I love this time of year when, NAMM or no NAMM, we see a whole bunch of new guitar models and finishes. EVH has just unveiled a handful of new colour schemes and they’re all rather gorgeous. Let’s have a look, shall we?
First up there’s this beauty, the 5150 model. This is kind of EVH’s take on the guitars Eddie was using in the mid 80s, although if you compare the two they’re quite different: the EVH version definitely benefits from nearly 40 years of refinement. This new Purple Daze finish is pretty groovy, huh?
That’s the 5150 Deluxe QM model. And this year we’re also getting a 5150 Standard with maple fretboard and Slime Green finish. Nice huh?
From the press release:
Engineered for speed, comfort and full-throttle attitude, the reimagined 5150TM Series Standard and
Deluxe models are an iconic blast from the past that blends both throwback and modernized features.
Like their predecessor, both models feature a modified Strat®-style basswood body (with quilt maple top on the Deluxe) with a deeper upper body curve. The graphite-reinforced bolt-on quartersawn maple neck features a comfortable modified “C” profile, hand-rubbed satin urethane back finish, heel-mount truss rod adjustment wheel and color matched “hockey stick” headstock with EVH® logo decal. Built for smooth, speedy playability, the 12”-16” compound radius fingerboard has 22 jumbo frets and dot inlays.
While the famed striped original had a single humbucking bridge pickup only, the current 5150 is outfitted with a dual humbucking configuration controlled by a three-way toggle switch on the upper bout. The custom designed EVH® Wolfgang Alnico 2 humbucking bridge pickup delivers the perfect amount of punch and articulation with sweet sustain and thick chunky rhythms in a perfectly balanced EQ curve. The EVH Wolfgang Alnico 2 humbucker neck pickup serves up no-nonsense, balls to the wall overdrive and endless sustain without skimping on articulate cleans when the volume is rolled down. A custom designed low friction volume knob creates even-volume tapering for the smoothest volume swells, while the high friction tone knob will stay in place even if accidentally bumped. An added new feature comes in the way of a lower bout kill switch, allowing players to mute the guitar for those stuttering, rhythmic effects.
Decked out with a “dive-bomb” certified EVH-branded top-mount Floyd Rose® bridge, the locking tailpiece features fine tuners for each string and a patented EVH D-Tuna® for switching back and forth from drop-D to standard tuning in an instant.
Models include:
● 5150TM Series Standard, Maple Fingerboard, Slime Green ($1,099.99 USD, £899 GBP.00, €1,049.00 EUR, $2199.00 AUD, ¥160,600 JPY)
● 5150TM Series Deluxe QM, Quilt Maple Top, Ebony Fingerboard, Purple Daze ($1,299.99 USD, £1,029.00 GBP, €1,199.00 EUR, $2699.00 AUD, ¥203,500 JPY)
Then we have the Wolfgang Special, the carved-top model. Check out this new Satin Surf Green finish:
And here’s the Wolfgang Special QM in new Solar finish, which I feel is very me.
Maybe not as me as the Chlorine Burst one that debuted last year and is still offered for 2022. I still desperately need one. I’m just gonna post it here so I can look at it again.
Oh yeah, that’s the stuff.
Here’s what the press release says about the new Wolfgang Specials:
Road-tested in arenas around the world, the EVH Wolfgang® Special models are purebred music-making machines, designed with stunning style, giant sound and high-speed playability. The Wolfgang Special features a basswood body and a robust graphite-reinforced bolt-on quarter sawn maple neck, while the Wolfgang Special QM adds on a quilt maple top along with baked maple neck treatment . The neck is carved and rolled to Eddie Van Halen’s exacting specifications and features a hand-rubbed satin urethane finish on the back. Primed for high performance, energetic riffing and blazing leads, the 12”-16” compound radius fingerboard has 22 jumbo frets and black dot inlays. Truss rod adjustments have also never been easier thanks to a spoke wheel conveniently located at the base of the neck.A pair of flagship custom-designed EVH® Wolfgang Alnico 2 humbucking pickups are mounted directly to the body, providing dynamic yet articulate voicing, as well as endless sustain for powerful chords and melody lines. A sturdy and dependable EVH-branded Floyd Rose® locking trem and Floyd Rose locking nut work in tandem for precise tuning even with extreme changes in pitch, while the EVH D-Tuna® re-tunes to drop-D and back with strict accuracy at the flick of a finger. The volume knob with treble bleed circuit has a 500K EVH Bourns® low friction pot for smooth swells and a tone control knob with a 250K Bourns high friction tone pot that prevents accidental tone shifting.
Models include: Wolfgang® Special, Maple Fingerboard, Satin Surf Green ($1,099.99 USD, £1,149.00 GBP, €1,349.00 EUR, $2199.00 AUD, ¥170,500 JPY) Available April 2022.
There’s also a new Gold Sparkle Wolfgang Standard. Check it out:
My current main guitar is a Wolfgang Standard Exotic Ziricote which I got almost a year ago now in trade for a guitar I wasn’t playing. It’s amazing how great these quite affordable guitars are. The necks are incredible, the pickups are very expressive and they play like the devil. The Standards are all pretty similar in construction (the quilt and Exotic models use thin cosmetic veneers, not full big chunks of wood that would influence the tone. You could probably play all of them blindfolded and not know which is which).
Here’s what the press release has to say:
The Wolfgang® WG Standard boasts the same style and massive sound Eddie Van Halen created—at a price the everyday musician can afford. Offering many of the blazing features as its more expensive brethren, the Wolfgang WG Standard has a basswood body with special “comfort cut” forearm contour for maximum playing ease. Its bolt-on baked maple neck with graphite reinforcement rods hold strong against the ravages of temperature and humidity, while a conveniently located spoke wheel at the base of the neck makes for quick and painless truss rod adjustments. Designed for comfortable playability and speed, the Wolfgang WG Standard also features an oiled finish on the back of the neck and a 12”-16” compound radius baked maple fingerboard with rolled edges, 22 jumbo frets and black dot inlays.
Dual EVH® Wolfgang humbucking pickups mounted directly to the body increase vibration transfer, resulting in sustain for days on end. The black knurled tone and volume control knobs have been dialed-in to Van Halen’s exacting specifications—the smooth-feeling 500k pots make it easy to find a unique sound while retaining the crisp high-end sparkle of the Wolfgang pickups. The EVH-branded Floyd Rose® Special bridge and R2 locking nut consistently keep the guitar in tune through the deepest whammy dives and horse whinnies.
Wolfgang® WG Standard, Baked Maple Fingerboard, Gold Sparkle ($699.99 USD, £689.00 GBP, €799.00 EUR, $1499.00 AUD, ¥116,600 JPY)
Available May 2022.