For more gear reviews and videos check out guitarworld.com. In this video Guitar World's gear editor Paul Riario demonstrates the features of the EVH Wolfgang guitar.
Let me speak for those who want this guitar. This is a simply perfect, and amazing instrument. It is bulletproof, it sounds unbelievable. I bought it and this monster was ready to scream and growl right out of the box. High quality, perfectly crafted, and a mix of 30 years of the best guitarist's, Eddie Van Halen's, experience. Absolutely flawless. Mr, Van Halen, you have done it again. I look forward to buying and playing more of your amazing equipment. Very, very well done. 10 out of 5 stars!
These guitars are the answer. I just got one and Im telling you I dont play my ibanez anymore. Everything is made to last and it stays in perfect tune.
The neck is really a "bolt IN", which means that the body has brass machine grommets that accept machine bolts and the neck is melded with the body, instead of a huge protrusion from the body like a typical bold-on neck. Vastly superior.
and also the pick ups are bolted to the body to get better sound and sustain and the tuners are possitioned as straight in line with each string as possible to help with least friction.and the volume and tone pods are also special pod to help from freezing up from constant use. there are alot more opion on this guitar
Great demo, Paul. Ever since you demo'd the Floyd Rose FRX, (which sold me. Got a gold one on my SG) I try not to miss anything you talk about or demo. You have this axe covered!
I love these guitars. I have the Peavey USA ones [an EVH, and two EVH Specials] through a 5150 combo or through a MK III Mesa. they are just all around great guitars. Even the body shape (@ Shaun) Les Paul inspired horn, ES top cutaway and the back part of the body pays homage to a strat the way it falls away slightly. very resonant also, definitely feel this guitar when you are playing it.
You forgot to mention that these have stainless steel frets which makes this an investment for the player as well as collectors. SS frets last forever. It will be years before you have to even consider a refret. 7 months in on my main guitar with SS frets and it is like new, I have use lighting to try and find spots, but nothing, no buzzing, perfect setup, amazing. Other guitars I have had to recrown and level bla bla around 6 months. Good stuff
This guitar is insane..back in the dayS EVH and RR were ur guys for hard rock, metal..well dokken aswell...I wonder what kind of guitar Randy would have built...his pdv was built for like $700 or something in 1979 I think and he had like 2 and 1 on the way of the first jacksons the Concorde prob 10 years ago they took his Concorde and made amazing 100% copies of it. The price was Randy's birthday Dec 6 1956 $12,619.56. I'm sure I got it right there well worth it ....but if he could of been alive and not killed in that plane crash who knows where he'd be????
Not my favorite interview from Guitar World Magazine ? ! Still one of if not the coolest new guitar from 2011 , the Eddie van halen wolfgang guitar is outstanding
Hey that D-tuna is great if you have a Floyd Rose! It's not that it's hard to drop your low string a step, but with a Floyd Rose that turns into a 10 minute job.
seriously leave paul alone. he's a great guitar player, not to mention he has a job playing guitar none of you people hating on him will ever even come close to having. post a video of you playing if you think paul sucks so much.
@brt927 The pickups in the DeCola Wolfgang were painstakingly made to Ed's specifications. Dozens of prototypes were wound and installed to finally end up at EXACTLY the sound he had in his head (drunk or sober). Another interesting point is that Ed actually got a Wolfie prototype from DeCola that had stainless frets and he nixed the idea. That was probably in '98 or '99.
Yeah I think it the tuning sounded just a bit flat when it was switched to drop d. I wasn't refering to the tone of the guitar, which I think is AWESOME!
@redrocker1055: steve vai actually uses alder, gilbert uses ash korina and basswood, and satch uses mohogany and basswood. although i agree on the tones
@stonerh The other problem is the trademark. Paul has said that he is not allowd to copy exact riffs in these demos, which is quite lame when you're demoing a signature peice of gear.
@lolvids2 Mainly the brand of hardware. The wolfgang special has EVH brand pups and the wolfgang has seymour duncans. Wolfgang special has the EVH whammy when wolfgang has Floyd rose.
