tjon901 « Another limited run old school Charvel »
Published on 01/23/12 at 05:59If you are going to get an old school super strat you might as well get a Charvel. They were the originals when it came to this style of guitar. When you get one from them you know its not just a parts bin guitar someone slapped together in their garage. This is the Wild Card #2 from their limited run of Wild Card guitars. These guitars are made in Japan and have top notch fit and finish. This is a super stripped down model. The body is made out of alder. The bolt on neck is maple with a 22 fret rosewood fretboard. The fretboard features their compound radius design. Up top you get Grover mini tuners and a locking nut for the original Floyd Rose tremolo. The pickup is a single Duncan JB with a volume control. There is only 1 pickup so you dont need any switches.
UTILIZATION
The whole concept of a super strat is to make a super strat. The body is a bit smaller than a Fender so it is more handy. The neck is nice and thin so you can really get a grip on it. The compound radius fretboar makes it a real dream to play on. On the low end of the neck where you are normally playing Chords the radius is around 12 inches while near the body where you normally play leads the radius is about 16 inches. This gives you a flatter feel where you want it and a rounder feel where you want it. The Original Floyd Rose is great and holds tune perfectly.
SOUNDS
If you buy a guitar like this you know you are getting a one trick pony. This is how people had them back in the day. The single JB in the bridge gives you enough versatility to play many styles of music with just the single humbucker. The JB has a great all around sound. It has a good amount of mids that helps keep the tone from the guitar clear. It is like a super hot rodded PAF. You can play classic rock to metal with the pickup and it does it all well. If you are looking for even more versatility this guitar isnt for you.
OVERALL OPINION
A guitar like this is a niche guitar. It is for the old school player who was around when a guitar like this was cutting edge. It doesnt have active pickups or coil taps and it only has 6 strings but back then this is all you needed to be a rock star. Charvel was doing them then and they are still doing them now. They are made in America and Japan and the quality of guitars from both factories is top notch. Now that they are owned by Fender there is a real nice consistancy about them now. Now if something goes wrong with your guitar and you call them you can know someone is going to answer. If you are looking for an old school single hum super strat Charvel is making them in spades in limited run and production models
UTILIZATION
The whole concept of a super strat is to make a super strat. The body is a bit smaller than a Fender so it is more handy. The neck is nice and thin so you can really get a grip on it. The compound radius fretboar makes it a real dream to play on. On the low end of the neck where you are normally playing Chords the radius is around 12 inches while near the body where you normally play leads the radius is about 16 inches. This gives you a flatter feel where you want it and a rounder feel where you want it. The Original Floyd Rose is great and holds tune perfectly.
SOUNDS
If you buy a guitar like this you know you are getting a one trick pony. This is how people had them back in the day. The single JB in the bridge gives you enough versatility to play many styles of music with just the single humbucker. The JB has a great all around sound. It has a good amount of mids that helps keep the tone from the guitar clear. It is like a super hot rodded PAF. You can play classic rock to metal with the pickup and it does it all well. If you are looking for even more versatility this guitar isnt for you.
OVERALL OPINION
A guitar like this is a niche guitar. It is for the old school player who was around when a guitar like this was cutting edge. It doesnt have active pickups or coil taps and it only has 6 strings but back then this is all you needed to be a rock star. Charvel was doing them then and they are still doing them now. They are made in America and Japan and the quality of guitars from both factories is top notch. Now that they are owned by Fender there is a real nice consistancy about them now. Now if something goes wrong with your guitar and you call them you can know someone is going to answer. If you are looking for an old school single hum super strat Charvel is making them in spades in limited run and production models