EVH Wolfgang and Fender Stratocaster Plus Deluxe

aj633 · 18th November 2011

I had a couple trade offers on these. The EVH is the black one, and the Strat is a '91. I don't know anything about these specific models. How is the EVH? What is it good at? What is it not good at? Where does this Strat model fit in? What would it be worth in a sale/trade?

I play guitar at church on Sundays, and that's it right now. I'm playing mostly delayed alt rock type stuff, nothing edgy or metal. Acoustic based. I know the Strat would work for this kind of music, but wonder about the EVH.

Kiwi · 18th November 2011

I have a blue Peavy Wolfgang, and it's my favorite guitar for high gain stuff. That's not to say that the clean sound is bad at all ... it's fairly bright for humbuckers. It's got a very flat fret board, designed for finger tapping, which is not my thing. I personally prefer a rounded neck, because for some reason I find that I can damp strings better. With the Wolfgang, I can sometimes have trouble with the middle strings ringing when I don't want them to, which I think is related to how flat the fret board is. But maybe i'm just a crap player.

There are so many Strat models - some are great, some are shit. If it's made of good wood and sound good acoustically, then at least you can always replace pickups.

I love the sound of single coils, but hate the hum. There are hum-free versions of single coil pups - some sound good, some don't.

I have a Japanese Strat with Kinman pickups. These are Australian made noiseless pickups, with Alnico, which I think is essential for that classic vintage strat sound. I often use the in-between out-of-phase combinations that a strat gives (I listened to far to much Dire Straits when I was a kid).

Ultimately you will probably want both for different things - so choose the one that looks coolest.

aj633 · 18th November 2011

I'm not playing anything high gain, so it sounds like the EVH is probably not for me. And I already play a Les Paul. A Strat would be more of a change of pace. Just don't know anything about the quality or worth of this particular model.

drbob1 · 18th November 2011

Are you talking about the Peavey EVH or the Fender version? The original Peavey, in black, is a basswood body, most have the Floyd-Rose with Dtuna and locking nut, maple fingerboard. The neck is a very specific carve, fairly full on the back, flattish but not Ibanez/Metal kind of flat.

I play mostly in church, U2ish thru a pedalboard and a 65 Vox AC30, and the Peavey works as well as my Gretshes without the hassle of build quality. The humbuckers are fairly bright (which allows me to use a volume pedal or the cut knob to shape tone) and fairly dynamic and lowish output. They remind me of nothing so much as a good pair of PAFs (which I have played extensively). If you listen to Eddy's stuff, you'll hear that the gain level is NOT super high, he's getting sustain by playing a Marshall amp LOUD. Bottom line, for a church gig, you've got to try the EVH before you give up on it.

As you can see from looking at it, the Strat Plus Deluxe has Lace Sensors which are quite a bit lower noise than traditional single coils. Lots of folks don't think they sound like real strats, but Eric Clapton used them for more than a decade so they can't be terrible... It should also have a rolling nut and locking tuners to improve tuning stability.

Of the two, I like the EVH better, it's more distinctive and works better for me, but YMMV. A black Peavey Wolfgang is worth something like $1200, the strat more like $800 I think.

M-Goldie · 18th November 2011

i've got an 88 strat plus, maple neck. i think the deluxe has different types of lace sensor pickups?

i've read different opinions about the pickups some love them some don't. i think they sound great but i've not had another strat to compare and i'm not that into the tiny subtleties of pickup sound.

i would say mine is extremely well made and good to play. they were the top of line model back then apart from custom shop, and apparently it was when fender got their act back together regarding build quality.

my main issue is the roller nut, which i now i don't like the look of, but you're stuck with it. i tried to change it and it was hopeless. your model might have the later roller nut?

i would say try it out and see if you get on. those two you mention are very different animals!

meoww woof !

Les Paul Gibson · 15th January 2012

I have the new Fender EVH guitar, I like the asymmetrical neck profile... the pickups are great, they are not hight output, they have a nice articulate output with Alnico II's, they clean up pretty good, but not single coil good, the guitar does have nice tone.. it records very well, plays nice. The PV one is a good guitar as well...try it with an amp if you can...

parlopower · 19th January 2012

Got an EVH Wolfgang Special.
Playability is an absolute dream. Regarding the sound, it is indeed not THAT high gain with the humbuckers. I ahd my dealer where I bought it add a push-pull pot for tone control and wire that for coil splitting, and with the split pickups you really get nice single coil clean sounds.
I highly recommend it. Very versatile guitar (especially after the coil split option added). Should also be fine for church gigs.

