Charvel Help/Feedback

[sasquatch]

Mar 16, 2011 12:07:31 GMT -5 kabala said:

Congrats Sasquatch!

+1 on the pr0n!

Thanks Kabala!

[sasquatch]

Mar 17, 2011 10:01:22 GMT -5 kaptainzamatopf said:

Probably exactly the same as mine in my pic and they sure are beautiful! Let me know how you get on with the D-tuna. I did fit one on mine but it wouldn't go on properly and i couldn't pull it in and out without effecting the tuning. Might have just been me though as i'm a bit crap when it comes to anything more technical than sleeping...

Yep... just like yours! I will let you know about how the D-Tuna project goes. Two of my buds have 'em installed on their guitars and they work great, but both of their trems are blocked to dive only. Actually, one of 'em sits flat on the body... but basically the same thing. I wonder if that has something to do with it? I'm pretty sure most (maybe all) EVH's Floyds are set up that way. Anyway, first priority is blocking the trem, then on to the D-Tuna.

[kabala]

That's an interesting little slice about the yellow on the neck, thanks for sharing. Like I mentioned, I JUST got a new one myself a couple weeks ago the the yellow was really strong. Heh, anyway, it's all gone now!

How are you liking the JB with your Splawn? I see blocking the Floyd is paramount for you - getting the JB swapped was for me!

[sasquatch]

So far I've only been abel to play through my home practice setup, which is a Floor Pod Plus running through my P.A. system. My QR is at our rehearsal studio... should get to try it through that tonight unless the guys flake in favor of a little St. Patty's cheer. Through the Pod it sounds fine to me, and through one of Chubtone's QR's it seemed to sound good, but I didn't turn it up real loud and amp modelers can be deceiving when trying to discern subtle tonal differences and sounds of guitars in general and certainly pups. I can say I prefer the JB to the DiMarzio in the So Cal. I'll have a better idea after I spend some time with it cranked through my QR. I think I remember you replaced your JB with another Duncan, but can't remember which model??? How's that sounding? Curious in the event I decide to try something else.

[kabala]

I went with the Duncan Custom after a good bit of trolling through the JCF forums, seemed well liked, especially through Marshall flavored amps. Lots of dudes billed it as "a JB without the upper mids"....bingo, just what we need with these amps.

I'd love to toss up a little sample clip but I just finished building my new PC (mostly for gaming, but obviously for making music as well)....still ironing out some Cubase/sound card settings and plugin issuses (a few favorite 32bit vst plugs not running in Windows 7 Ultimate and so on). Still think I'll have something short to sample by the end of the weekend though.

[nitrous12]

Do any of you guys that have one of these Charvels have any experience with the Ernie Ball Axis?
I have been debating selling my Axis to fund one of these. I am on my 3rd Axis...keep getting them and then eventually selling them and I told myself I would stop the cycle with this current one. I like the way the trem is set up to not float as I can dive all day and never go out of tune. I like the neck and I think the slimmer profile of it makes up some for the longer scale length that I am not used to (I am primarily an LP player). There is some stuff I don't like though, but I did finally get this one playing and sounding pretty good. My band covers a lot of 80s stuff and something that is closer to a true 80s shred type guitar would be cool.
All that said I am just looking looking for some input from anyone w/experience with both. I'll have to see if I can hunt one down locally.
Sasquatch, how do you intend to block the trem? I used a tremel-no on a PRS a few years ago and it worked out great. Congrats on the new axe and have fun with it!

[sasquatch]

^Thanks! I'm considering how I can best block the trem right now. To be honest... I'm not sure which would be the best way, so I'm gonna take my time and hopefully make the right choice. Basically I guess it comes down to a tremol-no or similar aftermarket device, or actually blocking it by affixing a piece of metal or wood to the inside of the trem cavity.

[sasquatch]

One more thing... any suggestions / recommendations on maintenance and care for a maple neck w/maple fretboard? It's been quite a loooong time since I've had a guitar with this combination. I was a lot younger and didn't worry much about stuff like that. Everything I've been able to find gives tips on rosewood fretboards. I've heard there are some cleaners and polishes that are ok for rosewood but not maple.

[duffer357]

Great purchase! I've had four of the USA Production Charvels and they have all been great with the Quickrod. I'm down to two So Cals now- one with an RTM in the bridge and the other with the stock Tone Zone. The JB was a little too harsh, crispy for my tastes in the San Dimas models I had in combination with the QR.

