EVH Art Series

[danastas]

OK, so I did a search on EVH and art series and I couldn't find a single thread devoted to them. I'm guessing this has been discussed before but it isn't popping up on the search engine.

Leaving out all discussions about price and value what's good about these guitars? what's the bad?

I have one and I have to say it's my best balanced guitar, it just feels right when I play it. The body is solid and produces some incredible mid-range tones. The pickups seem to nail Eddie's sound, and really it's the kind of guitar one should play--all the time--despite Charvel's ad that it's an art piece that should be collected and kept in the closet. It's just not that fine. It needs to be PLAYED.

The main reason I started the thread is that I wanted to know how everyone felt about the EVH neck. It's a one piece maple, and though it's not especially thick, it plays a lot thicker than I expected. The nut width at 1 5/8 seemed designed for smaller hands, but the fact is I can get around some of my 1 3/4 nuts better than I can with the EVH. I really appreciate the thickness near the body though because it allows me to dig in when I play the upper frets. All in all, this doesn't really have the taper of the San Dimas necks.

I guess I'm saying, I like the body, I like the sound, but I'm only so-so on the neck. Slap a San Dimas on this thing and you're good to go.

[owlhead]

I've played three of these and they were pretty consisitent. Its a very solid guitar, but the neck was nothing special. It doesn't compare to the feel of my GMW neck.

[RR05xx]

Paint jobs are fantastic. Fit and finish is good from what I have seen. However, the neck is like no charvel I have ever laid hands on, particularly when compared an old original SD wide/thin charvel neck. Way too round and chunky for my taste. I guess these are supposed to be to eddie's specs, so I guess I do not like eddie's specs. Sounds like you like yours and thats all that matters IMHO anyway.

[hippietim]

I've got a RWB one and had a BW one for a while. They're fantastic. My Wolfgang was up for sale within a month I think - the Charvel is a much better guitar for my hands and ears .

[5074charvel]

The neck. It´s the neck I don´t get along with. Same with the MusiMan or Peavey EVH models. The neck is not cool. If they would be more like J/C I´d probably play a EVH charvel myself, even with a Floyd Rose.

[texasfury]

"The pickups seem to nail Eddie's sound"

Which sound? His sustained and snarling tone from VH1, the thicker less distorted sound from VH2 to 1984, or the more glassy version from 5150 on up?

[Jack71]

The neck. It´s the neck I don´t get along with. Same with the MusiMan or Peavey EVH models. The neck is not cool. If they would be more like J/C I´d probably play a EVH charvel myself, even with a Floyd Rose.

Hmmmm. I've always thought the necks on the Wolfgangs were some of the best I've ever felt. It's the body shape that kinda turns me off. Plus, I've never heard anything positive about basswood. How come Eddie uses it in all of his guitars?

[slash-ed]

How come Joe Satriani does? Or Paul Gilbert does? Or Steve Vai does (on all the non 7WH ones anyway)?

[RR05xx]

Hmmmm. I've always thought the necks on the Wolfgangs were some of the best I've ever felt. It's the body shape that kinda turns me off. Plus, I've never heard anything positive about basswood. How come Eddie uses it in all of his guitars?

Ever lay hands on an old SD s-head?

[danastas]

Jeff Beck too.

[hippietim]

The neck. It´s the neck I don´t get along with. Same with the MusiMan or Peavey EVH models. The neck is not cool. If they would be more like J/C I´d probably play a EVH charvel myself, even with a Floyd Rose.

You're right that the EVH Art Series neck is quite different from a typical Charvel. At the same time it's nothing like a Musicman or Peavey - they're not even close IMO.

[kenneth]

I think I remember reading something on the history of Steve Vai's Jem, that he requested basswood because he felt that it created less feedback when played at high volume. That's about the only thing I can think that all those guys - Eddie, Gilbert, Vai, Satriani - might have in common in terms of criteria for getting their own guitar built - they all play live at extremely loud volumes.

[Shwayman11]

Paint jobs are fantastic. Fit and finish is good from what I have seen. However, the neck is like no charvel I have ever laid hands on, particularly when compared an old original SD wide/thin charvel neck. Way too round and chunky for my taste. I guess these are supposed to be to eddie's specs, so I guess I do not like eddie's specs. Sounds like you like yours and thats all that matters IMHO anyway.

from what ive heard is that the production Art Series necks are nothing like Ed's specs. His personal Art Series guitars were made with neck specs more like his Peavey and Musicman guitars while the production ones werent.

[RR05xx]

Hmmm. Now that is really weird IMHO. I had assumed that b/c the art series necks felt nothing like a "charvel", that they must have been an eddie thing (while I like EVH, I am not really that interested in what he uses for specs on guitars and have not really even been interested in any of his music made after '84 , let alone the peavey and musicman guitars he may have played since then).

[Seventh Avenged]

"that he requested basswood because he felt that it created less feedback when played at high volume."

ha!!!

where was Jake E. Lee when all these basswood converts were roaming the earth!

sorry, i love you jake E. Lee.