Need Help With New Guitar--Model Luke(?)!

[lawdaddy21]

So I've been wanting a Model 6 in firecrackle for about 2 years and hadn't seen any on eBay until this past week. However, the control configuration is different than any Model 6 I've seen before. I tried to find the guitar in the Charvel catalogs but had no luck. However, after hours of searching (and getting yelled at by my wife), I stumbled across a couple others that were identical. Both websites are Japanese (as is the eBay seller), and the two websites refer to it as a "Model-Luke." One mentions it was a $1,600 guitar when he bought it (good 'ole Google Translate), which would have made it much more expensive than comparable Model 6s of the time. In Google autofill, I searched "Charvel Model 6 Luke" only to have it auto-filled to "Luke Takamura."

That all said, I'm trying to get more info on this model, and/or confirmation of what I found. Below are the links to my purchase, as well as the two Japanese sites. As far as configuration, this is a neck-through, with the Registered Charvel logo, a "C9" serial number, JT6 tremolo, one volume knob, one tone knob, one five position switch, and one mini toggle (function unknown until I get it--likely a kill). My initial thought is that this must be some sort of signature model (likely Luke Takamura) that was released only to the Japanese market in limited quantities. However, if you've got some info I'd love to hear it (of course if you're going to tell me I overpaid I'm going to be deeply depressed).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=131109295775&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:3160#ht_59065wt_1164

http://sweetguitars.ru/good.php?id=3645&archive=

http://www.hyperguitars.com/items/index00688.html

[lawdaddy21]

Also, to clarify the fretboard appears to be rosewood and it has standard sharkfin inlays like other Model 6s.

[artonsafari]

I'd posted a thread in the e-Bay section about it when I first saw it

Congrads on the purchase. Let us know how it plays.

[lawdaddy21]

Font seems messed up--re-posting:


I just wanted to give an update in case someone else runs across one of these. I reached out to both the Jackson and Charvel Customer Support emails, and eventually heard back from Fender Customer Support. They basically said that they don't have serial number records past 2002, and then directed me to a few sites we're all familiar with that have guitar catalogs from the '80s. I then ran across ImportStrings.Com, which is a guitar importer/seller in Australia that had a lot of information on some of the vintage guitars on its site. Dave confirmed that this is a Luke Takamura Japan only model, and said he would value that model at $800-$1,500 depending on condition. I've also spent some more time looking through webpages and have stumbled across about 3 more webpages of these with photos and reference these as a "Model Luke."

I got the package a little over a week ago, and I will say the seller packaged it very well (for those of you looking at this Japan-based seller and are concerned about it arriving intact). This is my first experience with a vintage Charvel, so I wasn't sure quite what to expect. I have an '89 Ibanez RG750 that I figured would be about the same quality as this guitar (which the serial number indicates would be an '89 model). Honestly, I'm amazed by the Charvel. It easily blows the Ibanez out of the water, and the closest guitar I have to it in terms of feel would be my 2012 Fender American Deluxe Strat. Of my arsenal, I would say those two are the clear standouts in terms of quality (comparing to Fender Baja Tele, Fender MIM Thinline, Ibanez RG750, Gibson Studio LP Arctic White, Agile 3000, Agile custom neck-thru LP, and Epi Prophecy SG). If you happen upon one of these, don't hesitate--they are fantastic

[toejam]

Sweet. Never heard of that guy before, but the guitar looks cool. Nice score.

[lawdaddy21]

Thanks--and sorry to keep bumping this thread, but I wanted to provide a last bit of info about the toggle switch. It's actually a solo switch--I also saw where it is called a direct-through or bypass. This was a first for me, and I didn't know Charvel ever did this. But, basically when engaged the switch bypasses the volume and tone knobs altogether--essentially going all out. It's something like having both knobs set at 10, but because you're bypassing them you avoid any drain they have on the sound. The idea is that if you are playing through a song that has a non-dimed setting, when you get to the solo you can play full out without messing with the knobs, and then easily return to your settings. It also gives you a touch of a treble and volume boost with this wiring, so even if you are at 10s, it's a bit different (this is probably a "duh" to most people on the forum--I just had not dealt with this before).

If I run into anything else unique to this model I'll post it, but this should cover it pretty well for anyone else that sees one of these and wonders what exactly they're looking at.

[straycat]

Ditch the blue text please.
Some that were for sale only in Japan had different configurations than the ones sold in the USA.
Looks good either way.