So do I have a Fusion? Or not?

[wannabguitarist]

So my house mate bought this guitar off a friend of his who claimed it was an old Charvel. The body looks like a fusion body but I can't tell anything else about the guitar. The neck feels nice and has Jackson tuners but no logo or markings on it (was supposedly replaced during the guitar's hard life). The troubling thing is all 24 frets lined up perfectly with the spare RG neck I had which would make it a 24.75in scale. The neck plate also says FT Worth Texas on it so does that mean it's a USA? How would I properly measure the body/neck scale to see if everything worked out? Is there a way to tell the specific scale length for each part separately? I figure worst case sceanario he bought a fusion body loaded with duncans for $130. Best case

[slash]

A charvel Fort Worth neck plate is from the MIJ import guitars. To check the scale of the neck measure from the nut to the 12th fret then double that measurement and this will tell the scale the neck is made for. If the neck is correctly matched with the body the measurement from the 12th fret to the bridge saddles should be the same as the measurement from the nut to the 12th fret.

[RacerX]

Ft Worth plate = Made In Japan

This should be # 1 in the FAQ

[Rich#6]

when did RGs become short scale?:think:

[Newc]

I once put a Jackson Fusion USA neck on a WRMG body. Intonated just fine. Charvel750 has also stated he put Fusion necks on full-scale bodies and they intonated just fine.

[tonemonster]

wow, thats interesting. I never knew that a short scale would work on a long scale body. hmmm.........

[DonP]

I once put a Jackson Fusion USA neck on a WRMG body. Intonated just fine. Charvel750 has also stated he put Fusion necks on full-scale bodies and they intonated just fine.

I've been saying that since 2005.

The body might be a Charvel Fusion Deluxe body, but Charvettes used that style as well. Try to find out if it's plywood or not. The Trem Route is for a JT590, so that would make me think it's a real Fusion.

The good JT590 Trem has been stolen and JT580LP put on in it's place.

That headstock looks wrong. Not long and thin enough. Might be camera angle...

Those dot markers look wrong. Too wide spacing.

I'm suspecting it's an aftermarket neck.

[Newc]

Definitely not a Charvel neck.

Also, wasn't the neck pickup of the Fusion closer to the neck, and the Charvette further away like this one?

[moku]

this link will be useful to you: http://www.franx.at/Jackson/Charvel/Charvel.htm
it's a fusioni delux body. not sure of the neck. might be charvel; might be chandler. trem, pup obviously swapped out.

[DonP]

Also, wasn't the neck pickup of the Fusion closer to the neck, and the Charvette further away like this one?

I never checked that before. I always assumed certain Charvettes used left over Fusion Deluxe bodies

[moku]

at least according to the pics on the link i posted above, a charvette 170 (the closest resemblance to the guitar in question) has non-recessed floyd cavity, whereas a fusion delux has recessed. also the slanted neck pup is closer to the neck on the charvette, not a charvel.

[moku]

Definitely not a Charvel neck.

for my own learning and curiosity, what makes you so sure it's not a charvel neck?

[dg]

Those super wide-spaced 12th fret dots don't appear on any Charvel pointy-headstock neck. You find wide dots like that on Charvettes and some of the Korean-made Charvels (with different headstock shapes) that came later in the '90s.

It's possible that it may be a Charvette 170 from a later year than the catalog that Franx's pic comes from. That one has the JT-6 and a neck with narrow dot spacing, which means it was one of the better early ones that were made in Japan. They quit using the JT-6 trem after the first year or so and made some other changes as well. I believe all the models ended up being made in Korea and had the necks with wide dots. The question is whether that model was available with maple fretboard.

It could also be a Fusion with a Charvette neck. Fusion necks can be hard to find, and people have put a Charvette 170 or 270 neck on them, since they're short-scale.

[wannabguitarist]

It's basswood if that helps anymore. One of the trem studs is ripped out because the hole got ovaled. I don't want to fix it for him until we actually know what it is

[moku]

Those super wide-spaced 12th fret dots don't appear on any Charvel pointy-headstock neck. You find wide dots like that on Charvettes and some of the Korean-made Charvels (with different headstock shapes) that came later in the '90s.

It's possible that it may be a Charvette 170 from a later year than the catalog that Franx's pic comes from. That one has the JT-6 and a neck with narrow dot spacing, which means it was one of the better early ones that were made in Japan. They quit using the JT-6 trem after the first year or so and made some other changes as well. I believe all the models ended up being made in Korea and had the necks with wide dots. The question is whether that model was available with maple fretboard.

It could also be a Fusion with a Charvette neck. Fusion necks can be hard to find, and people have put a Charvette 170 or 270 neck on them, since they're short-scale.

thanks for replying and for sharing the helpful knowledge!