Gloss Black, Gloss Ivory, Vintage Gold, Seafoam Green, Transparent Sunburst, Transparent Amber, Transparent Red, Transparent Purple, Transparent Green, Transparent Blue, Transparent Cherryburst, Transparent Black Cherryburst (plus numerous other colors and graphics offered via the Peavey Custom Shop)
The Peavey EVH Wolfgangguitar 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 (see cap.12 from book Peavey Guitars: The Authorized American History ).
Since the late 1970s, when Van Halen regularly performed on the Pasadena club scene, and with the release of Van Halen's self-titled debut album, Eddie Van Halen's guitar tone—nicknamed the "Brown Sound" for being full yet distinctively aggressive and articulate—had been widely acclaimed. It immediately set a standard for guitarists all over the world.
To achieve the legendary "Brown Sound", Eddie Van Halen employed a variac to limit the voltage of his Marshall guitar amplifier while still allowing the volume to be at its maximum. He also used a custom-assembled strat-like guitar with a PAFhumbucker (taken from a Gibson ES-335) mounted directly to the guitar's body. Van Halen's infamous Frankenstein (a.k.a. the "Frankenstrat") guitar laid the groundwork for most of the custom guitars he played throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Prior to working with Peavey, Van Halen had worked with and endorsed Charvel, Kramer and Music Man.
Production of the Peavey EVH Wolfgang began in late 1996 (after a year-long development process) and lasted until 2004, when Eddie Van Halen and Peavey parted amicably.[1] Production of the Wolfgang guitar (along with other Peavey models) occurred in a dedicated Leakesville, MS plant but was moved to Meridian, MS in early 2003. Van Halen had also developed three amplifiers with Peavey, starting in 1991.
In 2009, Eddie Van Halen announced the release of a new Wolfgang guitar built by Fender but only carrying his own "EVH" brand label. The newer Wolfgang retains many of exactly the same attributes as its Peavey-built predecessor.
Models and specification
In some sense, the Peavey EVH Wolfgang guitar picked up where the Ernie Ball Music Man EVH model left off , with the prototype design being made by Peavey Design Engineer/Luthier Jim DeCola (an amber quilted top model which still didn't have the Wolfgang headstock shape, but rather a Peavey classic one). On the second prototype, DeCola then developed the final body and headstock designs. The Peavey logo design on the headstock was developed in collaboration with the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, with two wood samples of the headstock and confirmation from Eddie.. Another innovative feature DeCola designed was the recessed truss rod adjustment wheel. Recessing the adjustment wheel into the neck provided a stronger neck joint as well as ease of adjustment like his previous model. This design has since been adopted by Fender, Jackson, Charvel, ESP, Schecter, and many other brands. The body was made of basswood and often had (like its predecessor) a maple cap. This combination is considered by some, such as renowned luthier John Suhr, "the Holy Grail of tone." The Ernie Ball model, however, used a 1/8" figured maple cap, which is itself less likely to change the overall effect of the tonewood. Peavey Wolfgangs had maple caps ranging from 1/4" to 5/8". The guitar had a Floyd Rosevibrato system, built by Ping, which lowers pitch only (like the Ernie Ball Music Man EVH model) but added a d-Tuna on the low E-string, a device that allowed that string to be instantly tuned to and from D (a former design of this device, named "The Willie",[2] was filed for patent by Eddie in 1997, but later abandoned in 1998).
Peavey EVH Wolfgang
Eddie Van Halen playing a sunburst first year quilt top model in 2004.
