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What is it?
Most EVH builds are historical recreations of Eddie Van Halen’s many notable axes – see pre-relic’d Frankensteins, his Danelectro/Charvel hybrid offset, and wildcard Shark, providing some of the best shred guitars out there. But the SA-126 proves it does more than revivalism.
Wolfgang Van Halen’s fully-fledged signature model, the SA-126 Special, arrived on 26 January 2024 – on Eddie’s birthday, no less, hence the 126 name – and the Standard follows up having slashed $800 off its price tag.
Designed as a semi-hollow guitar that can handle high-gain tones without ear-splitting feedback, it makes an intriguing addition to the EVH roster.
Its silhouette is reminiscent of Eddie’s signature brew, fittingly named Wolfgang, but this is the first time its recipe has been hollowed out. It typifies WVH’s wanting to stray away from his father’s shadow while keeping his vivacious flame burning. But does it work?
Specs
- Launch price: $999/£779/€899
- Made: Indonesia
- Type: Semi-hollow electric guitar
- Body: Chabered means with and take her
- Neck: Baked maple EVH Modified C-shape
- Fingerboard: Rosewood, 12″ to 16″ compound radius
- Scale length: 24.75″, 628mm
- Nut/width: GraphTech TUSQ, 1.75″ (44.45 mm)
- Frets: 22, jumbo
- Hardware: EVH T.O.M bridge, EVH Keystone tuners
- Electrics: EVH SA-126 passive humbuckers, three-way switch, 2x Volume, 2x Tone controls
- Left-handed options: No
- Finishes: Piano Black, Pelham Green, Win Red, Vintage White, Pelham Blue (Sweetwater exclusive)
- Case/gig bag: None
- Contact: EVH Gear
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★½
It’s hard to fault the quality for the price, and it proves that contemporary Indonesian builds are not to be sniffed at; its creation has been handled with care.
Cost-saving measures on this budget-friendly guitar are wise without being cruel – nyatoh and ebony for mahogany and rosewood are sensible trade-offs – but premium features like the heel-mounted truss rod spoke wheel thankfully remain.
Elsewhere, the more ornate skirted black plastic dials have been swapped out, although I’m a big fan of the black speed knobs that take their place. The EVH Harmonica bridge has lost out to a more affordable T.O.M bridge that is trustworthy without being show-stopping, and the keystone tuners are robust while the intricate (E-for-Eddie) f-hole feels like its aesthetic USP.
It all makes for a pretty accurate rendition of the Special, keeping the quality high, but minimizing the damage it’ll do to your piggybank. This is a well-put-together guitar I’d happily take home to meet my mother.
Playability
Playability rating: ★★★★☆
The biggest issue is its weight distribution, it always wants to slide off my lap, bottom first
Interestingly, the SA-126 has the Gibson-preferred 24.75” scaling. That makes it smaller than PRS’ Piezo-laced SE Custom 24 (25”) and Tom DeLonge’s Fender Starcaster (25.5”), but it feels a natural fit for a guitar that growls like the secret evil cousin of an ES-335.
The biggest issue is its weight distribution. Despite having a chunk taken out of its body, this thing still weighs plenty and sitting down, the weight seems to gather beneath its quartet of dials. It sits on my lap pretty comfortably, but it always wants to slide off, bottom first. I find myself constantly fighting to keep it in place.
The neck’s natural satin finish could feel a little smoother, but its shape is comfortable and welcoming. It’s thin enough to encourage accelerated playing – without reaching shred-machine top speeds – and there is, conversely, a nice thickness that makes digging into chords a joy.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★☆
Pickups are usually the first thing to be downgraded for cost, but, commendably, the Tim Shaw-designed humbuckers have survived the rescaling. They’re better suited to blues, hard rock, and a little country twang than metal; chords are amplified to seismic proportions, but it struggles when I really push the heavy.
Plugging into a modeled 5150, I was surprised that its semi-hollow warmth got in the way of the amp’s snarling attitude. It can be scooped out, but tone sculpting is more drastic than subtle. It feels at home with mid-gain JCM800 tones, and I discovered its innate warmth takes to fuzz pedals superbly. With its tone knob backed off this thing gets sasquatch hairy without losing clarity. It’s a surprisingly killer stoner rock machine.
The pickups shine with leads. All three pickup positions have oodles of sustain for David Gilmour-esque solos.
The p’ups shine with leads. All three pickup positions have oodles of sustain for David Gilmour-esque solos; fast flourishes remain crystal clear when drenched in delay and reverb.
Riffs with lots of resonance are moody and atmospheric, especially with a little drive, but its cleans underwhelmed me. I expected that big-body sound, but it lacks oomph and there’s too much ‘chink’ of the pick attack for my liking.
Verdict
I want to like this guitar more than I do. Sure, it handles high gain levels impressively, but unlike the guitar’s weight – for me its biggest pitfall – its pros and cons are finely balanced.
I don’t think it’s a guitar to be bought on a whim. If hollow-bodies are your thing but you’d like extra grit, then this will triumph. As can often be the case with signatures, it’s a little too niche to be a versatile catch-all.
Guitar World verdict: A well-built hard rock machine that gives the warmth of a semi-hollow body without being a feedback nightmare with the gain cranked. It has its tonal limitations, and peculiar balance issues threaten to spoil the party, but in the right settings, this guitar can fly. And boy does it.
|
Test |
Results |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Build quality |
A solid build all around, with sensible choices to keep the cost-down but its weight will turn some players off |
★★★★½ |
|
Playability |
Strikes a nice balance between shred-friendly and staunch big-body builds, but its balance issues hinder sat down playing |
★★★★☆ |
|
Sounds |
Excels for hard rock and fuzz pedal riffage, and its lead tones continue to impress, but its clean let the team down a little |
★★★★☆ |
|
Overall |
Considering it comes in $800 cheaper than the Special, it still has plenty to offer, despite its occasional shortcomings |
★★★★☆ |
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