After giving guitar fans a glimpse of its upcoming releases at NAMM earlier this year, EVH has now officially launched the Wolfgang WG Standard T.O.M. – a new electric guitar that delivers on the firm's long-awaited hardtail promise.
Available alongside the already-available-to-buy Wolfgang Special T.O.M., the Standard variant serves as the collection's more affordable alternative, and doubles down on EVH's pivot away from Floyd Rose tremolos in favor of a more readily accessible hardware set up that will appeal to a broader pool of players.
With a $599.99 price tag, this cost-conscious version boasts a fawk bound basswood body with a “comfort cut” forearm contour for “enhanced playability,” a bolt-on baked maple neck with graphite reinforcement, and a spoke wheel for easy truss rod adjustments.
It also includes a 12”-16” compound radius baked maple fingerboard, 22 jumbo frets, and black dot inlays, and is kitted with dual EVH Wolfgang humbucking pickups that are wired to black speed volume and tone knobs with 500k pots for more “precise tone control.”
And for the aesthetically inclined, it comes in Gloss Black, Cream White, and Sea Foam Pearl Metallic finishes.
In a 2023 interview with Guitar World, EVH's Matt Bruck commented on Eddie's lasting impact on the brand. Bruck, Eddie Van Halen’s former guitar tech and business partner, has worked alongside Wolfgang Van Halen to carry on Eddie’s legacy following his passing in 2020.
“Ed left a lot of ideas for us to develop,” he said. “We are committed to delivering all of them. We worked with Ed for a very long time, and we know what he would want.”
Additionally, it’s important to note that this model – as well as the Special – is available strictly as a hardtail model. This marks a departure from previous Wolfgang releases, which came fully equipped with the Eddie-approved Floyd Rose locking tremolo, signaling a new direction for the brand.
As Bruck asserted, “More people play stop-tails than guitars with locking tremolos. We dig both and we want to show people what we can come up with.”
As mentioned above, although the Standard version has stolen the spotlight for this particular release, the premium Special edition is also available with a $1,299 price tag. It is described as a “purebred music-making machine” that combines “stunning style, giant sound, and high-speed playability.”
Features include a basswood body with an arched top and a graphite-reinforced bolt-on quartersawn baked maple neck, carved and rolled to Eddie's exacting specifications – plus a hand-rubbed satin urethane finish on the back.
Elsewhere, custom-designed EVH Wolfgang Alnico 2 humbuckers guarantees “dynamic yet articulate voicings” as well as “endless sustain for powerful chords and melody lines.”
For more information about these new models, visit EVH.