@morbideddie true, that's why you must look for a guitar that FEELS amazing .. and sounds like what YOU like... when looking for gear to improve your tone remember two things.. 1) How you play it it's equally important as the gear... 2) what doesn't stop you (action, feel, sound, quality) helps you!!!
I don't believe you understood what I meant. I'm saying on a Floyd Rose, you can leave enough room to tune it by ear. It's what I do, I'd never buy a D-tuna, because I really don't need one. I can already go from standard to drop D without unlocking it.
I see a good deal of misinformation posted here. I don't know why some posters talk out their ass if they don't know what they're talking about. The difference between the Wolfgang and the Wolfgang Special is that the Special has a flat top instead of an arch top, and is made in Japan as opposed to the USA. All of the hardware is the same. If you ask me, the Special is where it's at. I don't see any sense in spending $1,700 more for an arched top and "MADE IN THE USA" stamp.
The only things I would change to make this guitar perfect for me would be the bolt on neck, the body shape and color, amount of frets to 24, and the fretboard to ebony.
@brt927 I'm not sure what you mean by "quality of wood". The basswood blanks for the Peavey guitars were hand-selected and pre-weighed before cutting. It's common knowledge among guitar builders that contemporary wood supplies are much less consistent in quality so, unless Fender is drawing from a supply that is more than 20 years old, I don't understand your logic.
@keithgatti japanese are closer to an assembly line but not quite. theyre very hand crafted as well, especially on the neck where its needed the most. only korea, indonesia, china, etc. are full assembly lines that requite minimum touching of the guitar
@lolvids2 the special has a flat top with a plain maple cap with a thin veneer the standard has an arched solid maple cap and its built in america the special is built in asia
From what I know, all the logistics were made by Fender, but the Design Team for the Guitar was by the guys from Charvel/Jackson USA under Eddie's demand.
@brt927 That's all just mechanics. You could change out the frets, electronics and Floyd on a Peavey Wolfgang and have the same guitar. The ORIGINAL Wolfgang design is still something designed by Jim DeCola. Taking credit for a "new" design would be like the current group of fashionistas at Fender saying they designed the Strat.
this guitar is extremely awsome the difference between the special and the higher end one is that the higher end one uses AAA birdseye maple neck while the special has AA birdseye not much of a difference though in the hardware both guitars are nice
i want to add to this that the wolofgang guitars have a 41mm nut when most les pauls strats and teles have a bigger one so it will take time to get used to it
@redrocker1055 That's true, they're very balanced. I like Ash and Alder for their clear and treble tones. Plus they're both pretty hard so you don't have to worry about tremolo studs expanding. Cheap basswood is a no no...
@asdfcrow No not exactly. Because they use the same woods, pickups, electronics, hardware... only the binding, flat top, and place of origin are different. Both are great guitars. And if you are on a more limited budget it definitely makes sense. That is why I own a epiphone les paul and put a set of dimarzio PAF pros in it... It has a great les paul tone now.. It still doesnt play like a gibson but i had it set up professionally and with those new pickups it gets pretty damn close.
the thing always reminded me of the late, unlmented fender starcaster; for those who don't remember, it was a hollowbody, like a gibson es335, with an offset waist, like a jazzmaster. i've played a few; nice axe, just never caught on....
I instantly wanted one when I found out that Johan Leifvendahl from Seventh Wonder plays one of these bad boys. Oh, and apparently Eddie Van Halen plays it too ;)
It's a great idea but I find that it doesn't work well, I always have to tweak it when I drop from e to d, it can also mess up the tuning for the other strings because the neck moves a bit.
The Wolfgang Guitar was made by Eddie and Peavey collaboration, not Fender. They just took the Peavey pattern and made a pair of changes. Be more honest GW, you presented the Peavey version some years ago.
@Hysteriskull it might appear the same but there are a ton of improvements. Such as the wood selection, the pickups, a heavier block in the Floyd rose, better quality electronics, stainless steel frets and it is better build all around. Eddie wanted the guitar to out last him. The guitar is probably one of the best built instruments you will ever see, hear, or play.
