Custom Shop Charvel... What did I buy?

[PeteL]

Took a chance online and this is what showed up today.

Serial U0012x

Charvel Custom Shop archtop soloist, or so I think?

According to the serial data I'm familiar with, this makes it a 1990?

Or does the Custom Shop sometimes spit out some oddball serials and it's newer?

If it is a 1990 it's in remarkably good condition, as it has a satin finish.

No real blemishes but the seller was a little forceful with the locking low E tuner, snapped the string as soon as I brought it close to pitch.

Anyways, any thoughts here on this one? Is it an archtop soloist? Custom Shop one-off or just special order production/limited run?

Seems pretty "custom" to me but the serial is throwing me off.

True customs have the JJ��, I always thought.

Thanks!

[xenophobe]

That has to be a newer guitar, at least it looks like it. In 1990 they weren't using CS logos and that battery box shouldn't. That looks more Pablo era than anything. Odd to have that neck heel though. That serial would be odd for the guitar as configured, too. Maybe a custom refub by an owner or a total overhual. Odd score, at least it looks legit. It's weird enough that someone else here might know specifics.

Pull the electronics cavity and get pot date code for the year of manufacture if there is one.

[Number Of The Priest]

Wow, that is SWEET!

If those pickups are original to the guitar, the font on the EMG logos is the current font, which I don't believe existed in 1990.

If that case is original to the guitar, it's too new. That type of case didn't exist in 1990.

I feel like I'm noticing all the irrelevant, easily-changeable aspects that do nothing to identify the date of the guitar.

Overall the whole vibe and look of that guitar scream "newer" and more modern than 1990. Blank fretboards don't strike me as something that was fashionable in 1990. It's not impossible to imagine blank fretboards were done in 1990, but it really seems like more of a current trend.

[x_zac10]

I don't have any info to add, but I'm a little jealous I didn't see this and grab it myself. I really like this and I'm not normally into figured tops.

[rjohnstone]

The serial number is the weird part.
That's a production Jackson serial number for a none archtop guitar.
It should be either JAxxxx or Jxxxx for a CS piece.

The logo is huge, but you can order it that way.

The heel cut is classic late 80's era.
Love the wood choice, all Mahogany with quilt maple top and a plain Ebony board.

[shreddermon]

Why did you take the pictures down? There were several things about that one that made you go "hmmmm". Serial number, logo size, scarf joint location, full depth center block, newer style case, etc.

[toejam]

Yeah, what happened to the pics? I was looking at them this morning before I went out to work. Looked pretty nice.

[xenophobe]

Yeah, it's all sorts of weird. Employee project perhaps. Or complete overhaul. Looks legit though, just "stump the experts" legit.

[PeteL]

Sorry about the pics, used the wrong pbucket account to upload.

They should back up now.

I appreciate the hypothesises as to what it is.

There are some fantastic piece of wood here, really thick slab of ebony for the fingerboard and maple on the top, very impressed.

Anything else that would help definitively say what it is? I can take more snaps if need be.

Just noticed a little hairline mark of some sort on the back of the headstock... Doesn't seem to move with pressure, maybe a hairline crack? Will try to clean it off...

Thanks again.

[PeteL]

The pot looks like T00071A25KFQ(or 0 instead of Q? Hard to tell...).

[rjohnstone]

The pot looks like T00071A25KFQ(or 0 instead of Q? Hard to tell...).

That's a standard EMG 25k pot.

[PeteL]

That's a standard EMG 25k pot.

Wellp,I feel pretty lame!

Someone messaged me with some info on a previous owner in the Swedish metal world, but not much further detail about the guitar itself. It was custom made for a guitarist born in 1984, though, so I'm guessing that eliminates the 1990 serial theory.

[Carbuff]

Does the custom shop keep track of these things? Is it possible to contact them to get the exact specs and info?

[PeteL]

Does the custom shop keep track of these things? Is it possible to contact them to get the exact specs and info?

Gave them a call to try to find out, FMIC customer service had no record and based on the description they think it's from pre-FMIC era.

So, it could be that the previous Swedish metal owner also got it used and didn't have it made especially for him.

The plot thickens...

Does this picture help at all?

[CaptNasty]

Found this on Reverb:

https://reverb.com/item/5147799-used-charvel-custom-shop-set-neck-cherry-sunburst

Has some similarities, but some differences too...

You might consider emailing [email protected]. Might be a more direct path into Charvel than calling FMIC.

Jackson’s site has info indicating that Jackson neck through U0012x would have been manufactured in 1990 but they were not doing the “Custom Shop” headstock logo at that time.

Looking at my Natural Oiled CS Mahogany Soloist, this looks like a dead ringer of a Jackson Soloist in both shape and construction method. Mine is a 2017. Looks to me like a CS Jackson Soloist with a Charvel logo, but is that even a thing?

What ever it is, it is a thing of absolute beauty!