Fender's EVH

[dorian45]

Hey out there , I see Fender got together with Eddie and built a guitar,I understand it's release date is Feb.09 , anybody know anything about this, such as specs. and price.

[Kap'n]

Again? Didn't they have a $25K model 'limited edition' model before?

Not bad for a guitar that Eddie put together for <$200.

[elicross]

Dorian, are you talking about this one?

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=513703

The funniest review is from the guy who claims he mostly plays smooth jazz and owns four of these guitars.

Yeah. Pull the other one, and -- in the spirit of the season -- it plays Jingle Bells.

[NeoFauve]

Well, smooth is one of the more commericially viable sub-genres of jazz. So, who knows?

[elicross]

There's just so many things wrong with that review. If he bought four of these guitars to play, he's nuts. Who needs four identical replica guitars at a cost of $100,000? And did this guy really need to spend six figures buying four of these before he decided they weren't for him?

If he bought four of these guitars as investments, with the expectation that he'd eventually be able to sell them for a lot more than he paid -- then wrote a bad review of them on the biggest music e-tailer site in the country -- he's nuts.

And if he plays mostly smooth jazz and bought even one of these guitars to play, he's nuts.

Or, more likely: He's lying about owning four of these guitars. And if he's lying about owning four, he probably doesn't own even one.

[Cygnus X1]

I thought the original was a Wayne Charvel body with a Kramer neck.
Screwy.

[Sage]

I think the OP was referring to the new EVH Wolfgang. EVH is now its own brand of guitars, but they're built by Fender, apparently.

[Cygnus X1]

The link refers to a Fender reproduction of the #1 frankenstein that he used on VH1 and II. It might have been a Kramer all along, but I know that EVH had Wayne Charvel "help" him with some of the mods.

[Vics]

I had the chance to play one of those 25K replica's. Didn't plug it in, just wanted to see it and play it. Man, I'll tell you what....for me and for my likes that neck felt like it was custom made for me. The most comfortable neck I've ever tried. Not for 25K mind you, but wow!

[John C]

The link refers to a Fender reproduction of the #1 frankenstein that he used on VH1 and II. It might have been a Kramer all along, but I know that EVH had Wayne Charvel "help" him with some of the mods.

No, the original (going back to VH! and II) was a body he bought from Wayne Charvel and a neck ordered through Charvel from Boogie Bodies (now Warmoth). Back then Wayne Charvel ran a repair shop/music store and marketed some replacement parts under the "Charvel" name. As a side bar, Wayne Charvel and Dave Schecter both used the same company as a source of financing for their businesses. It's possible that the body EVH bought might have been cut by Schecter instead of Charvel or could have been cut by Wayne Charvel at Schecter's facility; if you believe Grover Jackson (who bought out Wayne Charvel in 1978) the routers that Wayne bought had never been used. At any rate lets call the body a "Charvel" as EVH simply asked Wayne for the cheapest body he had in stock and Wayne grabbed it from the bottom of the pile.

That Charvel body and Boogie Bodies neck was the VH1 white and black Frankenstrat. The black & yellow guitar body and neck were Charvel in-house made by Grover Jackson. Evidently EVH didn't like the ash body and went back to the white & black guitar. By Women & Children First EVH had repainted the white & black guitar with the current red, black and white finish. The guitar had many different necks; EVH would break them or they would need refretting while they were on the road and he would just swap necks out. By the time he signed with Kramer in 1982 he got necks from them and put them on the original body.

[refin]

"A fool and his money are soon parted...."

[Cygnus X1]

Thank you, John C.

I was almost close.

[juniorspecial]

...And if he plays mostly smooth jazz and bought even one of these guitars to play, he's nuts.

Or, more likely: He's lying about owning four of these guitars. And if he's lying about owning four, he probably doesn't own even one.

Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Wait just a cotton-picking minute there, Buster!

Are you trying to tell me that some stuff on the internet is just plain old bullshit?

[NeoFauve]

And if he plays mostly smooth jazz and bought even one of these guitars to play, he's nuts.

Maybe they go really well with some poofy silk shirt or linen suit he has.

[Jackyrhode]

I think the OP was referring to the new EVH Wolfgang. EVH is now its own brand of guitars, but they're built by Fender, apparently.

Right. There's a cover story about it in the new issue of Guitar World.

I saw him play the new Wolfgang guitar at MSG this summer. We had horrible seats but he sounded great. Though I was disappointed he didn't play that $25,000 replica.

[JM3]

Yuck too 80's for me

[yankeerob]

Maybe they go really well with some poofy silk shirt or linen suit he has.

