Pricing and availability
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Store
Reviews
Price
Average Price: $1,132
High-end/Boutique
$400
$1001+
Price Tier
Budget
Standard
High-end
Price History
Based on price data from 5 merchants for "EVH Wolfgang Special". Prices shown reflect NEW condition. Tracking began Apr 2, 2026.
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Description
The EVH Wolfgang Special is a masterful blend of craftsmanship and playability, designed to meet the demands of serious musicians who appreciate precision and tone. This solid body electric guitar, a proud member of the Eddie Van Halen signature series, captures the spirit of its legendary namesake with its powerful sound and sleek design. While it stands as a more accessible option in the Wolfgang lineup, the Special doesn't skimp on quality or features.
Crafted with a basswood body, this guitar offers a balanced tone with excellent resonance, ideal for both studio recordings and live performances. The neck is meticulously designed to provide a smooth playing experience, featuring a compound radius fingerboard that ensures effortless playability across the frets.
The dual humbucker pickups are the heart of the Wolfgang Special, delivering that iconic, high-gain sound reminiscent of Eddie's timeless riffs. Whether you're diving into scorching solos or laying down chunky rhythm parts, the Floyd Rose locking tremolo system with EVH D-Tuna ensures you stay in tune, even during the most aggressive whammy bar antics.
Finished with understated yet stylish dot inlays, this guitar is available with either maple or ebony fretboards, allowing you to choose the feel and look that best suits your style.
Key Features:
- Basswood body with a sleek design
- Compound radius fingerboard for smooth playability
- Dual humbucker pickups for high-gain sound
- Floyd Rose locking tremolo system with EVH D-Tuna
- Available with maple or ebony fretboards
- Dot inlays for a classic look
Product specs
| Brand | EVH |
| Model | Wolfgang Special with Ebony Fretboard, Wolfgang Special with Maple Fretboard |
| Finish | Black, Burgundy Mist Metallic, Candy Apple Red Metallic, Deep Purple Metallic, Gold, Ice Blue Metallic, Ivory, Matte Army Drab, Metallic Blue, Miami Blue, Pelham Green, Pharaohs Gold, Polar White, Satin Orange Crush, Satin Primer Grey, Satin Red, Satin Surf Green, Silverburst, Sonic Boom, Stealth Black, Vintage White |
| Year | 2010 - 2025 |
| Made In | Japan |
| Categories | Solid Body Electric Guitars |
| Artist | Eddie Van Halen |
| Body Material | Basswood |
| Body Shape | Double Cutaway |
| Body Type | Solid Body |
| Bridge/Tailpiece Type | Locking Tremolo Bridge |
| Color Family | Black, Blue, Gold, Green, Grey, Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, Silver, White |
| Finish Features | Matching Headstock |
| Finish Pattern | Sunburst |
| Finish Style | Gloss, Metallic, Satin |
| Fretboard Material | Ebony, Maple |
| Fretboard Radius | 12", 16" |
| Neck Construction | Bolt-On |
| Neck Material | Maple |
| Number of Frets | 22 |
| Number of Strings | 6-String |
| Nut Width | 1.625" |
| Offset Body | Offset Body |
| Pickup Configuration | HH |
| Right / Left Handed | Right Handed |
| Scale Length | 25.5" |
| Wood Top Style | Opaque |
FAQs
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What type of neck does the EVH Wolfgang Special have?
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The EVH Wolfgang Special features a bolt-on quartersawn maple neck with a custom Wolfgang Backshape profile, designed for comfortable and fast playability.
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What pickups are used in the EVH Wolfgang Special, and what tones do they produce?
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The EVH Wolfgang Special is equipped with dual direct-mount Wolfgang Zebra humbuckers, which provide a powerful, balanced tone suitable for rock, metal, and versatile lead and rhythm playing.
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Is the EVH Wolfgang Special suitable for advanced guitar players?
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Yes, the EVH Wolfgang Special is designed with high-performance features like a locking tremolo bridge and jumbo frets, making it suitable for advanced players who require precision and reliability.
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What is the body material of the EVH Wolfgang Special, and how does it affect the sound?
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The EVH Wolfgang Special has a basswood body, which offers a balanced tonal response with a warm midrange, making it versatile for various music genres.
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Does the EVH Wolfgang Special come with a locking tremolo system?
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Yes, the EVH Wolfgang Special is equipped with a locking tremolo bridge, allowing for stable tuning and expressive pitch modulation.
