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EVH Wolfgang vs Wolfgang Special


NaturalBornBoy

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Have any of you guys played both?

 

How do they compare?

 

According to EVH Gear, the only differences are,

 

1) carved top on the USA as opposed to a flat top on the MIJ Special

 

2) 1/2" thick maple top on the USA as opposed to a thin maple veneer top on the Special

 

3) No headstock binding on the Special

 

Everything else is apparently the same. Floyd, pots, fretwire and pickups are same as on the USA.

 

They must've cut corners somewhere to justify the $1650 difference in price.

 

Any input on this?

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Also, is that D-Tuna a PITA?

 

I mean, does it throw your other strings outta tune when you switch from E to D and vice versa?

 

And for the guys who've seen them live this year, is Eddie only using the Stealth Wolfgang? I can't find any vids of him using his maple fretboard guitars in recent concerts.

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I really like my Special. Never played a USA wolfie but, I've heard that they are brighter sounding. Probably because of the maple top vs. veneer top. I get plenty of top end bite with my MIJ. Couldn't imagine needing more.

 

The carved top looks out of place to me on this body design. On a LP yes, the carved top fits but, I like the flat topped wolfies better. Also, not having the binding on the headstock certainly does not bother me.

 

You have to setup the D-tuna to go from E to D first. Thats kind of tricky. Took me about half an hour. My Wolfgang has a oneway bridge and it helps if you tighten the springs a bit so the trem rest against the body firmly even after dropping the E string. If this was a floating trem (sharp and flat) then it would'nt work too well. I've seen lots of players reach for the headstock to drop D and to me it sounds fine. I have even done this myself. Keep in mind I don't have perfect pitch hearing. The D-tuna does the same thing only from the other end of the string.

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And for the guys who've seen them live this year, is Eddie only using the Stealth Wolfgang? I can't find any vids of him using his maple fretboard guitars in recent concerts.

 

 

He also played a striped Wolfie when I saw them, along with a couple of hand-striped EVH Art Fender/Charvels that I'm sure are probably already on ebay for $25 grand. :o

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I really like my Special. Never played a USA wolfie but, I've heard that they are brighter sounding. Probably because of the maple top vs. veneer top. I get plenty of top end bite with my MIJ. Couldn't imagine needing more.


The carved top looks out of place to me on this body design. On a LP yes, the carved top fits but, I like the flat topped wolfies better. Also, not having the binding on the headstock certainly does not bother me.


You have to setup the D-tuna to go from E to D first. Thats kind of tricky. Took me about half an hour. My Wolfgang has a oneway bridge and it helps if you tighten the springs a bit so the trem rest against the body firmly even after dropping the E string. If this was a floating trem (sharp and flat) then it would'nt work too well. I've seen lots of players reach for the headstock to drop D and to me it sounds fine. I have even done this myself. Keep in mind I don't have perfect pitch hearing. The D-tuna does the same thing only from the other end of the string.

 

 

Can you please elaborate on the D-Tuna set-up process?

 

For example, if the guitar comes set up for standard E tuning with 42-9 strings and I want to go down a half step to Eb and use 46-10 strings, will the D-Tuna be a PITA to set-up?

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I love mine! We had a USA and it was superb. It did sound a little brighter and richer than the special, but I don't notice much of a difference when not side by side. It's super comfortable to play (once I got used to the flat body where my forearm rests). I find the d tuna invaluable, and pretty easy to set up. Just a small Allen wrench adjustment, though I start it at D and then fine tune it when I go up to E. pretty much the opposite of what the above poster stated.

 

I like it so much I may sell my Prs ce24 if they ever come out with a special version of the custom. Killer guitar for the price!

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I've played them both pretty extensively, and they both are superb guitars.. The special being a great deal at it's price, the USA version while not being $2k better in tone, it does look and feel like a better instrument.. But tone wise, the Special is pretty close to it..

 

The D-tuna is easy to use, IMO.. It's not hard to set up.. Provided you know what you are doing, but it isn't rocket science. Lol. . You basically tune the guitar in drop d. Then when you push the d-tuna in it brings it up to E. There is a small adjustment screw that you fine tune to get it in perfect tune in E.. That's it.. Should take no longer than 2 minutes.. It can be removed if you don't like it, but it's a great little feature..

