charvel 1986

[svarta blixten]

hi! i wonder if anyone could help me with a charvel guitar from 1986. serial number is 333 696. is it a good guitar? what neck is it? what could it be worth today in us dollars or swedish crowns?

thankn you! //Jonatan

[Rich#6]

You need to give us more than that. The serial number on the model series doesn't mean much. Pictures are good. details - pickup config, inlay, # of frets, trem etc. And yes all the 86 charvels are great guitars!

[~K~]

6 digit # from that era is an import model series. We would need to see pictures or exact specs to tell you what it is

[svarta blixten]

thanks for responding!

it´s a real floyd rose tremolo, active emg pickups. that´s about all i know. the year is not 100% for sure. but something like that. maybe 333 696 can tell what year? it was before jackson bought charvel, right?
i´m looking for a shred guitar, and i hope this is one?

http://files.annonsdirekt.se/annonsdirekt/4795946/FullSize_4795946_32Charvel.JPG

many thanks/Jonatan

[Sunbane]

Wow, a desert crackle Spectrum!
It's not from '86. It's from the 1989-1991 era. An '86 import Charvel wouldn't have had a Floyd in the first place.

it´s a real floyd rose tremolo, active emg pickups. that´s about all i know.

I'm willing to bet those are not EMG pickups. If they are, then they are not original to the guitar. I think the Spectrums came with Jackson J200 stacked humbuckers. Those weren't active, but were often run with an active preamp, which causes people to confuse them with active pickups all the time. However, if those are in fact EMGs, I would consider that an upgrade over the original ones. The J200 pickups weren't all that thrilling.

I'm also willing to bet my ass that is not an original Floyd. The 1989-1991 Charvels came with a Jackson-stamped version of the licensed Schaller Floyd. It was called the JT-590. However, that is probably one of the best licensed Floyds you will ever come across! They're very solid, stable and reliable.

maybe 333 696 can tell what year? it was before jackson bought charvel, right?

About all that serial tells me, is that it's a bolt-on guitar. There is no reliable way to tell anything else about the guitar from the serial alone. However, the picture tells me a lot: That is a Charvel Spectrum from around 1989-1991. Maybe someone else could give you a more accurate estimate.

What's more, Jackson never "bought" Charvel. Charvel is the original brand, and has existed since the 70's. The Jackson guitars were born as a "side brand" within the Charvel Guitar company in 1981. The seller is talking out of his ass, and probably knows nothing about the guitar.

i´m looking for a shred guitar, and i hope this is one?

If you can live with the single coil sized pickups, then hell yes! That guitar can shred with the best of them! That's a good price for a Spectrum in Sweden as well - those guitars are sort of rare here. And don't be fooled into thinking a Charvel is less "shreddable" than a Jackson! They were built in the same factory, by the same people. The Charvels of that era were essentially Jacksons anyway - just with a different name on the headstock.

[RacerX]

It's a 1991 Spectrum, made in Japan

http://www.audiozone.dk/CatalogScans/JC19901991/pages/Page30.htm

Sunbane's right, they came with Jackson J200 pups. Do yours have "Jackson" printed on em?

[straycat]

WoW thats the first desert crackle spectrum I've ever seen.Very cool.
I think 89 because of the smaller logo.

[fett]

They all forget to say this: "WELCOME TO THE BOARD"

[svarta blixten]

thank ya´ll for the help!

i´ve found another spectrum...

don´t know which one i´ll take. but i guess they´re pretty much the same? except the fretboard. do you have any suggestions?

i think the spectrum models are so cool and out

i´d love a san dimas too, but it´s so hard to find here in sweden. at least the old ones.

skål!//Jonatan

[Sunbane]

Yeah, the Spectrums are cool. That green one at Second Hand Music is a beauty! It's a tough choice to make - I like Desert Crackle, but maybe I'd pick the green one for the maple fretboard.

I can see it still has the original pickups. It should also have an active mid-range sweep circuit (JE-1500?) if it is original. However, notice that one of the locking screws on the trem is sticking out the back? That looks like a locking screw from an OFR, which probably means that the original screw got lost. While it may do a decent enough job, it could also cause problems with the trem. The Schaller locking screws are shorter and fatter, so an OFR screw would not sit tightly in the slot. If I went for that guitar, I would make sure to get the correct replacement locking screw and buy some hotter pickups for it.

I think it's only a matter of time before the retro metal kids find out just how good guitars the 1986-1991 import Charvels are. The Jackson imports of the same years go for much more, only because Jackson is more recognised as THE metal guitar. You can find Charvel 650XLs going for 500 Euro, while a Jackson Soloist Pro from the same year will often go for the double.

[Sunbane]

Too bad they have matching headstocks, or you could have bought both and swapped the necks.

Desert crackle + maple board would have been

[svarta blixten]

i got some zoomed-in pictures now. pretty bad photos though:P but enough to see that it says emg ..

the tremolo says licensed under floud rose and on the side "Jackson". guess I can talk him down a bit in the price

[Dutchman]

The Maple neck is going to be a little britghter tone, I prefer that myself, Maple neck + jumbo frets = awesome!!!!!!

[Sunbane]

guess I can talk him down a bit in the price

It is a good price already though. But it's your choice.