“I think Eddie got rubbed up the wrong way”: Peavey CEO claims Eddie Van Halen left the brand because they started making signature amps for Joe Satriani
When Eddie Van Halen parted ways with Peavey guitars in 2004, it was believed that the split was amicable. However, Peavey’s CEO, Courtland Gray, has recently revealed that he believes the Van Halen riffer might have been jealous of Joe Satriani stealing his spotlight after joining the brand’s signature roster.
In the latest issue of Guitar World, Gray has reflected on Eddie abandoning the brand in the early 2000s. In his mind, everything was going well before the company partnered with Satriani to make the JSX amp. “I think Eddie got rubbed up the wrong way because we had another superstar guitar player in our lineup,” he says. “He always figured he was the artist for Peavey. So he decided to leave.”
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Eddie and Peavey’s 8-year partnership resulted in the 5150 amplifier series, as well as the Wolfgang electric. After the split, Eddie would release his own guitars and amps under the EVH brand. He would then take the Wolfgang to new heights, resulting in the beloved EVH Wolfgang.
According to Gray, the partnership began because Eddie was keen to release his own amp. “He contacted us about making some amps and guitars,” he says. “He started working with our engineers on the heads first, going back and forth, testing things out. Eddie spent a lot of time over here in Meridian, checking the tones and tweaking everything bit by bit to make a great product.”
“I guess it must have been a big shock when little Peavey in Mississippi got the biggest guitar hero out there working on a signature product,” he adds.
When Eddie eventually left, Peavey agreed that Eddie could keep the 5150 name and continue making the Wolfgang guitar. “It was part of the agreement that we wouldn’t make the guitar if he didn’t make the amp,” Gray explains.
However, Eddie would later push his luck. “Shortly thereafter, we were at a trade show and heard this amp that sounded just like a 5150,” Gray recalls. “Sure enough, he’d come out with his own version. I think he even used our engineer to develop the new one.”
While we’ll never know whether Eddie’s ego was rattled by Satriani, we do wonder whether he would approve of Satriani taking on his guitar parts as part of Sammy Hagar’s Best of All Worlds band.
Satriani, however, is very content to fill in for Eddie. In another issue of Guitar World, Satriani claimed he was simply doing his “best impression of the greatest guitar player of all time.”
“I have to get over arguing with myself that it doesn’t sound right,” he said. “I’ll have to go through some mental therapy and be okay with sounding a bit different.”
He’s also praised Eddie in Forbes, explaining that “you can’t fill [Eddie’s shoes.] You can put them on, but you can’t fill them.”
The post “I think Eddie got rubbed up the wrong way”: Peavey CEO claims Eddie Van Halen left the brand because they started making signature amps for Joe Satriani appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
