For anyone considering it today, I got one last week with zero defects and the set up was perfect out of the box. It’s fantastic, I didn’t know that I would like the guitar this much and there’s nothing to dislike at retail.
I could have written that review word for word. LOL. I bought a WG Standard, and for the money, it's an incredible instrument. Hell, double the price and it would still be worth it!
Kevin Alfrey I got lucky! Got it on reverb. Guitar was in mint condition (new) came set up and perfectly in tune out of the box. Just had to stretch the strings!
sham zamri so far it’s gone above my expectations! All my other guitars are boutique guitars much more then double the Wolfgang. Nice and rounded fret ends no sharp ends.great feeling overall. Glad I took a chance and purchased it. I do find the guitar a bit darker but my other guitars are maple, neck throughs. So not sure if it’s the pickups or the guitars construction.
@@RetroFan1992 That's why I'm curious after watching Cameron Cooper demos sometime ago..maybe you've seen it but here's the link anyway..ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-r5s5mWN9YSc.html.. thanks for the feedback.
I also thought my EVH had a shorter scale neck when I first played it but after measuring, I realized that it's a standard scale and what they do is to make the body a few inches shorter at the bridge end. When you wear a strap, the head stock is shifted a few inches closer to you. There are a few other body adjustments that they've done making it the most comfortable guitar I have ever played.
I bought that color and model. I'm in love. So I was tripping over the Standard vs the Special After watching this and a few other reviews. I pulled the trigger on a polar white Special
EVH Wolfgang USA neck is very close to Peavey Wolfgang, the profiles on the Special and Standard models are just a little different than USA line for some reason... Also on the USA models the pickup selector is still reversed, but the USA models also come with Asian built Floyd because "that's what Eddie wants". Go figure. Will be interesting to see what Eddie's son does with the brand... I think that real maple cap on the USA line is accounting for most of the "USA pickups sound different" theory. If they were different in any way other than country of origin, EVH/Fender would have incentive to advertise that to upsell EVH Special and Standard buyers to the USA pickups which EVH sells as a part... As EVH support told me "they aren't hand wound... same machine building them just on two different continents" I imagine they build the USA line pickups in the US factory to maintain tighter quality control on them.
Hi there! I have the Japanese version and the pups doesn’t have 4 wire conductors so, no push pull for me, it’s awsome they’ve added to the recents models! Regards!
I want this guitar so bad. I’ve been a player for almost 30 years and I own one guitar. I have had a few, lost a few and I NEED this guitar you’re playing like I need air to breathe. I hope to be able to save and buy it, if I can get back to work.
My stabdard was great out of the box my stealth special is in need of shims & re blocking according to my dealer … not happy about that But I got it done and it’s great but really there’s burrs on the fine tuners that needed dealing with too it’s a fresh 2022
With a good amp the pick up difference is less noticable just more clarity. ok amp usa awesome import muddy. they are all great guitars just compare for your self I have several MIJ/MIC and a standard all stock
I scored the 21st out of 40 EVH Frankie's available through Chuck Levin's on pre-order for mid December delivery after watching the Tone King review his and mention where it came from.
I just looked at mine and I have that crack too. Didn’t even know it. Mine is also a Special and I pulled out the pickups enough to see if there’s a Made In whatever sticker on it but there’s no indication where it was born. Don’t care really, but I like to be able to tell a buyer what they’re buying. And the DeTuna device will be very finicky and stiff when you first get it. Just keep everything clean and oiled and it will break in. The only mod I did was to put a brass nut. I just like the tonal properties of brass. And the EVH branded Floyd is no where close to the Schaller or the USA models. Nice, but not the same level of quality and smoothness. I paid $780 used for mine.
I have a USA peavey hp special that they made once he left Peavey. I much prefer the body shape to the Wolfgang but it’s pretty much the same otherwise. Fantastic guitar.
With the offset body, it's like a jazzmaster-inspired version of my Sterling MM Axis (which is also in white, w/ black hardware, and basswood body). If I recall right, the Axis was originally EVH's collaboration w/ EBMM. I love my Axis, neck feels wonderful - thin and asymmetric. Mine doesn't have the floyd rose trem, though, which is fine by me; I'm not a fan of FR trems.
Great video as always, very informative, really wish they added a maple cap on these guitars, will be interesting to see how the market reacts to the new Peavey hp2 made in europe!!, Costs 1,000 less than the american made evh,,, would like to see you get your hands on one...
How about doing a comparison video Billy Corgan Reverend vs EVH Stripped series or special and see how they compare price and feel and everything else.
Can you get the action real low on EVH wolfgangs??...heard because the pick ups are "" screwed in"" this might cause probs if you want to drop the action??
Hey Phil, are there any differences between the standard and the special in terms of the pick ups? My understanding is that the specials have found the code to pick ups and they are also for conductor to allow for series parallel splitting. Am I wrong?
