EVH Wolfgang USA – 5A Flamed Maple Top

Wolfgang Gang

One of my fondest musical memories is of Christmas in second grade. My parents got me a sweet boombox with three brand-spankin' new CDs: Boston's Greatest Hits, Def Lepperd's Hysteria, and (most importantly) Van Halen's self-titled debut. I was already a Van Halen fan, but that gift cemented their status as one of my favorite bands. I blared that record all Christmas Day, and most of the days after that. So, believe me when I say that I am honored and privileged to present my childhood hero's signature model: the EVH Wolfgang USA.

Forged In the Crucible of Rock

Let's talk pickups first. The two custom EVH-designed humbuckers do an excellent job of replicating Eddie's famed "brown sound." Their bass response is tight and muscular, their midrange punches and snarls with the best of them, and the highs sing sweetly. The bridge pickup is thick to make lead lines sound meaty and full, but clear and sculpted enough for perfect hard rock rhythm tones. The neck pickup is thicker and throatier, so it is quite inspiring for searing solos. Though its bass response is fatter, it's still transparent enough to excel at rhythm parts that demand a beefier tone.

But feel is everything when you shred like Eddie, and this guitar excels in that department. The neck profile is a custom "Wolfgang" shape, and it is thin, fast, and utterly shred-worthy. Speaking of shreddiness, the fretboard's 12"-16" compound radius allows you to set the EVH Wolfgang USA up nice and low. Also, the compound radius lets you chord easily down low and bend effortlessly up high.

Feeling on Top of the World

I would be remiss if I didn't write a little about how much dang fun this guitar is to play. "Fun" is something that's awfully hard to quantify, but it is the best word for this guitar. The neck is lightning-fast and comfortable, so any translate any idea you have in your head with your fingers easily AND you can play for a long time. It sounds raunchy, but it also has a sophisticated air to it (much like Van Halen's music).

Most importantly, it has an EVH-branded Floyd Rose tailpiece. Do you know how much fun you can have with a Floyd Rose? The answer is tons. Tons of fun (especially if you have some delay and reverb going!).

I want to leave you with one image that best encapsulates the Wolfgang USA's capacity to cultivate joy. Picture me and Wildwood's photographer trading a Wolfgang back and forth while it's plugged into an amp with the gain on 10, making pinch harmonics squeal out of the speaker while performing dive bombs with the whammy bar and tapping out rhythmic patterns on the kill switch, then trying to bust out our best shreddy licks, all while laughing our heads off.

That's exactly how we ended our day today. It was a blast, plain and simple. I have no doubt that any six-string slinger that picks up a Wolfgang USA will experience similar levels of joy.