EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

C

CB434

New member
Just to start off, I've been doing some reading here before joining and no this isn't a "please I want to sound like EVH" thing. I barely know his sound very well that's sort of the problem.

Because I love the specs of his Wolfgang but I don't really know properly what I would be getting. I'm looking for an all around rock machine with a floyd and the stainless steel frets are a big plus.

Before thinking about a Wolfgang I was thinking about using a Norton and Pearly Gates neck, again not trying to copy EVH. Looking for versatility. If I was trying to copy anyone it'd probably be Satriani, but not really.

Trying to wrap things up..

Basically I'm just lost when it comes to trying to figure out where EVH's Wolfgang pickups fit in. If someone could give a good comparison in terms of DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan pups, that'd be great.

For example, how do they compare to the Norton/PGn combo?

How do EVH pickups work for modern chugga chugga? I guess I'm looking for something between a Fred and Tone Zone which is what Norton is described as.
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

Judging by the crappy concert clips on YouTube and the few decent test clips of the Wolfgang, it sounds very "full-range" and similar to the Peavey. You've got thick bass, fat mids and very bright treble response. I'm guessing thin ceramic magnet. Most Alnicos have some kind of peak or deficiency in some area of the EQ. I've seen a few for sale that were tested and the bridge is around 14k. The neck? Who knows. Neck pickups were always an afterthought for Eddie anyway. It's probably like a Norton 12k and asymmetric favoring the screw coil, since Eddie hates the "mud" of neck humbuckers.

Honestly, if I had the money, I'd at least give the bridge pup a shot in my guitar. I'm very impressed with the sounds I've heard so far. Very powerful harmonics (duh!) and hot but cleans up well.
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

No they're different. They definitely have a Fender flavor. In a way they're like the Fender Diamondback or Atomic, but with more low mids and bass. They have a nice clarity, they're warm, and have great sounding harmonics. I love them. I had a pair in my Ibanez RG1570 but took them out to put them into my strat. They're awesome pickups, and much better than Peavey in my opinion.
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

I'm pretty sure he wouldn't approve sucky pickups. I think there were dozens of rejected prototypes, including offerings by Seymour's Custom Shop.

I think one of the reasons he insisted on them being "full-range" is so they would work in a variety of guitars and woods. Makes sense.

Here they are in the mahogany Wolfgang "Les Paul".



I don't know much about Skolnick, but he must have had an off-day. That sounds almost as bad as me "shredding".
 
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Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

Probably just walked in and had no time to properly warm up and get familiar with that guitar. Probably didn't even get it set up, and everyone knows factory setups suck.

Not to mention it's being recorded on a camera mic, which is far removed from an SM57.


To the OP: since the Wolfgang pickups are designed to a specific spec (EVH's tonal desires, be they Brown or otherwise), and you're looking for something "not quite EVH", my suggestion is to go with what you know - Norton, SuperD, JB, whatever you'd normally put in a guitar with those specs to get the sound you're most comfortable with.
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

DrNewcenstein said:
Probably just walked in and had no time to properly warm up and get familiar with that guitar. Probably didn't even get it set up, and everyone knows factory setups suck.
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I highly doubt the guitars used at a Fender NAMM booth are "poorly setup" on any level. The tone sounds great to me, regardless of the mic or who's playing it.
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

It's not that they're "poorly" set up, it's that they come with a "factory" setup, which is not everyone's preference, and are rarely (if ever) done to appeal directly to the fleet-fingered feather-touch shredders any more than those who prefer to fight the guitar. They're set to a "happy medium" intended to be adjusted up or down depending on the player's preference BEFORE you go out in public.
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

Have you checked these videos out?




Paul at GW tends to not just do what the guitar was designed for for the ENTIRE video, so you might get an idea of what sort of other stuff you can do with the guitar.

I personally LOVE the versatility of my US Peavey Wolfgang Special. I use it for everything from blues to outright metal.
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

I think it's been said many times... Eddie has had 11 different tones on 11 different albums. That's the nature of a guy who's never satisfied with what he did yesterday.

To say, "sounds like EVH"... what does that even mean? These are a huge departure from what he used in the era where most of the guys trying to get "his sound" are aiming for. To me, these just sound like modern, hi-fi pups with great EQ range. Drop it in a Strat, it will sound like a Strat with a humbucker. Drop it in a Les Paul... PRS... etc. I really honestly don't think putting these pickups in your guitar will make somebody go, "Dude you sound just like EVH", unless you're cheesing on his licks.
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

Ian the fender wolf pu's are much better than the peavey version. i bought a set a while back and really like them,they are very versitile will cover a lot of musical ground. bridge is not super hot but has a good strong output. nice solid bass and good mids and treble. neck pup is real sweet and warm.
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

IanBallard said:
I think it's been said many times... Eddie has had 11 different tones on 11 different albums. That's the nature of a guy who's never satisfied with what he did yesterday.

To say, "sounds like EVH"... what does that even mean? These are a huge departure from what he used in the era where most of the guys trying to get "his sound" are aiming for. To me, these just sound like modern, hi-fi pups with great EQ range. Drop it in a Strat, it will sound like a Strat with a humbucker. Drop it in a Les Paul... PRS... etc. I really honestly don't think putting these pickups in your guitar will make somebody go, "Dude you sound just like EVH", unless you're cheesing on his licks.
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Just as an example, I recorded this with my old band using my US Peavey Wolfgang Special. My guitar was mixed to the right.

http://www.geargeek.net/media/empty.mp3

I don't think anybody would ever say "DUDE!!! OMGZ!!! YOU SOUND JUST LIKE EVH!!!"

