The Charvel site has finally been updated after what seems like forever.
Grover Jackson is with them once again, and they are making reissues of some of their older custom shop guitars.
Some of the original employees are also back, including Todd Krause, Mike Shannon, Stephen Stern and Mike Eldred.
They are using the original tooling and build methods, so these guitars should be on par w/ the old ones.
Nothing for lefties, so I'm out, but I thought some of you might be excited about this. http://www.charvel.com/
Thats cool but their prices are way out of line. They are trying to sell them for what the original San Dimas guitars are bringing and I doubt that these will ever be worth what the old ones are worth. I mean come on they are asking $3200 for a $1200-$1400 guitar. Everyone is jumping on the 80's band wagon since there is money to be made there, but look at the EVH art series guitars they were way over priced and didnt sell for shit and these will soon follow.
I've been telling people for a year now that things go in cycles... the 70's influence has run it's course, and now we're up to about '83 or so. As much as I hate it, I think the next "big sound" will be the Rockman-type 80's super-compressed distortion, drenched in plastic-sounding reverb and delay. Say goodbye to note definition and tubey warmth.
We're starting to see more closet-dwellers from the 80's at the store... Hondo's, Series 10, JB Player, etc. Those were extra-cheap imports for those of you who are chronologically-challenged. They usually consisted of a plywood body, cheeeep parts, and a kickass flashy paint-job and/or body shape. You never know, the cheesy dimestore guitars of the early 70's became sought-after guitars played by rock's elite in the 90's, it could happen again.
I always liked the DeMartini Strat with the crossed-swords graphic, though. He had a snakeskin Strat that was awesome, too, but $5K? I think not. Perhaps if Warren showed up at my house and taught me "Back For More," or "Way Cool Junior." -------->JMS
I've never played a San Dimas Charvel but have played a few San Dimas Jacksons and those Jacksons were all incredible. Big full tone and the necks felt perfect, just like everything was right where I would want it. The prices on these new models are way crazy. Jackson custom shop prices were high enough to begin with and they took a big jump this year. Doesn't surprise me that Fender would do the same thing with the Charvel line. Still some pretty sweet pieces though. I'd like to play one sometime. Does that shop in State College carry the Charvel line? I know someone told me they had the Art Series so I'd assume they have the rest of the line. And yes, being a big Warren DeMartini fan the crossed swords is one of my all time favorites. Someday...ha,ha!
These latest offerings seem to aimed at the collector, not the casual buyer/musician. I can see both positives and negatives in the pricing.
I mean where else could you get a guitar built by all of the guys who built the originals?
That being said, I agree with Paul's point of view. To me I'd rather built my own guitar. And for those prices, I can do a couple. Being left handed, and having my own tastes in what I like in a guitar are 2 factors that are always present to me.
The Charvel Star would be the only one out of the pack that I'd even consider. Seems like the finish and hardware options that are being offered are like a take it or leave it type of thing.
Cashing in seems to be the first thing that comes to mind when I saw this.
I'm not sure how much of this is being brought on by Fender?
I can say one thing in their favor, since they've bought out Jackson, about the only thing that has changed is the profile of the necks.
They are getting thicker and I don't care for that.
The post 'Fender' Jackson's are nice but really nothing like the early 90's Jackson's in the neck department.
I also read something about the King V 2 USA's are now only going to be available through their custom shop.
That is a guitar that I've been considering for a while now.
But I want mine w/ 1 hum, 1 vol. and an unpainted neck.
So I guess either way, in my case I'd have to go through the custom shop for that one and pay $3,500 + and wait up to 9 months.
I had a chance to play several of the EVH atr series guitars and they are pure trash and play like a $300 guitar not even close to a $3000. Its all about making money, and dont get me wrong because I make my living doing these 80's guitars and paintjobs. But there is a difference between giving someone something for their money and bending them over and sticking it in their ass, which is pretty much what fender is doing. They will beat this into the ground until there is no more money to make then they will move on to something else. I talked to a friend of mine in Pittsburgh who deals the new Charvels and the Dematrini guitars dont play any better than the Art series guitars play which is sad because there is a market for this stuff. My buddy in Pittsburgh is a friend of Warrens and when they got the demartini charvels in he called him and Warren hadent even signed off to Fender on the deal and they were already in the stores. So that goes to show you what Fender is all about $$$$$$$
Preformance guitars is doing a Demartini run of guitars as well in the same price range, but from what I have heard they are shred machines and play unbelievable which you would expect from preformace guitars. Warren was even going into their shop and personally dripping the red paint (blood) for the skull and blood guitars. Big corporations just end up fucking everything up as they are all about the dollar.
Paul
It is very sad indeed. That Frankenstrat made me sick, and I can only imagine the quality of the Art series.
Dumb asses with more money than sense are always bad for the market. It makes it unfair to the rest of us.
Seems more like Fender is trying to ram these guitars down our throats instead of supplying a demand.
That's so uncool what they did in Warren's case.
I wished that Dave Mustaine had gotten the company instead of Fender.
He had more relative association than Fender did.
But of course money decided that outcome also.
My first guitar was a Charvel. It was awesome, but i didnt know what i had. i was only like 15. My dad bought it from a guitar collector friend of his for me.
