NGD Charvel San Dimas in Pharaohs Gold...... Smaug/The Hobbit Vibes *_*

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The~Kid

The~Kid

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Got it on Tuesday but just putting it through it's paces and yeah the rosewood feels great and fantastic bass response and tracing, tracking and attack. Very nice and thick RW board and work on the frets and smoothed out rolled edges. Really nice and sleek body too with a fantastic carve and contour.



Calling her/the guitar Stephanie......



Overall very happy and glad I got mine while the getting was good *_*



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Thanks guys it's pretty damn killer. Haven't taken off the backplate too see how thick the paint is but I imagine it's a paper thin finish like on my other two San Dimas. All I've done is just use the FATRATSD1W into the Top Boost Channel, no real dialing in aside from moving the Treble a on the panel bit and that's it.


Overall a lot warmer than the Ebony versions so I figure Rosewood is a softer material. There just is a lot of chug, growl, crunch and bass response and very relaxed highs relative to either my Ebony and Maple Models. You can really dig in and have a great bass response but the highs are still there but relaxed and not as in your face.


Putting it through it's paces.



Similar to my others but very different just because of the difference in fingerboard.



This is the setup I'm running it through.

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One thing I'm happy about is that its a thick ass slab of Rosewood. I thought they would cheap out or not be a thick as the Ebony or Maple model fingerboard I have but it's just as thick.


That is great and overall very happy with this fretboard, it just feels great. All I had to do really was unlock it and do a minor tuning adjustment and relock and it was set to go and the set up more or less out of the box was fantastic too. Super smooth feeling satin finished neck as always and comfortable feeling rolled fingerboard too.


On the Fender MIM and MIA side for example have noticed a lack of consistency when it comes to overall thickness of a fingerboard but Charvels MIM or MIA are pretty consistent from that aspect and OCD about it and it's a good thing because the end result feels great and you can't really say anything bad about a thick piece of RW like that.
 
Congrats!

That IS a nice thick RW slab...reminiscent of the vintage Charvels I've had.
Killer Charvel!
Yeah honestly Jacksons and Charvels have always had thicker boards..... it just provides more balls overall and more to dig in and I didn't like it when I was younger but now really appreciate those thicker slabs and it really is the little things like that that really bring it to another level IMO and a very nice detail and touch.
 
Looks great, would not normally have considered the colour, but seeing your outside pics makes it look much better. You keeping the pickups, or changing them?
 
Looks great, would not normally have considered the colour, but seeing your outside pics makes it look much better. You keeping the pickups, or changing them?
Yeah I'm probably keeping them stock. Thanks honestly didn't like the stock pics but after looking at some Reverb pics and pics on SweetWater I had to and yeah much nicer in person too. Has a subtle CAR like LPB sparkle to it aside from the gold and very happy with the color...... it's like liquid gold ^_^


I really like the 59 and JB as a combo and overall a pretty balanced set especially when splitting. Probably only thing I would replace the JB for would be a Pearly Gates + otherwise pretty happy with the overall pups stock.


All my San Dimas are stock too and I like to have them all be the same pretty much except for one tuned differently than the other. This way I can rotate through them and put less miles on any one, in this sense the more then better and I always have the same thing and try to keep it as consistent as possible aside from fretboard and tuning.
 
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And with tariffs around the corner and what they may mean or may or may not do to prices regarding tariffs on Mexico/Canada..... or other imports......


I'm getting mine and I got mine while the getting is/was good and glad I did ^_^



Was going to get it anyways but that gave me an incentive to do it that much faster. Definitely check one out if anything if you were and now is the time with a nice discount if you can get one too.



Got mine at Zzounds but imagine SweetWater and MF or GC is as good or better :dunno:
 
Were you the one asking a month ago or whatever for help deciding on the gold or red one?
 
Ah, well I'm glad you picked the color I recommended. That's definitely a slick looking guitar.
Yeah thanks man it really is sweet. The color is like a CAR or LPB version of Gold and it also has a very nice reflection like a lightly polished gold would that kind of adds to the aesthetic depending on environment and lighting.
 
Gig bag came in and yeah it's not a hard case but it's not bad and pretty nice. Handmade and it has a little QC sticker and badge too. Feels like it offers a bit more protection that your regular Fender Gigbag too and feels nicer overall as well. I guess Keyla made it and "Manchas" was the final inspection...... funny name and it must be a nickname as it translates to stains..... no stains on the bag and it's pretty clean and nice though :LOL:


Totally recommend and you can get these for 60 bucks from Gator Direct on Ebay and this is the Core version or the Luxe version for 80 bucks with a full inch of padding vs the 1/2 inch here but still good IMO and the prices aren't bad for a pretty well made gig bag at that money. Not a hard case but itinitely offers some protection and more than most cheap quality ones.


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When the Metallic Lime Green came out a while back I was going to jump on it but figured they would come out with a Pharaohs Gold.....


Also seeing the Metallic Lime Green it would have an almost gold like shimmer but not enough and it made me think of The Hobbit and The Desolation of Smaug .....



Honest this San Dimas is like a dream come true, it plays great, built great, sounds great and color is to die for in person, would imagine I'd dig the Satin Ferrari Red too but in a different way and that is a sick color to. Best thing is that board and well that body..... it's so sleek, cuvey and so smooth like butter.


The body is a bit more Fender like with the edges being a bit more evenly rounded compared to how Charvel typically routes the bodies.


I forgot what it was but like 1/2 of an inch route on the Standard Fender bodies and 3/8ths of an inch on Charvels. Only complaint I can think off and I wouldn't say smoother than a typical Charvel but more like a Fender in that aspect in terms of the body than a Charvel but overall no one else would tell the difference or really be aware of stupid little things like that or care much to be honest.
 
Also being mainly a Fender guy before getting Charvels I really appreciate these type of colors...... colors like LPB or CAR and in this case Pharoahs Gold that just have the right amount of sparkle with nice dark and rich overtones.....


Also the reflective quality here is nicer than on your typical CAR or LPB and it really is nice I must say and was surprised at just how much this guitar reflects in it's paint. Not flakey at all and not super sparkly but just the right amount.....


The Golidilocks sparkle here.
 
I mean......And as sick as this guitar is......



Only complaint....As smooth and round as those edges are..... and sleek and curvey the contours are.....



Is that a proper 3/8ths of an inch route should be used vs 1/2 an inch for routing the edges as its a Charvel and not a Fender..... other than that..... not good or bad but yeah..... it's pretty killer..... Great set up, great sound and great build otherwise overall aside from that stupid little detail that as said doesn't really matter but is something to consider when checking out this current stock.
 
Ima try to play some stuff on it later and make a vid and not be such a little bitch ass pussy boy just talking about my NGD......




But yeah..... it's fucking sick ^_^
 
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