Looking into purchasing a charvel possibly, HELP! :)

[rudociliak]

Hey guys, well I have never owned or played a charvel guitar in my life, I currently own an ESP - M100fm, and i would like to know if the newer model charvel "so-cal" is really good for the average price (1099$)? Because i really like the black pick guard and bright use of colour, as well as the strat shape, and most definetly the FRO! I love the maple necks, they look very beautiful, but what I am asking is that, I have currently been into southern rock and such, but I also find myself playing good old thrash tunes evey while now and then. Would this model cover the musical range i'm looking for? It would be great if it had a push-pull coil tap to get that twangy sound. But any ways, I hope I get some responses and your help is greatly appreciated, I don't have all the money in the world to just go around buying guitars to see if i like them, and this is pretty serious when it comes to deciding. especially when you don't even get to play the instrument before deciding! so please, be truthful! I LOVE the looks of these guitars!!!

[benjammin420]

yes, they are good for the price. yes, they are very versatile. and you could always add a coil tap if you want

[dg]

Plus, if you shop around at little you'll find one for much lower than $1099.

[Rich#6]

awesome guitars, Killer tone! The necks are very comfy to play.

[DonP]

One sold on HC for $650. Used one's in mint shape in GC go for $899.

[Code Red]

Give these a few months and shops will be giving them away. I think Charvel exhausted the enthusiast market and they have done nothing to move the line along. Don't get me wrong I have a bunch and I like them fine...but cheap fine. The overall fit and finish is 'good' not great. They are fun to play but lack features of modern guitar. Plain old bodies, plain old one-piece necks with an old style trussrod, plain old pickups (they four wire so you could coil tap them)...I could go on with the "plain oldd" but I'll be under 'shock and awe' attack soon enough.

Summers coming up. Shops and people will be unloading the lut of remants. I don't think anyone is buying these anymore unless they can get them for <$600. Personally, if your looking for a bolt on and you need to buy now...I think an American Standard Strat is a better guitar for the same money (that should have kept the corporate monitor patrol from joining in?). Seriously, I just got a couple and they're real nice and finished at a higher level with nicer stuff (neck finish, fretwork, super terrific hard shell super case, decent pickups/electronics, lighter bodies, etc)

Truth be told, right now if I'm spendign >$1500, it's not going to be on a Charvel, even though I love the brand.....the new 1980 Plymoth Volare of guitars. Okay maybe a Dodge Aspen......hotrodded!

[j2379]

i picked up my sd1 for under $700 shipped, great guitar the the JB doesnt sound great but easy fix, the 59 in the neck sound perfect.

[LegendaryTones]

These USA production Charvels are the first guitars in a LONG time that I've been truly excited about. They aren't just great for the money, but great overall IMO. The So-Cal with the DiMarzios is fantastic, the neck is a dream and the fit and finish were perfect on the one I checked out. I did a recent review and demo video on a So-Cal at my info site at Legendarytones.com. Check it out if you'd like. American Strats are good too, but it's an apples and oranges comparison IMO. Again, I just couldn't fault anything on the fit and finish of the Charvel...

[rudociliak]

Hey thanks for the replies! makes me more confident into buying one hehehe ... maybe for a little cheaper than 1099 though :think: I'll look for used ones around

[Axewielder]

You are still mulling over this decision?? Dang I usually think about a purchase like this for an hour or two.

[DonP]

Give these a few months and shops will be giving them away. I think Charvel exhausted the enthusiast market and they have done nothing to move the line along. Don't get me wrong I have a bunch and I like them fine...but cheap fine. The overall fit and finish is 'good' not great. They are fun to play but lack features of modern guitar. Plain old bodies, plain old one-piece necks with an old style trussrod, plain old pickups (they four wire so you could coil tap them)...I could go on with the "plain oldd" but I'll be under 'shock and awe' attack soon enough.

Summers coming up. Shops and people will be unloading the lut of remants. I don't think anyone is buying these anymore unless they can get them for <$600. Personally, if your looking for a bolt on and you need to buy now...I think an American Standard Strat is a better guitar for the same money (that should have kept the corporate monitor patrol from joining in?). Seriously, I just got a couple and they're real nice and finished at a higher level with nicer stuff (neck finish, fretwork, super terrific hard shell super case, decent pickups/electronics, lighter bodies, etc)

Truth be told, right now if I'm spendign >$1500, it's not going to be on a Charvel, even though I love the brand.....the new 1980 Plymoth Volare of guitars. Okay maybe a Dodge Aspen......hotrodded!

Here comes the shock and awe attack...not really

Please go on with the "Plain old" stuff, because I can't figure what's plainer, older, and more boring than a strat. I don't have either a ProMod or a USA strat, but at least the ProMod has dual hums and a Floyd which IMO s a lot more modern than a strat.

I have three MIM strats and they don't do much for me, pretty much like any strat.

An HM strat gets me excited, as do the ProMods.

So tell me more about these boring old guitars.

[rudociliak]

hahaha yeah I don't really have much money on me but then again I'm really hesitant about getting one for some reason I guess I'm just waiting for the "right time" hahahaha

[MetalHeadMat]

Rudo, good to see you finally got off your ass and posted, man!

[rudociliak]

hahahaha

[veniculum]

I love...LOVE charvel. Always have. There are pictures of me wearing Charvel t-shirts in the mid-80s. Just always loved the brand, and what they did. They took an old classic guitar and gave it a set of balls. That's why they're called hot rod strats. Because they're strats with balls. Now lets take a look at the definition of "hot rod"...when you take a normal car and turn it into a hot rod...it's done so for performance. Most of the time it is a no-frills project. You're certainly not worried about heated seats and Bluetooth. So when folks say the quality of materials in the Pro-mod Charvels isn't great...it's not supposed to be! It's good...and it feels good. But most important...they play fantastically..they sound great, and you can get an American made guitar for little scratch. (at least for a little while longer...until the stores run out). I got my Pro-mod Telly for 699...I got a 7th batch Trans Kandy SD HSS for 1000.

And now that Charvel has announced production is moving to Japan...the prices are actually coming back up. So I'm glad I bought two. If my local shop (where I bought the two that I have now) had a So Cal (polar white), I'd buy one tomorrow. As it is, I'm considering picking a So Cal in just about any color...just so I have one of each pro-mod...and before it becomes harder to get USA made pro-mods for a good price.

Anyway...these are great guitars...comparing them to a fender is a little tough. I have an American Deluxe Strat, and it's a similar guitar in terms of how it feels in your hands...bu they sound completely different in stock form...and I hate those vintage style trems that send the guitar out of tune every time you tap the bar with your pinky (exaggeration of course...but you get the point). I added a JB jr to my strat just to make it sound more like my Charvels...and it worked..for the most part. I don't think you'll be disappointed with any USA pro-mod.