Charvel

The guitar I owned was made in Japan during one production year in 1989. Here are some specs: 750 XL - Mahogany set neck construction with arched maple top over mahogany body. 24.750" Gibson short scale, 24 frets, bound rosewood compound radius fingerboard, inverse Mother of Pearl Jackson inlays (sharkfins). Came with non recessed Schaller/Floyd locking trem. Two Jackson branded humbuckers, 1 vol, 1 tone, 5-way switch and black hardware. This was a cool blend of Les Paul woods and scale with a Floyd type trem and 24 frets! It has all the tools to be a killer sounding guitar. UTILIZATION This model is the Japanese made equivalent to the USA Jackson Soloists, so it goes without saying that access to the upper frets is great. This guitar is great for lead and regular guitar playing. It is easy to get a wide array of sounds with the two humbuckers and 5-way switch. It is a very well designed guitar, the neck thickness starts at .750 at the first fret and goes to 2.5 at the 21st fret. Being mahogany and maple, the guitar does have some weight but it is very well balanced. SOUNDS I bought this when I was in high school - around age 16-17 and what a killer, near top of the line guitar it was for that time! Unfortunately, I wasn't into amplifiers and only had a crappy 15 watt Washburn sx-12 practice amp and a few different practice amps at the guitar shop where I took lessons. Then down the road I got a Laney linebacker 50 watt solid state combo, a decent upgrade then and it still sounded nice. So, as undeveloped as my ear was then it sounded great. Great chunky rhythm tones with superb singing leads (from what I can remember). It sounded great distorted and clean. It was my #1 guitar for the next four years until I put it into storage as I moved to a bigger university then on to grad school. Fast forward 15 years later when I pulled it out of my mother's basement. My ear and playing style had developed to a whole new level. I played it with some "real amplifiers" and 4x12 cabs. The pickups were terrible - dull and lifeless. The guitar sounded very sterile due to the stock pickups, nothing like I remembered a long time ago. Chavel really did a disservice to this guitar with the junky pickups they used with these great guitars. I was getting into Suhr guitars then, so I decided to keep the guitar stock for resale purposes and didn't change any pickups to see what this guitar really could have done. These guitars have all the potential in the world - they just need some better pickups. So, I'll give the sound a 6 for that. OVERALL OPINION Like I stated before, the 750 XL has all the potential in the world. It is made of great materials and has excellent craftmanship and is great in many ways - but the pickups really should be changed/updated. So, I like the pickups the least. I like the looks and playability of it the best. The value for the price was fantastic and they have held their value on the used market. In the years it was in storage, I bought and sold many guitars as a hobby, so I have a lot of experience with other guitar brands and models. Knowing what I know now, I would have bought it again and probably looked to get a few more and would have changed the pickups out. In the end, I did sell this as I started playing guitars with ss frets - but with the right pickups this is one great guitar.

