How are the korean Wolfgangs?

[Dave L]

I´ve tried quite a few of the american Wolfgang Specials, and found them to be very good for the money. Lately, however, I´ve been seeing the korean Specials selling dirt cheap... so the question is: How do the korean Specials stack up to the american Specials? How´s the fretwork, is the Floyd OK...? Pickups will be replaced, so they´re not an issue.
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It´s not meant to be a regular player, so I don´t expect it to bump my Soloists and Collens from the top spots... but from time to time I feel I need a neck humbucker for certain tones, so I figured one of these might be a cheap and reasonably good fix.

[jgcable]

They are a great value and easily as good as the USA specials.

[Dave L]

That´s good to hear. You wouldn´t happen to know if the hardware is the same as on the american ones?

[SRD86]

i've played three used ones and for my tastes, the action seems a little high and the Floyd is all the way down to the face...
Is it me or do I just have great action with my LP?

[fred dons]

hardware is not the same as the US one but it is close and of great quality

[Dave L]

SDLPLTD: Well, if the action turns out to be on the high side I wager a trussrod tweak, and possibly shimming the neck pocket, might smooth things out a bit. But on the other hand, I don´t like really low action so it might be OK for my tastes from the get-go.

Fred: So the hardware is solid? Good, because one thing I can´t live with is a crappy Floyd. It also looks like the trem that´s on there could be switched out cleanly for a Schaller or a OFR, if the need should arise.

[jwoods986]

Dave - they are great value, get one! I bought a Korean Wolfie (EXP) 3 years ago and liked it so much, I bought a purple USA special two months later. I also had a USA Standard for a short time, but since we are talking Specials, I'll give you my input.
1. All Wolfgangs have the same pups, so that's a plus for the EXP. You mentioned changing them, but I really liked them. They actually sounded better in the EXP, the USA special front pup was pretty muddy.
2. I had a tobacco burst one and it looked great! People will say "it's a 1/8" veneer" or whatever the hell it is, but who cares if it looks good?
3. The USA special had a little better feeling trem but the EXP one worked fine and stayed in tune. And the d-tuna was a cool feature.
4. The EXP does NOT have the same neck as the USAs. It's a little chunkier and has a light coating/finish on it. But it has the nice, flat fingerboard (15" radius) and plays great. You can probably adjust the action but, like you, I don't like ultra-low action (unless you never bend -lol).

I had both specials for 2 1/2 years then sold both in a gear overhaul to try some other guitars. I miss them now, especially the Korean EXP.

[Dave L]

Sounds great, man! But they haven´t got the same neck, you say? That´s a bit on the downside, since I thought the american necks were pretty sweet. Ah well, for the amount of cash people want for them I guess I can´t go wrong, judging from the praise above.

[FusionFarmer]

they have some problems with the floyds breaking,but all in all a great buy. the necks a nice, really plain and kinda coarse looking compared to the USA models

[jwoods986]

The USA necks are sweet but the EXP neck is still very nice. And with the light coating on it, you don't have to worry about all the finger gunk on your neck, then having to steel wool it, etc. If you are seeing Korean Wolfies for good prices, grab one!

[Dave L]

they have some problems with the floyds breaking,but all in all a great buy. the necks a nice, really plain and kinda coarse looking compared to the USA models

You wouldn´t happen to know more about those breaking Floyds?

[FusionFarmer]

I saw a where few people on the Peavey Forum complained about the castings breaking, as I recall this was right after they first came out, Don't recall any mention of it after that. so it might have been corrected,

[Robotechnology]

I'd get a USA special. The one I traded a little while back sounded EXACTLY like my USA Standard (but, I like blue so I kept the Standard). One of the best guitars out there for the money. Still inexpensive on the used market too.

[Dave L]

Yeah, that´s the other option. The korean ones cost somewhere between half and two-thirds of what the USA Specials sell for, which isn´t that much difference considering how little cash we´re talking. I guess one of the points of this thread was to find out if there are any real setbacks to the korean Wolfs compared to the american, or if they´re identical and cheaper just because of land of origin.

[lynchfan6]

Well, it's been a very LONG time, but I tried out a Korean Wolfgang special in a music store while I was saving for the USA standard. I now own a red flame top USA standard model, and from what I can recall, they were pretty similar in feel,,,,,,yet the USA standard neck just feels "smoother" somehow. Like it is put together better and with more attention to detail. But of course that is to be expected. All I can say is these wolfgang pickups are smokin'. And I think the pickups are the same on all models, right?