Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

[Crankdaddy]

Just posing the question to anyone who's been fortunate enough to play both:

How do the Charvel San Dimas reissues (circa 95) compare to the real deal? Feelwise? Soundwise? Vibe-wise?

Never having played an original, I'm just curious.

Thanks!

[~K~]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

Apples and oranges ...but in a good way. The original necks were all hand rubbed so each neck kinda has it's own vibe. The reissues were done in a production manner but are awesome. Depending on which Reish you got the necks are different dimensions. The SD3-4's are thinner 24 fret necks and the trad is more rounded and fatter ...My orig's are thin and flat and they are oiled vs the raw maple on the reish ..

Tone wise My SD3 sounds different than my originals simply because they are very different .. The SD3 has a combination of mahogany/maple and with the Tone Zone pickups tend to have a midrange/darker tone to it.. My originals are alder and tend to sound a bit brighter.

It's all apples and oranges and it amounts to personal preference ...

[taxistationary]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

I've never played a pre-pro, but i have played a KOA SD2, and it was absolutly killer! I'd certainly buy one if i had the cash.

[terrax]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

both are nice guitars.. i think personally there is a lot of hype on the old ones. for instance.. a san dimas jackson vs a san dimas charvel (same exact parts) different logos and plates, people will say the charvel is better, when it's the same guitar from the same parts. oh but it was made in san dimas.. blah.. wasnt actually in san dimas.. just the po box was.

a lot of the times it's just that people cant have it so they want it. it's human nature to want what you cannot have, or is hard to get. i remember staring at the old jc catalogs when i was younger.. thats all i could afford to do at the time was stare. I thought it would be the coolest thing to have a guitar just like the guy in ratt.. then when i grew up, i got one, and you know what, it sat and collected dust, so off it went.

the re-issues, are not really re-issues.. only thing re-issued about them is the name, doesnt make them less of a guitar.. just different.

I had a II, III, and an IV, all great playing guitars, eventually sold them all to fund my anderson addiction.

i have an old san dimas charvel, and a san dimas jackson now, only jc stuff i have currently.

my 8.5 cents..

Dave

[Genebaby]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

The '95 guitars weren't San Dimas Reissues, they were just the "San Dimas 'Series'".

That said, I have a Koa SD1 and SD2. Great guitars in their own right. Nothing at all like a SD Charvel. The Guitar Express Bullseye is a real SD Charvel reissue, not the 95 San Dimas guitars.

[Crankdaddy]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

Wow, didn't know that. Pretty cool. So the reissues were pretty much built by hand here in the US of A?

[~K~]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

Nope .. not pretty much .. they were 100% built in the custom shop ...

[Twisteramps]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

Also bear in mind that during the time of the '95-'96 'san dimas' guitars, there were many employees there who built the 'real' san dimas guitars. As a matter of fact, the Jackson catalogs of the time mention this - the same guys who built the originals were building the 'reissues' or whatever you want to call them.

Pete

[terrax]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

which is amazing that you can barely give them away, i got good deals on mine to begin with, so when i sold them i made a little.. but not much. i practically had to give my koa model II away.

dave

[kennslp]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

Dave, you're right, they don't seem to sell for anywhere near what they should based on construction, features, and playability. Probably because folks just don't seem to like that headstock.

-Kenn

[~K~]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

Originally posted by kennslp:
Dave, you're right, they don't seem to sell for anywhere near what they should based on construction, features, and playability. Probably because folks just don't seem to like that headstock.

-Kenn

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">It's funny when you think about that .. Such a great made guitar and that headstock turns people away ..

[ July 04, 2003, 06:40 PM: Message edited by: KMaynard ]

[Twisteramps]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

I have come really close to taking a bandsaw to one of mine and taking a small notch out so it had a ball end on the headstock... hm, I have one that is kinda funky that I replaced anyways. wonder if I should do a headstock mod? [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Pete

[~K~]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

Originally posted by Twisteramps:
I have come really close to taking a bandsaw to one of mine and taking a small notch out so it had a ball end on the headstock... hm, I have one that is kinda funky that I replaced anyways. wonder if I should do a headstock mod? [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Pete

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Well the headstock is slightly smaller but I think it would look good .. I've thought about grabbing one and making a template to go around it with a router and see how it goes .. [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Genebaby]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

Yes it is strange. As far as the guitar goes, it is a hand made US custom guitar with high end woods and equipment but they are hard to get rid of. I'd love to get another Koa SD1, or another SD1 of any kind. There was a nice mahogany one on ebay not too long ago with cool striping to it. Haven't seen any 3's or 4's out my way, just the SD1 and SD2 I have.

[billywade]

Re: Original San Dimas vs. Reissue?

Dave,
When you say practically had to give my koa SD2 away. How much did it go for if you don't mind me asking. I've been thinking of getting one and was a little concerned about resale (I have a tendency to do that). Thanks