For the neck care, I have run into the same problem- lots of info and products available for rosewood and little to nothing for maple. I have seen three suggestions for cleaning a maple fretboard- rubbing alcohol, lighter fluid and Simple Green. I can't speak to the other two, but using rubbing alcohol and a toothbrush has produced decent results but it really doesn't get all the grime either- which is ok since I do like a little aged, worn in look to it. A little steel wool on the back every so often brings back that factory feel.

I also have used the D-Tuna with mixed results. The tuning is more stable when the trem is blocked- I used a Tremol-no and it was ok, but shimming the neck so that the trem sits on the body (and is flush with the body) worked best. The angle of the trem affected the ease of pulling in and out of D-tuna greatly.

BTW- thank you for the tube comparison write up you did recently in the QR section- what you were saying gave me impression that JJ pre's may be something to try with the Sino PT's. So far, I'm am liking the slightly darker sound they bring in Gear 1. All of you veterans here have posted so much useful info.

[sasquatch]

I wound up emailing, then calling the Charvel customer care group in Arizona and got some info about neck and fretboard care. They said the neck has an "oil" finish and your typical Dunlop Formula 65 guitar polish and cleaner on the neck and fretboard after playing is fine. If that or something similar isn't handy at the moment, a good wipe down with a clean guitar cloth is better than nothing. They also said a little Birchwood Casey Tru Oil Gun Stock Oil should be used on the back of the neck once in a while (but not too often) to keep the neck clean and protected. You can follow that with some of the Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Wax to seal it up and get a good polish. They didn't say anything about using any other products on the fretboard, and I didn't ask about any specifically. Since talking to them however, you and others have suggested some of the same products and methods for cleaning the fretboard. I may call 'em again and run a few of 'em by the guys and see what they think.

[chubtone]

Hey guys! Sorry I'm so late to this thread. It was a pleasure doing business with both Sasquatch and kabala. Thank you both very much.

Like I have said quite a few times, I got my 1st Charvel in 1984 and except for a short stint with Suhr's a few years back, I have been all about the Charvels for 27 years. i have owned a ton of original San Dimas Charvels and was extremely pessimistic when my sales rep came in and said that Charvel was doing a production model. To be honest I wasn't expecting much. When he came in with the first samples, my opinion changed completely and I made him promise to sell me the black one he had. I still have it. They nailed what I consider the perfect example of a Charvel neck. It reminds me so much of an old '83 I had that was the best playing guitar i ever had but could never get a good tone out of. I went on to purchase three of the USA Production Charvels.

Then they announced they were moving production to Japan after two years of the US built ones. Again, I was very negative. They had done that once before, in 1986 and that spelled the end of Charvel as a premium guitar manufacturer until 2005. Not to take anything away from the 80's MIJ guitars because there were some very good guitars. They just weren't San Dimas Charvels.

Then the first MIJ Charvels came in and I was a little standoffish. I really didn't want to like them. And a couple of months went by where I really didn't play them much other than a quick set up. Others around me kept saying, "these necks have better fretwork than the USA ones". Finally one day, I walked past them and strummed one while it was hanging on the wall and it just rang and rang and rang. I walked back to it and started playing it a little bit and well, it's sitting right beside me here in my home studio.

All I can say is this. This guitar is at least as good as any of the three USA Productions I owned (Still have two of them) and it sounds phenomenal. I am expecting my first USA Custom Shop Charvel any day now and to be totally honest, if my custom shop sounds as good as this MIJ one I'm going to be thrilled.

As for care, what I have been using on my oil finished, maple Charvel necks since 1984 is #0000 steel wool to clean and smooth them out. I use it on the back of the neck, the fretboard and the frets. It polishes the frets right up too. The oils from your hands will constantly "oil" that neck everytime you play it. I never apply more oil to my necks unless I have done some work on them. Gunstock oil won't hurt them though.

And as for the yellowish tint on the neck. that is in the oil they are applying at the factory. The oil the neck could absorb has soaked into the wood and that yellowish tint is almost just a residue sitting on the wood. It can feel a little sticky. If you steel wool it, you will lose a little of that yellowish tint and gain the same type of extremely smooth oil finished neck that you experience on the USA Custom Shop guitars.

