what's the diff between a san dimas and model body?

[alfredpotter]

Are they a different shape or something? Can someone clear this up?
Cheers

[sonicsamurai]

model series were made in japan and are basswood i believe

[alfredpotter]

Oh no I mean comparing the shape of the san dimas bodies and the model series bodies

[quiksilver]

I'll be interested to learn more about this, too. I think the control cavity route in the back is different between the two.

But other than that, as far as I know, the body itself, whether San Dimas or Model series, is just a Strat body shape, with a 3/8" corner radius instead of Fender's 1/2" corner radius.

Then again, while I've played a few Model series Charvels, I've never had the pleasure to hold an original from the San Dimas era. I expect that some of our collectors will add more info soon.

[charvel750]

The main difference can be seen when we examine the molecular structure. While it's well known that different woods contain various spores of a certain pattern, the simple theories of bonding that we learned in General Chemistry are powerful and useful. These theories, which include Lewis structures, VSEPR, and hybridization, are simple models that help predict chemical properties. However, Lewis dot structures and hybridization are approximations that may or may not match reality. We should verify the usefulness of our simple predictions with molecular orbital theory. If the theoretical calculations are done carefully, we can learn a lot about chemical structure by comparing our Lewis structures and hybridization arguments with the molecular orbitals. So the San Dimas models would reflect the following molecular structures:

H3+ Li2O BeH2 BeCl2 diborane BH3 BH2CN BH2SH
BF3 BF32- BF4+ BF2O- BCl3 BH3NH3 BH3CO BH3PH3 BO2NO
C3 C5 H2O H3O+ H4O+ O3 O4 CO2 OCS cyclic CO2 CO2- HCO+ HOC+
N3 radical N3 quartet HN3 N3- NCO HNCNH CNNO
NO2 NO2+ NO2- HOON NOO- NO2- triplet NO22+ NO3- NO3-triplet NO2O-
N2O cyclic N2O cyclic N2O2 N2O4 NO2NO
ONOOH N2H2 N2H2 triplet H2NN H2NN triplet NH2F NHF2 NF3 NF4- N2F2 N2F4 BNHF
HNCl+ NH2Cl N3Cl NCl2 NCl3 NOCl ONCl NClO ClNO2 ClNOO t-ClONO OCl2
OF2 FOO• FOOF FNO2 FOON F3- Cl3- Cl3F ClF2+
AlH3 AlF3 AlCl3 Al2Cl6
SiH4 SiH3SiH3 SiO2
P2 PCl3 SO2 SO3 SO3- SOCl2 SO2Cl2 ClO2 ClOO ClO2+ ClO2- ClOO-
FClO FClO2 K2O

:p

[nhspike]

Finally that topic gets cleared up once and for all!
Thanks charvel750!

[dg]

While most Model Series Charvels had the Ontario control rout, some of the early Model 1 & 2s have the same control cavity shape a San Dimas Charvel. With the cover off, you can tell the difference, though. The San dimas cavity has a shelf that matches the shape of the rout all the way around, while the Model 1 or 2 rout will have a shelf that looks different in the corners and there is a widening in the area of the volume pot. Usually a San Dimas Charvel will have the brass ground plate as well.

The length of the belly cut is the biggest and easiest difference to see between the two. San Dimas belly cuts are longer, and will extend to just beyond the trem cavity cover (if the guitar has one), while a Model Series belly cut will not extend to the end of the trem cavity cover (we're only talking about the bolt-ons here, not the neckthroughs w/ dinky bodies). There is also a subtle difference in the shapes of the lower horn & cutout. A San Dimas has a bit more of a wider, "open" shape to the cutout. It's hard to describe, but easy to see in a side-by-side comparison.

[charvel750]

Yeah, but what about the molecular chemistry? :O

[alfredpotter]

hahahaha,

But seriously I tried to compare the two (using pictures) and I can't see what the difference is. I may be imagining it but the model series do seem to have a flatter bottom than the san dimas.

[Cygnus X1]

lycergic dichlorethlyne, perhaps?
(I read the Doors of Perception, that's the extent of my chemistry knowledge).

[dg]

hahahaha,

But seriously I tried to compare the two (using pictures) and I can't see what the difference is. I may be imagining it but the model series do seem to have a flatter bottom than the san dimas.

Here's the back of a Model 2 body from eBay:




Here's a shot of the back of one of the new Charvels (same shape & contours as original SD):





The belly cut difference is really obvious in these shots. The lower cutout & horn difference is not as easy to see here. It's subtle, but you can kinda see how the tip of the USA horn almost begins to curve upward, and the Model 2's doesn't. The SD cutout is a bit more round & full. I can't find any shots of the Model 1 or 2 control cavity. If I run across any, I'll post 'em. There's a huge difference there, which can help if someone ever tries to modify the belly cut to fake one.


And Joe, you forgot to mention the biggest difference: the Mojo Capacitor hidden in the SD neckplates.