Peavey Wolfgang – The Guitar That Started It All
Eddie Van Halen is often compared to other guitar greats such as Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix. And while he is indeed one the best guitarists of his generation, many fans don’t understand his impact on the custom guitar industry.
Eddie who is self-taught musician, has always been known for both for his innovative style of play called, “tapping”, but also for his technical innovations in the guitar it self.
One of Eddie’s greatest contributions to the electric guitar industry was the design of the Peavey 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 tinker for hours trying to find a certain tone and feel in his electric guitars. In fact this is how he ended up designing the Peavey Wolfgang. Eddie would buy hundreds of different electric guitars 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 plenty of quality guitars in this quest for the perfect sounding guitar but he learned how to make a better guitar in the process. This guitar was the Peavey Wolfgang.
With the help of the designers and engineers at Peavey Electronics, he created the first Peavey Wolfgang. This Peavey guitar was considered at the time to be his legacy to the millions of guitar playing musicians and Van Halen fans around the world.
Van Halen came to Peavey first for the construction of his famous 5150 amplifiers. Van Halen known for having a fantastic ear for harmonics 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 that the small piece of bracing made.
After years of successfully designing and marketing these highly respected professional amps and combos, Van Halen with Peavey folks to create the ultimate rock guitar. Van Halen, finally came up what he considered to be the best electric guitar ever designed.
The original model of the Peavey Wolfgang was made in 1996 and 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
These archtop, solid body Peavey guitars were instantly collectors items since not only were they named for a major rock star’s kid but also because of their superior sound 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.
The Peavey Wolfgang was in produced from 1996 to 2004 when Eddie van Halen left his partnership with Peavey. And while the Peavey Wolfgang was not the first guitar endorsed by Eddie, it is still considered to be one of his best.
