My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

[Grandor]

I got a wolfgang last week and I got it home and compared to my les paul.
It feel's like the strings are a higher guage on the wolfgang than it does on the LP, but they look the same...

With the wolfie I have to put in more effort and as consequence, my fingers are hurting even while I type this on my keyboard (especially my fingertapping finger).
And after playing the wolfie for 4 hrs yesterday arvo after school, I put on the Les Paul and shreded easier (and consequently - better) on it than I could on the wolfie before that just cause the strings were less effort to hit and didnt hurt at all (whereas the wolfie hurt em a little).

Some would say this is a good thing - But I thought the wolfie was gonna be a shred guitar ya know? I thought I could burn on the wolfie like I do my LP.



I know this is a weird post without much of a question, but are all wolfies like this?, could it be the strings are different and I just cant see cause im blind?
Is something wrong with the setup (even tho intonation is perfect, d-tuna works perfectly, the action is good and it stays in tune forever)?

Give me some suggestions (bear in mind - I in no way have any experience in Guitar Setup).

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

Well, there's a scale difference, which would change string tention, being tighter on the Wolfie than the LP. Take that into account when you buy new strings.

 

[nuntius]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

DSS hit the nail on the head.

its longer scale so the tension will be higher if your playing the same gauge strings.

the necks also probably bigger so if you have weak hands you may not be able to play it so easily.

btw, if you want to learn how to shred get an acoustic once you can shred that you can shred anything

 

[Grandor]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

Interesting.

I wouldnt have thought scales would make a difference that noticeable.

Culd it be anything else?

 

[nuntius]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

yeah, a bad setup maybe.

is the action lower on your lp?

also im sure the truss rod has something to do with it.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

What string are you using??
Allthough the scalelenght is different a Wolfgang is far from hard to play, mine is a toy to play....
But I am used to Strats which has the same scale.
What kind of Wolf is it?

 

[Mike M.]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

Does your Wolfgang have the Floyd Rose or a hardtail? Mine is Floyd equipt, and I had a hard time doing bends on mine due to the bridge moving when I would bend strings. It's like it took extra effort on my part to do bends. Seeing how I really dont use the bar I wound up blocking the trem. Much easier now. It's surprising how such a small differance in scale length's will have on bending. I've got .009's on my Wolfgang and .010's on my Les Paul and have an easier time with the LP.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

Can't play LP's....I overbend in the extreme on those things....
Must be this Fender or Gibson syndrome??
I love the sound of a good LP, but everytime I get one I play it for a few months and ends up selling it, due the scalelenght is wrong for me, plus I do not like the lesser space up the neck between the frets.
The Wolf is very comfy to play, and the Floyd is moving up when bending makes it easier, but mostly I palm it so it won't move, otherwise some twostringbend stuff will end up flat.
And by the way, you only had the guitar for a week.....play it more, say a few months and see if you still have trouble after that.
And try not to think much of it...will only make it worse if you speculate too much.

 

[rspst14]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

More than any other guitar I've tried, Wolfgang's are extremely sensitive to setup specs. You can't really get by with a half-assed setup on one of those. If you try, you'll end up with action that's too high, strings that buzz, and a trem that goes out of tune.

First, adjust the truss rod so that the neck is almost straight, with just a very small amount of relief. Once you have that right, lower the bridge until the strings buzz. Then use that as your starting point, and raise the action a very small amount at a time, until it's low and buzz free. Next, make sure you're using three springs with a set of 10's, and adjust the spring tension. I highly recommend setting the trem flat against the body. On mine, I set the trem so that the trem claw is about a half inch from the back of the trem cavity. Then just reset the intonation, and you're done.

My Wolfgang was my first guitar, and I really struggled with it until I learned to set up my own guitars. I now consider it to be one of the best playing guitars I've ever tried.

Ryan

 

[Mr Wolf]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

Few things, scale length would need getting used to, strings would feel tighter. The strings could possibly be a heavier guage aswell. That could make your fingers ache, and moving back to the easier LP would be like trying to lift a feather after lifting weights for a while. I tried a korean wolfie not long ago. Was a beauty to play on. Great for fast stuff. Since its designed for EVH its gotta be a good fast player

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

More than any other guitar I've tried, Wolfgang's are extremely sensitive to setup specs.

So you left me wondering abit here....just how many Wolfgang have you done setups on?

 

[y2stevo]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

I noticed the same thing when i first strung up my wolfie and tried bending, i noticed that it had much more tension in the strings, I use Ernie Ball Hybrids which i cant remember exactly what they are but 9's on strings GBE and havier ones n EAD.. But after a few hours it felt like i had it for years and no other guitar suits me better...Greatl Guitar and dont let it go for a few months at least till your sure..

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

I like the 9-46's on my strat scale guitars. Brand of strings can also make a difference.....not sure why really, but it does to me. I'd just adjust the action as low as possible as suggested here, use the 3 springs as suggested and if that doesn't make it better, try dropping a string guage size.