This guitar should come with a manual of how to get good clean tone, but basically after allot of fiddling u just leave the gain on so definitely not totally clean in my opinion then turn the volume down. If u want to get the high gain destortion then just increase volume or if u wanna be quicker leave the volume pot lowered and press a distortion pedal
Talking about the floyd rose style i didn't think that there would be that much of a diffrence going from the special to the better ones but I just got s schecter hellraiser that has the better ones on it. And I would have to say I will not own a special again I have a dean mab with the special and I have to tune it all the time my shecter I have tuned it 1 time in the last 3 months and I dive bomb it all the time it might move a little but'%. live i think it would pass.i just wish I could find the one on the ibanez that is as good as Nita S. Says hers are .I have the one that is adjustable from the back with the wheel.
Hi. I currently have an acoustic guitar. And I believe that it has a 12" radius which seems good for rhythm. I am getting ready to buy an electric and am wondering if I should stick with a 12" radius as well. Any thoughts on this ?
@@shadowbanned4051 Not sure. I am predominately a rhythm player, but I don't want to limit my ability to do runs, and play leads ... thats the best way I can explain, what I think Im thinking.
@@crazywisdom2 I think you'd feel 20 as flat and 9/7.5 as curvy, but anything around 12-16 feels pretty much the same. Unless you have a very specific need, you won't mind.
Why evh's 3 way switch reverse direction from normal(up bridge)? Yes only Ed knows if he never tell it to anybody..For me I'll do the same if 1. The switch position at the same top area. 2. After using neck PU for rhythm it will be faster to change to bridge PU for solo vice versa the one with bottoms area position. Infact for me thats the actual way being considered the bottom switch direction is the standard direction way. IMHO..
?? It’s disappointing to find out most of those wolfgang specials have cracks in them. I have one on order and did not know this.Does the crack continue to get much larger over the years?
I like the evh guitars the only thing I don't like is the headstock the way they cut it it looks like a goldfish mouth I think they could have made it aesthetically a little bit more pleasing but otherwise the guitars are cool
Just picked one up... great guitar for the $$.. but you do pay for the EVH name on it. It's $999 guitar, but feels more like a $600 guitar.... I'm sure the older MIJ ones were nicer.
Thank you for comparing the necks - I had a Peavey Wolfgang that had my favorite neck profile, and I've been wondering about the EVH necks. Good to know the difference.
The USA version has a slightly thicker neck than the import, mine measures .810” - .900” (1st to 12th fret). I can’t go any thinner than that. Eddie must’ve had tiny hands.
@@MRPERFECT_79 Lol he was like 5’7”. He was a tiny tiny man. And you have ZERO idea what a baseball bat neck is if you think the Wolfgang has a baseball bat neck. An R9 has a thick chunky neck, WAY thicker than ANY iteration of the Wolfgang, still not baseball bat; an R7, now THAT’S a baseball bat neck.
@@MisterBlue80 I mean, people tend to be proportional to their height, but yeah thinking about it, Hendrix had huge mitts and he probably wasn’t even 6ft tall. And Vai has huge hands and he prefers really skinny necks. I just don’t get how guys with bigger hands find those tiny necks comfortable. Maybe just ‘cause I do a lot of thumb-over-the-top is why I prefer chunkier ones, idk.
Not a fan of basswood bodies. Wood is way to soft. I had a black squier with basswood body that if you bumped it lightly against something, the paint just flew off in pieces.
I have the 2010 EVH Custom Shop Wolfgang and the new Wolfgang Special Ebony Deep Purple Metallic. If you measure around the fretboard & neck, the Ebony neck is thicker than the maple by almost a half inch at the 12th fret. AND I prefer my Wolfgang Special Mexican to the EVH Wolfgang Custom Shop. Just as stable, & I hear no difference in the pickups except the Mexican Wolfie sounds better. I've been playing Wolfies since 1999.
Bought a used Special off of Reverb a few months back for under 600 with a lot of upgrades; Grover tuners, German Floyd, FU Tone Floyd upgrades (brass block, brass claw, titanium screws, noiseless springs), push/pull pots, and a Duncan P-Rail neck pickup. I added a brass bracket trem stop to deck the bridge. Guitar just rings with sustain, but have to sort out the D-Tuna, which seems to be jammed. Might get a pro setup too, but its decent as is. Black cherry flame top is subtle but nice.
I was looking at the exact guitar and wanted to pull the trigger on buying it, but I'm so happy to see that it's in your hands and to see a full review of it. Awesome guitar!
Thanks for showing the different tones that you can get with this guitar. All of the other videos I watched just played Van Halen and that is it. One retailer was talking about how versatile it is then played Van Halen for 12 minutes.
