The Story Behind Eddie Van Halen’s 2015 Ivory Wolfgang

There are plenty of EVH guitars that are instantly recognizable. The Frankenstrat. The Bumblebee. The 5150. But one of the most important guitars from the final chapter of Eddie Van Halen’s career looked very different from all of them.

For Van Halen’s 2015 North American tour, Eddie took the stage with a heavily distressed Ivory-over-Black Wolfgang USA. It became his main guitar for the tour and ultimately one of the last guitars the world would see him play onstage.

The Guitar That Replaced His #1

Going into the 2015 tour, Eddie originally planned to use his Stealth Black Wolfgang USA—the same guitar that had been his main instrument throughout the 2012-13 tour.

During rehearsals, however, Eddie received a new Wolfgang USA built by EVH Master Builder Chip Ellis. Eddie had asked for a white Wolfgang with a heavily relic’d finish, allowing the original black underneath to show through.

Then something happened that Eddie probably wasn't expecting.

He compared the new Ivory Wolfgang directly against his trusted Stealth and preferred the way the new guitar sounded. Just like that, the new Wolfgang became his main guitar for rehearsals and the 2015 tour.

Eddie even modified the guitar himself, sanding down the back of the neck until the profile felt exactly the way he wanted it.

The Final Van Halen Tour

That makes this particular Wolfgang more significant than simply being another EVH stage guitar.

The 2015 North American tour would become Van Halen's final tour, ending October 4, 2015 at the Hollywood Bowl. Eddie played the Ivory Wolfgang throughout the tour, including the band's final show.

For the encore that night, Eddie played the guitar during “Jump”—making the Ivory Wolfgang the guitar in his hands for his final song onstage with Van Halen.

The Limited Edition Returns

EVH has now brought that look back with the Limited Edition Wolfgang Special Striped Series Distressed Ivory.

The finish recreates the heavily worn Ivory-over-Black appearance of Eddie's 2015 guitar, but the connection goes well beyond the finish.

The Wolfgang Special features a basswood body, graphite-reinforced quartersawn maple neck and a 12"-16" compound-radius ebony fingerboard with 22 jumbo frets. Direct-mount EVH Wolfgang humbuckers are paired with EVH's low-friction volume and high-friction tone controls.

There's also an EVH-branded Floyd Rose locking tremolo, D-Tuna and a kill switch—features that tie the guitar directly back to Eddie's performance-focused approach to the Wolfgang.

More Than a Relic Finish

It's easy to look at this guitar and focus on the finish. That's certainly what grabs your attention first.

But the story behind it is what makes this Limited Edition interesting.

The original wasn't an old guitar that naturally accumulated decades of wear. It was intentionally built to look that way for Eddie in 2015. Then Eddie played it, preferred it to the guitar he had planned to use, and made it his main instrument for what nobody knew at the time would be Van Halen's final tour.

Ten years later, that Ivory Wolfgang has become one of the guitars most closely associated with the final era of Eddie Van Halen.

The EVH Limited Edition Wolfgang Special Striped Series Distressed Ivory is available now at Detroit Guitar.