EVH Art Guitars---WHY?

[1979Charvel]

Why is it that so many people are buying and then turning these things on ebay? What is it, the neck feel, sound?

[Cory]

IMHO they are are nice guitars that are way overpriced.

[LesPaulCustom]

Why is it that so many people are buying and then turning these things on ebay?

That's like asking "why do people break up and get divorced?"

They are nice guitars....just not for everybody...I played a couple owned by a friend of mine....one was a complete dog IMO..the other was much better....again, IMO.

People flip guitars daily around here...even if you test drive one and say "hey, this is awesome" in the initial exhuberence then the proverbial honeymoon is over some time later maybe.

Guitars are very personal things...

Why ask why??

[MikeStrat]

I think it’s a novelty guitar. I also think some people (not all) believe that having that guitar will make play better (like Eddie). And if you own one and play VH songs in a band, you better be able to represent. If not, you're going to look like an idiot with a cool guitar. I think these guitars are ending up being expensive pieces of artwork and people are eventually realizing this. Although, I can’t say I’ve seen a ton of them on ebay.

[dg]

Just did a quick check, and 7 out of 8 of them are being sold by dealers. Of the ones being flipped, my guess is that finances are the #1 reason people end up selling. People run up huge credit card debts, then reality hits. If they also happen to have an adjustable rate mortgage, it's not a fun time right now.

[dannyr]

Agreed. Most of the ones you see for sale are dealers trying to move stale inventory. These are great guitars but they have an expensive price tag. Also, they are not for everyone. To me they are more of a novelty guitar, not a guitar you will play on stage. So, when some people need $ for financial reasons, these are the first guitars they sell.

[danastas]

I don't want to bag on any of you, but have you guys ever played one? They are great guitars. They play great, sound great. Great custom humbucker, the body is bigger than other Jackson bodies, and it just resonates. Seriously, they are not novelty guitars.

A lot of people on this board own them and love them, and play them regularly. A lot of people also bought them brand new, but NOT for $2,700.

Just look at EBAY, the retailers are selling them for $1500-$2000. And the rumor is that Jackson has stopped producing them.

[LesPaulCustom]

I don't want to bag on any of you, but have you guys ever played one? They are great guitars.

That's arguable...and I'm not jumping on the old vs new bandwagon

I played one, it was nice...not saying I would want to own one...but that doesn't mean that another person wouldn't absoutley rave about it and play it often.

The only point I made is this...what is great to one player isn't to antother even on the same guitar...custom shop or production is irrelevent.

[Strat God]

I play mine out at every gig. We only do one VH song but it has been my main axe. I'm actually looking to trade it for an Ibanez UVMC plus cash right now.



The EVH is not made by Jackson, it's a Charvel...which makes me wonder if the folks bashing it here have actually played one yet.

[BLOOD SPLATTER]

"IMHO they are are nice guitars that are way overpriced"

....+1....bazillion!!

[shreddermon]

You see a lot of clowns on Ebay looking to flip them for a profit. I think there's a misperception among some out there that these are rare and low/no discount sellers. I also suspect some of them are guys who overpaid when they bought early in the run and don't realize that, as time has gone by and they became more widely available, they're not as highly sought after as before and are selling at much lower discounts than they originally bought at.

[shelby22]

I play mine out at every gig. We only do one VH song but it has been my main axe. I'm actually looking to trade it for an Ibanez UVMC plus cash right now.



The EVH is not made by Jackson, it's a Charvel...which makes me wonder if the folks bashing it here have actually played one yet.

Nice setup....Wow.

[surfreak]

What puzzles me is, novelty aside, they are objectively designed to be THE most toneful instruments in the Charvel range, except for the natural mahogany line:

- lightweight basswood body
- slightly thicker maple neck
- flatmount non-recessed FR
- direct mounted custom pickup

The only drawback tonewise is the usual thick poly lacquer, perhaps a thin, spraycan-style paint job would be better and more correct to the original...

Compare them to the other Charvel stuff which seems to find more general acceptance, at least around here:

- scarf-joint necks, very thin, with (in the case of pointies) no straight string path

- alder bodies with little consistency in terms of quality (some really heavy, some really light, 2-, 3-piece, who knows...)

- floating vintage tremolos which don't stay in tune, or floating or recessed FR's, which don't sound that great.

- thick, tone robbing poly coats

- ring-mounted pickups, some of which sound great (SD's etc), others which are the negation of tone (EMG)

But I guess all this doesn't matter much, as long as there's a "killer" paint job to drool over...

[shreddermon]

I don't know about anyone else, but the paint/poly on my EVH is a lot thinner than any of my other Charvels.

And, while I don't disagree with the tone "enhancements" you mention above, IMHO they make little difference once you plug into a high gain amp. To each his own.

[MikeStrat]

I want to clarify my statement so feathers don't ruffled. By novelty, I don't mean cheap or not quality. I've played them and they play like any other high end Charvel which is awesome. What makes it a novelty for me is the signature graphic. Same as a George Lynch ESP guitar. I'm a huge EVH and J/C fan but I've never had the desire to get one of these for the reasons I mentioned prior. I love my PC1's but if that same exact guitar had a signature Phil Collen graphic, I never would have bought one.