NGD! Charvel Ash Govan

  • Thread starter Thread starter jski59
  • Start date Start date
J

jski59

Active member
Took a chance on one of these sight unseen and glad I did, it's a monster!

I read a few articles with Guthrie discussing the design process and I liked a lot of the features they added...the locking bridge, evh pots, tremolno...and I have to say it all works really well.

I'm not sure if this is a special neck carve as I've never played another Charvel, but damn it's awesome. The setup is perfect (as good as my Suhr) and it just doesn't go out of tune. Super fast and comfortable, frets are huge. The switching is great as well as the locking bridge. I'm not sure it would survive a Vai-type thrashing, but its' definitely more stable than the 510s I've been using (though they're great too).

Overall, I'm just super impressed. A lot of sig guitars just seem to be a choice color combo or some inlay, but this one has a lot of useful features. Hell, I'm even curious to see how the Luminlays work at the next gig.

I may ultimately swap pickups to something with a little more mids (and the brown bobbins don't thrill me)...I think the dark ash would look bitchin with some zebras.

(not my pic, but close enough)

df53e7_c0360cc0ad2e4be2a1fc2184f9711f84~mv2_d_3553_2367_s_2.jpg
 
Awesome looking guitar! I think the pups look great on this! Congrats! :rock:
 
That looks tasty. Flamed roasted neck... yummy.
 
Beauty! How's the tone? Lot of pickup selection choices....
 
That looks awesome. I like the brown bobbins, too. Charvel should make all their body heels like that. I HATE blocked body neck pockets and how they dig into your palm when you’re high up on the neck.
 
Great looking guitar. And, as you said, it would look even more badass with some zebra pickups. I say do it.
 
There's one for sale nearby. How thin is the neck?

It's looks damn awesome!
 
Congrats! They are awesome guitars.i bought the regular flame one yrs ago.I like the pickup color.And its true;every single feature and appointment on the guitar is 100% useable and works great!
 
That bridge looks so cool. I wish the spacing on the Floyd non fine tuner was the same as my American Standard spaced guitars. I would love to have one.
 
Thanks all! Been playing all day, my ears are ringing :)

Tones are great...I really like having the middle position bridge/neck split for a tele tone. The coil taps for the buckers are pretty good, but I'm never fully satisfied with the tapped sound anyway. They're usable.

At first I thought it was pretty thin sounding overall, but I've been gigging a DGT and Suhr Modern Satin the last couple years...so nothing but mahogany guitars. The ash is definitely scooped in comparison, but it's also got a bite that I've missed...its a screamer with some volume. After tweaking my amp to taste, I plugged back in the Satin and now it sounds bloated :) Still, I think a bridge pickup with a little more mids would be to my liking. The basswood version of this guitar would probably have fit tone taste better, but I really like the look and weight of the ash.

Neck wise, its just a thing of beauty. Definitely thicker than the Modern satin (which I think is the Suhr Guthrie profile), feels kind of similar to a Suhr C Slim but I'm not the best to judge...I usually like a rounder radius. The heel cut is simple but really does make a difference.

My only bitch is that I think the volume knob is drilled a little farther back but I'll get used to it.

I wish more specs were available on the pickups, so if I change I knew where I started from...
 
Jski, this just isn't fair, man.

I gave up trying to get the exact model you have after many months trying. My retail guy even asked his contacts at NAMM (he visited from Australia), but nobody could spare him one.

If I were to order one directly from the CS, assuming I can do that, does anybody know how long the wait is? Need those frets 'cause my fingers stick to boards big-time when I bend.

As a last resort, I'm considering putting those frets into my Suhr Modern Satin. The only specs I can find just say "Jumbo" or whatever, so I wonder, did the case come with a document (like your Modern Satin would have) containing the full spec rundown including the specific fret heights / model name of the frets or whatever? I figure that if I can't have the guitar, I might as well at least have the frets.

Thanks so much man, and well done. What a beauty. Just the look I've always wanted but was always let down by how my failed custom jobs turned out (dodgy freakin' luthiers!).
 
Very nice. I am not a fan of the pickups. I must try another one. The one I played sounded very thin.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top