Guthrie Govan Charvel

  • Thread starter Thread starter alan67
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I've been wondering if the top is 3/16" thick ala Suhr and Anderson or if it has an 1/8" top like some Jacksons. If so $3500 is obscene. An 1/8" top is basically a laminate.
 
1/16" isn't a lot of difference in thickness to hang your hat on for value IMO. The top on the Charvel isn't too thick. Probably under 1/4" for sure but its tough to tell exactly because of the heavy roundover compared to Suhr/Anderson's slight roundover and scraped binding. The top on my Suhr looks 1/4" or so. Definitely thicker than the Charvel. I thought the top on the Charvel was aesthetically pleasing and the wood was high quality. I think its meant to be for looks more than tonal character.
 
Marykelly":1garm2bz said:
I had a chance to play one of the production models recently and was pretty underwhelmed compared to my Suhr custom modern. The craftsmanship was passable and everything was well fitted but the finish work was sloppy. They also seem to be coming out of the box with minor dings and dents in the back of the body because the basswood is so soft. There were also obvious uneven smears of tru-oil on the back. The neck wood and top wood were great although I didn't like the feel of the neck as much as the feel of my Suhr neck. Its much more of an Ibanez type shape than the Suhr modern elliptical shape. The attention to detail on the fret ends and rolled edges were also lacking for what I expect on a $3500 guitar. I'd strongly recommend a Suhr or Anderson over the Charvel if you're going to spend that much money. I'd love to see a $1000 version of this guitar and I'm sure charvel could make it happen as finishing is where all the money usually goes and these guitars have pretty much no finish anywhere. One quick wipe with some oil and thats it.
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Thanks for the input. I've been considering one of these but yeah, those are issues that you shouldn't see on a 3500$ guitar. Gonna check out the Anderson's
 
I agree about the 3/16" tops Suhr and Anderson use not making a drastic difference sound wise. That said an 1/8" top on a $3500.00+ guitar? Suhr and Anderson both do the bigger radius edge without scrape binding. I suspected the top was no more than an 1/8" because I've seen custom shop Jackson with tops like that.
 
LWD":axf52c9w said:
I agree about the 3/16" tops Suhr and Anderson use not making a drastic difference sound wise. That said an 1/8" top on a $3500.00+ guitar? Suhr and Anderson both do the bigger radius edge without scrape binding. I suspected the top was no more than an 1/8" because I've seen custom shop Jackson with tops like that.
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I'm not even sure the top is supposed to make a big difference. You could compare the mass of that maple top to the mass of the basswood back and see how much of a difference there is. I'd say its for looks and isn't supposed to change the tone because Guthrie likes the sound of basswood quite a bit but wasn't interested in making a bolt neck sig model with just a plain basswood body.
 
I own one of the prototypes and it's a great guitar. I have an Anderson drop top, and 2 Suhr moderns and this can hang with any of those. Mine is the flamed version, and this is what I like about it. The neck feels great although it's just a hair thicker than average to me, but that cool, it's thicker in a good way. The neck just has a wonderful feel to it and the flame on its backside that would make Nik Huber proud. It pops bigtime and it's not finished, stained or anything. The pickups sound great. The bridge is very tight and focused and gives you AH all over the place. The big surprise on this guitar is the diversity of sounds it's gets. Play through a decent clean channel and you'll get lost for days. This guitar can go full on telecaster at the 2 and 4 positions on the selector switch. Unreal tones. Really good.
I'm really diggin the old school Floyd type trem without the fine tuners or locking nut. She stay in tune perfect even with heavy abuse on the bar. Also, this is my first experience with the "tremolno" and it works great. You can make this guitar like a fixed bridge and do country 3 string style bends with no strings dropping flat. Or go full on Evh with only downward whammy work. In full floating mode, the trem will flutter for a good 2 seconds by itself ala Brad Gillis. This is a super cool guitar and although I'm in the Honeymoon stage still, I can't find anything I don't like about it. Maybe the price just a tad, but I definitely don't feel jipped. Everything on it is well thought out. Even the upside down input jack is cool. Your cable threads right up perfectly thru your strap.
There is one downside to this axe I must mention. It in no way will make you play anything close to GG, and that kinda sucks. Was hoping I would have an enlightenment in both skill and technique. Didn't happen.
Hope to get some sound clips of it up soon.
2 thumbs way up on this one for me.
LP
 
I hate to bump this old thread but I have to try and understand WHY,
are guitar prices so Effing insane this year? I have been wanting a Govan but no way
could I afford it at 3500. Now they have risen to 5400??? Almost a 2k increase
In one year, WTF? Who buys these? Certainly not musicians, I do not get who these are targeted
for. Rich business men that put them on the wall? Someone please explain.
http://www.charvel.com/guitars/index.ph ... 2869302000
 
dennyps4":3bwa57f1 said:
I hate to bump this old thread but I have to try and understand WHY,
are guitar prices so Effing insane this year? I have been wanting a Govan but no way
could I afford it at 3500. Now they have risen to 5400??? Almost a 2k increase
In one year, WTF? Who buys these? Certainly not musicians, I do not get who these are targeted
for. Rich business men that put them on the wall? Someone please explain.
http://www.charvel.com/guitars/index.ph ... 2869302000
Click to expand...

