The History Of The Peavey Wolfgang Guitar
“Guitar God” or simply “EVH” as he is known by his devoted fans, Eddie Van Halen has been making playing guitar for over 35 years in his band Van Halen. The band, Van Halen was named after Eddie and his brother Alex.
Eddie Van Halen, a self-taught musician, is considered by many to be one the premier guitarists of his generation and was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame with other guitar greats such as Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.
Eddie Van Halen has always been known for both for his innovative style of play called, “tapping”, which has influenced every generation in the guitar world ever since and for his technical innovations in the guitar it self.
One of Eddie’s greatest contributions to the guitar industry was the development of the Wolfgang guitar. Named after his son, Wolfgang Van Halen, the Wolfgang guitar was first made in conjunction with the Peavey Electronics Company.
For years, Eddie attempted to find a certain tone and feel in guitar before developing the Wolfgang. He would buy hundreds of instruments and then painstakingly tear them apart and re-assemble them into “experiments for chasing tone” as he once said in an interview. He admits to having destroyed lots of quality guitars by doing this but he learned how to make a greater guitar in the process.
Finally with the help of the designers and engineers at Peavey he created the first Wolfgang guitar a compilation of his years of playing professionally and touring. The Wolfgang guitar is considered to be his legacy to the millions of guitar playing musicians and Van Halen fans around the world. And since his son, Wolfgang Van Halen has joined the band as a bassist; the legacy seems destined to continue.
Van Halen came to Peavey first for the construction of his famous 5150 amplifier projects. Van Halen known for having a fantastic ear for music was once able to determine that the wood used in cabinets of the latest production model of his 5150 amps had been changed because he could “hear” the change in tonal quality.
After years of successfully designing and marketing these highly respected professional amps and combos, Van Halen after the birth of his son Wolfgang Van Halen, returned Peavey folks with a mock up of a guitar he wanted to produce. Van Halen, who is always tinkering and striving to make things better, finally came up what he considered to be the best electric guitar ever designed.
The original model of the Peavey Wolfgang guitar, made in 1997, came in only six basic colors: black, Ivory, and 4 variations of a curly maple top or “quilt top”. Later on these curly maple models were phased out in favor of a flame maple top. The solid colors later expanded into 30 custom colors.
These curved top, solid body electric guitars were instantly collectors items since not only were they named for a major rock star’s son but because of their superior sound, quality and durability.
And if money were a problem, then you could buy a Peavey Wolfgang Special guitar which went into production with a solid basswood body and a flat top.
While the Peavey Wolfgang was not the first guitar endorsed by Eddie, it is still considered to be one of his best.