Ah Neo - yer a man who comes up with goods when it comes to pithy one-liners - I saw VH open for the Sabs at MSG in - was it '78? Having watched the Fender vid of him launching that (I invite you to add your own expletive adjective) it's a long way down from watching him blow that place apart with what is - as is already stated - basically a $200 axe - he revolutionised rock guitar at the time - now you watch him - and even more painfully - listen to him speak - there must be an awful lot of vodka bottles lyin around.... it's a down right cryin' shame...

[dorian45]

Thanks anyway ,but not that one ,its his new one hes made in collaboration with Fender (the New EVH Wolfgang)

[elicross]

Looks like the new one's basically just a Fender copy of the Peavey Wolfgang.

[yankeerob]

The original of which was made by MusicMan (which were no doubt superior in quality)?...No matter if it's shaken or stirred - 25K's stupid money for a guitar made by Fender... and I don't get the connection - I mean - at first EVH always used Marshalls - albeit steroidal hot-rod versions - then the tie in with Peavey and the 5150 (which I never understood as they didn't sound anything like those Marshalls - fizz-fizz) - and his guitars - have always had what is essentially a Gibson pup (whatever they may have actually been - one thing we can count on is that none of them were made by Fender) - so why all the love all of a sudden? It's friggin' sad is what it is... with neither party seemingly concerned about the blatant lack of integrity - if you wanted a really good 'Eddie' guitar - go get yourself a G&L or a MusicMan and stick a decent PAF in it - if you want an amp that sounds pretty damned close to those Marshalls then a Roccaforte HG100 is just the ticket (and worth every penny if classic Marshall high gain is your bag - they're awesome - the best build quality I've seen anywhere and they sound like they're built) - whatever you do - don't buy any of this snake oil...

[Sage]

THE WOLFGANG IS NOT A $25K GUITAR.

You guys are all mixing up the Wolfgang with the Frankenstein. It's only the Frankenstein replica that costs $25k. And it's entirely appropriate for Fender to be making the Frankenstein replica, considering that they own Jackson/Charvel, which is where the original's body came from. The original's neck came from what is now Warmoth, who make replacement necks under a license from Fender. Considering all that, I would argue that there is no company more suited to this task than Fender, especially considering the guitar is in fact a Strat in the first place. There are quite a few strats with humbuckers in the bridge position. Eddie was just the first to do it.

The Wolfgang, meanwhile, is Eddie's design. It's not the same as the MusicMan guitar; the Wolfgang name and design began with the Peavey model. Why he's decided to have Fender make his guitars and amps now, I really don't know, but you will note they're not being sold under the Fender imprint. "EVH" is what's on the headstock. My guess is that Fender was the only company who agreed to cater to this particular demand, while everybody else wanted a halo guitar for their brand.

Whatever the reason, does it really matter who builds them, so long as Eddie is actually playing them? That being the case, I don't know how you can accuse either party of acting without integrity.

[elicross]

Hey, the only person whose integrity I questioned was the Musician's Friend user who claims to own four Frankenstrats even though he doesn't like them and mostly plays smooth jazz.

[Kap'n]

I personally don't care if they make any "Eddie" guitars or not. Not my bag. If people want to buy them, they'd be stupid not to.

I just think a buyer is dopey to purchase a $25K guitar. But, hey, it's his money, not mine. If they want to buy one of my guitars for $25K, I'd be all over it.

[yankeerob]

There are quite a few strats with humbuckers in the bridge position. Eddie was just the first to do it.

Without wishing to get into a flaming match - I hardly think Eddie was the first to do it... but we'll leave that for a minute...

The Wolfgang, meanwhile, is Eddie's design. It's not the same as the MusicMan guitar; the Wolfgang name and design began with the Peavey model.

So let me get this straight - what your saying is that this guitar



bears no resemblance to these...

Why he's decided to have Fender make his guitars and amps now, I really don't know... I don't know how you can accuse either party of acting without integrity.

Well it might have something to do with that Frankenstrat price tag... I acknowledge there has been confusion...

As this is a place where people are free to express their opinion (I believe it's the whole point of a forum) my thoughts are thus - I can buy a guitar of similar build to either EVH model - particularly the FS and plug 'em into a decent amp and acheive the same end - for a fraction of their respective pricetags - G&L are a great example of an excellent guitar for a fair price - if the FS was a grand and a bit I'd just shrug my shoulders and say - if it's yer bag go for it - but charging that sort of bread for what you get is - IMO - scandalous - and it comes as no surprise to find FMIC is involved... it's just money for old rope as usual

[Kap'n]

That thing always reminded me of Bob Mothersbough's 'spud' guitar.

[Sage]

Without wishing to get into a flaming match - I hardly think Eddie was the first to do it...

I'm sure you're right, no argument here. All I'm saying is that a humbucker bridge on a strat is not uncommon, and shouldn't disqualify Fender from building the replica.

