Charvel have gone mad

[Sancho]

I quite like them.  Remind me of Shecters somehow.

Yeah, but is that what Charvel should be about? There's plenty of Schecter wannabe guitars out there already...
This is one of the worst ideas in marketing in a long time. Brand identity does mean something, and they've just gone and thrown it out of the window.

I'm glad they've kept the ProMod series (for now), but I'm afraid this move might indeed herald the end of Charvel yet again :(

[dave_mc]

yeah i saw these last night, I check out the charvel site periodically to see if they have the newest wildcard (more like the last :lol: ) up.

agreed with all the "if i wanted a shecter i'd buy a schecter" posts. I mean I know I'm an 80s fanboy, but the superstrats and stars are where charvels are at, if you ask me.

[Sancho]

I check out the charvel site periodically to see if they have the newest wildcard (more like the last :lol: ) up.

Same here. I keep hoping for a Star. And then they do this...

[blue]

i'm not keen on all the abalone, but the basic look is fine.  however, the "surfcaster" is the only one that actually works.  what's the point in putting a 24 fret board on a guitar, then stopping the cutaway at the 18th!?  stupid.  i love the idea of a 24 fret Les Paul with a back routed Floyd Rose, but it needs an extended cutaway.

i do like the Surfcaster though.  hmmm.  damn things probably about 3 grand :(

[Philly Q]

i do like the Surfcaster though.  hmmm.  damn things probably about 3 grand :(

D'you mean the top one?  

$930 RRP.

(Apologies if you meant the real Surfcaster Wez posted)

[blue]

 i did mean the new one, although i always liked the originals too.  they've been going up in price recently, and aren't exactly your typical Charvel either!

$930?  that's pretty good, although it'll probably translate to about £1200 here!  instead of the £570 it should be going by the exchange rate

[dave_mc]

^ probably not. for some reason those charvels aren't too bad value in europe, the MIJ pro mods are around the £600 mark, and the rrp according to the site is $1100-odd, so I'm guessing these new ones (which don't appear to be MIJ) are going to be cheaper.

Same here. I keep hoping for a Star. And then they do this...

yeah a star would be awesome. if the next wildcard were a star in a half-decent colour and with a half-decent spec, I dunno if i could resist :lol:

[Philly Q]

^ probably not. for some reason those charvels aren't too bad value in europe, the MIJ pro mods are around the £600 mark, and the rrp according to the site is $1100-odd, so I'm guessing these new ones (which don't appear to be MIJ) are going to be cheaper.

Yeah, I don't know much about Charvel, but these new models have a Korean (or Chinese?) look about them to me, so presumably cheaper than the surprisingly-reasonable Pro Mods.

(In fact, if I was a superstrat kind of guy, I'd say the Pro Mods are crazy bargains for MIJ guitars.  Is there a catch I don't know about?  :? )

[Dmoney]

no catch with the promods. might just need a setup like mine did. mine also had a faulty toggle. not that its a complex thing but it didn't make a good connection at one side. I swapped it but I only had to do that because I wanted to pick it up before coming back to london, otherwise the shop would have sorted it. metal cavity cavity, stap locks... its got everything covered down to some small details.

the san dimas 1 and 2's they've been doing, and the MIJ's seem really really good. I don't like the look of these knew things, and agree with most of the commets.

[Sancho]

The ProMods are excellent guitars. I have two, no catch with either of them
These new "Desolation" models are apparently made in China.

[danger5oh]

Charvel... you're doing it wrong.

I wonder if the guys at Charvel did any sort of R&D before deciding on stuff like this.  I mean, change is fine... especially in a market where popular culture has such a strong influence on what sells... but I agree that it looks like Charvel decided to follow the Gibson route, which is basically throwing handfuls of unnecessary guitars at the wall to see what sticks.

If you ask me, companies like Fender, ESP, Ibanez, PRS all seem to have the right idea.  They don't sway too far from the original formula, but they do just enough to stay relevant. 

I thought Jackson had about gone mad with this one...



...but, it turns out that it's right up my alley.

That's just about the only Jackson design which appeals to me.  Nice mix of traditional and modern, and it looks like it would be comfortable to play.   I do hate the squashed-together controls, though - I'd be happy with just one volume, one tone.

... and strangely, I think Mark Morton and Jackson really hit the nail on the head with the Dominion.  I've got an Old School Burst Dominion loaded with a calibrated BKP Mule set and dual Tonestylers... combined with the option to split the coils, this guitar is an absolute tone monster!  It's easily the most versatile and comfortable guitar I've ever played.

[Sifu Ben]

I think people are being a trifle overdramatic. These are guitars that people are probably going to want to play, and the range starts at super-cheap. I personally don't like the abalone binding, but some people must as there's so many guitars with it.
I've never seen people actually complain that a manufacturer has started doing mahogany neckthru guitars before.

[Crunch]

... and strangely, I think Mark Morton and Jackson really hit the nail on the head with the Dominion.  I've got an Old School Burst Dominion loaded with a calibrated BKP Mule set and dual Tonestylers... combined with the option to split the coils, this guitar is an absolute tone monster!  It's easily the most versatile and comfortable guitar I've ever played.

I must see this.

I think people are being a trifle overdramatic. These are guitars that people are probably going to want to play, and the range starts at super-cheap. I personally don't like the abalone binding, but some people must as there's so many guitars with it.
I've never seen people actually complain that a manufacturer has started doing mahogany neckthru guitars before.

Mahogany should be set, IMO.

[Transcend]

I think people are being a trifle overdramatic. These are guitars that people are probably going to want to play, and the range starts at super-cheap. I personally don't like the abalone binding, but some people must as there's so many guitars with it.
I've never seen people actually complain that a manufacturer has started doing mahogany neckthru guitars before.

Its not that theyre mahogany or neck thru that was just an extra point as to why these guitars are so far from what charvel do.

If they were mahogany neck thru superstrats without the abalone i would have no problems with them

[Sancho]

I think people are being a trifle overdramatic. These are guitars that people are probably going to want to play, and the range starts at super-cheap. I personally don't like the abalone binding, but some people must as there's so many guitars with it.
I've never seen people actually complain that a manufacturer has started doing mahogany neckthru guitars before.

Wonky analogy, but this feels like Ferrari making SUVs to me.
It's so far removed from what Charvel has always been about. And it's the first step towards binning the ProMod series, or moving production to China...