started with Peavey. They have gotten EVH to experiment a little bit because some models are a bit different than the traditional Wolfgang models. This model is a set neck and is more setup like a Les Paul. This guitar has a mahogany body with a thick flamed maple top. The set neck is mahogany as well with a 24.75 inch scale and a compound radius. The neck has some carbon fiber strips for stability. The fretboard is ebony with 22 vintage sized stainless steel frets. It has vintage style tuners up top with a tune-o-matic and fine tuner stoptail piece. The pickups are the regular EVH pickups but they have covers on this model. The controls are like a Les Paul with a volume and tone for each pickup and a reversed 3 way toggle. UTILIZATION This guitar has a bit of a vintage feel but still retains great playability. The neck has a slightly bigger feel than a lot of modern guitars. I love stainless steel frets. More companies should use them. With stainless steel frets the frets do not have to be as big to get the same smoothness. The frets on this guitar are pretty small but they are stainless steel so they dont wear out or get rough. EVH says he can play a full tour on one of these guitars now without having to get it refretted. Before stainless steel frets his guitars were getting refretted once a week. With these EVH guitars you have to get use to the reversed pickup selector. I find it pretty annoying but its what EVH likes. The reinforcement rods in the neck means the neck will never warp and will only need minor adjustments throughout its life. These rods extend into the headstock to help prevent headstock breakages since this guitar has a mahogany neck. This is a very modern design on the inside. SOUNDS EVH's pickups are one of the most important parts of his sound. Ever since he has taken the PAF out of an old Gibson and put it in his strat he has had a certain tone that involves a more vintage style pickup through modern gear. The pickups in this guitar are vintage style like the old EVH guitars. The low output pickups respond well to picking and volume dynamics. Better than most super high output pickups would. The pickups are attached directly to the wood of the guitar not on springs. The direct mounted pickups get more sustain although they are not adjustable. This also makes the pickup tone very clear and direct. The bridge has an open sound with not much compression. The neck position is a bit smoother for tapping and such. You gotta remember that the pickup selector is reversed so Up is the bridge and down is the neck position. OVERALL OPINION It is cool that EVH and Fender are making different styles of guitars through the EVH brand. They all have the same Wolfgang DNA but they can cover different tones and styles of guitar. This guitar is more Les Paul like while the other more standard model is a bit more stratty. The internal construction on thsi guitar is very modern with all of the reinforcement in the neck area. It would be a miracle if Gibson started reinforcing their necks and they are the ones whos necks break all the time. If you are a fan of the EVH line of guitars and want something with a more Gibsonesque tone this is the guitar they are making for you.