When Charvel first announced the USA Production Model Series guitars back in 2008, I was excited and nervous at the same time. Could the new models stack up to the classics that had ruled the guitar world through the eighties? I was waiting to find out. I played numerous models as they came in, but I didn't take the plunge for one until I came across the HSS San Dimas model. While it's not as flashy as some of the other models in the series, I found that having the dual single coils was a greater asset than having a more common 2H or 1H setup. Mine featured an Alder body in Charvel's "Trans. Kandy Gold" finish, a quartersawn maple neck with 22 frets, an Original Floyd Rose tremolo (albeit not a German made unit), Seymour Duncan pickups (JB in the bridge, STKS4's in the neck and middle), and a single volume control and three way toggle switch. The mentality with these guitars at Charvel was great guitars with the best parts at a good, affordable price, and I think they definitely achieved this. The whole line of the USA models has been extremely consistent. They play/feel great right out of the box, and the standard feature-set that they use on the guitars is a very good fit. The Floyd Rose tremolo stayed in tune even under heavy dive-bombing use, the neck had a killer profile, and with the satin finish they applied, it felt nice and broken in, and the pickups had a very good range of tones. The singles were nice and glassy, with a nice "Stratty" top end, and then the humbucker was very raunchy and perfect for those monster eighties riffs and leads. As an interesting side note, I compared this guitar later on to a Japan made Charvel Pro Mod and found it to be far different. The feel of the USA model was much more vintage and broken in, whereas the MIJ Pro Mod felt very modern and stiff, despite having very similar features. UTILIZATION The guitar is based off of a Strat platform, so ergonomically it's almost the same as many of the Strats that I've had over the years. It was a bit on the heavier side but still very reasonable as far as weight goes. The upper fret access was no better or worse than on a Strat, but because of the slick satin neck finish it was easier to travel on the fretboard. I'm a huge proponent of satin neck finishes on superstrat type guitars (or any guitar really) because they really feel much more natural and allow for a much faster playing surface overall. The ease of use is very apparent. There is a lack of a ton of different features (IE: coil splitting, parallel wiring) so the tone is distilled down to it's purest form... raw and rippin'! When I was looking to buy one of these guitars, I felt that the HSS setup adds a depth of versatility that the other models didn't have. This is because the Seymour Duncan single coils are a much lower output pickup, so it allowed some cleaner, more classic tones to be had along with the more girth-y hard rock type sounds produced by the Duncan JB at the bridge position. To cap it all off you have just a single volume knob -- no tone control, and a 3 way toggle switch. Some might say that it might sound better if you had the option of something like a 5 way switch or a tone control or whatever, but I found that in this case, less is definitely more. All in all it's a pretty simple and easy to use instrument. I liked the fact that it didn't need a lot of extra features to sound great, but rather it made the best of a minimalist set of features. At the price point these sold for, I can see why Charvel couldn't keep them in stock. Sure, they may not be for everyone, but if you want a rippin' sounding hard rock/lead machine that's got the USA stamp on it, look no further! SOUNDS When I bought this guitar, my amp rig was in a state of flux. I had just changed out my Peavey Classic 50 combo and was using a rackmounted setup at the time that consisted of a Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp (Mesa Mark IIC+ circuit in a preamp and a MosValve MV962 solidstate power amp. It was a very eighties sounding setup... and it was perfect for the Charvel to shine! The clean tones with the single coil pickups was extremely glassy and smooth, and when a bit of dirt was applied, they turned into classic Hendrix-esque firebreathers. However, the real treat was turning the rig to the lead channel, bringing the volume up to ear-splitting levels and letting that Duncan JB scream! The tone was extremely rich in harmonics and I found it to be near perfect for that eighties hard rock vibe. It also cleaned up very well with the volume control and I ended up often turning my volume down slightly to play rhythm, and then bringing it up to full for solos,giving me a nice gain/volume boost. When I compared the Charvel to my other main shred guitar at the time (1987 Ibanez 540R with stock pickups) I found the Charvel to be much richer in tone overall and even though it only had a 3 way toggle switch it was definitely the more versatile of the two. The Ibanez by comparison was much more processed sounding and seemed to fit more of that later eighties Paul Gilbert/Jason Becker vibe, whereas the Charvel was definitely more fitting to the L.A school of tone (EVH, George Lynch, et al.) Two different beasts, but I loved each of them for totally different vibes. Overall, I would say that the Charvel is a stellar sounding guitar for those eighties hard rock applications as well as SOME classic tones. It's not really a modern metal guitar, nor something designed for classic rock (IE: Zeppelin, Cream, Bad Company,) but then again it never professed to be anything more than a classic hot-rodded guitar, so I'm basing my opinion on that. OVERALL OPINION All in all, I feel that Charvel definitely hit a grand slam with the USA Production Model Series. There is a wide variety of colours available to suit different tastes, and the price-point that they worked to was unbeatable. When I was shopping for a Charvel, I tried numerous different ones before settling on this one. The primary reason why I specifically chose it was for its HSS pickup configuration. The guitars were all extremely consistent, so I was able to base my choice on features or which look I preferred, not which one played the best. If I could make a suggestion or two to Charvel to have improved them, I would have suggested to go with a German made Floyd Rose unit as opposed to a Korean made one (for longer-term stability,) and I would say that they ought to have included a hardshell case, even if it meant paying a bit more overall at final sale. The Charvel San Dimas (or any USA Pro Mod) is a fantastic buy in the market. They are sadly now discontinued, so you'll have to hunt for one (some dealers still have NOS unsold ones... keep an eye out!) The sound quality is probably the highest point of this guitar. The tones that it is meant to do, it does and does them very well. Fans of that classic eighties hot rod tone and feel definitely should give one of these guitars a serious look if they haven't already.