The original and top-of-the-line model. Made in the USA. It featured an arched (carved) top, body binding, two knobs (volume and tone), three-way pickup toggle switch, two Peavey/EVH-designed humbucker pickups, oil-finished bird's eye maple neck and fingerboard with dual graphite reinforcement rods, ten-degree tilt headstock, and Schaller mini M6 tuners (with either pearloid or ivory colored buttons). Two base versions were offered: a solid basswood model and a solid basswood/maple cap model. (The maple cap was 5/8" before carving.) Each version could come with either a licensed Floyd Rose tremolo with D-Tuna (d-tuner device) or a tune-o-matic bridge and hard tail piece. Solid basswood Wolfgangs were offered in gloss ivory and gloss black; solid basswood/maple cap Wolfgangs were offered in various transparent figured flame only maple finishes (sunburst, amber, red, purple, blue, green, cherryburst, and black cherryburst) as well as vintage gold and seafoam green. Very occasionally a rejected maple top was painted either gloss black or gloss ivory.
Peavey EVH Wolfgang Special
Peavey and Eddie Van Halen's attempt to make a "budget" version of the Wolfgang that didn't compromise quality in parts or craftsmanship. Made in the USA in 1998. It featured a flat top, one knob (volume), three-way pickup toggle switch, two Peavey/EVH-designed humbucker pickups, licensed Floyd Rose tremolo with D-Tuna (d-tuner device), oil-finished hard rock maple neck and fingerboard with dual graphite reinforcement rods, straight headstock, and chrome tuners. Two base versions were offered: a solid basswood model and a solid basswood/maple cap model. (The maple cap was 1/4".) Each version could come with either a licensed Floyd Rose tremolo with D-Tuna (d-tuner device) or a tune-o-matic bridge and hard tailpiece. Solid basswood Wolfgang Specials were offered in gloss ivory, gloss black, vintage gold, gloss purple, and sunburst; solid basswood/maple cap Wolfgangs were offered in various transparent figured flame only maple finishes (amber, red, purple, green, sunburst, and black cherryburst). Very occasionally a rejected maple top was painted gloss black.
Peavey EVH Wolfgang & Wolfgang Special (Custom Shop)
The Peavey EVH Wolfgang Custom Shop operated from January 2002 to December 2004. It was run by four highly talented craftsman, each with a different area of specialty. The Custom Shop launched with a contest held via Van Halen's. Twelve unique Wolfgangs were given away throughout 2002—one every month.
Approximately 285 Custom Shop guitars were produced in Leakesville, of which 92 of these were made to fill specific orders while the rest were built for the "Wolfgang Vault".
Another 130 specific customer orders were produced in Meridian after mid-2003 as well as another 70 guitars, many of which are not really true Customs as they were using up remaining materials inventory. Some guitars where the only upgrade is a rosewood fretboard is technically called a Custom Shop, but most really are not. Eddie didn't want the production guitars to have rosewood fretboards so the only way they could produce them like this was to call them Custom Shop guitars.
Thus, approximately 500 Custom Shop guitars were built from 2002 through 2004, some 220 of them being specific customer orders (Approximately 50 of those were ordered and/or purchased by guitar collector Geoff Knapp. These and many more are pictured at his website, Rock'N Roll Weekend).
Peavey had an area at their website for people to "build" (and order) their own Custom Shop guitars. The basic options that anyone could select were; the body wood: top wood; fretboard wood; fretboard inlays; bridge type; hardware color; top color or graphic and matching/standard headstock. The body wood options were basswood (standard), alder, ash, mahogany, and even koa or korina which weren't standard options. Bridge options were a stop tail bridge or a Floyd Rose Tremolo system in chrome (standard), gold or black. The Special models came with the birdseye (not hard rock) maple neck, which was an upgrade from a production special. For the fretboard you could select Birdseye (standard), Rosewood or Ebony. For the inlays they had pearl or black dots (standard), EVH Blocks, Tribal Flames, Skulls or no inlays at all. For the top you could select flame maple (standard), quilted maple, koa or none (solid body construction). There were about 30 colors to choose from including graphics and a custom graphic option.[3]
Peavey EVH Wolfgang Special EXP
Offered from 2002 to 2004, the Peavey EVH Wolfgang Special EXP was a Korean-made version of the Wolfgang. It contained no markings to differentiate it from USA models, but there were several deviations. The most obvious difference between the Korean and USA Special models are quilt only tops (Korean) vs. flame only tops (USA). The Wolfgang Special EXP had a 1/20" quilt only maple veneer top and came in four transparent colors: amber, maroon, blue, and sunburst. The body was made of solid basswood and had a masked "faux" binding. Like the USA Wolfgang Special it featured a flat top, one knob (volume), three-way pickup toggle switch, Peavey/EVH-designed humbucker pickups like USA models, licensed Floyd Rose tremolo with D-Tuna (d-tuner device), hard rock maple neck and fingerboard, straight headstock, and Grover mini tuners (a feature unique to this model). Some aspects of the Wolfgang Special EXP were different to its USA counterparts: the neck had no graphite reinforcement rods and was finished with a satin poly. A hard tail version was not offered. Another detail, aesthetically, of the Korean version was the position of the "Special" decal on the headstock. Same position as the American special, but slightly shifted inward in the Korean version. The first Korean guitars do not have the evh signature printed on the headstock, because the relevant equipment arrived after production had started.