18th November 2011	#1
aj633 Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2010 Location: Louisville, KY, USA Posts: 654 Thread Starter	EVH Wolfgang and Fender Stratocaster Plus Deluxe I had a couple trade offers on these. The EVH is the black one, and the Strat is a '91. I don't know anything about these specific models. How is the EVH? What is it good at? What is it not good at? Where does this Strat model fit in? What would it be worth in a sale/trade? I play guitar at church on Sundays, and that's it right now. I'm playing mostly delayed alt rock type stuff, nothing edgy or metal. Acoustic based. I know the Strat would work for this kind of music, but wonder about the EVH.

15th January 2012	#6
Les Paul Gibson Gear Head Joined: Mar 2010 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 61	I have the new Fender EVH guitar, I like the asymmetrical neck profile... the pickups are great, they are not hight output, they have a nice articulate output with Alnico II's, they clean up pretty good, but not single coil good, the guitar does have nice tone.. it records very well, plays nice. The PV one is a good guitar as well...try it with an amp if you can... __________________ If it sounds good, then its good!

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

18th November 2011	#2
Kiwi Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2009 Posts: 3,204	I have a blue Peavy Wolfgang, and it's my favorite guitar for high gain stuff. That's not to say that the clean sound is bad at all ... it's fairly bright for humbuckers. It's got a very flat fret board, designed for finger tapping, which is not my thing. I personally prefer a rounded neck, because for some reason I find that I can damp strings better. With the Wolfgang, I can sometimes have trouble with the middle strings ringing when I don't want them to, which I think is related to how flat the fret board is. But maybe i'm just a crap player. There are so many Strat models - some are great, some are shit. If it's made of good wood and sound good acoustically, then at least you can always replace pickups. I love the sound of single coils, but hate the hum. There are hum-free versions of single coil pups - some sound good, some don't. I have a Japanese Strat with Kinman pickups. These are Australian made noiseless pickups, with Alnico, which I think is essential for that classic vintage strat sound. I often use the in-between out-of-phase combinations that a strat gives (I listened to far to much Dire Straits when I was a kid). Ultimately you will probably want both for different things - so choose the one that looks coolest.

18th November 2011	#4
drbob1 Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2009 Posts: 1,420 3 Reviews written	Are you talking about the Peavey EVH or the Fender version? The original Peavey, in black, is a basswood body, most have the Floyd-Rose with Dtuna and locking nut, maple fingerboard. The neck is a very specific carve, fairly full on the back, flattish but not Ibanez/Metal kind of flat. I play mostly in church, U2ish thru a pedalboard and a 65 Vox AC30, and the Peavey works as well as my Gretshes without the hassle of build quality. The humbuckers are fairly bright (which allows me to use a volume pedal or the cut knob to shape tone) and fairly dynamic and lowish output. They remind me of nothing so much as a good pair of PAFs (which I have played extensively). If you listen to Eddy's stuff, you'll hear that the gain level is NOT super high, he's getting sustain by playing a Marshall amp LOUD. Bottom line, for a church gig, you've got to try the EVH before you give up on it. As you can see from looking at it, the Strat Plus Deluxe has Lace Sensors which are quite a bit lower noise than traditional single coils. Lots of folks don't think they sound like real strats, but Eric Clapton used them for more than a decade so they can't be terrible... It should also have a rolling nut and locking tuners to improve tuning stability. Of the two, I like the EVH better, it's more distinctive and works better for me, but YMMV. A black Peavey Wolfgang is worth something like $1200, the strat more like $800 I think.

18th November 2011	#5
M-Goldie Gear addict Joined: Mar 2009 Location: London, UK Posts: 342	i've got an 88 strat plus, maple neck. i think the deluxe has different types of lace sensor pickups? i've read different opinions about the pickups some love them some don't. i think they sound great but i've not had another strat to compare and i'm not that into the tiny subtleties of pickup sound. i would say mine is extremely well made and good to play. they were the top of line model back then apart from custom shop, and apparently it was when fender got their act back together regarding build quality. my main issue is the roller nut, which i now i don't like the look of, but you're stuck with it. i tried to change it and it was hopeless. your model might have the later roller nut? i would say try it out and see if you get on. those two you mention are very different animals! meoww woof !

19th January 2012	#7
parlopower Gear maniac Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 154 1 Review written	Got an EVH Wolfgang Special. Playability is an absolute dream. Regarding the sound, it is indeed not THAT high gain with the humbuckers. I ahd my dealer where I bought it add a push-pull pot for tone control and wire that for coil splitting, and with the split pickups you really get nice single coil clean sounds. I highly recommend it. Very versatile guitar (especially after the coil split option added). Should also be fine for church gigs.