Seeing this now 12 1/2 years after it was made. How did I miss this? I swear you've been sandbagging us on your playing. This was 🔥🔥🔥
Let me speak for those who want this guitar. This is a simply perfect, and amazing instrument. It is bulletproof, it sounds unbelievable. I bought it and this monster was ready to scream and growl right out of the box. High quality, perfectly crafted, and a mix of 30 years of the best guitarist's, Eddie Van Halen's, experience. Absolutely flawless. Mr, Van Halen, you have done it again. I look forward to buying and playing more of your amazing equipment. Very, very well done. 10 out of 5 stars!
These guitars are the answer. I just got one and Im telling you I dont play my ibanez anymore. Everything is made to last and it stays in perfect tune.
Still prefer Peavey Wolfgang. More resonant, better arching on the top.
@@brianh4625+1
Brian H I’ll take the EVH
The neck is really a "bolt IN", which means that the body has brass machine grommets that accept machine bolts and the neck is melded with the body, instead of a huge protrusion from the body like a typical bold-on neck. Vastly superior.
Absolutely Awesome!! Can't believe how badass it sounds!! On 2nd thought, anything with EVH is gonna ROCK AND ROLL
That thing that lets you drop to D is amazing, wonderful guitar!
The lead reminds me of Michael J Fox in Back To The Future when he scares everyone with his crazy solo.
love all of this guys demonstrations, he's got a little bit of everybody in his playing.
congratulations, i'm sure this has been the highlight of your month.
and also the pick ups are bolted to the body to get better sound and sustain and the tuners are possitioned as straight in line with each string as possible to help with least friction.and the volume and tone pods are also special pod to help from freezing up from constant use. there are alot more opion on this guitar
Great demo, Paul. Ever since you demo'd the Floyd Rose FRX, (which sold me. Got a gold one on my SG) I try not to miss anything you talk about or demo. You have this axe covered!
I've recently played one of these at my local Guitar Center. This guitar is near perfect. If you ever have the chance, Go for it.
This guy can shred like no other.
I love these guitars. I have the Peavey USA ones [an EVH, and two EVH Specials] through a 5150 combo or through a MK III Mesa. they are just all around great guitars. Even the body shape (@ Shaun) Les Paul inspired horn, ES top cutaway and the back part of the body pays homage to a strat the way it falls away slightly. very resonant also, definitely feel this guitar when you are playing it.
Damn dude, you do do some riffing, nice work, there Paullie.
for me it's one of the best looking guitars i've seen in a while...
Does it stay in tune with all of the whammy bar action ?
I guess you guys weren't ready for this yet, but your kids are gonna love it.
PAUL is a BEAST!
You forgot to mention that these have stainless steel frets which makes this an investment for the player as well as collectors. SS frets last forever. It will be years before you have to even consider a refret.
7 months in on my main guitar with SS frets and it is like new, I have use lighting to try and find spots, but nothing, no buzzing, perfect setup, amazing. Other guitars I have had to recrown and level bla bla around 6 months.
Good stuff
i am suddenly motivated to start actually practicing my guitar so I can play like this dude
This guitar is insane..back in the dayS EVH and RR were ur guys for hard rock, metal..well dokken aswell...I wonder what kind of guitar Randy would have built...his pdv was built for like $700 or something in 1979 I think and he had like 2 and 1 on the way of the first jacksons the Concorde prob 10 years ago they took his Concorde and made amazing 100% copies of it. The price was Randy's birthday Dec 6 1956 $12,619.56. I'm sure I got it right there well worth it
....but if he could of been alive and not killed in that plane crash who knows where he'd be????
Couldn't the pickup selector switch be loosened and tightened upside down so it's the more traditional setting?
Is he picking with the pick when he does the hormonics? really cool effect at all!
The photo of this guitar is inside the album/CD sleeve of Best of Van Halen Vol. 1 1996
Paul, you should think of switching to this guitar as your primary axe. It's your best playing, and visually you two also match perfectly.
Not my favorite interview from Guitar World Magazine ? !
Still one of if not the coolest new guitar from 2011 , the Eddie van halen wolfgang guitar is outstanding
Got one too. The neck is just perfect
it would help if the amp and settings were in the description.