Fender has made some moves over the past couple of years that made me say, "WTF?" One of those moves was closing DeArmond and then moving all of the DeArmond models over to the Squier line. I haven't played one of the Squier DeArmonds, but I think it's safe to say that they are not the quality of the originals. I thought that they even looked cheap in the Musician's Friend catalog. Maybe it was a way to force people to buy real Guilds instead. The Relic Series was another thing that I never got. If I want a worn and weathered instrument, I want it to get that way from me playing it at gigs for years and years. Likewise, if I want a pre-CBS Fender, then I suppose I'll have to shell out the cash and get the real thing. Of course, that's the point: It may be expensive but it will at least be the real thing. Though one thing Fender has done right lately was throw some money at Squier. Squier's put out some quality instruments as of late, comparable to the old MIJ Squiers back in the 80s. I still can't get over the quality of the Jazz I recently bought. It's not like the cheap-ass Johnson-level trash that they were putting out a few years ago.
As far as the Charvels - That's really cool that they did some reissues, but I agree that it just sounds like a marketing gimmick aimed at 80s shred collectors. There are enough old Grover Jackson Charvels on the used market, that if someone wants to get the real thing, then they can make a purchase at a relatively lower cost than the reissues.
"He's the electric horseman, you better back off!" - old sKool making a reference to the culturally relevant 1979 film.
i have a red Charvel Model 4 in my closet. (i think it a four; neck thru, floyd rose, HH jackson active pickups) it's like mint because i never play the thing and probably never will.
Jason if that Charvel is a neck through model then it would probably be a model 5. The model 4s were bolt on necks with H/S/S configuration. Does the neck have 24 frets with dot inlays? If it is a model 5 I'd be interested in it if you ever decide to get rid of it (depending on what trem is on it). I really dig those old neck through Charvels. Here are a couple pics of a Charvel 750 that Paul at BigHeadGuitars just painted for me. The 750 was a set neck, 24-3/4" scale with an arched top built in 1989. I can't say enough about Paul's work. Terry at Guitar-n-Stuff set her up. Wow, just killer!
Kenny was just waiting for an opportunity to slather pictures of that guitar all over rockpage, and with good reason. That paint job is awesome, he did a fantastic job. Normally im not a huge fan of painted necks, but that just looks incredible with the flames on the neck like that
Those photos don't do the guitar justice. You really have to see that Charvel in person to really appreciate the finish job on it. old sKool's girlfriend even had a camera pointed at my face when he first opened its case in order to capture my expression. When I played in a band with Paul, I'd always get to see what guitars he was painting that particular week when I'd show up for practice. It's awesome that old sKool actually has one of his works of art to play on every gig. It looks really great under a set of 64 pars.
"He's the electric horseman, you better back off!" - old sKool making a reference to the culturally relevant 1979 film.
Was never a an of Ratt, not the "Hair"-thing anyway (Though, did have it) but the guy
certainly had some of the coolest lookin' guitars. Amir Derakh (Sp?), of the seriously
bad band Rough Cutt also had some cool gear. I also have to add that I do like his
current band (Orgy) though. Wonder if he uses any of the old fighter plane paint job
gits with them?
DaveP.
"You must be this beautiful to ride the Quagmire."
Kenny, that is a nice fuckin' guitar! I think that Paul did a great job with that for sure!
Not too keen on the painted necks myself, but it sure looks nice.
What do you have in it, an '81 and an '89?
I'd like to see that sometime. It reminds me of the Blue Ghost Flame SL-1 and SL-2's.
that thing was awesome. I didnt say anything about it at the time but I came home and called Jason and told him u had one of the coolest guitars I had ever seen. I told him u had some custom painted 80's guitar. I have his Charvel in my possession... it does have a licensed floyd on it with the pop in trem bar
can u PM me with what that paintjob set u back? Make sure Paul is OK with that but I really like the way it turned out.
Everyone wants to go to heaven but noone wants to die
Joe- the pickups are an 81 & 85. Not my first choice but that's what the last owner put in (just a year ago actually). Don't get me wrong, EMGs are killer pickups but I prefer passive Duncans. To me I like the "color" you get from a passive pickup. IMO the EMGs are very well balanced & very clear. I would say EMGs are like water, not much flavor but sometimes nothing quenches your thirst like a cold glass of water. The more I play this thing the more I like the EMGs. Some people say EMGs sound the same no matter what they're in. Not true. I have a Charvel model 2 with an 81 in it & it sounds different than the 81 in the 750. The 750 is set neck and has way more body mass than the model 2. I think that's where the difference is. Both guitars have the same trem so no difference there. Yeah Jason if you ever get rid of that model 5 let me know. That's my favorite combination- neck through and dual hums. No problem Chad, I'll pm you on that. Paul is great to work with. He'll do as much or as little as you want and will give you some suggestions on things you maybe didn't think about. It was his idea to wrap the flames around the body and paint the logo in color instead of the original white. I'm glad I went with his suggestions. Thanks everyone for the comments!
Kenny, I agree,
I have 3 of the same guitar and they all sound different.
2 of them have EMG 81's and 1 volume and yet they sound totally different.
I'm liking the feel of the 81's so I'm trying to get a more consistent sound from all three. That said, you can still hear the tone of the '81 no matter what it's in.
I think that's what people mean when they say that.
I'm ditching the Lawrence's in my KV3 and going w/ a single '81 w/ 1 volume, and an 18V system. I'm also adding an Afterburner preamp to it.
Here's a 1986 Jackson Soloist that I just finished restoring to original. Its a San Dimas era with S/N J27xx. It needed a nut so I put a Graph Tech Trem-Nut on it (only non-original part). It may go up for sale next year.
...Oh, the freedom of the day that yielded to no rule or time...
-------->JMS