I've found that the Wolfgang necks are smaller and narrower than the LP's, or am I thinking a different type of EVH guitar?

 

[rspst14]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

So you left me wondering abit here....just how many Wolfgang have you done setups on?

Two to be exact. I made that comment because that's been my experience from talking with Wolfgang owners and reading/posting on the Peavey guitar forum for the past three years. If you do a search over there, there are lots of questions from people who complain that they can't get the action set properly on their Wolfgang. 9 times out of 10, it's because they didn't set the truss rod properly first. Part of the problem is that Eddie specifies that those guitars are shipped with 9-42 strings, when a lot of people will change to 10's after buying these guitars. You really need a good setup for these guitars to play their best.

Ryan

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

Well that is no different from any other guitar??
It is just setup for 9-42 as you pointed out, most guitars needs minor adjustments when changing gauge, it just sounds like people are not thinking when they change gauge.
The whole guitar is simple, everything is easy to get to, the truss can be adjusted without removing anything, well no offense meant, but it really sounds:smack: this to me
Well I can see the trouble with the Floyd if people are inexperinced, and partly the neck(the US one is extra reinforced)
But changing from 9 to 10 means adjusting the claw for the trem, a slight adjustment for the truss, but the action can stay as low since 9's vibrate more than 10's.
Hehe man it sounds like the customers we had at the guitarstore when I worked in one "I just bought this guitar, then I changed strings and the whole deal came apart" well he went from 10's to 12's:smack:
The Wolfgang is made for easy usage, adjustment is far from hard on that guitar, not trying to be hard on you, but it really is an easy to setup guitar, it just sounds like people forget to think when they change gauge on strings to me.

 

[Grandor]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

The guage is the same.
Setup is good intonation, action, d-tuna is right.

I dunno what it is.
The scale isnt that different.
Maybe ur right, i just need to get used to it...

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

It usually doesn't take long for your fingers to get used to a bit more tension. Just play it and get used to it, then go up one gauge on the LP. You may disagree, but ultimately your hands will have more power and control over the guitar, and your tone will probably get better. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

The plus side of getting used to the wolfgang is that you'll feel more at home if you ever want/have to play a strat or tele. Right now it sounds like the increased scale on those guitars would give you trouble, and that means you're missing out on all kinds of fun.

If it's any coincidence, fender players have the same problem with LPs, only backwards: playing them is like pushing rubber bands around. GJ's advice about a higher gauge for you LP is a good solution.

 

[gypsy]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

Maybe you guys that think the Wolfgang is hard to play tension wise are used to floating Floyds? They would give a lot on bends, making the strings feel slinkier, of course pitch will fluctuate too.

For the les Paul comparison it's scale as already said.

Wolfgangs are really easy to play. Super low action and skinny necks. I like fatter necks myself like a gibson historic.

 

[cvogue]

Re: My new wolfgang just doesnt feel right...

I got a wolfgang last week and I got it home and compared to my les paul.
It feel's like the strings are a higher guage on the wolfgang than it does on the LP, but they look the same...

With the wolfie I have to put in more effort and as consequence, my fingers are hurting even while I type this on my keyboard (especially my fingertapping finger).
And after playing the wolfie for 4 hrs yesterday arvo after school, I put on the Les Paul and shreded easier (and consequently - better) on it than I could on the wolfie before that just cause the strings were less effort to hit and didnt hurt at all (whereas the wolfie hurt em a little).

Some would say this is a good thing - But I thought the wolfie was gonna be a shred guitar ya know? I thought I could burn on the wolfie like I do my LP.



I know this is a weird post without much of a question, but are all wolfies like this?, could it be the strings are different and I just cant see cause im blind?
Is something wrong with the setup (even tho intonation is perfect, d-tuna works perfectly, the action is good and it stays in tune forever)?

Give me some suggestions (bear in mind - I in no way have any experience in Guitar Setup).

I know exactly what you mean! I've got my old workhorse LP and it's the best playing guitar I've ever played (been playing over 20 years) I recently got a Wolfie Special on Ebay and had my tech set it up with uber-low action and it's still harder on my fingers than my LP. I attribute this to two things:

1. Scale is different, and that does make a much bigger difference than most people realize in playability and tone. Ritchie Blackmore likes Strats becasuse they're not "wussie" guitars to play! Whatever...

2. The Wolfgang uses frets that are thinner and taller than many other guitars. EvH likes these kind of frets because they intone better (less are the string makes contact with means a better pitch I think). This means that the neck can almost have a scalloped feel to it. If you have a heavier touch and are used to mashing down the chords and scales on your LP it's going to be harder on your fingertips with the Wolfgang. It's interesting, the action between the frets and the strings is lower on my Wolfie than my LP, but the Wolfie is harder on my fingers. I'm using 9.5 strings on there and will probably go back to 9's for my Wolfgang and see how that does.