New USA Charvels Suck ! ........

[spencer4hire]

I played a new Red Ghost Flame on close out a GC ($1500) and it had the sharpest fret ends OUCH! I thought I was playing a MIC Squier. I really wanted that guitar because of the finish. It was beauty to look at but it would be a bitch to live with. I guess you could have the frets dressed.

[neilli]

Custom Shop San Dimas Eldridge Hot wheels Flame strat for $2k!

Great price, but that's 'Eldred'

[MEX3]

I played a new Red Ghost Flame on close out a GC ($1500) and it had the sharpest fret ends OUCH! I thought I was playing a MIC Squier. I really wanted that guitar because of the finish. It was beauty to look at but it would be a bitch to live with. I guess you could have the frets dressed.

Sounds like the ones I've seen. There is no way in hell I would buy a new guitar that expensive that needed the frets worked on. If they can make em great, they don't ship them to the dealers I've been to.

[danastas]

I'm really surprised at this thread, since I've owned a few and never had a problem with the frets. I was in need of cash this summer when my wife gave birth to our first so I sold my Bullseye Charvel pointy, and that was one of the my favorite guitars. I loved the neck profile, the thing was perfect. I just recently scooped up my substitute over Christmas, a Charvel Strathead with a Learn graphic, and I couldn't be happier. Plays very well, and all my friends love the goofy tollkeeper skulls. I get to rock out like it's 1984!

[toejam]

I played a new Red Ghost Flame on close out a GC ($1500) and it had the sharpest fret ends OUCH! I thought I was playing a MIC Squier. I really wanted that guitar because of the finish. It was beauty to look at but it would be a bitch to live with. I guess you could have the frets dressed.

Sounds like the ones I've seen. There is no way in hell I would buy a new guitar that expensive that needed the frets worked on. If they can make em great, they don't ship them to the dealers I've been to.

That's got more to do with climate... wood expands and shrinks. It probably didn't leave the factory with the frets sticking out. It's not unheard of for a guitar to come across the country on a truck and be a little out of whack from different temperatures.

[Joe_Steeler]

That's got more to do with climate... wood expands and shrinks. It probably didn't leave the factory with the frets sticking out. It's not unheard of for a guitar to come across the country on a truck and be a little out of whack from different temperatures.

You are absolutely right, however there is something to be said for the drying procedures used by for instance PRS. In all the years I have been playing and checking out PRS guitars I am yet to see one with a fret sprout problem.
Same can be said for all the Strats I own.

I did purchase a Charvel NAMM piece, 2004 Summer NAMM to be exact. Comments have been made about the absolute quality of NAMM pieces as they are show pieces. Well..... this thing sprouted like a sun of gun. Frets were sticking out BOTH sides of the neck by an average of 1/64", enough to make the trek up and down quite slashy, I would say.
I decided to take it to a local shop, got them filed down, polished and the thing plays like butter.
It was not a deal breaker but a nuisance.

[StukaJU87]

$1800 at GC?

You need to shop around.

Agreed. First off, I am no fan of the Strat shape. I was at my local GC the other day. They had a new black single hum Floyded pointy head with ebony and dots. I gotta tell you, I was very tempted at the $1300 that was on the tag. What a nice guitar it was. If it were a Star, I probably would have tried to swing a deal.

[savage]

I could never believe ANY charvel could suck
i know they may not be as great as the originals but i still want several of em

[shreddermon]

You are absolutely right, however there is something to be said for the drying procedures used by for instance PRS. In all the years I have been playing and checking out PRS guitars I am yet to see one with a fret sprout problem. Same can be said for all the Strats I own.

That's not so much an issue with wood drying/curing. It's more due to the difference between oiled necks and finished necks. Oiled necks are MUCH more susceptible to environmental factors, like changes in humidity. So oiled necks, like the Charvels, expand and contract depending on the environment more so than those that have a hard finish. A Charvel neck could be perfectly filed when leaving the custom shop, and feel quite different when arriving at a dealer in a different climate just a few days later.

That's why you see this issue less with PRS and Fender Strats - their necks both have "hard" finishes, either gloss or satin. The hard finish means they are less effected by humidity and other environmental changes. (...BTW, notice that we're not seeing many folks complain about this issue with Jackson neck-throughs? ) I've heard that newly-built Wolfgangs - also oiled - were notorious for sprouting "fret fangs" after leaving the factory.

It's not "poor fretwork" - I'm afraid, it's just one of the trade-offs of having that great, slick feeling of an oiled neck. And, if it bothers you that much, it's a reasonably cheap and easy job to have a qualified tech do a quick file-down of the fret edges.

[Zerberus]

I cannot share the original poster´s sentiments in any way. All of the new SD Charvels I´ve played (all pointies, but a few CS ones as well) were a more than worthy successor to the original pointies. One had some minor "end stickage" on the treble side, esp. in the range between the 5th and 15th frets, but nothing really horrible. Of course a few didn´t resonate as well as the others, but there weren´t any real dogs in the selections I´ve played....

If you´re buying guitars @GC you´re probably paying MAP anyway and should consider saving a shitload by contacting a dealer out of the "dealers" section of this board.

Either way, the original post looks more like a disgruntled person trying to stir shit up than someone that´s actually interested in a senseful discusssion of the topic at hand, esp. judging by things such as the "alder" reference.

It´s easy to take other´s complaints on single instruments and voice them as your own criticism towards an entire brand. But it´s much harder to do that and have someone lend you any credibility, especially when most of those that have verifiably played them have detected no such issues or notably less at best.

[savage]

the original post looks more like a disgruntled person trying to stir shit up than someone that´s actually interested in a senseful discusssion of the topic at hand, esp. judging by things such as the "alder" reference.

It´s easy to take other´s complaints on single instruments and voice them as your own criticism towards an entire brand. But it´s much harder to do that and have someone lend you any credibility, especially. when most of those that have verifiably played them have detected no such issues or notably less at best.

[Robert Burns]

Oh you think im done screwing with Grammar? LOL

Thats just the first of "many" to come from my stupid yap! Thanks for
the correction! :-)

[bergsheil]

too bad they can't splurge and use Birdeye maple on the new ones...
I haven't played one but they look cheap, especially the necks.

[RR05xx]

They do use birdseye on the new ones, if you ask of course:

[Rupe]

I've played a mix of good and bad. I've seen terrible fretwork that goes beyond sharp fret ends due to shrinkage, poor neck joints, and the finish lifting on the headstock...and I've also seen some (most of the DCGL Stratheads) that were exceptional in their build quality. Inconsistancy seems to be the issue IMO. From my experience, buying one without the luxury of playing it first would be a risky proposition.