SoCal - Black vs Purple?

[RockinJim]

Thanks, Dave. I own 3 guitars, a Peavey HP Special custom shop quilt top, Jackson SL2H custom shop flametop and now the Charvel. The Charvel is more out of curiosity and the price was low. I suspect I will love it. But I certainly don't need a lot of guitars. I have a lot of money invested in them at this point. A lot more than my playing ability requires but I enjoy it, so why not, they can always be sold, right? Ha.

[RockinJim]

Well I finally received the SoCal today and I can say it is a very solid tone machine. The only place I can say that some corners were cut is the trem, works fine, but clearly not the OFR quality of my soloist - but at the price point, excellent guitar. The neck and finish are just fine, dimarzio's sound great.

[jmsaxon69]

The only place I can say that some corners were cut is the trem, works fine, but clearly not the OFR quality of my soloist -

What have you noticed? Not staying in tune? Not much sustain? What is not up to your quality level?

[RockinJim]

Tuners are horrendous, like the cheap trems found on the licensed FRs you see out there. The unit just doesn't seem as substantial as the OFR on the soloist. I suspect the tuning will suffer over time. The soloist stays in tune for long periods with no playing. That's a quality guitar. Overall the OFR is fine, not dogging the whole thing just the tuners.

I really like the SoCal, but, I am *REALLY* happy I paid only $799 for it. If I paid the full price, over $1K, I would not be so thrilled with the quality of the trem.

[Rich#6]

I suspect the tuning will suffer over time.

We all need to stop saying this until in actually happens.

[RockinJim]

Well the tuning is less precise than better built FR's because of the tuners, so in theory I can say it right now. But I really do like the guitar. I think at the price point you can't really beat it but you also have to expect some corners being cut for it to be profitable. Soloists are 50-75% more expensive depending on finish. I bought it because I wanted a good sub-$1,000 guitar with a Tone Zone and I feel I got one.

[Newc]

Chinese-made stuff generally has lower tolerances which can lead to tuning slippage and other imprecisions, but these are not Licensed by FR, they're directly contracted by FR, so I would expect the tolerances were equal to Schaller, but it's just cheaper labor.

Of course I hope they're not using lead-based paint

[Grandturk]

Tuners are horrendous, like the cheap trems found on the licensed FRs you see out there.

I like to whip this out whenever the German vs. Korean Floyd issue comes up. Here's a thread I started when I took some comparison pics I while swapping mine out:

http://www.jcfonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93510

[RockinJim]

Being a non-technical guy, what is the general point, the German trem is only slightly better?

[Grandturk]

Being a non-technical guy, what is the general point, the German trem is only slightly better?

Being non-technical myself, and having to replace the arm on my German one because it wobbled out of the box, I didn't notice any difference.

Again - German Floyds have been in use for almost 30 years. In 2029, let's get back together and see if the MIK Floyds are still in holding up as well. To me, that's the real test.

[shreddermon]

Again - German Floyds have been in use for almost 30 years. In 2029, let's get back together and see if the MIK Floyds are still in holding up as well. To me, that's the real test.

+1