The EVH brand is famously fastidious in its approach to tone. So much so that until the arrival of the Fender Tone Master Pro last year, it had not endorsed any licensed models of its amps for use in software/modelers.
Now, in a new interview with Fender’s VP of Product Justin Norvell, the exec tells Guitar World that despite Fender and the EVH brand’s close working relationship, its endorsement – dependent on the opinion of Wolfgang Van Halen and his partner at EVH, Matt Bruck – was not a given.
What’s more, Norvell confirms the rumors we heard around the launch that Wolfie took it out on the road with his band Mammoth WVH before giving it the green light.
“I think the Tone Master came out on tour because some of the dates insisted upon silent stages, and no cabinets and stuff like that,” says Norvell.
“So it was really like, ‘OK, I gotta do something else. So let's battle test this...’ And it was really hats off to Wolfgang because it was a public trial by fire. And it was great.
“I think that's been an awesome thing, whether it's Satriani on The Howard Stern Show or just seeing this pop up fast. It's not having to do six months or a year in someone's home environment till they feel confident with it.”
Wolfie and Bruck’s endorsement was obviously important for the team from a spiritual point of view, as the guardians of Eddie Van Halen’s tonal legacy, but also for the credentials that it offered.
Modelers are prevalent in heavier music and there’s a subsequent expectation that they should deliver good quality high-gain sounds – something that’s outside of Fender’s traditional tonal forte.
“It was important to us,” explains Norvell. “EVH's tones are always the most sought after on anything that approximates [that time]. Whether it's the ‘brown sound’ or other, later sounds, like the 5150s. And that, we felt, would be something that as a benchmark, people could really go, ‘OK. They did the work.’”
Norvell describes winning the endorsement of EVH as a “very big thing” and says he hopes it is just the first step for the brand on the digital side.
“I think that that's something that's very interesting, but of course, the camp is very protective, and has extremely high standards,” says the Fender exec.
“So it's gotta be great. It’s not just like, ‘Hey, we're friends. Put my name on this.’ That's not how it works.”
For more insights from Norvell on the development and future of the Tone Master Pro, plans for the Fender Strat’s 70th anniversary and his thoughts on everything from guitar prices to the firm’s tube amp plans, keep an eye out for our full interview later this week.
Meanwhile, Fender recently unveiled the first free, major firmware update to the Tone Master Pro since its launch last year.
