Charvel Custom Shop Order - 1 year down and still waiting...

[Drlynnmd]

I ordered it in March of 2011. The first indication that there was activity on my CS Charvel was 12/11. I have gotten a few calls from the dealer (three, I think) since that time about minor clarifications on the build order - he said they were close to finishing on his last call, but didn't have a time frame for completion. The dealer told me that from time to time, they will photograph the guitar at various stages of production, however, he did tell me that this is not the case with every CS guitar that they build - the have NOT sent me any progress pics.

[MetalDaze]

I'm about 14 months in on a Jackson CS order myself. I did get a paint related question from them about 2 months ago, but I'm not sure if that meant that they were up to the paint step, or they are looking at the work order and just getting started

I wouldn't expect any progress pics from them. Those are pretty rare. I think in most cases the order goes in and the guitar comes out without alot of communication in between.

[vector]

I ordered a cs Charvel Star in 2010 and got it in just 10 months. I was quoted around 24 months for my cs Jackson Star.

[Drlynnmd]

Thanks for the posts, my friends. I'm certainly not gonna hate on my CS crew because they didn't send me a progress pic. I ain't paying for a stinkin' polaroid... But it has been really helpful and eye-opening to read all of your comments. I have had a crash course in CS issues in just a few days...thanks! If any current CS Charvel/jackson owners could tell us about their past experience, I think that helps all of us expectant fathers (and mothers...). Did they communicate frequently? Not at all? What wait time were you told? When did you get it? Was your CS experience a dream come true or a nightmare? CS guitars are the "holy grail" for any guitarist, and we have all dreamed of building that perfect guitar. For those of you that have had the privilege of designing your own CS model, help us "newbies" by sharing your journey! And thanks to all of you that have already shared!

[Lysander]

Hey guys,

I got a Charvel CS on the way too. It was quoted 8-10 months and now i have been waiting for 10 months. Other than a special graphic it has the normal features. I didn´t get any info from the Custom Shop during the building process, but I hope it will come within the next two months.

I heard the same thing about the Charvel Crew with way more orders by my dealer Squidmusic. So I guess Charvel is noticing that the customers are asking a lot and they have to give some reasons for the longer waiting times.

[vector]

Thanks for the posts, my friends. I'm certainly not gonna hate on my CS crew because they didn't send me a progress pic. I ain't paying for a stinkin' polaroid... But it has been really helpful and eye-opening to read all of your comments. I have had a crash course in CS issues in just a few days...thanks! If any current CS Charvel/jackson owners could tell us about their past experience, I think that helps all of us expectant fathers (and mothers...). Did they communicate frequently? Not at all? What wait time were you told? When did you get it? Was your CS experience a dream come true or a nightmare? CS guitars are the "holy grail" for any guitarist, and we have all dreamed of building that perfect guitar. For those of you that have had the privilege of designing your own CS model, help us "newbies" by sharing your journey! And thanks to all of you that have already shared!

No communication outside of some questions re: the battery box in the control cavity. (Derail warning! I suggested that instead of gouging out more wood from the body, they could locate the battery box in the cavity itself and even provided a link to a battery box door that fits right into the cavity cover itself.) I got 1 photo of the guitar during construction to show the control box/battery config. Time to wait was stated at 10- 12 months and I got it in 10 months. The experience was pleasant other than a maddening lack of progress reports. The end product was/is so worth the wait. The guitar exceeded my expectations and plays better than any other ax I've ever laid hands on.
PS- I am curious to see how my current CS Star order will compare in delivery time, communication and most importantly, quality of end product.

[sah5150]

Hey guys,

I got a Charvel CS on the way too. It was quoted 8-10 months and now i have been waiting for 10 months. Other than a special graphic it has the normal features. I didn´t get any info from the Custom Shop during the building process, but I hope it will come within the next two months.

I heard the same thing about the downsized Charvel Crew but way more orders by my dealer Squidmusic. So I guess Charvel is noticing that the customers are asking a lot and they have to give some reasons for the longer waiting times.

I ordered my CS through Curt at Squid Music as well!

Steve

[Lysander]

Curt is very cool and honest. Totally recommendable.

[eakinj]

The views (Rant) and opinions of this specific post are of Jerry Eakin and Jerry Eakin alone (though there maybe one or two others who agree. Don't blame the forum for this.)
I don't know if anyone from Charvel is reading this - but just in case - fuck you. There is absolutely no excuse for it to take more then 6 months for a guitar to be produced. Any excuse given is sheer bullshit. Don't have a work force to cover demand - BULLSHIT. You're going to expect people to believe that FENDER doesn't have people who can build guitars? I don't care what logo is on it, the idea is the same for a strat a star or a rhoads. For the price of one of these CS guitars you should not only be kissing the customers ass and thanking them for spending their money on your product because believe me there's other custom shops who build equally or better quality stuff and it sure as hell doesn't take a year plus. Hearing stuff like this makes me really reconsider my loyalty to the brand.

