EVH Wolfgang

Last updated

The EVH Wolfgang is an electric guitar manufactured by Eddie Van Halen's company, EVH, which is owned by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Wolfgang is named after Van Halen's son Wolfgang Van Halen, as well as classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Contents

EVH Wolfgang
Eddie Van Halen 2007-11-10.jpg
Eddie Van Halen playing an EVH Wolfgang prototype in 2007
ManufacturerEVH
Period2009-present
Construction
Body typeSolid
Neck jointBolt-on
Scale 25.5"
Woods
BodyBasswood with Maple top
NeckQuartersawn Maple
FretboardMaple or Ebony
Hardware
BridgeEVH Floyd Rose
Pickup(s) Wolfgang bridge and neck humbuckers

Background and design

After joining Fender in 2005, Eddie Van Halen set out to rebuild the Peavey EVH Wolfgang from the ground up. He teamed up with Fender Master Builder Chip Ellis in May 2006. [1] Van Halen stated that this was his "last attempt" to design a guitar. [2]

New features included stainless steel frets, a 12" – 16" compound radius, and custom Bourns potentiometers (low friction 500 kΩ for volume and high friction 250 kΩ for tone). [3] The bridge is a signature model Floyd Rose designed by EVH and is exclusive to the Wolfgang. [1] [4] The bridge is made in South Korea with bent steel baseplates and no gaps between saddles. [5] The Wolfgang pickups are made in-house at Fender; they were chosen after trying out 80 prototypes made by Seymour Duncan and DiMarzio. [5] [6] They have Alnico 2 magnets and are direct mounted to the body with two screws on each leg, with foam rubber underneath, which allows the top of the pickup to be adjusted parallel to the strings. [7] The cavities inside the guitar are left unpainted to let the instrument breathe and age "like a Stradivarius". [8] The fine tuners on the Floyd Rose bridge was Van Halen's idea during its development in the late 1970s and early 1980s, inspired by the fine tuners on violins and cellos. [6]

Models

EVH Wolfgang USA

The Wolfgang USA is the flagship model, manufactured in Corona, California. Released in 2009, it had a maple fingerboard and the only color options were Vintage White, Black, and Tobacco Burst. [9] Ebony fingerboards were soon introduced, but by 2015, ebony became the only option available. However, as of 2020, maple fingerboards are still available on the lefty version on the Vintage White model. A Wolfgang USA Edward Van Halen Signature model was released in 2017, with a new Alnico 3 Wolfgang neck pickup. [10]

EVH Wolfgang Special

A flat top version, the Wolfgang Special, was introduced in 2010. It was made in Japan and had the same pickups as the USA model. [11] The factory, Chushin Gakki in Matsumoto, Nagano, [12] closed in late 2011. [13] A re-imagined Wolfgang Special, made in Ensenada, Baja California, was introduced in 2014 with an arched top. [14]

EVH Wolfgang WG Standard

The Wolfgang WG Standard series was introduced in 2014. [14] It is made in Indonesia, and is the lowest priced Wolfgang model. It has a Floyd Rose Special bridge with zinc saddles instead of steel and a zinc sustain block instead of brass. Quilted Maple veneer tops with various bursts and fades are available as well as single matte color models. In 2020, the baked maple fingerboard was introduced to the Standard line.

Parts and accessories

Wolfgang USA bridge and neck pickups are available to buy, separate from the guitar. On previous Van Halen signature guitars, the Music Man EVH (now called the Axis) and the Peavey Wolfgang, the custom pickups made for that guitar could not be bought separately. The Wolfgang's custom EVH Bourns pots are also available, as well as EVH strings, picks, and cable.

Usage on Van Halen albums and tours

Van Halen 2007–2008 North American Tour

Prototypes of the Wolfgang were road tested by Van Halen on Van Halen's Van Halen 2007–2008 North American Tour. [1] A Tobacco Burst Wolfgang and a black Wolfgang with a number 4 stenciled on the front were used in 2007. A Vintage White Wolfgang was used in 2008.

A Different Kind of Truth

Van Halen used an EVH Wolfgang Stealth with an ebony fingerboard for the majority of Van Halen's 2012 album A Different Kind of Truth . "As Is" features a Wolfgang with a D2H (Drop 2 Hell) tailpiece. The D2H is made from solid brass and can drop the low E string down two and a half steps or more. It has never made it on to a production model. The end of "As Is" features a Wolfgang with a Sustainer, as well as on the song "Honeybabysweetiedoll." [15]

A Different Kind of Truth Tour

The Wolfgang Stealth was also used for the majority of the A Different Kind of Truth Tour. It has a kill switch and a titanium D-Tuna. [16]

Tokyo Dome Live in Concert

Van Halen used a Wolfgang with an ebony fingerboard and a black and white stripe job on June 21, 2013, in Tokyo, the night that Tokyo Dome Live in Concert was recorded.

