Charvel Model 4?

[sonicsamurai]

heya new here - just graduated to my first charvel - a model 4!!! woooo i'm quite interested in finding out the history of it so can anyone tell my like about the model 4 in general eg when they were made, where(i'm assuming japan)? how goosd are japanese guitars compared to other guitars? mine is a kahler trem version withdot inlays

[hunter1970]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

MIJ,1986-with Kahler and dot inlays.Excellent playing guitars ,how much did it cost you.
And you must post pictures of this Model 4.
Also welcome to the JCF board,you will not get bored(no pun intended) [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[sonicsamurai]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

it only cost me 225 of my english pounds (about 400/450 dollars i think) which is a very good price i'm told - often they go for 250 - 400 pound over here. how u can tell the date just like that? were the dots only produced in that year or summat? i don't know how early my guitar is - i assume just after jackson took over charvel? i'll be able to tell u the serial number when i get it later today [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

ps. how do i upload a picture of it?

[Sunbane]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

The Model series Charvels only had Kahlers in 1986. After that they got the JT-6 licenced Floyd. Those Japan-made Charvels are terrific guitars, btw! I have a 1987 Model 6 that has had an OFR transplant, and it's just awesome! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

For uploading pics, check the picture posting tutorial:
http://www.jcfonline.com/ubbthreads/...;page=0#370213

Btw, Jackson didn't take over Charvel as a corporate entity - the Charvel Guitar company was owned by Grover Jackson (who bought Wayne Charvel's part of the company when he left). The Jackson brand was born when Grover and Mike Shannon built the first custom guitar for Randy Rhoads. Prior to that, there only were Charvels. The shape of Randy's guitar was so radical that Grover felt it didn't fit under the Charvel name - so Grover wrote his own name on the headstock, and the first Jackson was born. It was originally meant to be named the "Concorde", but after Randy's tragic death, it was simply named "Randy Rhoads Model", and it's the guitar that cemented the success of the Jackson brand.

I think that Jacksons and Charvels have always been the same thing really - only with some minor differences in features.

[sonicsamurai]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

wow awesome - so will it be an original kahler trem then or a licenced copy?

so jackson never took over charvel? they just ended up becoming more popular or something and became the essentially parent company? (at least thats how i percieve it - obviously jackson has become a much bigger company...)

i get what u mean about grover and that i rememeber reading it somewhere its just very confusing with like the jackson style toothpaste logo charvels - what were they about? where they made by jackson or did they just decide to change the logo?

[sonicsamurai]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

ooh do u know what type of cam it will be?

[Sunbane]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

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wow awesome - so will it be an original kahler trem then or a licenced copy?

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I think they had original Kahlers, but I'm not sure. However, someone will probably be along shortly to comment. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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i get what u mean about grover and that i rememeber reading it somewhere its just very confusing with like the jackson style toothpaste logo charvels - what were they about? where they made by jackson or did they just decide to change the logo?

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The Jacksons and the Charvels have always been made by the same company. I think the toothpaste logo Charvels was an attempt to streamline the image of the product line - and I think that happened after Grover sold the company to Akai.

I think Jackson overtook Charvel in popularity because of players like Randy Rhoads, Robin Crosby and Vinnie Vincent (and later Dave Mustaine), but that is speculation on my part.

I'm no expert on Jackson/Charvel history though. But I do know that the Model series Charvels and the Toothpaste logo Charvels are some of the most highly acclaimed imports in the history of the company (along with the Japan-made Jacksons of 1989-1991). Build quality was second to none during those years (1986-1988 for Model series, 1989-1991 for Toothpaste logo series). After that, build quality of the imports dropped, and it's speculated this was a calculated move since the sales of the imports took a big bite out of the sale of USA-made instruments.

So congrats for scoring an awesome piece of guitar! [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

The pitfalls when buying model series Charvels are that they are old, and often seriously worn down. You may be looking at having a fret job done, or replacing the bridge if you buy a Floyded model. The pickups also aren't the greatest - but they are way better than the pickups that came in imports during the mid-90's.

[sonicsamurai]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

yeah as far as i know the frets are in good condition which is a plus and the trem is ok although there is a little bit of rust on the screw head but other than that nowt

[sonicsamurai]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

hehe got it now: its in very good condition esp the kahler bridge. the only things i've noticed are - the middle pot buzzes incessantly and loudly when u turn it up even slightly (although when i put my figer on it it stops - an earth problem?) i was wonderin if i'd just be able to unplug it if i wanted to and everything else would still work ok
and the clamps at the neck are quite old and the middle one doesn't turn properly with an allen key coz its too worn - so i'll have to see if i can buy a new neck clamp. know how much they are? also should i be able to still tune using the headstock pegs when clamped right down? i'm no expert on locking systems. u're right about the pickups - i'm used to the emg's i got in my SG!! oh well i can always upgrade and store the jackson ones.

[Sanctuary]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

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wow awesome - so will it be an original kahler trem then or a licenced copy?

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I think they had original Kahlers, but I'm not sure. However, someone will probably be along shortly to comment. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]


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You are correct.

[Sunbane]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

Thank you Sanctuary! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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the middle pot buzzes incessantly and loudly when u turn it up even slightly (although when i put my figer on it it stops - an earth problem?) i was wonderin if i'd just be able to unplug it if i wanted to and everything else would still work ok

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Yup, that's an earthing (grounding) problem. I'm not sure what the middle pot does - is it volume, tone or an in-built pre-amp? If it's the tone pot, it should be an easy thing to just disconnect it - but I'm guessing the grounding problem could be more complicated than that. If you are inexperienced with electronics, you could probably take it to a tech and have it fixed for very little money.

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and the clamps at the neck are quite old and the middle one doesn't turn properly with an allen key coz its too worn - so i'll have to see if i can buy a new neck clamp. know how much they are?

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That should be a Kahler string lock. I have no idea what they would cost, since I'm not a Kahler user. Maybe you could order new parts directly from Kahler though?

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also should i be able to still tune using the headstock pegs when clamped right down?

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Nope, that is not a good idea. Once you have stretched the new strings and tuned the guitar up, you lock the string lock down, and then you do all the fine-tuning with the tuners at the bridge. That's how it's supposed to work anyway.

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u're right about the pickups - i'm used to the emg's i got in my SG!! oh well i can always upgrade and store the jackson ones.

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Yeah, there's a huge difference between EMGs and the stock Jackson pups. I actually quite liked the mid-rangey sound of the stock pups in my Model 6, but I missed the bite and the clarity that the EMGs have. I have an EMG-85 in that guitar now, and I will go for Duncans in my 750XL.

[sonicsamurai]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

cheers for ur help dude.

the middle pot is a mid range boost (as the model 4 has an active eq) so it sounds a little nasal all the way down and slightly wishy washy all the way up like a wah pedal virtually. it would sound really cool if it wasn'r for the really loud humming...

how do u upload pictures / attach them to ur messages? it says i can but there's nowhere to click to be able to do it :S i just wanna be able to copy it from my documents

[Carbuff]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

Is the battery fresh? If the battery is worn out you might get this humming from the midboost setup.

[Sunbane]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

For posting pictures, check the instrustions in this thread:
http://www.jcfonline.com/ubbthreads/...&page=0#370213

Basically you need to upload your images to some sort of webspace - and then you can post the image link here. Many people use photobucket and stuff.

[sonicsamurai]

Re: Charvel Model 4?

ok here goes