Why didn't Jackson / Charvel ever...???

[Newc]

Re: Why didn\'t Jackson / Charvel ever...???

Plus all the scrawny little Cali boys like Lynch and such were too small to sling an LP around [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/poke.gif[/img]

Y'know now that you mention it, while there were roundhorn Charvel Vs and a few Jackson Vs back in the 80s, I wonder how they were able to make Firebird Pros but not roundhorn V Pros?

They *almost* had an SG, though, til Pat Lachman left [img]/images/graemlins/poke.gif[/img]

[Chuckracer]

Re: Why didn\'t Jackson / Charvel ever...???

Chucksplatter summed it up best. It was because at the time, Les Pauls were uncool in the New Era of Metal. Yeah, you had a couple of guys playing them, but how many of those guys wound up with a "Superstrat" in the eighties?
You could buy Les Pauls in pawnshops for $300 all day long in the eighties. I remember there being racks of them. They were totally uncool.
Then, along came Slash, and overnight Les Pauls were cool again.

[BLOOD SPLATTER]

Re: Why didn\'t Jackson / Charvel ever...???

[img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]!! [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img]!!

[gtrbuyer]

Re: Why didn\'t Jackson / Charvel ever...???

[ QUOTE ]
Chucksplatter summed it up best. It was because at the time, Les Pauls were uncool in the New Era of Metal. Yeah, you had a couple of guys playing them, but how many of those guys wound up with a "Superstrat" in the eighties?
You could buy Les Pauls in pawnshops for $300 all day long in the eighties. I remember there being racks of them. They were totally uncool.
Then, along came Slash, and overnight Les Pauls were cool again.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yelp agree, in fact I was a Les Paul player back then when all my friends had Jacksons, Kramers, ESP etc...and they were indeed cheap.

I was buying used Les Pauls for about $650 or so, in fact late 70's Strats with added hums and Floyds were going for more at that time!!

[MBreinin]

Re: Why didn\'t Jackson / Charvel ever...???

I gave a LP Custom in natural, no less, for a beat '71 Strat in the late '80s...and had to put up $100. In the metal and rock world, the Gibsons weren't considered cool...that is certainly true. Also, keep in mind that the early '80s Britihs invasion was dominated by a "thin" Strat sound...and that was what people in pop were looking for.

However, outside of metal and pop, plenty of guys were still playing Gibsons. Billy Gibbons was still out there with Les Pauls, Johnny Winter was still cranking away on his Firebirds as was Gatemouth Brown. In blues, you still had plenty of guys working Gibsons....

I think the LP was just a prohibitively expensive and time consuming guitar to build for J/C. Carved tops, set necks, etc. In the early, Pre-Jackson, days Charvels were basically bolt together component guitars with special options. Very un-Les Paul like.

Mike

[VitaminG]

Re: Why didn\'t Jackson / Charvel ever...???

[ QUOTE ]
Then, along came Slash, and overnight Les Pauls were cool again.

[/ QUOTE ]
And here I was, giving Britny Fox all the credit. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Joe_Steeler]

Re: Why didn\'t Jackson / Charvel ever...???

The Strat was an easy and cool fix. Think about it, the body contours were already there, for the most part Strats were offered in solid colors so you never felt bad about painting over a "cool" flamed maple top, Strats are lightweight and comfortable and bolt-on necks are easy to manipulate to get in a FR.

LPs are HEAVY, what are you going to do to hot rod it? machine away 1/2" worth of mahogany?
Are you going to machine in body contours as well?
What are you going to do to put in a FR and need to tilt the neck a little on a LP? remove the neck?

Can you thin down a LP neck and make it as fast as an SL-1?

IMHO, I do not see or feel the LP being a candidate for modifications aside from the normal pup swap.
LPs have a big hand in rock for sure and certainly have their spots, hot rodding 80's shredding machines ain't one of those.

[MBreinin]

Re: Why didn\'t Jackson / Charvel ever...???

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Then, along came Slash, and overnight Les Pauls were cool again.

[/ QUOTE ]
And here I was, giving Britny Fox all the credit. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Or Tom Keifer, or the guys from The Bullet Boys, or Joe Perry...........