Hey that D-tuna is great if you have a Floyd Rose! It's not that it's hard to drop your low string a step, but with a Floyd Rose that turns into a 10 minute job.
Hooray somebody that can play and knows how to get a sound
seriously leave paul alone. he's a great guitar player, not to mention he has a job playing guitar none of you people hating on him will ever even come close to having. post a video of you playing if you think paul sucks so much.
@brt927
The pickups in the DeCola Wolfgang were painstakingly made to Ed's specifications. Dozens of prototypes were wound and installed to finally end up at EXACTLY the sound he had in his head (drunk or sober).
Another interesting point is that Ed actually got a Wolfie prototype from DeCola that had stainless frets and he nixed the idea.
That was probably in '98 or '99.
Man i just wish it had a reverse head stock shaped more like jackson. What model is this guitar?
Yeah I think it the tuning sounded just a bit flat when it was switched to drop d. I wasn't refering to the tone of the guitar, which I think is AWESOME!
I’m here for this guys playing, does the guitar justice
that sounds like the perfect guitar to me
@redrocker1055: steve vai actually uses alder, gilbert uses ash korina and basswood, and satch uses mohogany and basswood. although i agree on the tones
how much if i buy 1 for new or used ? and what a defrient spical and standerd ?
I want this. NOW!
@stonerh The other problem is the trademark. Paul has said that he is not allowd to copy exact riffs in these demos, which is quite lame when you're demoing a signature peice of gear.
Is the fretboard on the EVH Special Birdseye Maple? I wonder what tonal difference there would be between the Maple Birdseye and the Ebony Fretboard?
He is amazing!
What amp are you using for this demo?
whats the diffrence between the normal EVH wolfgang and the EVH wolfgang special? because they have like a $1,700 diffrence in price
Matches perfectly Eddie's playin' style👍
What model is this? I can't find it anywhere :(
The harmonics part was definitely impressive!
so when does the "paul from guitar world" model come out?
@lolvids2 Mainly the brand of hardware. The wolfgang special has EVH brand pups and the wolfgang has seymour duncans. Wolfgang special has the EVH whammy when wolfgang has Floyd rose.
@morbideddie true, that's why you must look for a guitar that FEELS amazing .. and sounds like what YOU like... when looking for gear to improve your tone remember two things.. 1) How you play it it's equally important as the gear... 2) what doesn't stop you (action, feel, sound, quality) helps you!!!
I don't believe you understood what I meant. I'm saying on a Floyd Rose, you can leave enough room to tune it by ear. It's what I do, I'd never buy a D-tuna, because I really don't need one. I can already go from standard to drop D without unlocking it.
THANK you! Its 99% pickups/strings(gauge) setup,
Amp/Cab.. and those fingers.
I see a good deal of misinformation posted here. I don't know why some posters talk out their ass if they don't know what they're talking about. The difference between the Wolfgang and the Wolfgang Special is that the Special has a flat top instead of an arch top, and is made in Japan as opposed to the USA. All of the hardware is the same. If you ask me, the Special is where it's at. I don't see any sense in spending $1,700 more for an arched top and "MADE IN THE USA" stamp.
The only things I would change to make this guitar perfect for me would be the bolt on neck, the body shape and color, amount of frets to 24, and the fretboard to ebony.
@brt927
I'm not sure what you mean by "quality of wood". The basswood blanks for the Peavey guitars were hand-selected and pre-weighed before cutting.
It's common knowledge among guitar builders that contemporary wood supplies are much less consistent in quality so, unless Fender is drawing from a supply that is more than 20 years old, I don't understand your logic.
GREAT review as always! best magazine ever
wow this guy gets better every time i see him
hey im wonder if the d tuna thing could be bought and added on another original floyd rose from schaller
Damn man, How come you are not famous? You are great! When and where are you playing?
he finally played something awesome on the clean tone and not something generic.
how does the top string detune from just push/pull?
@IvoCro1053
does it have the smooth music man neck?
