Legendary rocker Eddie Van Halen [ tickets ] this week announced the release of an all-new version of his EVH Wolfgang electric guitar.

"A guitar is a very personal extension of the person playing it," Van Halen said in a press release. "You have to be emotionally and spiritually connected to your instrument. I could have just stayed at home and built this guitar for myself. I do this because a lot of people ask if they can get what I use. Well, yes you can and what you get is identical to what I use. From the basics of the guitar to painstaking aspects like the binding and everything else--we re-did everything on this guitar.

"Every aspect and component of this guitar has been examined and upgraded to the highest standards possible: stainless steel frets, double-potted custom-wound pickups, five-piece binding on the matching body and headstock, custom-made signature tuning machines and Floyd Rose bridge, new low-friction pots, and the list keeps going ... we left no stone unturned. Everything that I’ve built, destroyed, stumbled onto, learned and experienced is in this guitar."

The guitarist road-tested the new axe during Van Halen's highly successful 2007-2008 world tour, which was the group's first outing in more than 20 years to feature original vocalist David Lee Roth. The band has not announced any plans since that tour ended earlier this year.

The new EVH Wolfgang guitar is scheduled for release next month. More information is available at EVHGear.com.