Newbie to Charvel. Need help

[dafunk]

Long story short. I bought a Charvel by Jackson/Charvel (which I gathered from searching this forum is an eighties Japanese model? It's got humbucker in the bridge and a mini humbucker [rails] in the neck, a five way selector switch, and a volume control. No tone control.) off ebay and I couldn't wait to plug it in. I've had Fenders and Gibsons, but I was really looking forward to hearing this Charvel. The bottom line is the Floyd Rose Tremelo system sits down inside the body of the guitar so that even if you use the whammy bar to pull the trem way up the strings still sit on the fretboard. I don't know a lot about guitars, but I know that on my strat with a Floyd Rose, the trem sits up on top of the body. Did someone replace the trem with the wrong one, or is it missing a critical piece of hardware?
Hopefully some of you can help, I'm really looking forward to plugging this thing in.
Thank you
Shawn

[Speiro]

Welcome to the forum. Can you put some photos up, it will make answering a whole lot easier.

[neilli]

That's a recessed trem you have there. Not sure of the problem, but from your description "the strings still sit on the fretboard" it sounds like the bridge has just been screwed down too low.....

[dafunk]

Not sure how to post pictures, trying to figure it out. Is it normal that the trem comes right out when you remove the springs in the back of the guitar?

[dg]

Yeah, the trem is held in place by the tension of the strings pulling from the top & the springs pulling from the bottom. The knife edges of the trem should be seated in the notches of the trem posts. I've seen a few times when somebody buys a used guitar & it shows up with the knife edges sitting on the threads below the notches in the posts. That would definitely make the strings sit too low. Otherwise, something is wrong with the setup. The bridge may be set too low or the string/spring balance may be out of whack & the trem isn't sitting level. If it's tilted way back, the strings will also end up really low. We need pics. Here's the pic posting tutorial:

http://www.jcfonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29708

[dafunk]

O.k. Let's try this. http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a113/youtalkndame/DSC02587.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a113/youtalkndame/DSC02586.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a113/youtalkndame/DSC02585.jpg
Hopefully these help. There has to be something wrong. You can look right through the guitar at the bridge. I'm pretty sure the blades (if I know what you're talking about) are in the right place.
Thanks for your help so far.

[VitaminG]

everything looks fine there. The only problem is that in the last pic you don't have any strings on the guitar to counteract the pull of the springs in the back.

If you check the Tech section, you'll find everything you need to get that bridge strung up, setup & swinging. And if you still have trouble getting her working right, post pics of your progress and we'll help you out.

[JACKSONFREAK]

hmm sounds like a predator.. Those are sweet guitars. It sounds like the trem is just down to far in the recess. Just turn the posts with an allen wrench and
raise them a bit like a half turn. then check the string hieght again. Adjust posts up or down as needed till you find that spot where there is no fret buzzing and it plays the way you want it too.
Gil

[dafunk]

Well, thanks everyone for the help. I got it set up properly (I think), which included tightening the screws that hold the spring plate in the back. I found it hard to put the thing down. I've mostly owned Gibsons and Fenders, so this is a nice change. I like the sound of the guitar (high gain distortion of course), so that brings me to the next question. Without telling you how much I paid, I'd like to ask what it's worth. JACKSON FREAK said it sounds like a Predator. I couldn't find too many of those for sale so it was hard to make a comparison. There are no names on the guitar. The neck plate says Charvel, and it's got a six digit serial number starting with a 3. Other than that there are no markings on the guitar (except the Charvel on the neck).
Mostly though I wanted to thank you guys for helping me, I thought I bought a basket case at first, but now she's up and running!
Shawn

[RacerX]

Post better pics
200-400
See ya in the Classifieds!

[straycat]

Well that being an import the value is not all that much.These are great guitars we all love them and thats why we collect and play them.The older vintage USA Charvels are where the big bucks are.Hang around here and become a contributing forum member and you will learn tons of info on these fine guitars.

[VitaminG]

given that you referred to it as "Charvel by Jackson/Charvel", I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and suggest that it had the guitar-shaped logo?

In which case, it's not a Predator.

does it have a reverse headstock? If so, I believe it may be a Model 3DR, with the 3-way switch changed for a 5-way

[dafunk]

Here's some better pics. Don't get me wrong, I know this is not worth a whole lot. I'm just hoping I didn't get taken on ebay. I paid about $160 and it came out to about $190 after shipping. I feel that it's worth it and I know that's what really matters. I'm just curious as to whether or not that's about right for that guitar.
Shawn

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a113/youtalkndame/DSC02588.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a113/youtalkndame/DSC02589.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a113/youtalkndame/DSC02590.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a113/youtalkndame/DSC02591.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a113/youtalkndame/DSC02593.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a113/youtalkndame/DSC02594.jpg

[kelly user]

if you copy one of the other urls then they won't be links but actual pictures. i like the slanted rail there. don't know how much its worth but i'd pay what you paid for it, sound reasonable.

[dg]

Predator. They were made from '89 - '91. Here are some catalog scans:

http://www.audiozone.dk/CatalogScans/Ch1989Imports/pages/Ch1989Imports02.htm

http://www.audiozone.dk/CatalogScans/JC19901991/pages/Page26.htm

I think you did great at $190 shipped. I've seen them go for around $300 or a little more depending on condition.