This is Charvels take on a modern shred guitar. This is the Desolation DS-1 FR. Now that Fender owns Charvel they are using them to put out their more modern shred guitars for the metal audience. This is the DS-1 with the tremolo unit. This guitar is made out of mahogany. It has a mahogany neck through neck that is free of any finish. The neck has a 24 fret rosewood fretboard with a compound radius. It has a recessed Floyd Rose with a locking nut. The pickups are a set of active Seymour Duncan Blackouts. The controls are simple with a volume and tone for each pickup and a 3 way toggle. UTILIZATION The example I tried out for this model the fretboard was very dry. The fretboard has the super comfortable Jackson/Charvel compound radius system on it. Near the low end of the neck the radius is more round. This is so you can play large chords comfortably. Near the high part of the neck the radius is flatter so your bends dont fret out and you can get a super low action for your lead playing. The recessed Floyd Rose is comfortable on the hand. It feels similar to an Ibanez tremolo. I am not a big tremolo guy but this seems to be a high quality unit. The upper fret access on this guitar isnt great. 24 frets with a 25.5 inch scale on a single cut body does not equal good upper fret access. SOUNDS This guitar comes with a set of Seymour Duncan Blackouts. This is a welcome change to putting EMG's in everything. These pickups provide a different sound than what you would expect with EMG's. The biggest complaint with the EMG 81/85 set is that with the 81 in the bridge it has a lot of high end grind but there is not much body to it. With this Blackout set you get all the body you can handle. These pickups have a ton of low end and they are super thick. The bridge pickup has all the top end grind of an 81 but with the body of an 85. I love the sound of these Blackouts. They can make any guitar sound super thick. The neck has all the body but less top end grind so you have a smoother sound for leads. OVERALL OPINION I am seeing more of these DS-1 FR guitars. They seem to be the most popular model in the Desolation line of guitars. Not often can you say you paid 600 dollars for a guitar with active pickups. Not often can you say you paid 600 dollars for a Charvel. Fender and Charvel are breaking into a new market with these well priced metal guitars. If you are looking for a mid level metal guitar with active pickups you now have another option to your typical Schecters and ESP LTD guitars.

