Identification help needed!

[Xabi]

Hi guys! I recently bought a Charvel import 'Fort Worth' guitar off Gumtree and need some help identifying it. It has been modded (poorly!) to some extent, but how much I'm not to sure. From doing some research, the best I can come up with is maybe a Model 2 and someone has fitted an extra pick-up? I can't tell that for sure until I take the pups out, and I don't want to do that just yet. I can't find any 2x Humbucker model that had a maple neck/fretboard and the JT6 trem on it. So, below are some photos which will hopefully! allow some of you experts to shed some light on what I have got here. The long term plans are to strip it down, refinish the body, get rid of the stupid black plate around the pup selector, possibly fit a pair of Seymour Duncan pups if these are not the original ones, and fit a new Floyd and take it from there. Oh, and does anyone know what sort of nut should have been on the neck? Again it's been butchered but would like to put it back as it was if possible.

[toejam]

Welcome to the forum. Added neck pickup, switch, and JT6 Floyd. I'm thinking Model 1 originally.

[VitaminG]

yea, I think tj is correct. Is that putty around the nut shelf? hehe. Nut putty.

That body is definitely a 1 or 2, but since they've added the nut, it stands to reason the whole guitar started life as a 1 and they've added the bridge, nut, pickup & selector

If it was an M1, you should see the screwholes from the old 6-screw trad trem under the JT-6. I suspect the plate around the pickup selector is a coverup based on the quality of the nut installation

[paranoid]

I would bet On the model 1 they would have had to plug the trem stud insert holes to mount those old wood screw trem posts if it had been a two.

[toejam]

If it was an M1, you should see the screwholes from the old 6-screw trad trem under the JT-6.

I was thinking maybe it had one of those Kahler fulcrum trems that some of the M1s had. Or maybe there are holes underneath from a traditional vintage trem.

[pianoguyy]

It is a maple fretboard, so if we are going between a 1 and 2, wouldn't that make it a 1?

[Xabi]

Thanks for the help so far guys! Really appreciated. I was convinced that the trem was a factory fitted item due to its age and the fact that it appears to be well fitted. I just took another photo to show the trem mounting and when looking at the picture I can see what might be the six mounting holes (see below) from a fulcrum/strat type trem under the JT6!! Really bizarre! That would confirm it as a Model 1 right? The trem certainly looks as old as the guitar, so I guess it must have been a very early mod. The nut looks like a typical Floyd part minus the locking blocks/screws. It is actually a piece of wood spliced in under the nut which is doing the job but looks terrible. Any suggestions on how to fix that? It will be interesting to see what those pick-ups are when I get them off, but don't want to strip the guitar until I have all the parts to restore it with. Besides, I'm having too much fun playing it!

[VitaminG]

It is a maple fretboard, so if we are going between a 1 and 2, wouldn't that make it a 1?

If the neck is original to the body, definitely. Otherwise the neck could have been co-opted from a Model 1 or 4M & bolted onto a Model 2 body. The nutshelf indicates that it is a mod, which would point to it being a Model 1 neck since a 4M nut would be factory. However, the OPs next pic solves that mystery

Thanks for the help so far guys! Really appreciated. I was convinced that the trem was a factory fitted item due to its age and the fact that it appears to be well fitted. I just took another photo to show the trem mounting and when looking at the picture I can see what might be the six mounting holes (see below) from a fulcrum/strat type trem under the JT6!! Really bizarre! That would confirm it as a Model 1 right?

yep!

The trem certainly looks as old as the guitar, so I guess it must have been a very early mod.

Not necessarily an early mod. Old JT-6s are a dime a dozen. People swap them out for real Floyds (or what have you) all the time. The previous owner may have picked one up off ebay at any time in the last 25+ years and modded your Model 1.

The nut looks like a typical Floyd part minus the locking blocks/screws. It is actually a piece of wood spliced in under the nut which is doing the job but looks terrible. Any suggestions on how to fix that? It will be interesting to see what those pick-ups are when I get them off, but don't want to strip the guitar until I have all the parts to restore it with. Besides, I'm having too much fun playing it!

