Charvel Socal using Blackbelts from Motorcity pickups.

[Bronco]

I have been playing my new 2009 USA Charvel socal that i installed blackbelts into ( not second degree )

no worries!
i first got a white made in japan san dimas and it was plastic sounding so i returned it and got the USA socal thinking it wouldn't as plastic sounding.... plastic sounding guitars as far as i'm concerned.

Concur...I had a USA Plum colored one, and while it played well, I just couldn't get over the fact that it didn't have any soul. A very hollow sounding guitar for sure.

 

[rockstah]

yeah i hear ya. further more its the neck more than the body that has that plastic sound to it. i slapped it on another body, plastic sounding. when you play in the first 5 frets and lay into it it gets this weird choked mid thing going on. hollow and not tight sounding.

 

[metalmaniac93]

yeah i hear ya. further more its the neck more than the body that has that plastic sound to it. i slapped it on another body, plastic sounding. when you play in the first 5 frets and lay into it it gets this weird choked mid thing going on. hollow and not tight sounding.

Maybe I should rethink picking one up?

 

[racerevlon]

I have a set of white 2nd degree black belts for sale if you ever decide you want to change it up...

 

[warhead78]

Sounds incredible!

 

[rockstah]

yeah i hear ya. further more its the neck more than the body that has that plastic sound to it. i slapped it on another body, plastic sounding. when you play in the first 5 frets and lay into it it gets this weird choked mid thing going on. hollow and not tight sounding.

Maybe I should rethink picking one up?

its my personal preference that the guitar has a little more snap to it and isn't so smooth on the top end. ill keep it and play it. it is a good 80's style/sounding guitar if someone asked me. i did a quick clip of it with guitar port.

 

[metalmaniac93]

yeah i hear ya. further more its the neck more than the body that has that plastic sound to it. i slapped it on another body, plastic sounding. when you play in the first 5 frets and lay into it it gets this weird choked mid thing going on. hollow and not tight sounding.

Maybe I should rethink picking one up?

its my personal preference that the guitar has a little more snap to it and isn't so smooth on the top end. ill keep it and play it. it is a good 80's style/sounding guitar if someone asked me. i did a quick clip of it with guitar port.

In that case I might like it. I like a little bit more smoothness on the top end.

Holy crap!!! That clip sounds awesome!!!

 

[rockstah]

yeah i hear ya. further more its the neck more than the body that has that plastic sound to it. i slapped it on another body, plastic sounding. when you play in the first 5 frets and lay into it it gets this weird choked mid thing going on. hollow and not tight sounding.

Maybe I should rethink picking one up?

its my personal preference that the guitar has a little more snap to it and isn't so smooth on the top end. ill keep it and play it. it is a good 80's style/sounding guitar if someone asked me. i did a quick clip of it with guitar port.

In that case I might like it. I like a little bit more smoothness on the top end.

Holy crap!!! That clip sounds awesome!!!

Cool!

 

[Aristocat]

Dayum! Sounding brown as usual and I'm loving it. As far as the pickups, I'm digging those MCs a tad more.

 

[metalmaniac93]

Dayum! Sounding brown as usual and I'm loving it. As far as the pickups, I'm digging those MCs a tad more.

MC's are great pickups!!!

 

[Meathead]

Sounds great, you know what you like tonewise (which sounds great) and you know how to get there.

I felt the same about the recent production Charvels.
A few years ago I had a USA So Cal and a USA San Dimas and I ended up selling them both within a month, the wood tone just didn't resonant nice....(I bought them cheap so no big deal, I think I actually made money on them). I blame it on the wood, I dunno.

But I currently have a single pickup USA model that sounds and plays just awesome. Like most guitar brands, you just have to weed through them.

Bargoon of the Century for me:
I have a '91 MIM Fender strat (first year of strat production in Mexico...they were simply assembling all USA made parts) it is hands down the best sounding and playing strat I have ever touched....and it cost me all of $300 to buy used off of someone.

 

[rockstah]

Nice rosewood neck there. I think the biggest contributing factor maybe the wood of this neck. It's soft and I think a lot of tone and feels comes from that piece of wood on a guitar.
I have two California fender strat necks and one is magic and one isn't even on the same guitar.
The white san dimas charvel i had before this one didnt last a day before i sent it back.
Overall this guitar is what it is and I'll keep at least for while since it is my only Floyd rose guitar.
Mark

 

[Meathead]

Nice rosewood neck there. I think the biggest contributing factor maybe the wood of this neck. It's soft and I think a lot of tone and feels comes from that piece of wood on a guitar.
I have two California fender strat necks and one is magic and one isn't even on the same guitar.
The white san dimas charvel i had before this one didnt last a day before i sent it back.
Overall this guitar is what it is and I'll keep at least for while since it is my only Floyd rose guitar.
Mark

Ah, that could be, the ones I sold off had maple fretboards. Over the last few years I've really started liking rosewood fretboards over maple, the guitars just seem to consistently sound better to me.
But i still think unfinished maple 'looks' great on the fretboard...I love it when it gets all darkened and grungy looking.

 

[rockstah]

Interesting that maple has the rep as being brighter when I think it is fatter and softer sounding than rosewood. I prefer rosewood over maple as well as Rosewood has a more focused brighter sound/ tighter bass to my ears and hands.
Lately I thought I would revisit maple necks but two guitars later I'm still favoring rosewood.

I hear ya on the look of a well played maple neck. Through the 80's I had a charvel guitar I built and I never cleaned that maple neck!

 

[Meathead]

Interesting that maple has the rep as being brighter when I think it is fatter and softer sounding than rosewood. I prefer rosewood over maple as well as Rosewood has a more focused brighter sound/ tighter bass to my ears and hands.
Lately I thought I would revisit maple necks but two guitars later I'm still favoring rosewood.

I hear ya on the look of a well played maple neck. Through the 80's I had a charvel guitar I built and I never cleaned that maple neck!

I thought it was maybe coincidence that my favorite sounding guitar's have rosewood fretboards. Thanks for your insight, makes sense.

My Wolfgang's fretboard was starting to look pretty good, but it needs to grunge up more...which is not happening very fast as I keep using my rosewood strats.