Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

[Mr Graphic]

I bought this body from a former Schecter employee {one-piece figured maple}. It was said to be a one-off employee project built ca. 1978 as a sort of VH tribute. I was clearing out my filing cabinet & came across this June 78 Charvel catalog offering a "Telly" body. Very close don't you think?

[L]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

cool info, but who was copyng who?

[No Use]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

i was thinking the schecter copied off the charvel. EVH played charvels in the past, and Schecter's no stranger to putting out imitations. plus, that Was an employee one off. thats my thought, hehe.

[Mr Graphic]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

Weren't Charvel & Schecter kind of "holding hands" during that time period? Also, in defense of Schecter with regards to "Schecter's not being a stranger to putting out imitations", in reality, they weren't copying anything Charvel wasn't, no? IMHO Schecters from that era are VERY close to the San Dimas stuff as far as "cool factor" and a close second in reflection of that era.

[Jim Shine]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

Check out this July 1977 Guitar Player ad.

[tmdiamond]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

In the late 70's thru to the mid 80's, Schecter guitars were of tremendous quality. In '85, I played a Schecter Strat for a gig or two and it was and still is the best playing/sounding strat (traditional) that I have ever had the pleasure to put my hands on. Then, 3 or 4 yeears ago, I bought a Schecter 7-string for kicks and it was miserable. Fortunately, I was able to put a couple of Dimarzio BlazeII in it and it sounded decent but it was rotten quality and workmanship. Maybe they've improved again since then. Not that this has anything whatsoever to do with your initial post.... [img]graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

[Mr Graphic]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

The more I compare the two, the more I think their one in the same. The Schecter body does have the typical for that era, impressed production #'s in the neck pocket, and "SCHECTER" in the pickup rout. Pretty interesting if you ask me...

[Hossman]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

I think that Charvel,,being a distributor (user) of Boogie Bodies, Schector, Mighty Mite also a Dimazio supplier somewhat. These companies all started about the same period more or less. I also think it was Dave Shecter and Lynn Ellsworth that were Wayne Charvels' mentors and Wayne was Govers' mentor. Wayne and Grover both got ideas from EVH and other artists. Charvel was just the name of the shop that did the custom work and assembing of parts from all of these makers, they were basically making the same things,. Later naturally talented luthiers came into play under the direction of Grover.


Just my view
Cheers

[sevser]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

And now they are owned/dist by ESP. [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[No Use]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

haha, the last comment...

anyways, hey Mr. Graphic, thanks for setting me straight man,

what I meant though was they were putting out Strat shapes and whatnot...

Mark Knofler's Schecter tele came to mind when I said it...

though, a lot of companies make strat and tele copies so, yeah.

[yogadork]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

The guy who made the machines for the bodies and necks they all used in the early days was named "Warmoth". It was a small world then for boutique guitars.

[83SanDimas]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

We are talking about small companies. Wayne mentions how he and Schecter made 200 necks in one weekend. Dimarzio, duncan, warmoth, boogie, all small guys until buyouts by marketing companies. They shared parts and scraped out a living.

My Dimarzio strats have San Dimas bodies. Who made the necks? The headstock blends into the neck like Charvel but the 12th fret dots are wider. The side fret markers are brass, could it be a Schecter?

[Black Mariah]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

Why is it that every time two companies make something similar, one is always ripping off the other? If you want to be truthful, they're both ripping off Fender. That's nothing but a double cutaway tele body.

Schecter still makes some good stuff. I picked up a USA Hellcat at GC a while back and the neck felt amazing. Nice finish, good hardware. Your 7 string is probably Korean built if it's crappy.

I thought I read on here a while back that DiMarzio guitars were Warmoth components.

[Mr Graphic]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

Black Mariah, you said "If you want to be truthful, they're both ripping off Fender." & "That's nothing but a double cutaway tele body." I agree with your 1st statement in relation to basic Strat or Tele' body styles, although, going back 50+ years who was/is Fender ripping off?...Bigsby, more than likely. Anyway, with regards to this particular body style, Fender never made a dbl. cut Tele' body, so IMHO this body style is not a rip-off, it's an original design by Schecter {or Charvel}. Granted, it's based on Fender's Strat/Tele, as it has features from both, but to me it's more of an innovation than a rip-off.

[j2379]

Re: Charvel/Schecter Connection ca. 1978?

fender did make at least ONE double cutaway tele with a bigsby and it was white.
got to agree with everything else here, it seems like everyone in that era helped each other out & swapped parts, ideas, templates & so on.
BTW BCRich had a line of USA bolton early on with skunk stripe necks w/ brass side dots. the 12th fret dots were wide not typical Charvel. These bodies & necks were made by C/J in the glendora (SD)plant & finished & assembled by BCRich. this is info i got from Neal Moser so i dont think there is any reason to think its BS.