If the nutshelf is stable & doing the job, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If it really bothers you, you could replace it with a piece of ebony or delron or something that looks more pleasing to you

Pickups, you could check next time you change strings. Just unscrew the pickup rings and flip the p/u's over so you can check for markings. No need to completely remove them. Glad to hear you're enjoying it. My Model 2 is a great player

[jspeed]

Yeah, I with ya'll, its a Model 1
Those "wood screw" tremolo posts look like the ones Kramer used back in the day too.

I wouldn't go nuts trying to "restore" it, to me the best thing is to get it playing as best as it can and enjoy playing with it.
If you're looking for a "show" guitar, there's still a lot of them out there.

Good luck!

[pianoguyy]

I was convinced that the trem was a factory fitted item due to its age.

The nut looks like a typical Floyd part minus the locking blocks/screws. It is actually a piece of wood spliced in under the nut which is doing the job but looks terrible. Any suggestions on how to fix that?

It will be interesting to see what those pick-ups are when I get them off, but don't want to strip the guitar until I have all the parts to restore it with.

As previously mentioned, the guitar would be the same age as the trem. Both are 25-30 years old. It doesn't matter when they were put together.

The wood shim under the nut needs to be there. You can't "fix" that. But you could paint it black so that it is less noticeable from a distance.

It is not worth restoring, if you even can with the mods that were done. Not financially. Not from playability. Not historically. Play it as is, change what you think needs changed to suit your playing needs today.

[Xabi]

Thanks again everybody for your comments. It might not be 'worth' restoring Pianoguy, but maybe I'm a sucker for lost causes because that's the plan. I'm not going to restore back to Model 1 spec as that would mean filling the added pick-up hole, so I am going to keep it roughly the same spec but refinish it and make it look cool again. I'm not planning on selling it so it doesn't really matter what it costs. I have always wanted a Charvel - so this is a keeper - to go with my Jackson Dinky and Kramer Pacer! (Guess which decade I grew up in!!??) Not sure what to do about the trem yet - several ideas floating around in my head such as a) restore the JT6 and use it, b) Restore back to a strat type trem or c) drop in a modern Floyd type. The wood under the nut has to go because it is blocking access to the truss rod (!) so I will convert the headstock back to a standard nut, but maybe add a Kahler string lock behind the nut if I go with a locking trem. I believe that will still allow access to the truss rod. I'm hoping both pick-ups turn out to be J90s or similar in which case they will get a good clean, new surrounds/screws and go back on. The guitar plays really nice and sounds good too, so a bit of cosmetic work should make it into one killer axe! A Model 1 'Special'! If anyone is interested I'll do a photo restoration and post the progress up here.

[xenophobe]

Why would you go back to a standard nut? If you look at the headstock, material supporting the original nut has been removed so they could add the riser for the locking nut. Not to mention, the mounting screws are through the back of the neck. There's more work putting a standard nut on there than it's worth.

I'd say just clean up the work that's already been done, remove the nut file away a spot so you can still access the truss, clean up the edges of the work that's already been done and put it back and be done with it.

[Xabi]

Why would you go back to a standard nut? If you look at the headstock, material supporting the original nut has been removed so they could add the riser for the locking nut. Not to mention, the mounting screws are through the back of the neck. There's more work putting a standard nut on there than it's worth.

I'd say just clean up the work that's already been done, remove the nut file away a spot so you can still access the truss, clean up the edges of the work that's already been done and put it back and be done with it.

Yep, that would be the easiest route for sure! But it's a project and I enjoy doing stuff like that, so not a major problem. However, I might take the strings off...and change my mind again...so I really don't know right now!

If anyone has a Model 1 and can post a photo of the original nut from the side, it would be a big help, so at least I can see how much wood has been shaved off from the nut shelf. I think I already know, but a pic would confirm it. What ever I end up doing, it's just gotta look right or my OCD will go into overdrive!

[xenophobe]

I wasn't talking about doing the easiest thing, I was talking about doing the logical thing. Structural integrity of the neck has already been compromised, the holes have been drilled, make the crappy amateur job look pro by correcting the ghetto work. If you're gonna have a trem, neck has already been drilled, fix the shelf and keep the locking nut. I dunno, do whatever you want, it's your guitar.

I guess if you're gonna drill and dowel the neck at that very fragile spot on the neck, twice, and add the removed wood by the nut so it can support a standard phenolic nut, refinish the face of the headstock, find a replacement truss cover... good for you, but, you're literally driving backwards to go forwards. Might as well restore the v-trem.