Peavey CEO Courtland Gray recently shed light on the reason behind Eddie Van Halen’s split with the company, suggesting that the decision was influenced by Peavey’s partnership with another guitar legend, Joe Satriani.
Van Halen’s collaboration with Peavey was a significant success, leading to the release of the iconic Wolfgang electric guitar and the popular 5150 amp, both of which quickly became favorites among guitarists. However, when Eddie Van Halen left Peavey, he reportedly took the trademarks for both the Wolfgang and 5150, later continuing to develop them under the EVH brand after his move to Fender.
Initially, it was believed that there was no deep-seated reason behind the split. However, in a recent interview with Guitar World, Gray revealed that the catalyst for Van Halen’s departure was Peavey’s decision to work with Joe Satriani, which may have rubbed the guitarist the wrong way:
“The best we can figure is that we signed Joe Satriani and made a signature amp with him, the JSX,” Gray explained. “I think Eddie got rubbed up the wrong way because we had another superstar guitarist in our lineup, and he always saw himself as the artist for Peavey. So, he decided to leave.”
Gray also confirmed that Van Halen retained the trademarks for the Wolfgang and 5150, but a mutual agreement was made stipulating that Peavey wouldn’t continue producing the guitar unless Eddie produced the amp. Gray continued:
“Shortly after, we were at a trade show and heard an amp that sounded just like a 5150. Turns out, Eddie had released his own version, and we found out he had even used our engineer to develop it. That was around 2005, during our 40th anniversary. Being founded in 1965, we named our amp the 6505.”
Reflecting on their earlier collaboration, Gray shared:
“I remember Eddie reached out to us about making amps and guitars. He worked closely with our engineers on the heads, testing and tweaking to perfect the product. Eddie spent a lot of time in Meridian, checking tones and making adjustments. It must have been a shock for Peavey in Mississippi to be working with the biggest guitar hero of that time on a signature product.”
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