Charvel is a big name when it comes to old school super strat syle guitars. Back in the day when you wanted a shred guitar you got something like this. Something with a roughly strat shaped body and a single humbucker with a Floyd Rose bridge. Charvel now makes more modern style guitars but these super strats are their bread and butter. They have been coming out with Wild Card limited edition models. These are all very 80s designs. This newest one has a bit more modern features to it. This is #8 in the wild card series. The body is made out of alder. The neck is a maple bolt on unit with an ebony fretboard. The fretboard has 22 jumbo frets and a compound radius fretboard. You get a locking nut up top and an original floyd rose bridge. The guitar is finished in a cool flame design. The pickup is an active EMG 81 and the switch is for a built in boost switch. The other control is a master volume. UTILIZATION The playability on this model is great. Charvels are very good players guitars for shred music and metal. The guitar is nice and light. The body is slightly smaller than on a normal strat so it is lighter and more comfortable. The neck is nice and thin as well. The ebony fretboard is super smooth and this combined with the jumbo frets means that you get a super smooth and low action on the strings. The compound radius fretboard is great. It lets you have a comfortable action on both ends of the neck. On the lower end of the neck the radius is rounder so you get a more comfortable action for playing chords. On the high end of the neck the radius is flatter so you can get a low action for solos and bends. This guitar has a pop out battery compartment so you can change the batteries very quickly for the pickups and boost. A lot of battery compartments have screw on covers that make them slow to change batteries. This one just pops out. SOUNDS Lots of these old school Charvel guitars come with passive pickups. The other Wildcard models I played had Seymour Duncans. Its common for these type of guitars to have JB pickups. This guitar has an EMG 81 in the bridge with an boost switch. By itself the EMG is great. It has the classic EMG 81 tone. It is pretty bright and has a ton of output. These pickups can push just about any amp ever made. This isnt really an 80s sound but its a good overall metal sound. I do not like EMG's with their afterburner boost. The EMG 81 already has enough output so I have never found a good reason to use an extra onboard boost with it. With the active 81 it just seems to add noise. This kind of boost with a passive pickup works well though. OVERALL OPINION These limited edition Charvels are great guitars. These guitars are made in Japan so the price for them is less than 1000 USD. Being made in Japan the quality and consistancy is great on these models. It is a limited edition guitar so it will hold its value quite well and you probably wont see many other people playing them. The cool flame finish really brings back that 80s style of flashy guitars. If you are looking for a guitar that mixes old school with new school this guitar is great. It has the classic style 80s design with active pickups that work well for any type of modern heavy music.

I believe these are USA or Japan made. I've heard conflicting stories. This basically your protypical super strat design. 22 frets. Alder body and maple neck. Basic strat body design. Original Floyd bridge. Dimarzio pickups. White finish. Grover tuners. Speaking purely in terms of specs this is a top notch guitar. UTILIZATION I honestly have never been a fan of these 80's super strats. But I got a real deal on this Socal so I decided to give it a shot. My primary gripe has always been that the neck on the Socal feels a little too beefy for shredding with my hands. These are definitely a modified fender spec neck radius rather than a smaller Jackson or something. Still, the playability is great. I am not a huge fan of Floyd rose bridges and usually prefer Ibanez Pro trems, but as Floyd Roses go this one is great. If you are usually comfortable on these style guitars, this one will feel like an old friend. SOUNDS The pickup choice for this guitar was well thought out. The Tone Zone compliments the Alder body and maple neck very well, staying thick even on leads. The Evolution is a great solo pickup because it cuts through so heavily. Be warned though if you aren't familiar with these pickups. They are very high gain. If you are thinking you'll get an overwound PAF, you're in for a lot of heat. They fit this guitar fine though because it's obviously a shredders axe and should only be used for metal or hard rock. OVERALL OPINION I don't think I can ever get really comfortable with these old super strats. I think the radius on the Charvel necks are not friendly with my hand. Still, for quality this guitar gets high marks. The price is amazing for all the features you get. If you want a great sub $1000 super strat this is THE guitar.