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I've played them both pretty extensively, and they both are superb guitars.. The special being a great deal at it's price, the USA version while not being $2k better in tone, it does look and feel like a better instrument.. But tone wise, the Special is pretty close to it..


The D-tuna is easy to use, IMO.. It's not hard to set up.. Provided you know what you are doing, but it isn't rocket science. Lol. . You basically tune the guitar in drop d. Then when you push the d-tuna in it brings it up to E. There is a small adjustment screw that you fine tune to get it in perfect tune in E.. That's it.. Should take no longer than 2 minutes.. It can be removed if you don't like it, but it's a great little feature..

 

 

I may be in the market for one of these guitars pretty soon so I'm just starting to do some research. I could get 2 Specials for the price of 1 USA and that got me thinking. Is the USA really worth $1650 more than the Special?

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Imo, it's not with that price difference, but if I had the money I would probably buy the usa version just because it is built a little nicer and well why not have the best.. But the Special feels like a high end guitar to me. NO shame in owning that..

 

I should note the Wolfgang pickups are different than what you may expect, and definitely different from previous pickups in Evh guitars like the Pv and music Man.. These pickups have more in common with say Gibson Burstbucker, than the Tone Zone/ Air Zone tone of the other guitars.. The Wolfgang's are still a good pickup, but it's prolly the biggest change from his older models..

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Imo, it's not with that price difference, but if I had the money I would probably buy the usa version just because it is built a little nicer and well why not have the best.. But the Special feels like a high end guitar to me. NO shame in owning that..


I should note the Wolfgang pickups are different than what you may expect, and definitely different from previous pickups in Evh guitars like the Pv and music Man.. These pickups have more in common with say Gibson Burstbucker, than the Tone Zone/ Air Zone tone of the other guitars.. The Wolfgang's are still a good pickup, but it's prolly the biggest change from his older models..

 

Please school me on the pups. I've never owned a MM or Peavey EVH guitar so I'm a noob :o

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I had a Wolfgang Special a few years ago and it was a great guitar. The D-Tuna is really easy to set up and works really well. As someone said, you need to add a little bit of tension to the trem, but since the Floyd is not recessed, that's really easy to do. The bridge pickup on mine was a little too prone to feedback and I ended up replacing it with a Duncan Custom, but other than that, it was a very solid guitar.

 

I have no experience with the new EVH Wolfgang though.

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Ok.. The older guitars had a Tone Zone vibe.. The neck was somewhat like an Air Norton, but I never a/b'd them.. The new Wolfgang doesn't have the mid grind of the older models.. Brighter and looser sounding.. Prolly why he went with a 250k ohm tone pot on the new Wolfgang

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I had a Wolfgang Special a few years ago and it was a great guitar. The D-Tuna is really easy to set up and works really well. As someone said, you need to add a little bit of tension to the trem, but since the Floyd is not recessed, that's really easy to do. The bridge pickup on mine was a little too prone to feedback and I ended up replacing it with a Duncan Custom, but other than that, it was a very solid guitar.


I have no experience with the new EVH Wolfgang though.

 

 

What exactly do you mean by 'add a little bit of tension to the trem'? Making sure the trem is flat to the body?

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What exactly do you mean by 'add a little bit of tension to the trem'? Making sure the trem is flat to the body?

 

 

Yes, but not only flat to the body but you will want to reduce the "play"on the trem a bit so it feels a little stiffer and closer to a vintage strat trem. You need to adjust the 2 bridge posts so the trem is sitting completely flat, then you adjust the springs to add the extra tension. It's really easy, way easier than it sounds on paper.

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Ok.. The older guitars had a Tone Zone vibe.. The neck was somewhat like an Air Norton, but I never a/b'd them.. The new Wolfgang doesn't have the mid grind of the older models.. Brighter and looser sounding.. Prolly why he went with a 250k ohm tone pot on the new Wolfgang

 

Ah... Thanks :thu:

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Yes, but not only flat to the body but you will want to reduce the "play"on the trem a bit so it feels a little stiffer and closer to a vintage strat trem. You need to adjust the 2 bridge posts so the trem is sitting completely flat, then you adjust the springs to add the extra tension. It's really easy, way easier than it sounds on paper.

 

 

How do you adjust the springs to add extra tension?

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