Bought a matching 1990 Charvel Eliminator bass for my 275 Deluxe

[aoresteen]

I bought this Charvel bass off of eBay:

1990 Charvel Eliminator auction 110774676980

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110774676980?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

I have a pawn shop 275 Deluxe (at first I thought it was a Predator) that is a 1990 or so vintage and is red.

http://www.jcfonline.com/threads/28982-Pawn-Shop-Charvel

When I saw the Eliminator I could not resist having a matched pair! Red, black hardware and it has the Toothpaste logo!


So what's the scoop on the Eliminator bass? Was it a dog or is it a decent bass? Did I overpay at $183? From what I can find out it was only available for a couple of years.

Thanks!

[aoresteen]

Still waiting on the post office to deliver it. Picked up an Ibanez SW65 bass amp to have in my office. This waiting is driving me nuts!

[aoresteen]

The bass arrived yesterday and was as described. The neck was bowed and a knob was missing. But it was in overall very nice shape except the action was high (seller described this as well so not a surprise).

My first surprise is that it is an ACTIVE bass! I didn't realize this when I bid on it. I replaced the battery with a fresh one just to be sure.

Bought a set of D'Addario EXL170 bright round wound strings .045 to .100. Took off the the truss rod cover and got another surprise: it uses a truss rod nut not an allen screw. Turns out it's 8mm (5/16" fits). Off to Sam Ash for a wrench.

Since I didn't know the guitar I LOOSENED the truss rod nut first to make sure it wasn't jammed. Then I started tighting it up. I gave it 1/2 turn and put the strings on. Bringing it up to pitch the neck was still bowed. Lossened the strings, tightened the nut, re-tuned. Still bowed. Repeat. Much better but did it again with a 1/4 turn. Dead on.

The old strings were much heavier than the EXL170 set. With the neck bow gone the action was very good. I suspect a previous owner put heavier strings on but never adjusted the neck for them. Over time the heavy strings bowed the neck.

Intonation was way off on all strings except the A string which was real close. The D string might need the sadlle raised a bit but I'll let it sit overnight and re-check the set up.

The bass now plays very nicley and sounds great. I ordered a replacement knob for it so that will be fixed when the knob comes in. Tomorrow I'll get a nice gig bag for it.

I'm very happy with this bass and it was a bargin at $183. It's a keeper!

[Axegrinder87]

Congrats on the score! I'm not familiar with this model, but I say if it plays good, and sounds good, then you've got a good deal and a keeper.

[aoresteen]

Congrats on the score! I'm not familiar with this model, but I say if it plays good, and sounds good, then you've got a good deal and a keeper.

Thanks! They were made for only two years so there's not a lot of Eliminators out there. I don't know why it was dropped but it's a very nicely made bass. 24 frets. Well worth seeking out IMHO now that I have one in my hands and played it awhile. The bridge is marked 'Jackson' and is very good.

[Axegrinder87]

What years? Bolt on or neck through?

[aoresteen]

As I understand it they were made in 1990 and 1991. Necks bolt on.

[itstooloudmike]

I have a mint Eliminator in the cobalt blue color, that I picked up in the mid 90s, with the original molded hard case. I'm not a dedicated bassist, and really only play occasionally, or to track bass parts on my recordings. I have found the Eliminator to be a very good bass. It's well balanced, not overly heavy, and sounds really good. I like the active pickups. You can get great Jazz Bass sounds, along with great P-Bass sounds. I've never thought about selling mine. It's worth much more to me as a musical tool than it is probably worth in dollars. But for anyone needing a good inexpensive bass, I would highly recommend an Eliminator.

[Nimitz]

Very nice man congratulations!!!

[amimbari]

I always did like red and had a red E4 for a while --- until this one came around

BTW, they made one more year 93, for the Jap Jackson version of the E4 and E5. All the Jackson one's I've seen are J3 stamped.