The new Skatecaster is actually a modern version of the old Charvel Surfcaster. Now it is a full out metal guitar. Since Fender owns Charvel they are using them to put out modern metal guitars that younger people would want. This is the tremolo model so it has a recessed Floyd Rose. The body and neck are mahogany. The neck is neck through construction. The back of the neck is stripped of finish for a smooth feel. You get the offset Skatecaster shape which provides god upper fret access. Better than their single cut models. The pickups in this guitar are the traditional EMG setup. You get and 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck. The controls for these pickups are super simple with a volume and a 3 way toggle. UTILIZATION The Skatecaster body is a good shape that provides good upper fret access. On this example I played the section on the neck where the finish stopped and the rest of the neck was raw was quite abrupt. It felt kind of rough. I felt like if you pick off the finish if I wanted to with that abrupt transfer from finished to unfinished. The neck on this guitar has a compound radius. The neck has a comfy feel on both ends. On the low end is is rounder for chords and on the high end it is flatter for a low action and less fretting out. The Floyd Rose on this is a newer low profile unit. I am not much of a tremolo guy but I know the Original Floyd Rose is the king of tremolos. This design seems to be similar to an Ibanez design with more of its design towards comfort. SOUNDS In this Skatecaster model you get the classic EMG setup. This is the Zakk Wylde set that you see so often in metal guitars. You get the EMG 81 in the bridge and the 85 in the neck. The 81 is great for heavy riffs and low tuning. It is voiced with a lot of high end so when you are tuning low and running a lot of gain you retain the clarity in your riffs. This same voicing makes it kind of harsh for cleans or lead playing. All the high end in the 81 means you may want to switch to the neck pickup for leads and cleans. The 85 in the neck is great for leads and cleans. I think it is a better overall pickup than the 81. With the 85 you get more of a thicker fuller sound. There is less high end grind so your leads and clean tones do not come off as harsh and buzzy. OVERALL OPINION This guitar is priced perfectly to make an attack on the mid level metal guitar market. This guitar has a great list of features, compound radius fretboard, recessed low profile Floyd Rose and active EMG electronics. This is everything you want for a metal guitar. You cant beat the pricing these are being offered at either. If you are looking for a metal guitar that is something different than your typical metal guitars you should check out this Charvel and the other Charvels in the Desolation line up

The old Surfcaster was one of the strangest Charvel models. This is the modern version of that. Now that Fender owns Charvel they are using them to produce modern metal guitars for younger people to want. With this guitar they took the old Surfcaster design and spruced it up with metal appointments. It is now the Skatecaster. With this guitar you get a mahogany body with a mahogany neck through neck. The top is a flame maple veneer. The back of the neck is raw so you have no sticky gloss to slow you down. This is the hardtail version so it has a tune-o-matic bridge. The pickups are the classic EMG set. There is an 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck. The controls are super simple with just a volume and 3 way selector. UTILIZATION The Skatecaster design lends itself to good upper fret access. You can easily reach all the frets on this guitar. The unfinished mahogany neck has a unique feel to it. not many guitars come with raw mahogany necks they are usually maple. The fretboard on this guitar has the Jackson/Charvel compound radius fretboard. This means that on the low part of the neck the radius is more round to give you a more comfortable feel for chords. On the high part of the neck the radius is flatter so you can play leads easier without fretting out. The hard tail on this model provides good tuning stability and with it you can easily tune the guitar down for a heavier sound. SOUNDS In this guitar you get the classic EMG setup. 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck. It was cool for Charvel to put Blackouts in some of these guitars and EMG's in others. It gives you a choice on the type of active sound you want. The 81 in the bridge is a grind machine. It is built for low tunings. It has a lot of top end so your riffs cut through super clearly. The 85 in the neck is a smooth lead machine. It has less grind to the sound and more body. When you play a lead on the neck position its smooth and the cleans are good as well since there is less of a harsh top end to the voicing. OVERALL OPINION The Skatecaster is a cool new design that older guys will recognize as being an 80s design. With its modern features of active pickups and whatnot it is right in the middle of the mid range metal guitar line up. This guitar competing with the likes of Schecter and ESP LTD guitars means its right where kids can afford them. Great pricing with the great playability and features means these Desolation guitars can take over the mid level Metal guitar market. If you are looking for a metal guitar around 600 bucks you should check out these Charvels before you settle on an ESP or Schecter guitar.

