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Having the incredible pleasure and luck to have acquired such a large collection of Charvels, the questions I get asked the most are, what is my favorite(s) and what is the highest $$ you paid for a single Charvel guitar.
Both questions remind me of my youth and are the same questions I asked my friends upon seeing all their Fender Teles on stands..of course my first question to them was why do you need more than one guitar, lol but I was a mere kid trying to understand how EVH did Eurption and did not have full blown G.A.S at that age.
Lets start with price and $$. This is subjective and the only real rules when it comes to value and money are supply and demand and its only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Having said that I will base this discussion on what I was comfortable paying for some of my Charvels back 6 years compared with today.
When I came on the scene in the late 90's I was hell bent to grab as many as I could because I loved them. At that time, I was strictly looking for Charvels with graphics (I lost out on some great plain janes, damn it!). Back then pointy neck Charvels with graphics and Kahler were usually $650ish and you see them sometimes on ebay sometimes on gbase. The value to me though was worth more, that is I was willing ot spend more to insure I was able to close the deal. I didn't care when bidding on ebay would go over the going price of $700ish. In fact I often threw in a top bid of some $1.6k to ensure I won. For the record most of the ones from ebay at that time I won for about $1K or so..some lower, some higher and I don't think I was ever outbid. The prices for this style (kahler, pointy) IMO has not increased that much in the past 5 or 6 years. The typical price now is $1.3k BUT the problem is that you have many more people throwing high bids down so the market value gets inflated. Hell me and Mr Annoyn just drove that Versatel Star w/added Floyd to over $2.6k on ebay. Why, because supply and demand, 2 people wanted the same guitar. I lost obviosuly and what is even funnier is that I had the deal wrapped up and paid for that guitar a few years ago when the seller first went to sell. Back then I had wrapped the deal up off line for $1500 shipped. His reserve at that time was a mere $600!!!
V-trem pointies always commanded more attention and hence $$. Average price back when I started was $850 or so. I came in and immediately started paying $1200 - 1400 for the clean ones, why because I wanted them and these are some of my faves. I am not good with money but have NEVER regretted over paying, why because I love them. Today the prices on clean v-trem pointies have really increased and I have lost bidding at $2k and even more for v-trem, graphic pointies in recent times. V-trems always seem to be more desirable and more people wanted to obtain one.
Strat Heads..I will pick up the story to when I started acquiring 100% legit examples. Like everyone, you learn by getting F'd in the ass and the first 3 Strat head Charvels I bought were all fakes, mutts or GMW refins.
I got my first legit strat head for $1600 the blueburst one hum, v-trem and my next one for $1350. Average price back then was $1500 and up with most being in the $1500 - 1800 range. Fast forward a mere 4 or 5 years and a Strat Head that is original and clean have sky rocketed. Most seem to start at $2.2k and most are hitting $4 and $5K. Yes I have paid over $5k for several of mine. Why because believe it or not thats the price it took for people to sell them. Some were not for sell at any price.
Strat Head Charvels that are all original, clean and especially with graphics have gotten semi crazy...easily most will hit $3k MINIMUM these days and top prices are over $5k.
So from a pure $$ side I think the Kahler equipped pointies are the best deals and the prices are somewhat stable. V-trem pointies have increased by about 20% and Strat Heads have increased by 500 or more %. In fact most highly collectible Strat Heads are sold without the general public knowing or hearing about them.
Top 5 Favorites within my collection:
1. White pointy 1 hum, kahler, red blood splatter
2. Parts Camo 1 hum, kahler, pointy with my $15 paint job
3. tie between RedRum and Gibson head explorer #1176
5. My recent purple w/cream splatter factory floyd 2 hum, pointy.
In general I prefer pointy necks but trems don't matter that much...Kahlers are cool as are floyds but I guess if I had to choose I would prefer v-trems.
Top 5: Most I paid for a Charvel guitar:
1. EVH Strat Head $5.5k
2. Bulls Eye Strat Head $5k
3. Explorer, 3 pku, kahler pointy $3.3k
4. Marilyn Monroe Pointy $3.5k
5. deal never went through..I offered $7k for a HRF 21 fret really earlier serialized Strat Head..was told not for sell at $7k.
Anyway as you can see $$ and desirability are not necessarily the same. I loved Marilyn from the first time I saw it and chased it for nearly 3 years offering stupid money (especially back then) until I got it. Some will say thats stupid/crazy but thats what I wanted and thats the price it took to won her not to mention they are so hard to find. No regrets!
Finally Top 5 Charvels I still like to own:
1. HRF Strat Head...searching for ever for one
2. EVH Strat Head but 21 fretter (love 21 fret necks)
3. Big mouth graphis pointy or start head
4. Flying V, 1 hum V-trem, pointy neck
5. Strat Head w/3 single coils TITE and v-trem
Of course as you know the above list will never end..lol...I love them all.