Specifications details and singularities (pickups, switching, vibrato unit, colours)
The pickups on the US-made guitars were manufactured by Peavey and, due to the fact that they used different enamel wire types, the neck pickup actually had a higher impedance than the bridge one (approximately 16.22 kΩ on the neck and 13.87 kΩ on the bridge one), which is uncommon. The EXP models (made in Korea) had pickups made to these specs, but not made in the US.
The 3-way switch works in an unconventional way, to the preference of Eddie Van Halen (similar to rotating a Les Paul switch 180 degrees), who mentioned needing to faster switch to the bridge position for soloing. Hence, the "up" position enables the bridge pickup whereas the "down" position enables the neck pickup; the middle position enables both pickups connected in parallel.
The vibrato unit was made by Ping to the specifications given by Peavey (string spacing: 10.8mm, string spread: 54mm or 2 7/8", stud spacing: 74mm or 2 15/16", post insert size: 8mm, radius 355mm or 14", brass block depth: 33mm). On the EXP models, a low-budget version built in Korea was installed, more similar to a Schaller unit.
Two solid finishes which had maple tops (seafoam green and solid gold) on the Standard models gained some preference due to their exquisite looks. In Jim DeCola's words: "The first batch of gold guitars had a different shade of gold than most others as the paint vendor changed. Maybe the first 50 or so. The finishing department blamed a mistake on the paint vendor who supplied the gold and consequently changed the supplier after about 50 or so guitars. The original gold had a warmer, more Gibson bronze cast compared to the following production gold guitars."
There are a few prototype colours on serial production guitars, with as low as 1 guitar with a certain colour, experiments that Peavey made while in production. One of the examples of this is a dark gloss oxblood finish with a black binding, now owned by an Austin guitar dealer (bearing the patent number but no serial). Some of these had black or gold hardware.
Serial numbers
USA-built Peavey Wolfgangs typically had serial numbers that started with "91" followed by six more digits. Late-run USA Wolfgangs had serial numbers that started with "50" or "51". A very few prototype models had serial numbers that started with "1". Though Peavey Wolfgang owners have often sought to find a corroboration in the serial numbers of their guitars and the year in which each was built (similar to the system Gibson uses), there was no such information contained in the serial numbers. There was also no code specific to Custom Shop models.
Peavey Wolfgang serial numbers were stamped on the back of the headstock between the tuners. Eddie Van Halen's signature and the headstock patent number were both branded just below the serial number. Early Wolfgang models (1996–1998) contained the term "Pat. Pend." in place of the patent number. South Korean made Wolfgang Special QTs had serial numbers printed in black on the back of the headstock.