Well, that is list price - MF has them for $3,799. Worth it? To some, not to me.
 
buy suhr pro model...Best high end value you will find! I could not spend that much unless it was a custom spec for myself.
 
I don't think $3,700 is out of the realm of possibility for that guitar. A similar Suhr or Anderson would set you back similarly. And if you want that bridge, those pickups, and a true "strat" shaped body, you're unlikely to get that in either a Suhr or an Anderson.

I'm now a Suhr homer, but I don't think that the guitar at that price unreasonable. And I always go back to looking at violinists, pianists, or horn players. If they buy a new instrument they're looking at $5K+ easily. Guitar players have it cheap.
 
Ha!

I wouldn't pay more than 1K or that malformed Charvel thing.

I was in my local GC today ordering a Fulltone Standard Wah with buffer and boost. When I was testing it I noticed a Gibson LE-3 in a Plexiglass case next to me. The case was worth more than the guitar. GC had a price tag of 10K for this thing.

Hello!
 
59Bassman":287akfxd said:
I don't think $3,700 is out of the realm of possibility for that guitar. A similar Suhr or Anderson would set you back similarly. And if you want that bridge, those pickups, and a true "strat" shaped body, you're unlikely to get that in either a Suhr or an Anderson.

I'm now a Suhr homer, but I don't think that the guitar at that price unreasonable. And I always go back to looking at violinists, pianists, or horn players. If they buy a new instrument they're looking at $5K+ easily. Guitar players have it cheap.
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Im not sure why anyone would want a standard fender body over suhr/anderon. I'm sure the guitar plays and sounds great it just looks kinda thrown together if you ask me.
 
mniel8195":zeanfjd3 said:
Im not sure why anyone would want a standard fender body over suhr/anderon. I'm sure the guitar plays and sounds great it just looks kinda thrown together if you ask me.
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As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a bit of a traditionalist. When I see a Strat or Tele, I think "guitar". When I see something like a Suhr Modern, it throws me off a bit. Same thing with an ESP Mirage.

There are gigs where you just don't show up with an Ibanez RG. Not that a birds eye maple-topped Charvel would be acceptable, but it's more mainstream than (for instance) a Suhr Modern.

If it matters, that's why I went with a Suhr Classic for my custom build over a Standard. I'm too accustomed to that Strat body style. And if I order another, it'll probably be either a Classic or a Classic T.

Damn. I guess I'm getting old. You kids get off my lawn!
 
dennyps4":3egr696i said:
I hate to bump this old thread but I have to try and understand WHY,
are guitar prices so Effing insane this year? I have been wanting a Govan but no way
could I afford it at 3500. Now they have risen to 5400??? Almost a 2k increase
In one year, WTF? Who buys these? Certainly not musicians, I do not get who these are targeted
for. Rich business men that put them on the wall? Someone please explain.
http://www.charvel.com/guitars/index.ph ... 2869302000
Click to expand...

If I didn't have a mortgage to pay I could get 1 a month.
 
59Bassman":pn1e4bwt said:
I don't think $3,700 is out of the realm of possibility for that guitar. A similar Suhr or Anderson would set you back similarly. And if you want that bridge, those pickups, and a true "strat" shaped body, you're unlikely to get that in either a Suhr or an Anderson.
Click to expand...

I think that price for that guitar is insane. I've got two Suhr Modern Satins for around $1800 each...both with hardshell cases that absolutely slay. Also, I have two Suhr Modern Customs that don't come close to that price and one is a similarly spec'ed guitar: roasted maple neck, basswood body, flame maple top with a beautiful finish.....and the other with a pau ferro neck, mahogany body, with a beautiful CURLY KOA top....still $500 less. And as someone else said, a Suhr Modern Pro is even better deal.

It should not be priced any higher than $3K...and if I were going to set the price, it'd be right at $2,499.
 
I'd find a Music Zoo natural series Charvel before I shelled out that kind of cash for that.
 
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