Hi All,
Well my Charvel arrived from Japan undamaged!
I have to say i'm seriously impressed. It's a lovely instrument. I definitely did the right thing buying it.
it's got a few smll dents and chips, but nothing major. here is kin for photos
As you will see, i've already swapped out all of the bits from my modded pink Charvel Moel 6 - so the Lava Crackle is now running 9/18v EMGs with Killopt and Floyd Rose trem. My pink Model 6 is now back to 'stock'.
I'm till trying to find out more about the Lava Crackle, but it does appear to be a Luke Takamura version.
Oddly, it's not what i would consider to be a standard Model 6. There are differences apart from the Lava Crackle finish as follows:
1) The guitar is heavier than a standard Model 6
2) The body is slightly thicker - hence heavier
3) The guitar is around 1.5cm longer than a standard Model 6 - i think the difference is in the headstock, because side/side the necks line up perfectly, etc.
4) The top nut string lock is the Kahler unit, with no separate nut. On all my previous Model 6s they had a separate plastic nut, and the string lock behind that.
5) The control cavity uses the standard Model 6 cover, but the actual cavity itself is much smaller. I struggled to fit two batteries in - this wasnt an issu with my Pink Charvel.
6) The fretbaord radius feels quite different to other Model 6s i've played.
7) The Lava sustains so much better than a standard Model 6 - most likely because of the extra wood.
Overall the guitar feels much heavier and more 'substantial' than a standard Model 6. I haven't had the time to properly look at the differences or take measurements, etc. But there are marked differences.
My best guess is that this guitar was either made for Luke Takamura at his request - with changes he requested, or a very limited number were produced to the same specs. to sell to the general public after Charvel had built Luke's guitars.
I do intend to see what else i can find out. I can contact Grover himself and/or the band and take it from there.
I did find an old Ebay page from years ago with this very guitar listed for sale as a Charvel Model 'Luke'. So that does indicate it could have been built for and played by Luke Takamura.
Given that the Chavel Model ACE is a none standard version of a SoCal, built specifically for Ace Shimizu this would fit.
I'll keep you guys posted.
Anyway, for now, I love the guitar, It's fantastic!
Only downside is that i'm selling my pink Charvel Model 6, because i can't justify keeping them both :-( Shame, because i love my pink Charvel,
Well my Charvel arrived from Japan undamaged!
I have to say i'm seriously impressed. It's a lovely instrument. I definitely did the right thing buying it.
it's got a few smll dents and chips, but nothing major. here is kin for photos
As you will see, i've already swapped out all of the bits from my modded pink Charvel Moel 6 - so the Lava Crackle is now running 9/18v EMGs with Killopt and Floyd Rose trem. My pink Model 6 is now back to 'stock'.
I'm till trying to find out more about the Lava Crackle, but it does appear to be a Luke Takamura version.
Oddly, it's not what i would consider to be a standard Model 6. There are differences apart from the Lava Crackle finish as follows:
1) The guitar is heavier than a standard Model 6
2) The body is slightly thicker - hence heavier
3) The guitar is around 1.5cm longer than a standard Model 6 - i think the difference is in the headstock, because side/side the necks line up perfectly, etc.
4) The top nut string lock is the Kahler unit, with no separate nut. On all my previous Model 6s they had a separate plastic nut, and the string lock behind that.
5) The control cavity uses the standard Model 6 cover, but the actual cavity itself is much smaller. I struggled to fit two batteries in - this wasnt an issu with my Pink Charvel.
6) The fretbaord radius feels quite different to other Model 6s i've played.
7) The Lava sustains so much better than a standard Model 6 - most likely because of the extra wood.
Overall the guitar feels much heavier and more 'substantial' than a standard Model 6. I haven't had the time to properly look at the differences or take measurements, etc. But there are marked differences.
My best guess is that this guitar was either made for Luke Takamura at his request - with changes he requested, or a very limited number were produced to the same specs. to sell to the general public after Charvel had built Luke's guitars.
I do intend to see what else i can find out. I can contact Grover himself and/or the band and take it from there.
I did find an old Ebay page from years ago with this very guitar listed for sale as a Charvel Model 'Luke'. So that does indicate it could have been built for and played by Luke Takamura.
Given that the Chavel Model ACE is a none standard version of a SoCal, built specifically for Ace Shimizu this would fit.
I'll keep you guys posted.
Anyway, for now, I love the guitar, It's fantastic!
Only downside is that i'm selling my pink Charvel Model 6, because i can't justify keeping them both :-( Shame, because i love my pink Charvel,
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