Charvel now that it is owned by Fender is looking to expand their market share in the guitar industry. Recently they have come out with the Desolation line of guitar. These guitars have more modern designs that what Charvel usually makes. This is the Charvel Desolation DS-1 ST. It is a hardtail. Something you do not see much from Charvel. It has a familiar singlecut shape. The body is mahogany with a mahogany neck through neck. The back of the neck is stripped of its finish for a fast feel. The neck also has 24 frets. This model comes with a set of Seymour Duncan Blackout active pickups. The bridge is a tune-o-matic. The controls are simple with a volume and tone for each pickup and a 3 way toggle. The whole body is bound with thick alabone. It looks good on this white model but on some others it doesnt look good. UTILIZATION The back of the neck is super smooth and fast. Not often do guitars come with mahogany necks that are raw. It feels different than maple because it is a less dense wood but it is fast nontheless. The single cut body design on this guitar gives you some bad upper fret access. The guitar has the 25.5 inch scale and this combined with the single cut body means you have to struggle to reach anything above the 19th fret, and this guitar has 24 frets. The neck is nice and thin and has the Jackson/Charvel compound radius on it. Near the headstock the radius is about 12 so it is comfortable for playing chords and up by the 24th fret the radius is about 16 so the action is nice and low for shredding and bends. SOUNDS Seymour Duncan Blackouts are some of the newer activep ickups on the market. They are built to fill the voids that EMG pickups have in their sound. In this guitar you get the AHB-1 Blackout set which was the first set. Everyone knows what the classic EMG 81 85 set sounds like so I will compare these to that set. The bridge pickup unit is very aggressive but has nice bottom end. It has all the top end of the EMG 81 but with more of the bottom and thickness that you associate with the 85. The neck pickup is very fat but with some top end sizzle to add more clarity. With the focus on high gain tone the clean tones are a little lacking. This is a common problem among active pickups. Overall these pickups have a beefier sound than the EMG counterparts. This can lead to a muddier sound it some extreme gain situations. OVERALL OPINION When these Desolation guitars first came out I thought they were kind of strange but now I realize what Charvel and Fender are doing. These guitars are priced very well at around 600 bucks. That puts them right in the middle of any Schecters or higher end LTD guitars. If you are looking for a good budget middle end metal guitar Charvel is the new kid on the block again and their selection is quite good.

These are the kind of no frills on super hot rod tone and playability. These guitars are so simple and just absolute classic. Most of them come in a just a simple poly lacquer paint job with one humbucker and a volume knob. There are no boosts or tone knobs or anything else between you and your amp. The older I get the more simple I seem to want things. This is a simply superstrat hotrod. The first time I played a US production Charvel San Dimas I was blown away. What in the world have I been playing all these years? How did I not know about this guitar and why hasn't someone told me about them? These were the thoughts going throw my head. These were the questions I was asking myself as I sat down to jam on this instrument. I had never played a guitar that was so eager to race around the stage with, but a guitar that felt like it had been played for 35 years. The neck on this guitar was so incredible and that is really the reason I was so blown away at how comfortable it was in my hand. UTILIZATION As soon as I plugged it in I knew this was the guitar for me. It had the comfort that I have been searching for all my guitar playing career. Though it has been a short career it was spent most of the time playing was ever was on the shelf at Guitar Center. Most generally you aren't going to find something there that feels this good right out of the box. That right out of the box feeling is important in searching for the right instrument. Many guitars I have played needed a lot of adjustment and fret work in order to have any satisfaction of playing. This guitar takes no time to figure out. It has one knob that controls the volume and that its. No tone knob or mini switch to activate some boost or and thing like that. Just street ready hard core American muscle guitars. It has a pickup selector to go between the humbuckers and that is as crafty as it gets. SOUNDS This quite simply is a dream guitar for those fans of the 80's. This is a super fast guitar as is basically a highly hot-rodded super Strat from the 80's. A beefed up Stratocaster with an angry chip on its shoulder. This thing is a rocker and meant to be driving hard. I played this guitar with a Randall RM100 and the match between the two was heaven. Finished it off with a Randall 4x12 with greenback speakers and that was all I needed. Couple this with a nice analog delay in the loop and your set. OVERALL OPINION I know I have been raving about the perfection of this guitar and it needs to be said. The custom shop necks feel even better. A little flatter on the neck and smooth as silk. So I still give this a perfect but the custom shop has me chomping at the bit. Either way I love the new US Charvels. Fender has really done a fantastic job bringing these hot rod guitars back to where they should be and where they started 30 years ago. I would recommend this guitar to any player who is not satisfied with his tone and it in that constant search or quest for something better. Look no further than a sweet sounding and looking Charvel.

