Wylde Audio Viking V Pinstripe

A Bold and Brutal Axe for the Modern Metal Warrior

The Wylde Audio Viking V Pinstripe is the ultimate modern metal guitar for warriors seeking a bold, brutal and battle-ready axe. Crafted for heavy riffage and screaming leads, this V-shaped virtuoso combines aggressive aesthetics with versatile, vicious tones perfect for dominating the stage and destroying eardrums.

Wylde Audio Viking V Pinstripe

Ready to pillage tonal villages and wage epic sonic warfare, the Wylde Audio Viking V Pinstripe is a weapon of mass distortion from the merciless minds of Wylde Audio. Forged to unleash thunderous roars and lighting-fast runs, this vicious Viking is geared for the modern metal maestro.

Price and Availability

The base model Wylde Audio Viking V Pinstripe has an MSRP of $999, making it very reasonably priced for a high-quality, American-made guitar with premium components. Various finishes and upgrades are also available for additional cost.

The best place to purchase the Viking V Pinstripe is directly from Wylde Audio’s website or one of their authorized dealers. As a smaller, boutique brand, these are the only places currently selling this axe, so browsing Guitar Center or Sweetwater won’t bear fruit.

Specifications

• Body Wood: Mahogany
• Neck Wood: Maple
• Fingerboard: Ebony
• Scale: 25.5”
• Nut Width: 1.6875”
• Frets: 24 X-Jumbo
• Bridge: TonePros Locking Tune-O-Matic
• Tuners: Wylde Audio Custom Tuners
• Pickups: EMG 85/81 Set
• Controls: Vol, Tone (Push/Pull Coil Tap), 3-Way Toggle

Engineered for devilish tones and speedy playability, the Viking V Pinstripe specs make it ideal for extreme metal while retaining versatility. The mahogany body provides thick, meaty mids while the maple neck facilitates slick riffing and shredding.

The XJ (extra jumbo) frets combined with ebony fretboard yield excellent note articulation for complex chugs and leads. Paired with the proven EMG 85/81 pickup set, this axe snarls, screams and sings on demand.

How It Compares to Other Wylde Guitars

As part of Zakk Wylde’s lineup, the Viking V Pinstripe sits alongside the Warhammer, Firebird, and Odin models with a shared goal of delivering devastating distortion. Compared to the Warhammer’s singlehumbucker sound, the Viking’s EMG 85/81 pickups provide more tonal variety.

The Viking also sports an elegant, subtle pinstripe graphic finish compared to the gaudy, eye-catching bullseye and blood splatter designs found on other Wylde guitars. This allows the natural beauty of the woods to shine through while still retaining a metal flair.

Made for Metal

With its aggressive aesthetic, scorching EMG pickups and smooth, fast maple neck, the Wylde Audio Viking V Pinstripe excels at extreme metal genres. The searing cut of the bridge EMG 81 will bring mosh-pit levels of distortion to thrash, death metal, or any other heavy styles.

The EMG 85 in the neck position provides thick, reactive tones perfect for doom or stoner metal. Of course, the Viking has the chops to hang with shredders too, dishing out howling pinch harmonics and dizzying runs ideal for neoclassical, power metal, or melodic death metal.

Woods and Construction

As mentioned above, the Viking V Pinstripe sports a Mahogany body with a Maple neck and Ebony fretboard. These tonewoods provide the ideal resonance, articulation and bite for high-gain metal. Mahogany packs fat, rich mids perfect for a beefy roar.

Maple brings tightness, snap and sustain to churn out crisp, complex rhythm work. The ebony fretboard facilitates effortless fretting while yielding excellent string vibration. Finally, the TonePros bridge and Wylde Audio locking tuners keep this axe rock-solid in tune through hours of relentless riffage.

EMG Pickups

The EMG 85/81 pickup combination is a tried and true recipe beloved by metal gods for its bonecrushing output and response. The EMG 81 humbucker in the bridge screams with tight, cutting mids and searing treble to slice through a mix.

The EMG 85 injects thick, warm roar in the neck position that balances out the 81’s bite. Together, these active humbuckers deliver endless tones from clean headbanging crunch to saturated, face-melting distortion.

Scale Length

The Viking rocks a 25.5” scale length, keeping with conventions for the V-style shape. This facilitates great string tension using standard tuning along with comfortable fretting for blistering leads and intricate chording. The familiar scale length helps make this a smooth adjustment for players used to other V’s or Les Pauls.

Killer Sound

From thick, chunky rhythms to howling twin guitar harmonies, the Viking V Pinstripe is built to deliver legendary metal tone. The active EMG’s, Mahogany body and diamond plate pickguard provide endless crunch on tap. Sizzling leads scream and sing with harmonic richness thanks to the Maple neck.

Whether chugging in lower tunings or wailing away in standard, this axe provides organic grind and roar. The coil split option allows cleaner tones as well, but this vicious Viking prefers to unleash unbridled distortion fury.

