Gear

The Weigh-Up: EVH SA-126 (Gear Review)

Jun 11, 2024

7 min read

In an era where nepotism - or at least, awareness of it - is seemingly at an all-time high, it should be commended when someone attempts to stand on their own two feet in an industry so synonymous with a family member. The son of the late, great Eddie Van Halen, Wolfgang Van Halen has spent the majority of his life touring the planet in the name of rock n’ roll; first with his father and uncle in the eponymous Van Halen as a teen, and now fronting his own project, WVH Mammoth.With a majority of fellow young guitarists going for the ultra-sleek and contemporary look for their respective signature instruments, the brand new EVH SA-126 sees Wolfgang Van Halen digging out a classic, under-used design and aesthetic. While it shouldn’t need to be said, it’s nice to see this guitar proudly stand apart from his father’s legendary six-string - only the EVH label ties it to the late Van Halen-elder.https://soundcloud.com/user347911415/sets/wos-evh-sa-126?si=b85241e2575a461dbc93ad49d7706657&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharingWoS was lucky enough to our hands on the gorgeous Tobacco Burst model, and straight from the box there is an air of respectability about this guitar. Housed in a white case with a plush blue interior, the semi-hollow body design makes the SA-126 appear bulky, however the weight and thinness combine for an extremely comfortable playing experience. The playability extends to the neck; the unfinished back, ebony fretboard, and modified ‘c’ shape make playing an effortless joy, while the cutaway - which is deeper than its subtle slope suggests - means accessing the highest frets is a breeze.The gold hardware layers on even more class, while the SA-126's visuals may or may not be a slight nod to the similarly-vibed Josh Homme Maton signature guitars, which also boast the old-school semi-hollow body and off-set headstock combination.The SA-126 features a chambered Mahogany body with a basswood Centerblock added for stability and tone, and it puts out a decent amount of acoustic sound when unplugged. One of the biggest talking points on the instrument is the Tim Shaw-designed pickups, exclusively created for this guitar - and unsurprisingly they sound wide, defined, and highly versatile; the glassy and warm neck pickup is stunning. At the same time, the bridge can easily tackle low-gain rock to fully saturated distortion - while rolling the volume down on the 70s-esque witches-hat knobs cleans up the sound with losing minimal low-end and body.

The subtle elements of this instrument highlight the obvious time spent by both Wolfgang and the EVH team keeping the player in mind; the two strap button areas are a clever touch, while the truss rod adjustment at the body-end of the neck should be the industry-standard moving forward. Locking tuners (and maybe a coil switch) would have perfected the hardware side of things for the SA-126, but these are extremely picky gripes.The EVH SA-126 is Mexican-made, and though the price does ride at the top end of a non-American/Japanese-produced instrument, the quality control of the guitar we reviewed was top-notch. A slight rattling from the bridge was the only (very) minor issue out of the box, with a quick screw-tightening to the unique - and comfortable - EVH Harmonica bridge rectifying this issue immediately.

Wolfgang Van Halen’s music may live in the world of modern hard rock, but the EVH SA-126 can handle almost everything you can throw at it - soul, jazz, and funk players looking for a new axe with humbuckers would be highly encouraged to try out this instrument. After all, it may have classic looks, but it has a modern feel and playability that belies its apparent “old-school” appearance.Throw in the incredibly diverse set of pickups, and you’ve got a Swiss army knife of a guitar that can extend into many musical endeavours outside of the featured artist's realm - one of the highest compliments a signature model can receive.Reviewed by Andrew Kapper

Learn more about the EVH SA-126 here

Specs:

EVH® SA-126 Humbucking Pickups
Chambered Mahogany Body with a Basswood Centerblock
2-Piece Mahogany Neck with EVH® Modified "C" Backshape
Ebony Fretboard With 12"-16" Compound Radius
Graph Tech® TUSQ® nut
Available in four finishes; Tobacco Sunburst w/ Gold Hardware, Transparent Purple w/ Chrome Hardware, and Matte Army Drab as well as Stealth Black w/ Black Hardware

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjo7Mk0U5e8&t=2s

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