Van Halen 2015 North American Tour

Van Halen used a black Wolfgang with a relic'd Ivory top coat for the majority of the Van Halen 2015 North American Tour. Built by Chip Ellis, it has a fatter neck than the Stealth. Van Halen sanded down the back of the neck himself. [17] A replica version was released afterwards, limited to 20 pieces. [18] On the song "I'll Wait", Van Halen would sometimes play a Wolfgang WG Standard. [17]

Notable EVH Wolfgang users

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Stratocaster</span> Solid body electric guitar

The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously manufactured the Stratocaster since 1954. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top "horn" shape for balance. Along with the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, and Fender Telecaster, it is one of the most-often emulated electric guitar shapes. "Stratocaster" and "Strat" are trademark terms belonging to Fender. Guitars that duplicate the Stratocaster by other manufacturers are sometimes called S-Type or ST-type guitars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Jazzmaster</span> Electric guitar

The Fender Jazzmaster is an electric guitar designed as a more expensive sibling of the Fender Stratocaster. First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Convention, it was initially marketed to jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarists in the early 1960s. Its appearance is similar to the Jaguar, though it is tonally and physically different in many technical ways, including pickup design, scale length and controls.

The Fender Jaguar is an electric guitar by Fender Musical Instruments characterized by an offset-waist body, a relatively unusual switching system with two separate circuits for lead and rhythm, and a short-scale 24" neck. Owing some roots to the Jazzmaster, it was introduced in 1962 as Fender's feature-laden top-of-the-line model, designed to lure players from Gibson. During its initial 13-year production run, the Jaguar did not sell as well as the less expensive Stratocaster and Telecaster, and achieved its most noticeable popularity in the surf music scene. After the Jaguar was taken out of production in 1975, vintage Jaguars became popular first with American punk rock players, and then more so during the alternative rock, shoegazing and indie rock movements of the 1980s and 1990s. Fender began making a version in Japan in the mid-1980s, and then introduced a USA-made reissue in 1999. Since then, Fender has made a variety of Jaguars in America, Mexico, Indonesia and China under both the Fender and Squier labels. Original vintage Jaguars sell for many times their original price.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Precision Bass</span> Model of electric bass

The Fender Precision Bass is a model of electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrument usually equipped with a single split-coil humbucking pickup and a one-piece, 20-fret maple neck with rosewood or maple fingerboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Jazz Bass</span> Fender model of bass guitar

The Fender Jazz Bass is the second model of electric bass created by Leo Fender. It is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange and treble with less emphasis on the fundamental frequency. The body shape is also different from the Precision Bass, in that the Precision Bass has a symmetrical lower bout on the body, designed after the Telecaster and Stratocaster lines of guitars, while the Jazz Bass has an offset lower bout, mimicking the design aesthetic of the Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superstrat</span> Electric guitar design

Superstrat is a name for an electric guitar design that resembles a Fender Stratocaster but with differences that clearly distinguish it from a standard Stratocaster, usually to cater to a different playing style. Differences typically include more pointed, aggressive-looking body and neck shapes with increased cutaways to facilitate access to the higher frets, an increased number of frets on the fingerboard, a contoured heel at the neck joint facilitating easier higher fret access, the usage of humbucking pickups, and locking vibrato systems, most commonly the Floyd Rose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charvel</span> American electric guitar brand

Charvel is a brand of electric guitars founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and originally headquartered in Glendora, California. Since 2002, Charvel has been under the ownership of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epiphone G-400</span>

The G-400 is an Epiphone solid body electric guitar model produced as a more modestly priced version of the famous Gibson SG. Currently, Epiphone is a subsidiary of Gibson and manufactures the G-400 and other budget models at a lower cost in Asia. Visually and ergonomically, it is almost identical to a 1962 SG.