What kind of amp, effects, etc are you playing through?:
@keithgatti japanese are closer to an assembly line but not quite. theyre very hand crafted as well, especially on the neck where its needed the most. only korea, indonesia, china, etc. are full assembly lines that requite minimum touching of the guitar
@lolvids2 the special has a flat top with a plain maple cap with a thin veneer the standard has an arched solid maple cap and its built in america the special is built in asia
hey how much does this guitar cost?
how does he toogle between clean sound and distorted sond if this guitar only has one volume control? like in Hot for Teacher
is restringing it different with the D tuner?
From what I know, all the logistics were made by Fender, but the Design Team for the Guitar was by the guys from Charvel/Jackson USA under Eddie's demand.
thats amazing! the detuner is sweet
Wow that's a nice guitar. I might get one . I have to go play it!
@brt927
That's all just mechanics.
You could change out the frets, electronics and Floyd on a Peavey Wolfgang and have the same guitar.
The ORIGINAL Wolfgang design is still something designed by Jim DeCola. Taking credit for a "new" design would be like the current group of fashionistas at Fender saying they designed the Strat.
his main amp now is the evh 3 yeah but he still owns older models hes used im sure he still uses them at home
so what are the pickups?
this guitar is extremely awsome the difference between the special and the higher end one is that the higher end one uses AAA birdseye maple neck while the special has AA birdseye not much of a difference though in the hardware both guitars are nice
Paul, You need to do a demo on the new Wolfgang Special made in Japan.
This was on the cd months ago from memory?
tried out one of these at my local guitar store, its amazing but the ghost of EVH style is hard to get away from :(
i want to add to this that the wolofgang guitars have a 41mm nut when most les pauls strats and teles have a bigger one so it will take time to get used to it
that drop D thing is genius
@redrocker1055 That's true, they're very balanced. I like Ash and Alder for their clear and treble tones. Plus they're both pretty hard so you don't have to worry about tremolo studs expanding. Cheap basswood is a no no...
@asdfcrow No not exactly. Because they use the same woods, pickups, electronics, hardware... only the binding, flat top, and place of origin are different. Both are great guitars. And if you are on a more limited budget it definitely makes sense. That is why I own a epiphone les paul and put a set of dimarzio PAF pros in it... It has a great les paul tone now.. It still doesnt play like a gibson but i had it set up professionally and with those new pickups it gets pretty damn close.
the thing always reminded me of the late, unlmented fender starcaster; for those who don't remember, it was a hollowbody, like a gibson es335, with an offset waist, like a jazzmaster. i've played a few; nice axe, just never caught on....
is it true that the neck isnt painted either
I instantly wanted one when I found out that Johan Leifvendahl from Seventh Wonder plays one of these bad boys. Oh, and apparently Eddie Van Halen plays it too ;)
that d-tuna is sic...
can u get that for any floyd rose guitar?...
It's a great idea but I find that it doesn't work well, I always have to tweak it when I drop from e to d, it can also mess up the tuning for the other strings because the neck moves a bit.
@JgHaverty The new fender wolfgang is the same price as the Peavey wolfgang..you must be talking about the wolfgang special which cost $1400
that was Paul's best playing ever!!!!!!
how much this guitar costs?
Nice playing Paul!
ik what your saying. since when did it cost $500 to have EVH writen on your guitar?
@Ewing5150 He's not allowed to due to copyright laws. He can only play "in the style of" EVH
@lolvids2 the evh special is a japanese factory model without binding and no flat top, but the same usa made parts as the usa evh
The Wolfgang Guitar was made by Eddie and Peavey collaboration, not Fender. They just took the Peavey pattern and made a pair of changes. Be more honest GW, you presented the Peavey version some years ago.
Matt Bellamy in 2000-2002 he use EVH Wolfgang and plays Muscle Museum..... :)
sometimes i cant beliveve that i can play guitar like this dude
I am this dude.
@Hysteriskull it might appear the same but there are a ton of improvements. Such as the wood selection, the pickups, a heavier block in the Floyd rose, better quality electronics, stainless steel frets and it is better build all around. Eddie wanted the guitar to out last him. The guitar is probably one of the best built instruments you will ever see, hear, or play.
Dude this guys can wail!