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I've been wanting to give the DS1 a test drive along with the So Cal and San Dimas Floyd Models out for 2014. I found this dealer in Bernsville PA which is nearly 2 hours away from me. Sam Ash is a dealer and I have 3 of them near me but none of them keep any Charvels in stock , order only which sucks ass.
So I called them up and found out they had at least 1 or more of each model in stock I wanted to test drive. NICE!!! I drove from the Guitar Show which was about in the middle ( Vintage show which was ok at best) of my home and the shop.
I walked in and there they where, all the models I've been wanting to try out. First up was the DS1. The DS1 is a new design for Charvel it's like a Les Paul style guitar but with some Charvel flare to it. The neck is what is expected from Charvel and so is the playability. Black out's are the pickups in the DS1 and they sound much like what EMG does but better. The action and feel of this guitar is very very nice especially for a $600.00 guitar. This is a price point I usually don't shop at. I start my searches over $700.00 minimum as I like a better quality guitar. I don't buy many guitars as I'm extremely picky about feel sound and playability. If the stars don't align I don't buy it.
The DS1 is a very nice well rounded guitar and I suggest anyone looking for a mid priced guitar with tons of sound quality and feel , go check one out. It's not for me but I did enjoy it. I don't see a place in my line up as of right now. Maybe I'll revisit it again but not what I want.
The So Cal is much like my Model 3a I had bcd in the 80's. Mine was white with a Black pick guard and HH but with a Khaler system which I really loved. I actually liked them more then the Floyd Rose systems.
The So Cal played amazing but I felt the Pickups where a bit to hot or fizzy. They reminded me of a Dimarzio style sound but with a thicker more natural tone. Still even with that said the Distortion SD pickups are not for me. I hated that because what attracted me to the So Cal's is the White with Black pick guard and HH setup. This guitar will not be coming home with me.
Next up which I already own a San Dimas in a Candy Apple Red with a HS configuration and a Hard tail. I really enjoy this guitar as I can drop D or really Db( I tune in Eb) and not have to do a full setup on it every time. I don't play in Drop tunings a lot but I wrote a few songs and play a few covers in drop tuning and wanted a hard tail for this. It's also something that attacked me to the DS1 but the Black out's are not for me.
They only had one San Dimas in stock which was the same color as mine but in the HH and Floyd Setup. The other difference is mine has a Rosewood fingerboard and this one is maple. I played it for 3 seconds and fell in love. I love the tone of the 59 in the bridge , you can really dial in some fantastic clean tones and Blue style leads with some warm overdrive on it. You can really get a awesome middle position sound for many different things with the TB4 in the bridge. The TB4 is my favorite pickup as I have it in a few of my guitars and think it's the best all around pickup made. Cleans are crisp and punchy if you need that style of sound. I can dial in some awesome 80's metal tones with it all day long and then some but if I want it to be brutal , it's brutal with bone crushing KRANK gain and it's crazy how thick and powerful it becomes. The San Dimas is home for me as I really learned that by playing the other models. I love mine and now want another one but configured HH. I'm leaning White or Flame top Transparent Blue. I even love the Fame Top Transparent Black, bad ass looking guitar. The dealer is going to get in the Transparent Flame top blue and I'm gonna go play it once it comes in. If it bonds with me, I'm taking it home.
I've been wanting to give the DS1 a test drive along with the So Cal and San Dimas Floyd Models out for 2014. I found this dealer in Bernsville PA which is nearly 2 hours away from me. Sam Ash is a dealer and I have 3 of them near me but none of them keep any Charvels in stock , order only which sucks ass.
So I called them up and found out they had at least 1 or more of each model in stock I wanted to test drive. NICE!!! I drove from the Guitar Show which was about in the middle ( Vintage show which was ok at best) of my home and the shop.
I walked in and there they where, all the models I've been wanting to try out. First up was the DS1. The DS1 is a new design for Charvel it's like a Les Paul style guitar but with some Charvel flare to it. The neck is what is expected from Charvel and so is the playability. Black out's are the pickups in the DS1 and they sound much like what EMG does but better. The action and feel of this guitar is very very nice especially for a $600.00 guitar. This is a price point I usually don't shop at. I start my searches over $700.00 minimum as I like a better quality guitar. I don't buy many guitars as I'm extremely picky about feel sound and playability. If the stars don't align I don't buy it.
The DS1 is a very nice well rounded guitar and I suggest anyone looking for a mid priced guitar with tons of sound quality and feel , go check one out. It's not for me but I did enjoy it. I don't see a place in my line up as of right now. Maybe I'll revisit it again but not what I want.
The So Cal is much like my Model 3a I had bcd in the 80's. Mine was white with a Black pick guard and HH but with a Khaler system which I really loved. I actually liked them more then the Floyd Rose systems.
The So Cal played amazing but I felt the Pickups where a bit to hot or fizzy. They reminded me of a Dimarzio style sound but with a thicker more natural tone. Still even with that said the Distortion SD pickups are not for me. I hated that because what attracted me to the So Cal's is the White with Black pick guard and HH setup. This guitar will not be coming home with me.
Next up which I already own a San Dimas in a Candy Apple Red with a HS configuration and a Hard tail. I really enjoy this guitar as I can drop D or really Db( I tune in Eb) and not have to do a full setup on it every time. I don't play in Drop tunings a lot but I wrote a few songs and play a few covers in drop tuning and wanted a hard tail for this. It's also something that attacked me to the DS1 but the Black out's are not for me.
They only had one San Dimas in stock which was the same color as mine but in the HH and Floyd Setup. The other difference is mine has a Rosewood fingerboard and this one is maple. I played it for 3 seconds and fell in love. I love the tone of the 59 in the bridge , you can really dial in some fantastic clean tones and Blue style leads with some warm overdrive on it. You can really get a awesome middle position sound for many different things with the TB4 in the bridge. The TB4 is my favorite pickup as I have it in a few of my guitars and think it's the best all around pickup made. Cleans are crisp and punchy if you need that style of sound. I can dial in some awesome 80's metal tones with it all day long and then some but if I want it to be brutal , it's brutal with bone crushing KRANK gain and it's crazy how thick and powerful it becomes. The San Dimas is home for me as I really learned that by playing the other models. I love mine and now want another one but configured HH. I'm leaning White or Flame top Transparent Blue. I even love the Fame Top Transparent Black, bad ass looking guitar. The dealer is going to get in the Transparent Flame top blue and I'm gonna go play it once it comes in. If it bonds with me, I'm taking it home.
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