Can you tell I like these guitars? I just wrote a freaking book about them on here. ;D

[sasquatch]

Thanks Chubtone... I'm lovin' this guitar! I've played it every day since I bought it. I ordered a Duncan Custom Custom (not a typo) to try in the bridge position. I'm ok with the JB, but it's just a bit loose in the bass frequencies for me and I'd like just a bit more output. Other than blocking the trem, that's all I'm looking to change. I've ruled out using a gadget (tremol-no, etc.) and think blocking it in the cavity is the best way to go. I have a friend that custom ordered a Performance Guitar DiMartini Skull and Blood (very expensive version of the Charvel) and he had them block the trem when it was built. I'm going to take a look in the cavity to see how they did it before I do anything. I remember you telling me that story about strumming the guitar hanging on the wall and how it just rang out like good guitars usually do. It's kinda like I was telling you about how I actually prefer my newer '05 PRS Custom 22 to my '92 Custom 24, even though the older one is supposed to be the bomb and is worth quite a bit more. The fit, feel and playability (FFP) of the 22 just agrees with me more. I think it does have something to do with the 22 fret vs. 24, but there's more to it than just that. It's the same with this Pro Mod. The FFP is right up there, if not beyond that of my favorite PRS and at just over 1/3 the price. Sometimes when I'm playing it and I happen to think of how little I actually had to spend for it... I can't help laughing just a little. I'm generally in the "you get what you pay for" camp, but once in a while something comes along that's just a great value at an unbelievably good price, and I think that's what they've got here. I would definitely tell anyone who is considering a high end guitar of similar build and design to look into the Pro Mod series before buying anything. I'd also tell 'em to play it first though since I did find several with necks far below the quality of that found on the one I bought from you. It was a pleasure doing business with you as well, and we'll see you soon!

[sasquatch]

Charvel San Dimas Pro Mod Update...

Well I'm almost there. When I first bought the guitar I knew I wanted to block the trem and install a D-Tuna. And, based on some of what I'd heard and read, was also prepared to perhaps try a different bridge pup in lieu of the JB it came equipped with. While I thought the JB basically sounded ok, it was a bit loose in the low frequency range and I wanted something with a little tighter bass. After some research I decided to try a Duncan Custom Custom. Mission accomplished. The Custom Custom delivers the tighter bass response while keeping the punchy mids and singing highs. I'm very happy with this pup. Now for the tremolo. I wound up buying two Floyd Rose Trem Blocker units. Not from Floyd Upgrades 'cuz that guy is very proud of his trem blockers. He wants $35 ea. for an "L" shaped chrome plated piece of brass with a few screws. I found the same darn thing at place called aXcess guitar parts (or something like that) for $10 each. I decided to use two because I didn't want to offset the springs (two on one side and one on the other) or go with four springs (2 X 2) 'cuz I didn't want to increase the spring tension. With a little modification, using my Dremel to grind the stoppers down a bit, I was able to fit one stopper on each side of the center spring. It's working beautifully. I'm able to down tune without the issues normally associated with a floating unit and I've noticed an increase in sustain. I can actually feel it in the guitar when I'm playing. I guess it's just transferring more string vibration to the guitar body. The tuning stability is still rock solid, and this is big for me, the spring tension is the same so the trem action is still nice and smooth. Next step... D-Tuna!

[nitrous12]

So that Trem Blocker allows you to still dive bomb, but blocks it from floating...yes? I managed to talk myself out of one of these for a while, but the itch is back.

[sasquatch]

Jun 8, 2011 14:36:25 GMT -5 nitrous12 said:

So that Trem Blocker allows you to still dive bomb, but blocks it from floating...yes? I managed to talk myself out of one of these for a while, but the itch is back.

Yes. I didn't want to mess with re-positioning the springs to allow for mounting of the blocker in the center so I kinda modified it a bit. I like to set up my trem springs so the outside two are angled and the middle spring straight. So I bought two blockers (best price through aXcess guitar) and using my Dremel, ground them down a bit so I could place one on each side of the middle spring. This allowed me to keep the spring installation and tension the same. This is big to me cuz I hate having to go he-man on the trem arm while playing. It takes a little more time and patience to make sure they're both lined up correctly, but worth it in my opinion. Another tip... use some teflon tape on the threaded adjustment screw(s) to prevent movement.