Eddie Van Halen's legacy as a visionary designer and tonesmith, as well as a legendary player, lives on in the EVH brand. This year sees the continued the evolution of two electric guitar shapes he made iconic with the Wolfgang and 5150 Series.
We'll start with the new additions to the Wolfgang with a new Special and Standard model…
EVH Wolfgang WG Standard ($699.99 / £689 / €799)
What a way to start; a Gold Sparkle finish for the entry-level Wolfgang WG Standard arrived in May. Specs for this 22-fret model include basswood body, bolt-on baked maple neck with a 12-16-inch compound radius baked maple fingerboard and rolled edges for that played-in comfort feel.
Humbuckers here are EVH Wolfgang models with with volume and tone controls, plus a three-way toggle switch.
The Wolfgang Standard comes with a EVH-branded Floyd Rose Special and R2 locking nut as standard.
EVH Wolfgang Special QM ($1,299.99 / £1,299 / €1,499) EVH Wolfgang Special ($1,099 / £1,149 / €1,349)
The Wolfgang Special features a basswood body and graphite-reinforced bolt-on quarter sawn maple neck, while the Wolfgang Special QM adds a quilt maple top along with baked maple treatment for the neck.
The neck on these models was carved and rolled to Eddie Van Halen’s exacting specifications and features a hand-rubbed satin urethane finish on the back.
Again, it's a 12”-16” compound radius for enhanced upper fret playability, with 22 jumbo frets and black dot inlays.
Finishes here are Solar for the Special QM model and Satin Surf Green for the Special. Both are loaded with the company's flagship custom-designed EVH Wolfgang Alnico 2 humbucking pickups. There are mounted directly to the body, as per Eddie's preference, to enhance response.
Electronics are another key area; the volume knob has a treble bleed circuit on 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.
Hardware is an EVH-branded Floyd Rose® locking trem and Floyd Rose locking nut, while the EVH D-Tuna re-tunes to drop-D and back at the flick of a finger.
5150 Series Standard ($1,099.99 / £899 / €1,049) 5150 Series Deluxe ($1,299.99 / £1,029 / €1,199)
Anyone for Slime Green? The new finish comes to the 5150 Series Standard model in March, with the quilt maple top 5150 Series Deluxe arriving the same month with a new Purple Daze colourway.
The specs remain unchanged on these models elsewhere from existing 5150s with basswood bodies and graphite-reinforced bolt-on quartersawn maple necks with 12-16-inch compound radius fingerboard, 22 jumbo frets and dot inlays.
Those flagship EVH Wolfgang Alnico 2 humbuckers feature here again, with the addition of a kill switch along with a licensed Floyd Rose and EVH D-Tuna.
More info on the ranges at EVH Gear
"There are no rules" – Eddie Van Halen: the last guitar mag interview