The Fender Lead Series was produced by the Fender/Rogers/Rhodes Division of CBS Musical Instruments. The series comprised Lead I, Lead II, Lead III and Lead Bass models.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankenstrat</span> Electric guitar created by Eddie Van Halen

The Frankenstrat, also known as "Frankie", is a guitar created by Eddie Van Halen. Its name is a portmanteau of Frankenstein, the fictional doctor who created a monster by combining body parts of the recently deceased, and the Stratocaster, a model of electric guitar made by Fender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson Les Paul Studio</span>

The Gibson Les Paul Studio is a solid body electric guitar produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation since 1983. It is a model of Les Paul with some features omitted to appeal to musicians looking for the tonal qualities of the guitar but with less of an emphasis on cosmetics and to reduce the price of the instrument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson L6-S</span> Electric guitar

The Gibson L6-S is a solid body electric guitar. It was the descendant of the L5S jazz solid-body electric guitar. It was the same shape, very much like a wide Gibson Les Paul, but with a 24-fret neck, the first Gibson guitar to have this.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson Nighthawk</span>

The Gibson Nighthawk was a family of electric guitars manufactured by Gibson. Introduced in 1993, the Nighthawk represented a radical change from traditional Gibson designs. While its maple-capped mahogany body and set neck were reminiscent of the classic Gibson Les Paul, the Nighthawk incorporated a number of characteristics more commonly associated with Fender guitars. The Nighthawk was not a commercial success; production of all models was discontinued in 1998 after only five years.

The Fender Bullet was an electric guitar originally designed by John Page and manufactured and marketed by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. It was first introduced as a line of "student" guitars to replace the outgoing Mustang and Musicmaster models.

The Fender American Deluxe Series was a line of electric guitars and basses introduced by Fender in 1995 and discontinued in 2016. It was upgraded in 2004 and 2010 before being replaced by the American Elite series in 2016.

The Fender Elite Stratocaster is an electric solid body guitar that was manufactured by Fender in 1983 and 1984. The name was revived from 2016 to 2019 with the Fender American Elite Stratocaster Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Van Halen</span> American rock guitarist (1955–2020)

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peavey EVH Wolfgang</span>

The Peavey EVH Wolfgang guitar series is a collaboration between guitarist Eddie Van Halen and Hartley Peavey's company, Peavey Electronics. The EVH stands for "Eddie Van Halen" while Wolfgang is the name of Eddie Van Halen's son.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender TC 90</span>

The Fender TC 90 is a semi-hollow electric guitar.

The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele, is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful solid-body electric guitar. Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Gill, Chris (2009). "Eddie Van Halen Interview: Of Wolf and Man". Guitar World. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  2. della Cava, Marco (2009). "This hand-crafted guitar is Eddie Van Halen's baby". USA Today. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  3. "Wolfgang® :: Wolfgang® USA, Ebony Fingerboard, 5A Flame Top, 3-Tone Burst". evhgear.com. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  4. 2009 EVH Wolfgang Brochure (PDF). FMIC. 2009.
  5. 1 2 Bacon, Tony (2019). "The Wolfgang Saga: How 3 Brands Built Eddie Van Halen's Signature Guitar". reverb.com. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  6. 1 2 Williams, Stuart (2017-10-06). "Eddie Van Halen talks building the Frankenstein, honing the 5150 and EVH Gear". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  7. EVH® Wolfgang® GUITAR OWNER'S MANUAL (PDF). 2008.
  8. Quan, Denise (2009). "Eddie Van Halen reinvents the guitar". CNN. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  9. "Eddie Van Halen Launches EVH Wolfgang Guitar". www.premierguitar.com. December 17, 2008. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  10. "Fender Press Releases & Products Updates | Fender Newsroom". spotlight.fender.com. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  11. "EVH Introduces Wolfgang Special Guitar". Premier Guitar. 2010-06-19. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  12. Wright, Michael. "The Charvel Model 4 | Vintage Guitar® magazine" . Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  13. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. (2012, March 8). Form S-1. Retrieved from https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/767959/000119312512101896/d293340ds1.htm.
  14. 1 2 "EVH Launches Wolfgang Standard Series and Revamps Wolfgang Special Series". Premier Guitar (Press release). 2014-09-16. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  15. Gill, Chris (2012-08-30). "Interview: Eddie Van Halen Talks 'A Different Kind of Truth'". Guitar World. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  16. Hammond, Shawn; Kies, Chris (2012-08-10). "Gallery: Van Halen Live Gear 2012". Premier Guitar. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  17. 1 2 Gill, Chris (January 26, 2017). "Eddie Van Halen Reveals Secrets Behind His Live Rig: Guitars, Amps, Effects and More". guitarworld. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  18. "EVH Releases the Wolfgang USA Tour Relic Replica – EVH® News" . Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  19. "EVH Exclusive Interview: Paul Sidoti – EVH® News" . Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  20. di Perna, Alan (2018-06-04). "Jack White Breaks Down His Ambitious New Album, 'Boarding House Reach'". Guitar World. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  21. "Drown in My Own Tears by Ray Charles... On the EVH guitar..." Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2021-07-06.