As far as the chugga chugga stuff you asked about, I'll try to record a quick and dirty (emphasis on the dirty) sample for you later tonight.
 
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Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

GilmourD said:
Just as an example, I recorded this with my old band using my US Peavey Wolfgang Special. My guitar was mixed to the right.

http://www.geargeek.net/media/empty.mp3

I don't think anybody would ever say "DUDE!!! OMGZ!!! YOU SOUND JUST LIKE EVH!!!"

As far as the chugga chugga stuff you asked about, I'll try to record a quick and dirty (emphasis on the dirty) sample for you later tonight.
Click to expand...

Hey man, I just had "threat blocked" warning when I clicked on your link. You might wanna look into that.
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

IanBallard said:
Hey man, I just had "threat blocked" warning when I clicked on your link. You might wanna look into that.
Click to expand...

Damn... I dunno what it is, but somebody's effing with my site and somehow getting in and rewriting a lot of HTML files and some of the PHP files. It's almost to the point where I'm thinking of wiping everything out and starting new, just in case they left some sort of back door in somewhere to keep getting in. It's really annoying.

It should be OK, now. Would you mind clicking on the link again and telling me if it does that again?

As far as that MP3, that just came off my machine as a fresh upload, so the MP3 itself should be clean.
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

I've been going over my site with a fine tooth comb, so everything should be OK. I've been sharing links off my site with tons of people for years and this is the first time I've ever had a problem like this.

Please PM me if anybody else has any issues with my links.
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

Sorry it took me so long to get this clip up, but things happen. LOL

wolfie2.jpg


Anyhow, I whipped out my US Peavey Wolfgang Special, Reaper, and POD Farm. I fiddled with some amps and came up with basically a Tube Screamer pushing a Mesa/Boogie MkIIc+ into a cab loaded with Vintage 30s (kind of a James Hetfield type setup). Then I hit record and played some heavy riffs. :p Sorry it's a bit sloppy, but it should give you an inkling to the Wolfgang pickups' ability to do what you describe as "chugga chugga". LOL

http://www.geargeek.net/media/chugga.mp3

Now that I'm listening to it again, I might've set the gain a bit higher than I'd like... But this was quick and dirty in the little bit of time that my proto-toddler allows me. LOL
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

I liked that song in the first clip.. not my usual style of preference.. the singings a bit patchy in places (especially early on) but it was quite good epecially more towards the end.

I watched the YT reviews and also that latest (chugga) clip.. I guess it's just hard to have a frame of reference.. it's like a mental blank. I can hear these pickups but they just sound generic to me, I can't compare them with something better that I know. Because the sound can vary so much due to amp settings. I mean with pickups I know, I can hear a clip and imagine but the amp settings would be, and how the pickup is shaping the sound.

With the Wolfgang pickups, I'm still a bit lost.. I guess it's just because they are a good overall pickup, with balanced tone.. rather then extreme EQ's or compression. Like someone said, I can always replace them with what I'm more familiar with if I don't like em.
 
Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

CB434 said:
I liked that song in the first clip.. not my usual style of preference.. the singings a bit patchy in places (especially early on) but it was quite good epecially more towards the end.

I watched the YT reviews and also that latest (chugga) clip.. I guess it's just hard to have a frame of reference.. it's like a mental blank. I can hear these pickups but they just sound generic to me, I can't compare them with something better that I know. Because the sound can vary so much due to amp settings. I mean with pickups I know, I can hear a clip and imagine but the amp settings would be, and how the pickup is shaping the sound.

With the Wolfgang pickups, I'm still a bit lost.. I guess it's just because they are a good overall pickup, with balanced tone.. rather then extreme EQ's or compression. Like someone said, I can always replace them with what I'm more familiar with if I don't like em.
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Well, I think that's exactly the thing... I wouldn't call them generic. They're transparent. They not overly colored like some pickups can be. I think that's one constant in EVH's rig is that it the pickups were always transparent sounding and let the woods, hardware, and your fingers get transmitted to the amp without any distinct frequency spikes.

I've replaced almost every pickup in all my store-bought guitars. Only three have wow'd me, those being the pickups in my Wolfgang and the neck pickup in my Tex Mex Tele Special. Everything else got replaced.

Oh, one of the reasons I'm not in the band with which I recorded that first clip... Great singer with zero confidence. I had some control over the mix and recording when I was in the band. After I left, she gained that control, and all her vocals became layer upon layer upon layer of mess. I'm still friends with them, and they'd send me demo tracks, and I'd isolate one vocal track and say "Hey, that one sounds good to me. Stop messing with the other tracks."
 
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Re: EVH Wolfgang Fender pups

Dude just get a Wolfgang set already. They're great pickups. They will not make you sound like EVH. They've got a nice amount of low end, great mids and highs, clarity, harmonics, etc.. They're just great all-around pickups. They're very warm yet present so they will work in strats and Les Pauls. I am very happy with the set I bought. Shop around and you can get them for $250.
 
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