Videos
Guitar World
EVH Wolfgang Special electric guitar
Reviews
PROS
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Excellent pickup sound with a versatile range
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Smooth fretwork allows for low action
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Highly effective tone and zero-friction volume pot
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Comfortable, smooth neck with graphite reinforcement
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Attracts compliments for its aesthetics
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Ships in tune and maintains tuning well
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Inspires discovery of new tones and styles
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Effortless playability and comfortable body
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High-quality build despite being a non-USA model
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Great value alternative to flagship models
CONS
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MIM versions feel cheaper than MIJ versions
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Some units have finish issues, especially quilt tops
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Setup issues out of the box, including high action and loose neck
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EVH licensed Floyd Rose can rattle if tremolo bar is loose
Owner Insights
We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about EVH Wolfgang Special.
Features and functionality
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The EVH Wolfgang Special can achieve 24 voicings with Fishman Fluence pickups, including single coil options via push-pull pots.
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Couch Guitar Strap made from car seatbelt material is used for durability and comfort.
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The EVH Wolfgang Special is noted for its coil split, enhancing versatility for different musical styles.
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Mods and upgrades
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Gold Floyd Rose Standard tremolo with D-Tuna allows for quick drop tuning when blocked.
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Setup and maintenance
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Uses Ernie Ball "Mighty Slinky's" (8.5-11-15-22w-30-40) for lighter tonal playability.
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User experience
Comparisons
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The EVH Wolfgang Special is praised for its thicker, fantastic tone compared to the SA-126, which some find too large and less impressive.
Source
Critic Reviews
4.5 out of 5
Based on 3 Reviews and 15 Ratings
127
pickups may be the best part
Initially, I had 9's on it and it was borderline unplayable even after a professional setup. Once I switched to 10.5's it has been a night and day difference. Being able to play wildly and dive bomb with minimal tuning variance is amazing. The neck is the best I have felt since I began playing, it is satin and the fret ends on mine are superb. The pickups are top-notch (clear tone/harmonics pop out). I would highly recommend this guitar. (I mainly play Van Halen and SRV)
Preferred Settings + Usage:
bridge pickup full vol, full tone, high gain
249
Fantastic Guitar with a Little Work
Very impressed with this guitar after a little set up work. The EVH D-Tuna takes some getting used to and some setup to get it right but once it's "dialed in", zero issues. The guitar has a fantastic neck and I really like the pickups. Had to polish the frets a bit. The low friction volume knob is great. Going to put that on several guitars I have. Guitar has a unique voice but I really like it and it sounds great live. I use it for kind of heavy country so it works out fine and I love the D-Tuna for that kind of work. This is definitely a keeper and gets played almost every live show I do so it gets lots of love. Really great guitar. I think the overseas market is really starting to catch up to the US in quality control and parts.
Artist usage
Add artist
On one of the collectible covers of Guitar World for February 2009, Eddie Van Halen can be seen with a Tobacco Burst version of the Wolfgang Special guitar.
This particular version of the guitar can also be seen on the cover of Guitar Player's 2011 Holiday issue: http://www.guitarplayer.com/holiday2011
"This one’s seen a fair bit of action. We adopted a second tuning (drop A#, low and heavy!) to our arsenal on ‘Union Black’ and we’ve had it in the back pocket ever since. Around that time I had a hankering for writing some riffs using an actual whammy bar - I’ve always had a whammy pedal in my setup but wanted to try to factor those feels into the riff from the guitar itself. This is the guitar I used to write and record the songs ’Doom Riff’, ‘Kill The Power’, ‘Ninja’ & ‘Shut Your Mouth’. I also used it to record ‘Playing With The Devil’ & ’The Healing’ amongst a few others. Around the time we were touring ‘Kill The Power’ I decided to deck this guitar out with some spray paint customisation, so it features my go-to black and orange colour scheme with the ‘Kill The Power’ fist logo. It’s a total one off and one hell of a guitar."
In the video titled "Right Now solo - Van Halen Hagar tone with EVH SDE-3000 by Andy Wood," Andy Wood confirms using the EVH Wolfgang Special, stating, "Signal chain is EVH Wolfgang into 5153 amp into reactive load into boss sde 3000 into 3 channels of my Apollo." This provides direct evidence of his use of the EVH Wolfgang Special.
In this Instagram photo, composer Dana James Presson discusses using DR Handmade Strings on his EVH Wolfgang Special guitar.
Album Usage
The EVH Wolfgang Special has been featured on the following albums:
Genre Usage
Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.
Used With
Based on how musicians on Equipboard use EVH Wolfgang Special, it is most commonly used with the following gear.
Community setups
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