Sorting the serial numbers and their dates on the guitar's accompanying certificates, can state: Peavey Wolfgang's serials (made in USA, standard and special, with no difference) are not perfectly progressive. Geoff of rocknrollweekend.com comments:
Serial Numbers - I have looked at the dates on the build sheets of the original year guitars and compared them to the serial numbers. They are close, but not necessarily in order. I think that is because the serial numbers are pulled during production and the delivery date entered when the guitar is completed. A guitar that needed something reworked or was set to the side for some reason would have a later delivery date even though it had an earlier serial number".[4]
Approximately from 91000001 to 91000636 1996,
from 91000670 to 91004545 1997,
from 91005978 to 91012389 1998,
from 91014135 to 91021113 1999,
from 91021120 to 91023507 2000,
from 91024613 to 91024790 2001,
from 91024822 to 91028737 2002,
from 91029130 2003.
from 50xx e 51xx - 2003, 2004.
The 91s were produced in the Leakesville, Mississippi, plant (now abandoned and disused, in the demolition ) developed specifically to produce the Wolfgang, then moved production to the main facility in Meridian, also Mississippi, (the 51s).
Peavey HP Special
Shortly after the split with Eddie Van Halen, Peavey released the HP Special model (HP stands for Hartley Peavey, although the model was initially supposed to be named Carina) in 2005, with both American and Asian versions, a guitar that encompassed many of the characteristics of the Wolfgang (basswood body with optional contoured maple top, bolt-on maple neck with maple fingerboard, etc.), but was somewhat of a departure from the collaboration with the guitarist - an H-S-H pickup configuration option, a 5-bolt neck joint, and the headstock shape change, even if the Wolfgang headstock patent remained with Peavey.
Work with Fender - the Charvel Art Series and the EVH brand
In his last times with Peavey, Eddie Van Halen began working with Charvel to produce replicas of three of his striped guitar models, the Charvel EVH Art Series, in black and white, yellow and black, and also the most common red, white, and black color scheme. During the Van Halen 2004 Tour, the guitarist played a different custom striped Charvel Art Series in a few songs of each concert, later autographing and auctioning them on eBay.
In 2007, under the supervision of master-builder Chip Ellis, a single run of 300 official replicas of his original Frankenstein guitar were made available by Fender under the EVH brand, in strict collaboration with Eddie Van Halen. The guitars were priced at $25,000, having a massive demand upon their arrival to the market.
After the 2007-08 Tour, and once again under the supervision of Chip Ellis, the evolution of the Wolfgang within the Fender group became available to the public, with the EVH Wolfgang® (in 2008) and the EVH Wolfgang® Special (in 2010), both sporting the "bottle opener" shape,[5] which is owned by Eddie Van Halen, unlike the old Peavey headstock. This was also designed by Jim DeCola who added Eddie and Hartley Peavey's names to the patent and then assigned it to Eddie so he could have ownership. The guitar inherits many of the Peavey characteristics, namely the woods, overall design, and pickups. Regarding these, Jim DeCola added: "I worked at Fender (Nashville) for 11 years after Peavey (...). They picked my brain a little before I realized they were trying to lure EVH away. I already discussed what I did with the pickups casually to coworkers. After the guitar was released, I got copies of the pickup specs and blueprints. They are the same specs.".
An amplifier series - the EVH 5150 III - and several instrument accessories and merchandise soon followed, all under the EVH brand.
Peavey HP2
In July 2017, during the Summer in Nashville, Peavey announced the release of the HP2 model, an instrument which has exactly the same appearance and specifications as the discontinued Wolfgang, with minor differences such as: different licensed Floyd Rose, corean made pickups with push/pull switch in the tone and volume knobs (for split-coil mode), the removal of the EVH Wolfgang inscription as well as the D-Tuna device, a different guitar case. From 2020 to the present, Wolfgangs are made in the Czech Republic and the first 800 or so guitars have NOS lettering behind the headstock, indicating the use of advanced materials in older American production.
Related Research Articles
The Fender Showmaster is a discontinued model of electric guitar made by Fender, and is characteristic of a superstrat.
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.
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.
The King V is an electric guitar model made by Jackson Guitars.
The Jackson Soloist is an electric guitar model introduced by Jackson Guitars in 1984, although prototypes were available before then. The design is a typical "superstrat"; it varies from a typical Stratocaster because of its neck-thru design; tremolo: Floyd Rose or similar, Kahler; or a fixed Tune-O-Matic; premium woods; a deeper cutaway at the lower horn for better access to the higher frets, and a sharper body with squared-off edges.
