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King Loudness « Still a very cool Charvel »
Published on 01/26/12 at 17:52The Charvel San Dimas Style 2-2H came out in 2008 along with the San Dimas Style 1-2H and So Cal Style 1 as guitars that were meant to echo the ethos of the original Charvel guitars back in the eighties - hot rodded guitars for the demanding player, but at a fair price that the working musician can afford. Despite only selling for $999 new, they still had a bevy of cool features. This model features an alder body. a quartersawn maple neck and fretboard with 22 jumbo frets, Grover tuners, an Original Floyd Rose locking tremolo system, and a pair of Seymour Duncan humbuckers ('59 in the neck, JB in the bridge) wired to a single volume control and 3 way toggle switch. Built in the USA just like the original Charvels as well... definitely something that looked promising enough.
UTILIZATION
The design of this guitar is based on the Telecaster platform as opposed to the double cutaway Strat design of the other guitars. The single cutaway design is a little bit bulkier and more awkward than the other models, though it is contoured nicely. The neck is an AWESOME piece on these instruments... it's basically quartersawn maple with a very thin oil finish applied, so it feels fast yet natural and nothing will get in the way of your hand. The neck joint is the standard 4 bolt design. Unfortunately they do use a bulky neck plate on these guitars that can kind of get in the way when you're reaching for the upper frets, but all in all it's not too bad. Getting a good sound out of this guitar is pretty simple. It's not really wired for versatility, but if you're using it to play hard rock riffs or some shredding solos, this guitar will get you there without a problem!
SOUNDS
This guitar is meant to sound most at home in a rock n' roll environment. The Seymour Duncan pickups are medium to hot as far as the output goes, and the tones are quite raunchy and delicious. Though it excels at distorted flights of fancy, plugging it into a clean amp such as a Fender or a VOX yields some nice bright tones that work well for bluesy/funky sounds. It's not quite dark enough for a true jazz tone though, nor is it quite spanky enough for a true country sound. Switching over to a distorted sound brings in a really rippin' sort of bright tone that is great for seventies/eighties rock riffs or really scorching lead tones. The neck pickup is nice and bright, yet can get fluid for some shredding if needed. The bridge pickups isn't super hot, so it retains a lot of definition at higher gain settings, but is still well suited to the hard rock genre. Definitely a great sounding instrument.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think this guitar is a great buy for someone looking for a unique take on the "superstrat" (or would it be "supertele"). It's very well made, the features are top notch, the craftsmanship is fantastic, and the tones are excellent for that rockin' sound. It's not the most versatile instrument, and the tele body style might be a turn off for some players, but it's still a great feeling guitar. They last sold new at a blowout for about $650 and you can find 'em around for less if you look. Definitely a cool ax to look into if you want rock tones in a killer package.
UTILIZATION
The design of this guitar is based on the Telecaster platform as opposed to the double cutaway Strat design of the other guitars. The single cutaway design is a little bit bulkier and more awkward than the other models, though it is contoured nicely. The neck is an AWESOME piece on these instruments... it's basically quartersawn maple with a very thin oil finish applied, so it feels fast yet natural and nothing will get in the way of your hand. The neck joint is the standard 4 bolt design. Unfortunately they do use a bulky neck plate on these guitars that can kind of get in the way when you're reaching for the upper frets, but all in all it's not too bad. Getting a good sound out of this guitar is pretty simple. It's not really wired for versatility, but if you're using it to play hard rock riffs or some shredding solos, this guitar will get you there without a problem!
SOUNDS
This guitar is meant to sound most at home in a rock n' roll environment. The Seymour Duncan pickups are medium to hot as far as the output goes, and the tones are quite raunchy and delicious. Though it excels at distorted flights of fancy, plugging it into a clean amp such as a Fender or a VOX yields some nice bright tones that work well for bluesy/funky sounds. It's not quite dark enough for a true jazz tone though, nor is it quite spanky enough for a true country sound. Switching over to a distorted sound brings in a really rippin' sort of bright tone that is great for seventies/eighties rock riffs or really scorching lead tones. The neck pickup is nice and bright, yet can get fluid for some shredding if needed. The bridge pickups isn't super hot, so it retains a lot of definition at higher gain settings, but is still well suited to the hard rock genre. Definitely a great sounding instrument.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think this guitar is a great buy for someone looking for a unique take on the "superstrat" (or would it be "supertele"). It's very well made, the features are top notch, the craftsmanship is fantastic, and the tones are excellent for that rockin' sound. It's not the most versatile instrument, and the tele body style might be a turn off for some players, but it's still a great feeling guitar. They last sold new at a blowout for about $650 and you can find 'em around for less if you look. Definitely a cool ax to look into if you want rock tones in a killer package.