I had a Schaller Floyd installed in the first run LTD M series back in the late 90s. I have never treated a guitar worse in my life. It's been thrown through a TV/Glass Table, the body looks like it was hit with a truck, the fretboard looks like it is covered in coffee grounds...I can't get that Floyd to go out of tune even if I try. I LOVE that guitar so much! Haha
100% correct! Loads n loads come with the crack at the body/heel. I had one, I let it go. Also Stainless frets also come in MIC / USA / MIJ too :-) not just USA.
Are the Schaller Floyds that much more expensive than a knock off ? I'm in Britain and always thought Schaller parts were great quality and value for money. Btw I'm old enough to remember Gibson stop bars and harmonica bridges stamped "W Germany" on the back !
@@tommyturner6923 Okay . Why ? What's better about an imitation than the original? Did they breath magic Asian dust on it or something ? Schaller have had an excellent reputation for decades . So you're saying they're no good now ? Anyway, I'm not an Eddie wannabe ,so I don't instantly agree with his choices and I own a few Fenders but I'm not on their payroll. I don't like bullshit , I make up my own mind with logical reasoning.
@@shaunw9270 Jesus christ, dude. I didn't make the call. Anyway it was something along the lines of the Korean model using an old school design incorporating a bent steel baseplate where Schaller have redesigned there's over the years. Subtle differences but they preferred the Korean design. I'm a Schaller fan,btw. I like them more than the original Floyd.
I have the Limited Edition Wolfgang in RBW with maple fretboard and matching headstock. I LOVE IT! That thing is a tone machine you can go from jazz to metal it’s f-ing great. RIP EDWARD and thank you for all you have done🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
For those wanting a brand new Peavey Wolfgang I strongly recommend you check out the Peavey HP2 they are virtual identical to the original Peavey Wolfgang Archtop. Not only are they freaking amazing guitars the tops on most of them are damn close to PRS 10 Top at almost half the price!
@@jdj62464 Wish you were right. Yes, the first 200 might have used NOS parts, but they actually skimped on the Floyd. They're nowhere near the quality of the Ping that the original Peavey WG had. Other main difference is the original Wolfgang was entirely manufactured in the USA, the HP2's are manufactured in the Czech Republic I believe. Whilst that not might sound like a great deal, there have been a number of complaints regarding the overall quality of the guitar, specifically the finishes in most instances. Not saying that they aren't great guitars, but they're definitely not worth the price that Peavey are asking for them at RRP.
I've got a 1996-1998 model of this guitar (Frankie) on hand. I believe it was made in the US even though it's named "Peavey EVH Wolfgang special"? Any reason I should steer clear of this? Asking price is about USD 900-1000,-
The pickups are definitely different Mexico vs. US. I bought a US bridge pickup for my Special and it has a thicker base plate and bobbins, and taller pole pieces with braided metal wire. That said, the neck pup sounds awesome - so the specs must be pretty close.
Yeah people want crazy amounts of money for them now. I have a first year gold top Wolfgang and it's my favorite guitar. I wish that I had bought another one when I had the chance. Now people are using Eddie's death as a way to line their pockets.
I love the fact that the headstock is white. I just think a white guitar looks amazing with a matching headstock. Too many times I've seen awesome white guitars get ruined by a black headstock. Just my opinion. Thanks for the great video Phillip, seriously thinking about buying one, if I can find one! LOL!
Phillip would love to see a review for folks on the EVH Special from Japan. I have a lefty version that is AMAZING. It has the SS frets and the USA made parts.
Well, not “ANY” Floyd Rose. The D-Tuna doesn’t work with the low profile FR, only the standard like on that white EVH. (Ask me how I found that out)! Ha….
I will agree on the German Floyd, i upgraded and man its still solid. I sweat a bit and they are now looking crappy,(i sweat on the hand) but still work and turn easy.lmao they did rust on me, but they do make a diff and my sound was better.
Does the trem come blocked so the d-tuna actually works? I notice with the Charvels they have a d-tuna from the factory but you still have to either lower it to the body so it's decked or block it in the trem cavity. Seems an oversight. My friend bought a Wolfgang Special and had to buy a trem blocker.. even though Ed always has his decked, what's up with that? If he lowered the bridge to where it's decked the action was way too low, which indicates the neck pocket is too shallow/wrong angle.
Great vid man! But you know what I’ve always wondered, what would happen if you put a d tuna on each string on the Floyd, would you be able to drop your whole guitar a whole step?😂😂
I bought a Wolfgang Special Stealth a couple of years ago, mainly for the Floyd Rose. Sweetwater was on back order, so (for the only time) I ordered it from Amazon. It was WAY more guitar than I expected. The neck is my favorite of any guitars that I’ve played. The pickups are outstanding and the volume and tone controls give the widest variation of tone that I’ve experienced. It can do it all and is my favorite guitar (and I have several, many much more expensive)
I had a EVH Wolfgang special with the hard tail that has the micro tuners on it. Absolutely loved it. Wish you can get it as an after market piece for my other hard tail guitars. If anyone knows where to get it please let me know.