If you're going to compare the Wolfgang to the MusicMan EVH, it would help to get a front-facing shot of the Wolfgang, as seen here:



That's a different body shape. The upper bout is longer, and the tail is not symmetrical like the MusicMan. Plus it's an archtop -- the MusicMan EVH was flat. Similar, sure, but nowhere near exact.

I can buy a guitar of similar build to either EVH model - particularly the FS and plug 'em into a decent amp and acheive the same end - for a fraction of their respective pricetags

Sure, but that's not what they're selling. They're selling an exact replica, down to the scratches, of a famous guitar. Can you buy that for less than $25k? You might even be able to build one for less, but then, how much is your time and effort worth?

I don't even like EVH, I'm just peeved when people accuse a company of acting in bad faith when they haven't been dishonest in any way. Just because you wouldn't buy one doesn't necessarily mean it's a ripoff. The people buying those replicas aren't being duped. I just don't understand why there is so much antipathy out there these days for making an honest buck.

[chuckocaster]

i think eddie is now in the same camp as joe walsh, endoresment whore. "grapenuts are neither grapes, nor nuts, discuss amongst yourselves."

who cares?

[yankeerob]

Amen

[PMDriver965]

I was impressed with the GW article - and the new EVH guitar sounds promising! The FS, for 25K, isn't one I'd consider...but I was impressed with the attention to detail - they even used the same year quarter as Eddie did for the "bridge mod".

The newest one (EVH Brand - FMIC behind it) is slated to debut at winter NAMM, and a public price hasn't been discussed that I am aware of. I wrote to EVH customer service to ask, and was (promptly and politely) told that the guitar and price will debut at NAMM - and they're not saying a whole lot else.

Me...I'll be taking a good look at the new EVH - but I'm not a die-hard VH guy, or even a VH style player...but I love how Eddie thinks - the guitar, if it lives up to the hype, may be a really impressive tool.

My humble .02, YMMV - Merry Christmas!

[jerryjg]

I personally don't care if they make any "Eddie" guitars or not. Not my bag. If people want to buy them, they'd be stupid not to.

I just think a buyer is dopey to purchase a $25K guitar. But, hey, it's his money, not mine. If they want to buy one of my guitars for $25K, I'd be all over it.

if you buy it, make certain its cause you want ot capitalize on the investement value of the guitar.
there are scads of websites to show you how to make or commision your own VH-1 replica. I did. I did it very cheaply.It nails the Vh-1 sound. Hres what you need1) Northern hard ash body
2) Duncan 78 pickup
3) Brass bridge( hardtail will do). My cost?
Probably RIGHT AROUND 500.00..consideraby less than 25 grand.
Probably sounds alot better too. EVH is still trying to jive people as to waht his VH-1 guitar was made out of. Total BS (IF he knows all, and I think he does). It was hard ash. You can tell the minute you play it. Ive got 7 Strats made out of every wood you can think of. Alder will get some damn sweet harmonic structure , but it wont get you the immidiacy and percussive attack of hard ash like VH-1.
Swamp Ash ,like they are selling on the $25,000 guitarwill be waaay too bright and hollow.
Hard Ash with a low output pickup is way more organic, but less lively than the Alder Jacksons with the JB/jazz pickups. Those JB/jazz Jackson DK2's and Soloists with the high output pickups are astonishing,but their texture is not lush and layered -its a superficial( but amazeing) sound of mostly the pickups and they really do not even play as naturally as a Suprstart with a maple neck. For the he king of feel..king of tone. Think Charvel Maple necked SuperStrats with or without a good Floyd/6pt..

[hudpucker]

It was hard ash. You can tell the minute you play it. Ive got 7 Strats made out of every wood you can think of. Alder will get some damn sweet harmonic structure , but it wont get you the immidiacy and percussive attack of hard ash like VH-1.
Swamp Ash

So you're saying that wood type DOES make difference tonally, eh?

I thought that went against the prevailing 'tone is in the fingers' mantra that is accepted as 'fact' here.

[deepblue1963]

Eddies a sell out...he has zero creds with me. When his relationship with Fender goes sour what next? Gibson?

[Cygnus X1]

Dean.

[rudutch]

K-Mart?

[refin]

That thing always reminded me of Bob Mothersbough's 'spud' guitar.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...risly/MEET.jpg

[Perry]

I believe this may be the Fender made Wolfgang under discussion. Not the best interview and certainly not that informative, but it may be of interest.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video...ef=videosearch

"3,000 dollar Fender guitar"

[stratcat33511]

Aint worth it IMHO

How many guitars are named Wolfgang now ?

[Kap'n]

Too many.

I'm just waiting for Wolfgang to come out with a signature bass, and his father sues him for it.

[Cygnus X1]