Legit? USA pointy, rosewood fretboard, 1H, 1V, Floyd, zebra finish

[Number Of The Priest]

What do you guys make of this Craigslist find? It's USD$200, but at no price do I ever want anyone to be ripped off because of me. Again, my knowledge of USA Charvels is pretty weak, so I defer to you for authenticity.

String retainer bar behind the nut is pretty uncommon, right? Is it just me, or does it look like the fretboard extends beyond the locknut which I've never seen before? On what models/years did this chocolate-colored headstock logo appear in combination with the pointy headstock?

[phragle]

where is that from????

[Number Of The Priest]

It was listed on San Diego Craigslist this afternoon.

[phragle]

Where where where where !!!!! lol

[phragle]

Im not sure.. from a few oiks I brought up on google, the logo loks to be in a different spot and a little on the long side.... Also I emailed the owner and he said it has no serial number. I asked for a pik of the back and got nothing.

[xenophobe]

Headstock looks elongated, probably due to perspective distortion for taking a shot too close. I'd want to see a picture of the back, but too bad you got no response.

[shreddermon]

Possibly legit, although possibly a parts guitar. I'm guessing the Floyd is an old mod, converted from a VT. See the poor routing near the bridge. That might also explain the string trainer bar on a pointyhead.

[Number Of The Priest]

That might also explain the string trainer bar on a pointyhead.

I might be getting sidetracked here. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression all the pointy Jackson/Charvel headstocks were angled back enough to eliminate the need for a string retainer bar. I haven't ever seen one needed. Even the Model 1 and its variants had vintage trems and standard nuts, but still no need for a string retainer bar. Examples below (headstocks from my Model 1C and my Model 1).

[shreddermon]

You are correct. But that doesn't mean that, back in the day, inexperienced mod'rs installing then relatively-new Floyd systems knew any better. There's no need for it on a pointyhead, but some unknowingly installed it anyway. I've seen it before.

[Number Of The Priest]

Looks like someone bought it. Same photo of the body in the Craigslist ad as well as this NGD post on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JCFO...6777397619373/

[xenophobe]

Yeah, a string retainer on an early Charvel wouldn't bother me. Anyone could have done that.

[Newc]

OFR came with retainer bar. Back at the time this was (allegedly) made, the entire kit would have been taken off a Kramer and sent to Charvel. If it was an after-market add-on and the entire kit was bought in a box, the person who did the work would have put it on "because it came with it". Today we all know better, but backinnaday, they probably knew better but did it anyway. If it's cranked down far enough, you get "extra" downforce coming off the nut, "for more tone".

[Axewielder]

The locknut retainer issue comes up from time to time. While mostly pointless, it can help keep strings from pulling sharp after you tune up and then lock the nut down.

[shreddermon]

Back at the time this was (allegedly) made, the entire kit would have been taken off a Kramer and sent to Charvel.

Say what, bro? It’s correct that, back then, Kramer had the exclusive rights for Floyds, which meant J/C could not buy them directly from a supplier. But I’ve never heard of anyone disassembling Kramers for their Floyds so they could have a Charvel newly built with them back then. Either a) someone custom ordered a J/C with a Floyd, which meant that the customer’s dealer had to send a Floyd kit into the custom shop for the build to be done or b) the custom shop occasionally bought Floyd kits from their local dealers for non-customer builds. Or, as is likely the case with this one, a Charvel was after-the-fact modified by the owner with a Floyd because it originally came with something else (probable vintage trem).

[Nightbat]

By the look of the Nut(shelf) I'd say this was an aftermarket job