Finish Options

Wylde Audio offers the Viking V in four classy finishes: Gloss Black, Bullseye, Blood Splatter and the classy Pinstripe graphic. The pinstripe provides an iconic look reminiscent of hot rods and country outlaws.

For players seeking more flash, the gaudy Bullseye and dripping Blood Splatter options deliver radical metal flair. There’s also a glossy Black finish for those wanting a more refined, minimalist Viking.

Setup Tips

To wield the Viking’s mighty roar, it helps to set it up for your playing style:

• For shred fests, lower the bridge pickup and raise the neck for explosive leads.
• For chunky rhythms, raise the bridge pickup and lower the neck for fatness.
• Add just a touch of reverb or delay for solos to make them really sing.
• For doom/stoner metal, tune down to C or drop the E down a step or two.
• Increase gain and lower mids for tight thrash tones.
• Run it through a noise gate for ultimate chug brutality.

Reviews

Overall, reviews of the Wylde Audio Viking V Pinstripe are very positive, with most guitarists praising its build quality, aesthetics and beefy metal tone. Many describe the Viking as having the ideal balance of playability, sonic versatility and aggressive looks.

The EMG pickups receive consistent rave reviews for their bone-crunching output and responsiveness. Most players feel the Viking delivers killer value for money compared to Epiphones or other mid-priced Les Pauls.

Worth the Price?

With American craftsmanship, premium components and Zakk Wylde pedigree, the around $1000 price point makes the Viking V Pinstripe very enticing. Considering its tonewoods, EMG pickups and playability rival guitars costing $2-3k, the Viking gives a lot of bang for the buck.

For metal players not needing fancy binding or finishes, this axe provides pro-level performance without breaking the bank. Both beginners and experienced musicians agree this is a quality, reliable guitar at a fair price.

Beyond Metal

Although purpose-built for metal, the Viking’s flexible design allows it to cover additional ground. The coil-split option lets you pull sweeter, bluesier tones from the bridge pickup. This expands the Viking’s potential into classic rock, blues and fusion.

Jazz fans can take advantage of the neck pickup’s robust voice for smooth rhythms or mellow soloing. The Viking may not be a one-size-fits all machine, but it can definitely adapt to classic tones well beyond extreme metal genres.

Compared to Other V’s

The Wylde Audio Viking’s specs make it very comparable to mid-priced LPs or other V-shaped guitars. Models like the Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro or ESP LTD EC-1000 offer similar build quality and features.

However, the Viking stands apart with its versatile EMG pickup configuration, coil-split capability and rock-solid TonePros bridge. The Wylde pedigree adds prestige as well for players craving Zakk’s signature tone. Overall, the Viking compete with guitars $200-$400 above its price point.

Notable Users

As a relatively new model from a smaller company, the Viking V Pinstripe is still growing its list of high-profile users. Of course, Zakk Wylde himself frequently wields Vikings in his iconic Bullseye graphic finish.

Other metal artists like Dimebag Darrell and Corey Beaulieu have been known to play Wylde Audio guitars. As the Viking gains exposure, more artists are sure to adopt it for its devastating tone and stylish looks.

Packaging

The Wylde Audio Viking V Pinstripe comes packaged in a high quality hardshell case, perfect for protecting this vicious axe on the road. The case features plush lining, sturdy latches and the Wylde Audio logo.

This case provides much more protection compared to gig bags that come with competing guitars. Considering cases can cost $200+ alone, this is a great added value.

Beginner Friendly?

The Viking’s moderate weight, fast neck, and medium jumbo frets do make it a reasonably beginner friendly guitar. High fretwire reduces hand fatigue for new players. And compared to guitars like the Warhammer, Viking has a thinner, faster neck more comfortable for beginners.

The dual humbucker design delivers awesome distorted tones at any skill level. However, the Viking may be too high gain-focused for beginners wanting to play cleaner genres like pop or indie rock. But for a new metal or hard rock player, this axe provides an excellent value with pro-grade components.

Neck Profile

The Viking’s neck has a rounded C-shaped profile measuring .860″ at the 1st fret and .990” at the 12th. This provides substantial bulk for solid grip without being too much of a handful. Considering Zakk Wylde’s gigantic mitts, even he appreciated the need for a fast, playable neck.

Compared to the baseball bat-like Warhammer, the Viking promotes all-around accessibility. Chording and fretting remain comfortable during long practice or live sessions. For metal, having a neck that balances bulk and speed is key, and the Viking hits the sweet spot.

In summary, the Wylde Audio Viking V Pinstripe is a metal monster designed specifically to summon thunderous roars, lightning solos and face-melting crunch. Dressed to destroy with aggressive aesthetic and electronics to match, this axe unleashes the abilities of tomorrow’s shredders and riff lords. Let your inner Viking warrior loose and claim triumph on the battlefield of metal with the Wylde Audio Viking V Pinstripe guitar!