Wolfgang Van Halen – "I said I was pushing the boundaries. Well, here you go!"

With a growing sense of confidence- and an onslaught of tapping-Wolfgang Van Halen is taking his playing to a whole new level...

- By Amit Sharma

Wolfgang Van Halen is a happy man. On a warm summer's day, he has just performed an acoustic set with his band Mammoth WVH for the very first time for a select audience at the new Fender headquarters in London's West End. "I think it went well!" he grins, tying his hair back to uncover his eyes. "I usually write things on acoustic, so that's kinda where all my ideas start. It was different but also a bit familiar."

There is, of course, a lot of gear in this place, which houses showrooms for Fender's other music brands - from Jackson, Squier and Gretsch to Charvel, PreSonus and EVH. Here, you can find instruments and amps of all shapes and colours, catering for just about every kind of guitar sound you can possibly imagine, from vintage-style semi-hollows through mini tweeds to seven-string war machines via high gain stacks. But as a laidback, easy-going guy, Wolfgang tells TG: "Today I was just using whatever guitar they gave me. I wasn't too fussy; whatever works!"