[vector]

The views (Rant) and opinions of this specific post are of Jerry Eakin and Jerry Eakin alone (though there maybe one or two others who agree. Don't blame the forum for this.)
I don't know if anyone from Charvel is reading this - but just in case - fuck you. There is absolutely no excuse for it to take more then 6 months for a guitar to be produced. Any excuse given is sheer bullshit. Don't have a work force to cover demand - BULLSHIT. You're going to expect people to believe that FENDER doesn't have people who can build guitars? I don't care what logo is on it, the idea is the same for a strat a star or a rhoads. For the price of one of these CS guitars you should not only be kissing the customers ass and thanking them for spending their money on your product because believe me there's other custom shops who build equally or better quality stuff and it sure as hell doesn't take a year plus. Hearing stuff like this makes me really reconsider my loyalty to the brand.

I hear ya Jerry. If only it were that simple. While I share your opinion (as do many others, undoubtedly) truth of the matter is, we might as well be pissing in the wind. Our only leverage is to not buy CS axes. But then what? The brand takes a hit and they have to scale back the workforce? They discontinue it? They let that part of FMIC go under? Who suffers? Let's face it, it's giant shit sandwich and anyone who has a jones for a CS is gonna have to take a bite or look elsewhere.

[MikeStrat]

I wish Fender would just sell USA Charvel to somebody who would run it properly. Dan Lawrence owns GMP guitars. I wish he could take it over. Hell, I'd buy if they'd sell. I can't be worth a whole lot anymore with the way they've run it into the ground.

[vector]

I wish Fender would just sell USA Charvel to somebody who would run it properly. Dan Lawrence owns GMP guitars. I wish he could take it over. Hell, I'd buy if they'd sell. I can't be worth a whole lot anymore with the way they've run it into the ground.

+1 Does kinda make ya wonder why they acquired Charvel/Jackson in the first place. What was their intent, outside of to make money and move them towards dominance in the market? It kinda sucks when you think that they would let the higher end USA, CS & pro mods decline in favor of the more cheaply produced lines, if that were the case.

[Chubtone]

I haven't been popping onto the JCF forum much lately, but let me shed a little light on this. I have heard zero about downsizing at Charvel and I personally know a guy who works in the custom shop and see him a couple of times a week. In 2011, all custom shop employees were pulled off their builds and were working on the prototypes for those Desolation guitars. That order came from the very top of Fender, so that's they way it goes. It was unforeseen and every build in line suffered some delay for it. The custom shop had standing orders of 300 guitars between Charvel, Jackson and EVH. Now there are over 600 standing orders, probably very much EVH related. They could certainly grab some regular guys off the Fender production lines and increase the manpower working in there, but would they have the skill of a Mike Shannon, a Red Dave, a Pat McGary or a Pablo Sanchez like we have come to expect?

The wait time for Suhr guitars is right around a year right now. Suhr serial numbers are up in the 16,000 range. Charvel serial numbers are in the 9000's counting what they built in the 80's. Suhr is CRANKING out guitars compared to Charvel.

The quickest build time on a Fender Custom Shop right now is 1 year for a "team built" which means newer custom shop employees. If you want to name which guy you want to build it, wait time goes up to a year and a half. If you want John Cruz to build yours, too bad. They have stopped taking orders for a John Cruz masterbuilt. The wait time for a Cruz masterbuilt was at three years when they stopped taking orders.

They need more employees. But they need extremely skilled employees to be able to build guitars as nice as what we expect.

I have been beating on the inside sales rep. I have been beating on the outside sales rep. I have been beating on Adam who is in charge of the custom shop. These guitars need to be delivered to people no later than a year after they ordered them AND even more importantly, accurate build times need to be relayed to the dealer and then the customer from the start so they know what to expect. Otherwise, no one is happy until they finally get the guitar in their hands. I still like my 2011 Custom Shop better than any Charvel I have ever owned except for one of my originals and I would say it is equal to that one. It took five months longer than they told me it would, but now that I have had it for a year, I would have waited two years for this guitar. I freaking love it! Hopefully everyone else will like theirs as much as I like mine!

I also think that this long wait will fix itself eventually because no one is going to plunk down a deposit on a guitar if they start getting quoted 16-18 months for it. In my opinion, these are the best feeling, best vibe/mojo guitars available. They are really the only guitar I am interested in owning.

[Drlynnmd]

Thanks Chubtone for the post. I think that clarifies a lot for those of us still waiting for our CS orders. So if I am reading it correctly, the Charvel CS guys are making not only Charvel CS guitars, but are also responsible for the custom shop EVH and Jackson guitars, as well? If that's the case, then those guys have got their hands full. And if the numbers waiting are in the 600's, then holy crap! The math on that does not give me a warm fuzzy feeling about future CS order wait times...

[mrt01]

Chubtone rules !!!

Feel the same about charvel ! No matter the waiting I'll get another one from him !!

Charvel love...