Anyway just my editorial for today..hope you enjoyed it..stay tuned for more topics.
Cheers
Tracy
Both questions remind me of my youth and are the same questions I asked my friends upon seeing all their Fender Teles on stands..of course my first question to them was why do you need more than one guitar, lol but I was a mere kid trying to understand how EVH did Eurption and did not have full blown G.A.S at that age.
Lets start with price and $$. This is subjective and the only real rules when it comes to value and money are supply and demand and its only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Having said that I will base this discussion on what I was comfortable paying for some of my Charvels back 6 years compared with today.
When I came on the scene in the late 90's I was hell bent to grab as many as I could because I loved them. At that time, I was strictly looking for Charvels with graphics (I lost out on some great plain janes, damn it!). Back then pointy neck Charvels with graphics and Kahler were usually $650ish and you see them sometimes on ebay sometimes on gbase. The value to me though was worth more, that is I was willing ot spend more to insure I was able to close the deal. I didn't care when bidding on ebay would go over the going price of $700ish. In fact I often threw in a top bid of some $1.6k to ensure I won. For the record most of the ones from ebay at that time I won for about $1K or so..some lower, some higher and I don't think I was ever outbid. The prices for this style (kahler, pointy) IMO has not increased that much in the past 5 or 6 years. The typical price now is $1.3k BUT the problem is that you have many more people throwing high bids down so the market value gets inflated. Hell me and Mr Annoyn just drove that Versatel Star w/added Floyd to over $2.6k on ebay. Why, because supply and demand, 2 people wanted the same guitar. I lost obviosuly and what is even funnier is that I had the deal wrapped up and paid for that guitar a few years ago when the seller first went to sell. Back then I had wrapped the deal up off line for $1500 shipped. His reserve at that time was a mere $600!!!
V-trem pointies always commanded more attention and hence $$. Average price back when I started was $850 or so. I came in and immediately started paying $1200 - 1400 for the clean ones, why because I wanted them and these are some of my faves. I am not good with money but have NEVER regretted over paying, why because I love them. Today the prices on clean v-trem pointies have really increased and I have lost bidding at $2k and even more for v-trem, graphic pointies in recent times. V-trems always seem to be more desirable and more people wanted to obtain one.
Strat Heads..I will pick up the story to when I started acquiring 100% legit examples. Like everyone, you learn by getting F'd in the ass and the first 3 Strat head Charvels I bought were all fakes, mutts or GMW refins.
I got my first legit strat head for $1600 the blueburst one hum, v-trem and my next one for $1350. Average price back then was $1500 and up with most being in the $1500 - 1800 range. Fast forward a mere 4 or 5 years and a Strat Head that is original and clean have sky rocketed. Most seem to start at $2.2k and most are hitting $4 and $5K. Yes I have paid over $5k for several of mine. Why because believe it or not thats the price it took for people to sell them. Some were not for sell at any price.
Strat Head Charvels that are all original, clean and especially with graphics have gotten semi crazy...easily most will hit $3k MINIMUM these days and top prices are over $5k.
So from a pure $$ side I think the Kahler equipped pointies are the best deals and the prices are somewhat stable. V-trem pointies have increased by about 20% and Strat Heads have increased by 500 or more %. In fact most highly collectible Strat Heads are sold without the general public knowing or hearing about them.
Top 5 Favorites within my collection:
1. White pointy 1 hum, kahler, red blood splatter
2. Parts Camo 1 hum, kahler, pointy with my $15 paint job
3. tie between RedRum and Gibson head explorer #1176
5. My recent purple w/cream splatter factory floyd 2 hum, pointy.
In general I prefer pointy necks but trems don't matter that much...Kahlers are cool as are floyds but I guess if I had to choose I would prefer v-trems.
Top 5: Most I paid for a Charvel guitar:
1. EVH Strat Head $5.5k
2. Bulls Eye Strat Head $5k
3. Explorer, 3 pku, kahler pointy $3.3k
4. Marilyn Monroe Pointy $3.5k
5. deal never went through..I offered $7k for a HRF 21 fret really earlier serialized Strat Head..was told not for sell at $7k.
Anyway as you can see $$ and desirability are not necessarily the same. I loved Marilyn from the first time I saw it and chased it for nearly 3 years offering stupid money (especially back then) until I got it. Some will say thats stupid/crazy but thats what I wanted and thats the price it took to won her not to mention they are so hard to find. No regrets!
Finally Top 5 Charvels I still like to own:
1. HRF Strat Head...searching for ever for one
2. EVH Strat Head but 21 fretter (love 21 fret necks)
3. Big mouth graphis pointy or start head
4. Flying V, 1 hum V-trem, pointy neck
5. Strat Head w/3 single coils TITE and v-trem
Of course as you know the above list will never end..lol...I love them all.
Anyway just my editorial for today..hope you enjoyed it..stay tuned for more topics.
Cheers
Tracy
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