1995 Charvel Model I Koa USA Restored!

[Black Shadow]

Whoever had this before me must have lived in a saltwater cave and had a vendetta against guitars, because the original Jackson Schaller Floyd bar, saddles, and locking R2 nut were heavily corroded, as well as mounting screws for the pickups. The hardware was in awful shape up close (the low quality ebay pics didn't really show the condition of the hardware) , and the setup was wretched, although these are so rare, I had to pounce since the price was reasonable considering the typical market for these.

No matter, I restored it will new Schaller parts as needed, and installed Bareknuckle Nailbomb (b) and Cold Sweat (n) with push-pull pot for coil tapping, a 42mm fat brass block, and Raw Vintage springs and some minor fret dressing by my local luthier while I was at it. Body is solid koa, birdseye maple neck, and a beautiful pau ferro fretboard. I've read that the Jackson neckplate shows mine is probably 1 of the first 50 of these made. Definitely has a very special and different feel than the multiple standard mass production models I have, with a very slim/flat neck profile and slightly narrow nut. My goal was to have an elite steed for '80s inspired metal/prog metal/thrash that would have supreme definition with high gain, and it delivers. A bigger surprise was how good the cleans are when tapped. The middle position tapped (bother inner coils) gives me the Petrucci style ultra clean sound that I love. Future improvements will include Dunlop 6100 stainless streel frets, although there is no hurry for that since there is still plenty of life left, but I've been getting dangerously addicted to SS fret jobs as of late!

[freetosurf]

Beautiful!

[toejam]

Nice job! Those are always wonderful to look at.

[Genebaby]

Great job restoring that beuty. The early Jackson plated ones do have a few differences to the Charvel plated ones, with a bit of interchanging middle ground with things like the 3-way toggle Vs the 5-way switch. I do love the features of mine save the 5-way, I do prefer a toggle, but it's cool.

[Razor]

Very nice save!!!

[Nightbat]

That's a nice Axe,

Back when I got my SD II, I rather wanted a Floyd as well, but it has remained the only guitar I have with a Wilkinson on it, so it fills a niche in my arsenal
To this day I still wonder if mine is Koa or Mahogany, when I look at similar pictures, I suspect Koa
Serial # is 951055, but can't find any info on it (and hasn't gotten any better with new 'Reissue' and 'San Dimas' models added to the google hits)

All I do know is that it's the only guitar I have that went up in value, bought it for roughly $1200 back in 2001
...which is ironic, since they were the least desired USA Charvels, oh well, I guess I'll never understand guitarcollectors

[slayer]

That is fantastic looking! Congrats.

[Genebaby]

That's a nice Axe,

Back when I got my SD II, I rather wanted a Floyd as well, but it has remained the only guitar I have with a Wilkinson on it, so it fills a niche in my arsenal
To this day I still wonder if mine is Koa or Mahogany, when I look at similar pictures, I suspect Koa
Serial # is 951055, but can't find any info on it (and hasn't gotten any better with new 'Reissue' and 'San Dimas' models added to the google hits)

All I do know is that it's the only guitar I have that went up in value, bought it for roughly $1200 back in 2001
...which is ironic, since they were the least desired USA Charvels, oh well, I guess I'll never understand guitarcollectors

These guitars were not well received at the time of release and took a decent dive in purchase price. I bought mine greatly reduced 6 years or so after the shop got it.

As the years passed people began to realise, holy crap, these are amazing, well built guitars, and combined with some cool woods they have gone up in value.

[Number Of The Priest]

These guitars were not well received at the time of release and took a decent dive in purchase price.

I didn't start playing guitar until 2000, but it's not hard to imagine why this Charvel might not have been appreciated in the climate of 1995. It doesn't resemble a typical Charvel of a decade prior, and Charvel was always the more traditional of the two brands (compared to Jackson). 24 frets? 24-fret Dinky body? Gumby Strat headstock? Weird woods? The traditionalists and elitists in 1995 would probably have scoffed at this guitar, despite its USA pedigree and objectively exotic woods.

As the years passed people began to realise, holy crap, these are amazing, well built guitars, and combined with some cool woods they have gone up in value.

Hindsight is 20/20. It's difficult for guitarists (we tend to be somewhat traditionalist) to accept new innovations and advances in guitar design and aesthetics. While a "24-fret Charvel Dinky with a Stratty headstock" might have puzzled Charvel fans in 1995, these days there are Charvel 24-fret Dinkys (DK24) and we don't think it's unusual at all. Sometimes it simply takes time for us to reluctantly accept, or grow to love, certain things in the guitar universe.

[Genebaby]

Oh for sure. When there is a new Made In USA Charvel being released called the San Dimas series you do not expect what we got in regards to body shap, number of frets or even the headstock as it would have been easy to do what the Bullseye Charvel run started and then became the norm.

Now of course we don't care that these guitars are not historically correct to their namesake, we just realise they are amazing hand made instruments and some people get that, or they don't get in the boat at all. I decided it was worth a try and I'm glad I did. My first bolt-on guitar, but definitely not my last.

[Number Of The Priest]

Oh jeez, that's right, they were called "San Dimas" yet looked more like 24-fret Dinkys instead of San Dimas era Charvels. Thanks for the reminder. No wonder fans were confused and/or turned off. I would be too. Call it ANYTHING ELSE and it might have been accepted more warmly, especially since it looks more like a Suhr or Tom Anderson compared to an 80s Charvel.

By the way, what gauge strings are you using? I noticed you installed five trem springs.

[Black Shadow]

I don't remember this series being rec'd anything less than warmly when they came out in '95. I know I wanted one instantly, but was just a broke kid back then. I forgot about them for a long time, then started a 4-5 year long ebay stalking campaign before snagging mine.

They really have a unique feel and incredible precision and clarity. Truth be told, I like bigger bodies for max warm toan, although the dinky body is very comfortable and the 42mm FAT brass block warmed it up. Interestingly, mine came factory with a 42mm skinny block instead of the usual 32 mm. I like big blocks and I cannot lie. For guitars that need for thump, I go brass. When they need more edge, I go titanium (ebay titanium, not those ABSURD FU Tone blocks for $400!! ).

[kmanick]

Nice restoration!!! I always wanted to try one of these and missed out back around 2010 or so when you could easily pick one up for$800. Now?
not happening

[Nightbat]

They really have a unique feel and incredible precision and clarity.

In my arsenal, the SD RI unplugged is the most vocal (loud) guitar
Amplified it's raw, tight and cuts through

[Black Shadow]

In my arsenal, the SD RI unplugged is the most vocal (loud) guitar
Amplified it's raw, tight and cuts through

Amplified, the USA is it its own class for clarity! Even the most heavily distorted chords have note definition at high volume. That's one area where you are getting your money's worth....