Peavey Wolfgang owners! Questions...

[Coopster]

I have a Wolfie EXP that I dearly love but I'm wanting to upgrade to a US made. I've got a line on a Special Deluxe flame top but I really want one of the Standards. Best I can figure the difference price wise is going to be somewhere around $300 to $600 depending on what I can find when the money's all there which is part of my dilemma.

I've got enough saved to lock on the Special right now, I'd have to save for a few more months to start looking at the Standards.

Anyone that's played or owned both, what are the big differences there? Is the Standard worth the extra money for the tone knob and the carve top? All opinions welcome.

 

[Lord Toneking]

Ive had both and the the special was actually more comfy to play because the edge of the binding on the archtop hurt my forearm after awhile. I will say that the archtop felt and obviously looked of much higher quality...and even sounded better. I assume because of the maple top.

Both are great guitars but after playing EBMM's I sold my wolfies

 

[glpg80]

owned a wolfgang special USA patent pending for almost 4 years.

once i got my RG1570 prestige, it went on the bay.

i hated not having upper fret access - it was always a struggle to play at the 22nd fret. i hated the location of the pickup selector, i would always hit it tapping on the neck and switch it to center or up positions.

i hated that when it came time to go back to the bridge pickup, you really had to hit it hard otherwise you would go from neck to center - it wouldnt lock into bridge easily.

that guitar sounded great though, i still love the peavey/USA wolfgang pickups. but the layout of that guitar had flawbacks that you didnt really catch until you played a super-strat style guitar.

one thing to note - i have a close friend who owned a custom shop standard peavey wolfgang, he has played both wolfies and EBMM's - and he wants an EBMM saying the same thing as lord toneking is. once you play one it blows the wolfgangs away in terms of function and comfort as well as tone. i have not played one, but thats quite a remark to claim they beat out the USA wolfgangs. mine was a complete tone beast, and thats the only thing i miss from it!

 

[Coopster]

Thanks for the input guys. I've got an Ibanez RG570 and a 540R that are perpetually in the stable and I can see the faults you're talking about but I just really love that bodystyle moreso than the EB's. A friend has an Axis and a fine guitar it is. I've played it and I still want the Wolfie. Just not sure which one.

 

[marvcus]

I own a 1st run quilt that I bought new in 1995/6 and worked at a store who was a Peavey dealer that got Wolfies in on a weekly basis. I've probably played over 50 Wolfgangs.

The major differences I recall (other than the standard differences like angled peghead vs. straight on the Special, etc) were that the Special's necks were
way more inconsistent than the Standard's necks. Some felt like they needed to be sanded down, others felt thicker than others, whereas the Standard's were
more consistent. The Standard has a slight recess at the floyd pocket whereas the Special does not. The Special, however, especially the flame top special, is closer to the EBMM than the Standard; flat top, one knob, straight peghead...

I think the Standard sounds better acoustically vs. the Special, if that makes any difference to you. That arm pain/binding thing bothered me at first, too, but I guess my arm got used to it over time - never an issue now.

 

[MYLILSS]

i have owned both, and about the only difference i could tell was that the standards with the maple tops sound a bit brighter than the specials, even though some of the specials came with the flamed top, they still werent quite as bright sounding as the standard. everything else i have noticed to be cosmetics, such as the binding, carved top, and angled peghead on the standard. both play great, so it would basically be a matter of which one looks better to you in my opinion. i personally hate the flat peghead on specials which is why i never seem to hang onto them.

 

[Meathead]

I've played quite a few Wolfgang Specials and EBMM guitars and they've all played and sounded great to me. I think I like the Wolfgang a bit more than the EBMM, but it's been so long since I've touched an EVH EBMM I don't really know.

If you can feel comfortable playing on a carved top go for it. I much prefer the Specials as I don't like carved tops under my hand at all.

 

[bonedish]

I've played both and agree with the above that the Special was more comfy to play. I really didn't need the tone knob on the Standard, personally. YMMV.

I'm one of the few who prefer the Wolfgangs to the EBMM. I LOVE the look of the EBMM>Wolfgang, but out of the 3 EBMM (2 EVH, 1 Axis) it just never felt right. For me, the build of the Wolfgang felt very comfortable & the EBMM felt a little ackward to play.

I just recently played an EXP Wolfgang and the comfortability and tone was on par with it's USA brothers. I know that the EXPs were not consistent, though, so I may be picking that one up in the very near future!

 

[TeleBlaster]

I've collected a few. Trimmed it down to the two best, a Standard and a Standard STP.
IMO the birdseye maple neck on the Standards is waaaaay better than the hard rock maple neck on the Specials, in regards to tone and feel.

 

[Coopster]

If you can feel comfortable playing on a carved top go for it. I much prefer the Specials as I don't like carved tops under my hand at all.

I've had a Les Paul and never had a problem with it, are the binding and carves similar?

 

[Inca Roads]

I've owned 3 Archtop USA Standards and one
Flat Top Special and The USA Standards are
Head and Shoulders above the Specials in all
Aspects!!

This is Straight from the Peavey Guitar Forum:

The differences between the Wolfgang, Wolfgang Special, and Wolfgang Special QT:

1. The Wolfgang has an arched top and the Special and QT Special have flat tops.
2. The Wolfgang has a Birdseye maple neck and the Special and QT Special have Hardrock maple necks.
3. The Wolfgang has body binding and the Special does not. The Flame-top Special and QT Special have faux binding which is actually the side of the body without color to give the appearance of binding.
4. The Wolfgang has a tilted headstock and the Special and QT Special do not.
5. The Wolfgang has a tone control and the Special and QT Special do not.

The Wolfgang Special QT:

The Wolfgang Special QT is the only Wolfgang that is manufactured overseas and it is the only Special with a quilt-top. All other Wolfgangs and Wolfgang Specials are made in the USA. The Wolfgang Special QT is manufactured to the same specs as the USA Special and the only real differences are the quilt-top on the QT is a veneer, no graphite reinforcement in the neck and the neck has a polyurethane finish on it.

 

[Coopster]

I just recently played an EXP Wolfgang and the comfortability and tone was on par with it's USA brothers. I know that the EXPs were not consistent, though, so I may be picking that one up in the very near future!

That's interesting to hear. I've seen a lot of people slag the EXP, but I know mine is rock solid. I understand the neck is different but the workmanship is excellent. And it never fails to draw a crowd when I pull it out of it's case.

 

[bonedish]

I just recently played an EXP Wolfgang and the comfortability and tone was on par with it's USA brothers. I know that the EXPs were not consistent, though, so I may be picking that one up in the very near future!

That's interesting to hear. I've seen a lot of people slag the EXP, but I know mine is rock solid. I understand the neck is different but the workmanship is excellent. And it never fails to draw a crowd when I pull it out of it's case.

The other plus, IMHO, about the EXPs are the slightly finished necks. The unfinished necks take some TLC to care for, but are easy enough to do. The unfinished necks can dry out causing neck shrinkage and fret edges pointing out, AFAIK. Of course I was living in Phoenix at the time - in the dry, unhumid air. Now that I live in Austin, it may be a little easier to care for.

EXPs do vary in quality, but there are some very good ones out there that are as solid as the USA Specials. A lot of interesting reading here: http://rocknrollweekend.com/other.php

 

[Coopster]

I live in Midland which is far more like Arizona than Austin is and I've not had any problems with shrinkage on it. I'm trying to remember if my buddies Axis has had any problems... I think he oils it pretty regularly though.