charvel avenger haters

[jdr94]

ok so i've read so many posts that have people calling the avenger a POS. does it really suck so bad? i mean replacing the bridge pickup with a humbucker and trading the single locking for a double locking would make it as good as a jackson RR right?

[rjohnstone]

LOL... not even close my friend... not even close.

[Budman68]

LOL... not even close my friend... not even close.

couldn't have said it better......

[jdr94]

ok so what is it that sucks so bad? i've replaced the trem and bridge pickup. is it the slant of the pickup? i just want to make mine as good as possible.....any suggestions other than throwing it into a barrel of flames?

[Tekky]

You want to make it as good as possible? Well, you started with a decent base (poplar body, maple neck), you've upgraded the bridge and the tremolo. You're still not happy with that? If a Jackson Rhoads is what you want, then you'll just throwing good money after bad because you'll never achieve that with the Avenger. And that's not a knock against the Avenger, it's just the nature of the beasts in question. Most of the quality of the Jackson Rhoads is in it's neck-thru construction. If your aim is to end up with a Jackson Rhoads, then save your money (or sell gear, maybe start with that guitar) and buy a Jackson Rhoads.

So, the question you have to ask yourself is: Now that you've changed the tremolo and bridge pickup, are you happy with the performance of the guitar? If not, then it's time to cut bait and run.

[jdr94]

You want to make it as good as possible? Well, you started with a decent base (poplar body, maple neck), you've upgraded the bridge and the tremolo. You're still not happy with that? If a Jackson Rhoads is what you want, then you'll just throwing good money after bad because you'll never achieve that with the Avenger. And that's not a knock against the Avenger, it's just the nature of the beasts in question. Most of the quality of the Jackson Rhoads is in it's neck-thru construction. If your aim is to end up with a Jackson Rhoads, then save your money (or sell gear, maybe start with that guitar) and buy a Jackson Rhoads.

So, the question you have to ask yourself is: Now that you've changed the tremolo and bridge pickup, are you happy with the performance of the guitar? If not, then it's time to cut bait and run.

ok so i've done all i can eh? i'm happy with it. i have a ps3t which is the bolt on RR and i actually like the avenger better. of course the ps3t didnt cost but 400 back in 94. thanks for the reply. i'm gonna keep it as its still old school.

[Sunbane]

Note that all the rich old farts here automatically think "Jackson Rhoads == neck through". Of course, those of us with a limited budget know this isn't always the case.

With an upgraded trem and pickups, I don't see why the Avenger would be any more "P.O.S" than any bolt-on Jackson Rhoads import. I'd still rate the RR-3 above it, but that's only because the RR-3 has a better jack placement (upper wing).

[jdr94]

Note that all the rich old farts here automatically think "Jackson Rhoads == neck through". Of course, those of us with a limited budget know this isn't always the case.

With an upgraded trem and pickups, I don't see why the Avenger would be any more "P.O.S" than any bolt-on Jackson Rhoads import. I'd still rate the RR-3 above it, but that's only because the RR-3 has a better jack placement (upper wing).

yeah whats up with that? why did they ever put em on the bottom wing!! right angle cables help but damn. i wonder how hard it would be to add an output to the top wing........hmmmmmmm.

[Speiro]

I like my Avenger but only after changing the bridge PUP and trem. I put an SD in it back in the early 90's and it sat in it's case for about 10 years when my band split up. I dug it out it the last part of 2006 and loved the way it felt played apart from the single locking trem, so I changed that and it's great now. Oh and agreed that the jack socket psition sucks.

[jdr94]

alright speiro!!! i'm glad i'm not the only one who thinks the avenger is a nice guitar!!

[jdr94]

couldn't have said it better......

so i guess the the only way i could get close to an RR would be to hook up my avenger like yours. what did it cost you to customize it?

[Budman68]

First let me say, that I'm not an old fart, damn it, and I surely am NOT rich! I never meant to sound snobbish in any way, I just really hated the feel of the Avenger in stock form. It was one of those weekend projects that I did just for the hell of it. My biggest grief was the whole neck heel area and thats why I "thinned" it out and also removed a portion of the lower area of the neck heel to access the upper frets better, much like an Ibanez.

As for an amount, all I did was buy a neck as I had the other parts laying around. One day I should have it painted by a pro but there are waaaay too many other things I'd like to tackle first-

[jdr94]

well budman that guitar looks great man! if thats not a pro paintjob it sure looks it! i guess thats more of what my question was and that pic answered all my questions. i hope to one day get mine closer to yours!!

[Accept2]

My problem with the Avenger was the poor build quality on the one I had. It had a gap in the pocket so big, you could park your truck in there...............

[Tekky]

ok so i've done all i can eh? i'm happy with it. i have a ps3t which is the bolt on RR and i actually like the avenger better. of course the ps3t didnt cost but 400 back in 94. thanks for the reply. i'm gonna keep it as its still old school.

I might have worded things a little on the harsh side, but you'll be spending time and money to make an Avenger into a Rhoads. If you've not done this before, and are looking for the experience, you may want to practice on something cheaper first. But if doing major modifications don't float your boat then I'd say it would be best to allocate your money (and time to making money) for something you know you want.

Also, I didn't mean to say that all Rhoads have to be neck-thru. From what I've seen, the majority of the ones that are highly coveted are.

And, I am in no way rich. The only Rhoads I own is a PS-3T. (I'm by far a Strats and Dinky player) Though one of the reasons I have it is to see if I can deal with playing a guitar of that shape. (so far so good though, I like it better than I liked the Kelly I had)