The Jackson Dinky is a Superstrat-style double-cutaway electric guitar built by Jackson Guitars. The "Dinky" is named for its slightly smaller than normal (7/8) body size. Usually fitted with a two humbucker pickup configuration, some models also include single-coil pickups and/or just one bridge humbucker. The fretboard can be made out of ebony, rosewood and more recently maple, or rock maple, with 24 jumbo frets and is always built with a bolt-on neck. Most of the guitars have a Floyd Rose original or licensed tremolo, and a locking nut to help maintain stable tuning. Some Dinkys have hardtail, or String-Thru bridges. The Jackson Dinky is usually preferred by players of hard rock and heavy metal.
The Fender Jaguar Bass is an electric bass guitar currently manufactured in Mexico by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.
Kramer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses. Kramer produced aluminum-necked electric guitars and basses in the 1970s and wooden-necked guitars catering to hard rock and heavy metal musicians in the 1980s; Kramer is currently a division of Gibson Guitar Corporation.
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.
The Jackson Rhoads is a model of electric guitar, originally commissioned by guitarist Randy Rhoads and produced by Jackson Guitars.
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.
The Gibson Les Paul Custom is a higher-end variation of the Gibson Les Paul guitar. It was developed in 1953 after Gibson had introduced the Les Paul model in 1952.
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.
Duesenberg is a brand for electric string instruments founded in 1986 and located in Hannover, Germany. The headquarter is in Hannover, Germany, they are known for using a Plek machine for the levelling of frets and setup. Duesenberg has uploaded a factory production video of how their guitars are made, revealing that most of the production of the guitars is done in Croatia, while the final setup and assembly is done in Germany.
The Gibson ES-333 is a semi hollow body electric guitar made by Gibson Guitar Corporation.
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.
The Yamaha Corporation is a multinational corporation and conglomerate based in Japan with a wide range of products and services, predominantly musical instruments, motorcycles, power sports equipment and electronics.
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. Many prominent rock musicians have been associated with the Telecaster for use in studio recording and live performances, most notably Bruce Springsteen, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Keith Richards and George Harrison.
The Peavey Predator is a series of electric guitars made by Peavey Electronics. It has been made continuously since 1985. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top "horn" shape for balance. There are five models of the Peavey Predator, with different styles and makes of each.
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.
References
↑ "EDDIE VAN HALEN And PEAVEY End Long-Term Partnership - Dec. 21, 2004"
Peavey Wolfgang operating guide from Peavey official
Peavey Wolfgang Special operating guide from Peavey official
Peavey Guitars: The Authorized American History
Mr. Geoff Knapp of California, is mentioned in the book "Peavey Guitars: The Authorized American History." In addition to being the world's foremost collector of Peavey Wolfgang guitars, by number and models, he has also been a Peavey dealer. So his website https://www.rocknrollweekend.com can be considered an absolutely authoritative and reliable source
Project EVH
Interview With Barb Page Part 4 Peavey EVH Wolfgang Guitar
Peavey EVH catalog 1999
Practical Guide To Peavey Guitars
Axebition Peavey Wolfgang
The Wolfgang Saga: How 3 Brands Built Eddie Van Halen's Signature Guitar
The Story of Eddie Van Halen's Signature Wolfgang Guitar
Peavey Wolfgang US vs Korean Review
NAMM 2000 Prototype Peavey Wolfgang Deluxe made for Eddie Van Halen
Talking Peavey Wolfgang Guitars with designer Jim Decola
How Eddie Van Halen’s “endless pursuit” of perfection changed the guitar industry forever
Here Are All the Eddie Van Halen Guitars and Gear You Can See at the Rock Hall
NAMM flashback: Watch Eddie Van Halen shred classic Van Halen riffs as he unveils and demos his Peavey EVH Wolfgang signature guitar in 1996
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
