What is Wolfgang Van Halen’s go-to track to test out a new electric guitar? Does he riff through Another Celebration at the End of the World? Tap up Eruption? Or is his new harmonic slap workout from The End the ultimate fretboard tester?
Turns out, it’s none of the above. Instead, the Mammoth multi-instrumentalist dives into the repertoire of another classic rock ’n’ roll group whenever he needs to test out a new six-string. And, no, he doesn’t play any of the Forbidden Riffs.
Having developed the game-changing EVH SA-126 – a versatile semi-hollow that’s suitable for metal and rock – Wolfgang knows a thing or two about gauging the behaviour of a guitar.
“I think it would be something by AC/DC,” he says when asked in the new issue of Guitarist about his guitar-testing tracklist. “I’ll usually do Night Prowler because it has those big chords, which can tell you a lot about guitar.
“And then for single notes I might do Beating Around the Bush or something like that. I think those classic open chords can show you what a guitar is about right away. You can hear how the acoustics resonate together.”
Wolfgang defaults to AC/DC songs to test out his guitars for good reason. In that same conversation with Guitarist, he highlighted Angus Young as a key blues-based rock influence – and drew similarities with the playing approach of his father, the late Eddie Van Halen.
He continues, “I wasn’t much of a blues guy to begin with. But I think out of all the blues-based players, I really love Angus Young from AC/DC. He sticks to what is generally pentatonic stuff but has this anarchistic way of attacking it.
“That’s what makes it so attractive to me. It’s almost like he doesn’t know what he’s doing and it’s all about the way he does it, rather than the notes he’s playing. When you listen to him, it’s incredibly blues-based, but it’s the aggression he plays with that makes me enjoy it. I guess it was the same kind of thing with my dad.”
For Wolfgang, Young’s ability to get more out of less is a key trait of his playing. That’s probably why his riffs make such good material for testing out a guitar: it doesn’t need to be fancy. It just needs to work.
“It doesn’t need to be complicated,” he concludes. “You can hit one note with attitude and that’s all that matters.”
Elsewhere in his Guitarist interview, Wolfgang discussed what sets his favorite modern metal hero apart from his peers, and looked back on how he’d have to keep Eddie in check during early Van Halen gigs.
Pick up the new issue of Guitarist at Magazines Direct for further interviews with Kiki Wong, Joanne Shaw Taylor and Jared James Nichols.
Wolfgang Van Halen's advice is timely. With Black Friday fast approaching, now is the best time to pick up a new electric guitar for a bargain. It might be wise to brush up on Night Prowler and Beating Around the Bush for when you take delivery of a new guitar...
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