help me identify this charvel!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter guitarnate2000
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guitarnate2000

guitarnate2000

Well-known member
a local guy is trying to sell this. he claims its an 88 model japanese charvel. I can't find anything on it. has anyone here ever seen an 88 model charvel strat like this. the pickguard is aftermarket

he wants $250 for it so I am trying to verify this is an actual charvel and not water slide decals. he also claims the neck plate was like this when he purchased it from a garage sale. any help here is mucho appreciated as always!

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I dont believe this is a Charvel at all The model 88 was rear routed and had a slanted humbucker. No pickguard, 22 frets.
 
I've never seen anything like this before. 6 on a side logo on a strat head. This looks like a bunch of parts to me, not a production guitar. Not an expert on the japanese Charvels, so I could be wrong...

Steve
 
Its a Japanese something. May be a 3a or something that came with a guard. Not a model 88 tho.
 
sah5150":3162xm9r said:
I've never seen anything like this before. 6 on a side logo on a strat head. This looks like a bunch of parts to me, not a production guitar. Not an expert on the japanese Charvels, so I could be wrong...

Steve
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I concur...I never saw the import/Model Series logo on a Strathead. Parts mutt for sure.
 
thats kind of what I am thinking. I simply cannot find any similar model anywhere so....
 
Well, it's a cool looking Strat style guitar. The seller may have been duped by someone, unless of course he's passing himself off as the original owner.
 
hmmm... if you search charvel on houston.craigslist.org you may find something very fishy... he's got a few versions out there! one version has an unpainted headstock.
 
The neck plate is a big strike. They did make some Japanese strathead charvels in the 90s, but the ones I remember had big logos - I believe they were 3/3 headstocks though, not 6 inline on the logo.

All the strathead charvels I can remember had skunk stripes too. If this was an '88, it's not a japanese built released in the USA model.
 
They did use that logo on stratheads sold outside of the US.

I don't think the body is a Charvel. The neck probably not a Charvel either but I have no clue why someone would want to install that kind of logo
 
stratotone":tt3pyhc0 said:
The neck plate is a big strike. They did make some Japanese strathead charvels in the 90s, but the ones I remember had big logos - I believe they were 3/3 headstocks though, not 6 inline on the logo.

All the strathead charvels I can remember had skunk stripes too. If this was an '88, it's not a japanese built released in the USA model.
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I don't think you are correct about that, man. These were USA models that had a funky strat-like headstock made in the 90s, but I don't believe there were any actual strat heads that came out of Japan, and certainly no actual strat heads with six inline logos. Those American made funky almost strat heads had three on a side logos which always differentiated American made from the Model series, etc. made in Japan. Perhaps I'll be proved wrong, but I've never seen a Japanese legit strat head, or any strat head with a six inline logo. It's certainly odd though because only an idiot would put that six inline logo on a strat head. You'd want the three on a side to pass it off as a USA model...

Yeah, should have an import Charvel neck plate as well...

Steve
 
Shawn Lutz":2y4jt501 said:
They did use that logo on stratheads sold outside of the US.

I don't think the body is a Charvel. The neck probably not a Charvel either but I have no clue why someone would want to install that kind of logo
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Shawn - I know you know your Charvels. Can you point me to some pics of legit Japanese strat heads with the six inline logo? I've never seen one and would like to...

Steve
 
Doesn't look like any Charvel I've ever seen... the body shape (contour wise) and bridge point to being a cheap Squier. I suspect someone wanted a Charvel clone and used a Squier Strat to get it. Not worth $250 IMO... I might give $50 for it if it plays well.

W.
 
sah5150":bi6iz6qy said:
stratotone":bi6iz6qy said:
The neck plate is a big strike. They did make some Japanese strathead charvels in the 90s, but the ones I remember had big logos - I believe they were 3/3 headstocks though, not 6 inline on the logo.

All the strathead charvels I can remember had skunk stripes too. If this was an '88, it's not a japanese built released in the USA model.
Click to expand...
I don't think you are correct about that, man. These were USA models that had a funky strat-like headstock made in the 90s, but I don't believe there were any actual strat heads that came out of Japan, and certainly no actual strat heads with six inline logos. Those American made funky almost strat heads had three on a side logos which always differentiated American made from the Model series, etc. made in Japan. Perhaps I'll be proved wrong, but I've never seen a Japanese legit strat head, or any strat head with a six inline logo. It's certainly odd though because only an idiot would put that six inline logo on a strat head. You'd want the three on a side to pass it off as a USA model...

Yeah, should have an import Charvel neck plate as well...

Steve
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The USA models with the funky almost strat heads were called the San Dimas series - I owned several of them and still have a red strat. We used to call them 'sears' headstocks at the JCF. (I used to be a huge Jackson guy, was a time when Charvel/Jacksons were all I played). Somebody on the JCF popped up some pics of a Japanese (or possibly European) strathead charvel that was made in the 90s, it freaked everyone out because we all wanted stratheads and Charvel/Jackson wouldn't build you one for love or money. Fast forward a few years, fender buys Charvel/Jackson, and the circle is complete. ;0
 
I think the neck has been swapped but that neck is correct for a Japanese market only strat head with that logo and two string trees like that.

ETA: in case people don't know Charvel made a shit load of stratheads for the Japanese market only well into the 90's, including a Jake E Lee model, Gary Moore and Holdsworth as well as all kinds of varients.
 
sah5150":130aslbz said:
Shawn Lutz":130aslbz said:
They did use that logo on stratheads sold outside of the US.

I don't think the body is a Charvel. The neck probably not a Charvel either but I have no clue why someone would want to install that kind of logo
Click to expand...
Shawn - I know you know your Charvels. Can you point me to some pics of legit Japanese strat heads with the six inline logo? I've never seen one and would like to...

Steve
Click to expand...


No but the whole strathead thing was not allowed on guitars sold in the USA but I know Charvel did in fact build strathead Charvels over seas and sold in some European and Asian markets. You can dig around the JCF and probabally find it. I used to own a bunch of the Model series as base modes to build off of but not int that anymore ;)
 
Offer 200$. Still a good price for all those parts and a cool decal no?
 
here is one of his adds

Black Charvel Strat style guitar with all original parts. Body is in good condition aside from a few minor imperfections here and there. All original chrome hardware which was rare for Charvel in the late 80s, to get the chrome hardware you had to haved the guitar custom made from the Jackson/Charvel factory. Has a red mirror pickguard that was added later to the guitar. Has single Charvel San Dimas humbucker with a 500k volume pot. Sounds great with great action. Asking $300 obo.
 
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