Wolfgang Bridge Humbucker Pickup - Chrome Review

A great rockin' pickup!

As way of background, I've been playing rock guitar for over 40 years. During that time, I've mostly played Les Pauls though I've played a Strat HSS, SG, and BC Rich Warlock two. During this 40 plus years, I've swapped out many pickups. So, I've played all the standard Gibson humbuckers, 490R, 490L, 498, Burstbucker, Burstbucker Pro etc. etc. I've also played many of the DiMarzio… read more rock style humbuckers i.e. Super Distortion, Super II, Super III, PAF Pro, Mo Jo PAF, 36th Anniversary PAF etc. etc. I've tried Fralin pickups and Bill Lawrence pickups. Overall, I've swapped out a lot of pickups in search of a creamy high distortion with a clarity for some clean brightness. EVH was an amazing guitar player and he put his name on these pickups. I have no idea if he really played these, or designed these, or even heard them. I've read that these pickups are made by Fender, which could be good or bad. Fender makes great and average guitars in my opinion depending on the model you buy. Fender is not known for their humbucker experience and prowess. EVH is knowns for his tone and his passion for tinkering his designs to get them where he wanted his tone to be. If EVH did that with these pickups, that explains why they are so great. This review is for the EVH Wolfgang bridge pickup, but I own both the bridge and the neck pickups. Of course I noticed them because of the EVH brand and the traditional Les Paul chrome covers. These also come in black, but I like my Les Pauls fully dressed. Also, although I'm a huge fan of DiMarzio's Super Distortion I and II, I don't like how they look. Although the other pickups listed above are all good, I haven't found them to be up to the task of being a solid rock bridge pickup. Maybe the Bill Lawrence, but you have to like the styling. For the EVH Wolfgang bridge pickup, I found it to have a great output level without being muddy. It was as loud and distorts as well as my DiMarzio's with better styling. It also has a punchier clean sound with a little less distortion than the Super Distortion in my opinion. If you are looking for rock and roll leads with a classic Les Paul look, this is the best pick up for the job in my opinion. It's a great sounding pickup. I've been playing it for several months through several amps and cabs and I have several Les Pauls to compare it too. It's the best. EVH seems to have designed the right magnet with the right number of windings to nail it. To me, this is his unknown legacy. Believe it or not, I've bought an extra one so I have it for a future guitar. It's that good. The wiring is color coded differently than Gibson. So, if you are installing this yourself and splitting the coils you should do some research. It wasn't hard to figure out, but you need to understand that the colors are different. If you take it too a shop for installation, I would mention this to them, but they shouldn't have any problem. In summary: It was a surprise, but I love this pickup!

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