NGD: 2020 Charvel Aged Nitro

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braintheory

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Just got yesterday this 2020 Aged Nitro Charvel Custom Shop San Dimas in Graffiti Yellow. It has a roasted alder body and roasted Birdseye maple neck. This is my 7th Charvel I’ve had, and while the others aren’t gonna be leaving, this is hands down the best one I’ve had yet in both sound and playability. The 2014 Dakota Red Nitro Aged Nitro is now 2nd best. So far these are my overall favorite guitars made in recent years along with EGC’s and McInturff Carolina Custom

I think from all these roasted woods on it (which I really wish was done more often) this guitar has more warmth to its tone than my others and is also my tightest and punchiest sounding one (seems to be the effect of the roasted woods) and like the other aged nitro I’ve got the notes all sustain and sing so well across the board, especially the higher notes, and do so even just slightly better on this one that the 2014 Dakota red one. My Novo’s also have all those roasted woods and have that real warmth to their sound

Playability wise it’s a lot like my 2014 Dakota Red aged nitro, but the neck on this is wider and flatter and for me just right. Probably the best playability to me of any guitar I’ve had so far. Really sleek!!

Not much more to say about. I wasn’t sure about the yellow at first, but it’s grown on me and I actually like it more than the Dakota red. Both this and the Dakota one came with that same meh Dimarzio set, but this one sounded killer even with them (much better than the Dakota did with them) and now has my go to Tone Specific’s in it. A little heavier than the Dakota at 7.65 vs 7.45 lbs. and sounds tighter, more punchy and growly than the Dakota. The Dakota is a little more picky about what pickups you put in it, but I can tell already that this new one is one of those guitars that sounds great with anything in it pretty much now that I’ve tried a few in it. Really wish roasted woods were more common or even the norm
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Congrats! Hard to go wrong with a USA Charvel. The wider/flatter profile was the most common profile of the original USA line. The 84 that is getting Re-done in LA has that same neck. My old one that you have now is definitely a less wide profile, and not as flat.
 
Nice bro!! Amazing!! Charvel make such great guitars!! I sold one a while back I wish I had not!!
 
RedPlated said:
I have a white one and it's phenomenal. It sounds good with any pickup I put in it, which is uncommon for most guitars.
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Exactly I’ve already had 3 different sets of pickups that are all very different (gonna try more later) and it was great with all of them. There aren’t many others guitars I can say that about. I’m very confident it’s the roasted woods
 
mooncobra said:
Nice bro!! Amazing!! Charvel make such great guitars!! I sold one a while back I wish I had not!!
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Definitely! These 2 aged nitro ones in particular I consider to be without a doubt the best superstrats I’ve tried. For superstrats I’ve had James Tyler, Suhr’s, Vik, ESP Custom Shop/Original Series, many Mayones’s, Skervesen, Bernie Rico Jr, McNaught, Knaggs, Aristides and have tried Framus Custom, Schecter Custom Shop, Dean Custom Shop, 3 Siggi Braun’s, Anderson’s, Caparison’s, many Vigier’s, Ibanez J Custom’s. I didn’t like any of those ones anywhere near as much. Only SS still on my radar to check out are GNG
 
braintheory said:
Exactly I’ve already had 3 different sets of pickups that are all very different (gonna try more later) and it was great with all of them. There aren’t many others guitars I can say that about. I’m very confident it’s the roasted woods
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You got the guitar yesterday and you've already had 3 sets of pickups in it!?!

Wat in the wat :LOL:
 
Devin said:
You got the guitar yesterday and you've already had 3 sets of pickups in it!?!

Wat in the wat :LOL:
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Well I’m counting the stock Dimarzio’s as one of the 3 haha, but yes I always experiment with lots of pickup swapping. I’m a huge gear nerd, but isn’t that all why we’re on here lol
 
Beyond Black said:
Wow Sam, nice score! I dig the color. Great vintage, relic color.
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The color has really grown on me. I’ve noticed that all the best sounding guitars I’ve had actually look beat up whether it’s from intentional relic’ing like this one, just being old/vintage guitars or from it getting that way from being my most used guitars lol or the previous owner using it so much
 
Racerxrated said:
Congrats! Hard to go wrong with a USA Charvel. The wider/flatter profile was the most common profile of the original USA line. The 84 that is getting Re-done in LA has that same neck. My old one that you have now is definitely a less wide profile, and not as flat.
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Glad they went back to it for this 2020 one. All the ones I’ve had played great, but this one has that preferred neck shape for me, equally good frets as the 2014 Dakota one (which are really excellent) and that same sleeker feel as the Dakota. That ‘84 is definitely still the biggest sounding of the bunch and has the deepest bottom end of them all. That ‘84 maple you have should be cool. I really like my ‘86 maple. Very snappy, attacky, zingy and bright in a good way imo and still sounds thick from being heavy. At least mine is. My ‘86 is almost 9 lbs
 
psychodave said:
Looks great.
I’m a massive fan of the nitros. The neck shape is the best I’ve played.
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Agreed! I don’t like to be one of those over-hypers/exaggerators, but this yellow one really is even better than the Dakota red one I got very recently (still keeping both). I think this and the EGC are as a whole the best non-vintage guitars I’ve come across so far and if I were to exclude ‘50’s and early ‘60’s Gibson’s and Fender’s haha then I would just say my favorite guitars (vintage or current)
 
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