I found this guitar on E-Bay. I paid approx. $200! I used to play a Jackson guitar in the 1980's. I missed the trademark Charvel tone and feel. I love the alder body. The bridge position pickup is one of the best that I've heard. The jumbo frets add weight to the fretboard. The sharkfin headstock seperates it from the crowd. This guitar is heavy, in tone and in lbs. But that's the way that I like it! I wouldn't recommend this guitar for mellow styles of music. This is a hard rock axe! It took me a week to set it up. However, now that it's ready to play, I love it. The guitar is well put together. It has some "battle scars." Charvel builds them to last. As mentioned, some refurbishing and fine tuning and it's as good as new! The new line of Charvels are pricey. That's why I recommend buying used. You might want to look into Jackson as well. They are priced moderately and are comparible in quality. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Free, gift from a friend. I love the feel of the neck, and how the guitar fits in my lap. It's a quitar you can have a love affair with. I play jazz and blues, and I have been playing for over 40 years. A guitar repairman told me that the stock electronics were substandard. The guitar was a basket case when I got it, and I had to change out the electronics any way. I put one EMG in the neck position to get that clasic Strat sound, and thats all I need. I looks like a 59 Plymouth. The attention to detail and the overall quality of the guitar is far above average. I have owned numerous guitars: an ES 175, Gibson Les Pauls, a 00018 Martin, Fender Strats and it holds its own with any of them. Much better than any Korean made guitar I have played. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a nice strat type guitar. I like it much better than the 70's Japaneese Fender Strat I owned. Guitars are about playability and sound not flash. This guitar isn't just for metal heads! A wise purchase, go for it. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Alder body Quartersawn maple neck Ebony Fingerboard 22 Jumbo Frets Seymour Duncan JB SH4 Humbucking Bridge Pickup - Direct Mount Seymour Duncan STK-T1 Single-Coil Neck Pickup - Direct Mount 3-Position Toggle: Position 1. Bridge Pickup Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups Position 3. Neck Pickup Black Hardware Floyd Rose Tremolo UTILIZATION Charvel has changed a lot since the 80's, but a guy like me who likes to have his guilty pleasures is glad that they haven't forgotten where they come from. This guitar from the first look really breathes that 80's metal vibe. These are extremely well made Japanese guitars. The craftsmanship is impressive even for Japan, which consistently has been putting out great stuff for the last 20 years plus. This is basically your run of the mill super strat with no shortcuts taken. The ebony neck is a nice touch I think. Not something you see very often with these. I can see George Lynch playing this guitar in a heartbeat. I have never been the biggest fan of Fender neck radius but that's totally a preference thing. All the hardware is tops. What can I say? It's a very well constructed guitar...especially for the price. SOUNDS I think everyone knew that a guitar like this would have a JB in the bridge. It has become paramount for guitars like this to have one. I know a lot of people like the JB a lot but personally I'm not the biggest fan so I switched mine out for a dimarzio air classic. The neck pickup is a pretty high gain single coil. Handles clean very well which is always nice. This guitar isn't just for hair metal. Surprisingly it can handle a lot of rock stuff and even blues. Who would have thought? OVERALL OPINION This guitar for the price has become tied for first place with the RG1550 from Ibanez for best shredder deal. I can't think of a better guitar for 1k if you play heavy metal. It has it all. No upgrades needed. Seriously. Does it get better than that? Japanese craftsmanship has been awesome for a good two decades or so now and it's only getting better. The wild card is proof.