NGD Charvel Stle 2 tele USA

[halebox]

Wild Card 6 Dreamsicle. Will this not have the classic charvel sound although it has an ebony board? I dont really use floyds so I am ok with hardtails. Its a little bright colored which panics me as I dont like bright reddish guitars. I was set on one of these but I'm liking the maple board san dimas will sound youtube clips better

Style 2 Tele shape. I dig the look of these. Do they sound similar or exact to a san dimas? I believe these were usa made. Do they feel balanced and good against the body? I wont use floyd probably but I am into having a locking nut and fine tuners to stay in tune and go song to song with minimal tweaks during a set.

Regular San Dimas from USA or Japan not mexican. Do the 2 versions sound similar? Do the usa or japan play better than the other?

I play les pauls mostly as there is a thickness to the sound that my SG's and firebird dont have. Do charvels have a thick sound or closer to a biting SG sound or in between?

 

[halebox]

I guess no one plays charvels here. Now I like the so cal you tubes the best maybe it's the dimarzios

 

[rcerex]

I have a San Dimas USA that plays and sounds great, really low and fast action. I like the tone I get from the mahogany/maple cap body and maple neck with a Duncan RTM and Dimarzio SDS1 in the neck. The finish on the neck is a satin clear and I played a Charvel Japan (I think) that was raw wood which I liked better. I think the Japanese Charvels seem to get more love at the Charvel forums, go figure.

 

[Skrapmetal]

Wild Card 6 Dreamsicle. Will this not have the classic charvel sound although it has an ebony board? I dont really use floyds so I am ok with hardtails. Its a little bright colored which panics me as I dont like bright reddish guitars. I was set on one of these but I'm liking the maple board san dimas will sound youtube clips better

I have a Wild Card 6, I f'n love it. Unless you look at orange as "reddish" (yeah, I get that orange comes from red), it isn't reddish. It is definitely orange.

There isn't a HUGE difference between ebony and maple fretboards for tone... both are bright as a fretboard material. Maple will be a little snappier, but I prefer ebony tone-wise. There is no denying how cool maple boards can look on the right guitar, though.

The neck is fantastic. The fretwork is good, and the oiled finish is awesome. I got mine second-hand for a great price shortly after they came out, the price is going back up on them now that there are no more japanese-made Charvels. I can't comment on the tone with the factory pickups as mine had been swapped when I got it and I swapped them again myself (currently has Seymour Duncan Distortion/Quarterpounder).

If you decide you can like the color, you wont regret anything else about it.

Here's mine hanging out with some friends...

 

[halebox]

Ok I just went to check out local wildcard 6. It didnt do it for me. It was fine but nothing special. He also had a San Dimas and a So Cal both japanese. I liked So Cal best but still they just felt kid of underwhelming and slightly cheap feeling. They felt like I imagined how the new Mexican ones would feel. Im still interested in the style 2 tele shaped one. I guess its a thicker body. Maybe I need to go custom shop or a custom build

 

[halebox]

I went ahead and and got this
I heard the USA one had more solid necks and I guess thats what may have bothered me on the japanese ones. Ill report back when it arrives

 

[srommes]

Don't know what your hang up is with the Mexican Charvels. I have two with a third on the way. They feel and look great. The necks are way better than that tinted crap on the Japanese versions. Try one if you get a chance.

 

[Chris O]

Nice axe! I had the exact same one.

"More solid necks"??? Having owned about every iteration of Charvel made, all the necks are great. As a matter of fact, I preferred the recent Japanese version to the USA version. Fretwork was arguably better, and I liked the rolled board edges. The Mexis are closer to the USA version than the Japanese version. The USA's had a lot of variability - I had 6 of them.

All your questions were about how they "sound", which is impossible to quantify. It's like asking, "What color is blue?".

 

[thenine]

I went ahead and and got this
I heard the USA one had more solid necks and I guess thats what may have bothered me on the japanese ones. Ill report back when it arrives

Whoa! Super cool! congrats!

 

[halebox]

Ive not tried the mexican ones. I hope they are good because I want a hardtail. I just read somewhere that the japanese ones had softer maple and the usa felt denser.

 

[legend71]

I have had many Charvels USA Pro Mods and Custom Shops. Also the Japanese Pro Mod. I like the USA Pro Mods best. Even over my custom shop ones. I think the Jap Pro Mod version left somethings to be desired. Have not tried the Mexican ones though.

 

[halebox]

The pro mod is a san dimas without pickup ring and direct mounted pickups correct?

 

[Chris O]

Most refer to the SD without pickups rings as the pro-mod, but lots of ambiguity. The Tele is the USA SD Style 2, where the USA SD Style 1 did have pickup rings. The SoCal has always had the pickguard...and then there are the Wild Cards...

The Japanese models were the first "official" Pro Mods.

 

[LowDesertSludge]

I went ahead and and got this
I heard the USA one had more solid necks and I guess thats what may have bothered me on the japanese ones. Ill report back when it arrives

That's effin tits ! Nice Tele axe!!!

 

[Skrapmetal]

Don't know what your hang up is with the Mexican Charvels. I have two with a third on the way. They feel and look great. The necks are way better than that tinted crap on the Japanese versions. Try one if you get a chance.

Tinted crap?

 

[halebox]

Got the Charvel USA style 2 tele. I love it. It feels way more solid than the japanese ones I tried. Brought it to practice and it just did everything I wanted it to and stayed in tune perfect. I even used a little tasteful floyd action. Not quite sure if I love th JB in the bridge yet. Now I need a magenta san dimas and a candy green socal! I love that its an $800 guitar and not a $4000 les paul that I usually bring to gigs.

 

[AndyK]

Very cool - a Barney Tele!! They're not making them in the USA anymore, so hold onto it! Just lose the JB and get a better (for you) bridge pickup. Try a Duncan Custom 5!

 

[nigelpkay]

Ive not tried the mexican ones. I hope they are good because I want a hardtail. I just read somewhere that the japanese ones had softer maple and the usa felt denser.

I have a Mexican hardtail in black. It's ok, but it's very light, feels almost like a kids guitar. With the hardtail and locking tuners it really stays in tune nice though. Sounds bigger than it looks and feels. Neck is thin, seems thinner than a regular San Dimas I used to have from Japan. Fretwork is ok, but definitely not as good as the Japan models. Sadly, I've never tried a USA pro mod yet. I have a guy coming to this area soon with a USA San Dimas Wildcard 3, the matte black one with the single humbucker and I want to compare it to mine.

 

[maddnotez]

 

[Racerxrated]

Got the Charvel USA style 2 tele. I love it. It feels way more solid than the japanese ones I tried. Brought it to practice and it just did everything I wanted it to and stayed in tune perfect. I even used a little tasteful floyd action. Not quite sure if I love th JB in the bridge yet. Now I need a magenta san dimas and a candy green socal! I love that its an $800 guitar and not a $4000 les paul that I usually bring to gigs.

Congrats!
I've played and owned 10 USAs between 2008-09s, and all of them had good to great tone. The necks were all really nice, and 2 of them were unreal easy players...one of which I still own, a Plum SoCal. Same color as your Tele. I've also owned 3 Charvel Customs and they sounded killer, played great but my Plum SoCal still outplays those.
The MIJ stuff from 10-11 were also really good, a step up from the first few yrs of Mexi Charvels...really not even close. Those first few yrs of Mexi Charvels felt really cheap and they didn't resonate very well, cheaper wood I imagine.
Now, I've heard they are much better now...though I haven't tried one lately.