Whats the verdict on the Charvel Production Series ?

[troublehead]

I'm looking for another nice superstrat with a maple neck. I don't want to go over my head on $$$ so I'm looking at the San Dimas. Unfortunately, I haven't paid much attention to the threads on these. Can someone give me a brief lowdown

 

[Gitfiddler]

Different strokes..., but I wouldn't buy one new. The colors are cool, but for the $$, i'd rather just have a nice strat. I did see a blue one for $599 and would consider one at that price.

 

[troublehead]

Thats what I'm worried about.........I'm a strat fanboy. I can snag a new American Deluxe FMT H/S/S for a couple hundred more.

 

[Digital Jams]

I like mine, got a killer deal on it new and have owned it for over a year now so the neck is just getting better and better.

 

[jonny toetags]

I played a kick ass used tangerine one at a local shop.
Too bad I have to save for the Morris balance

 

[sixstrings]

I've seen some pretty harsh criticisms of them, however, the San Dimas and Socal models I had were great for the money. The only reason I didn't keep them was because I can't seem to keep Floyd Rose guitars. As fun as they are to play, I just don't get along with them. One of them had Dimarzios and the other had Seymour Duncans.

I didn't care for the Seymour Duncan JB/59 combo so I switched it out for a Super Distortion and Air Norton. That was a major improvement. I'm also not a big fan of the Tone Zone so I switched that out for a Norton, and of course that was an improvement.

After replacing the pickups, I didn't really want to let them go but I have a super nice Jackson SL2H to do my floating trem stuff.

Overall, they're nice guitars. The tung oil necks are great to play but get dirty very easily. The trems needed adjustment. I don't think they were the same quality Original Floyd Rose trems like the one on my Jackson SL2H although they're OFRs. Still though, they did stay in tune quite well.

They were $999 at the time and I think I paid maybe $850 each because I bought them at the same time. That to me was a pretty good deal.

Let me say this, however. The custom shop Charvels are superior. They sound and play better so there are good reasons for the higher price tag, but if you're looking for something close at a cheap price tag, these are it.

 

[bunghole]

they play great

however, the non-recessed floyd is a guarantee that I am never gonna own one

 

[EvilBatman]

I dig the necks on them and tonally, they've been pretty good across the board in my encounters with them. Not a bad sounding one in the six or so I've played. Though, no real standouts either.

 

[BGG]

I just sold my So Cal, canny guitar but the neck wasn't for me, the Floyd felt cheap but it was an ok guitar, my Suhrs spoil me ...... can't play anything else

 

[glpg80]

dont like them - buddies dont prefer them either.

me and pete went back and forth on this lol - but i actually prefer my imported 475 special over them.

id recommend a strat tbh.

things i didnt like - neck contour, body wood/tone, and the build quality difference between models - some people are getting "it" and others arent. all the ones i have played i havent felt comfortable with at all except possibly 1 which was a tele version.

i really wanted to like them - but i cant really lay my finger on what it is about those guitars. it just doesnt suite me.

i have been eyeballing a new guitar for a long time - maybe 6-8 months. i finally went with ESP and ill never turn back. but yes for you i'd recommend just getting a strat - its what i would do personally.

 

[just42dave]

they play great

however, the non-recessed floyd is a guarantee that I am never gonna own one

sold two cuz of that ....hated them

 

[Les Zombie]

i seen a few and they looked nice, i havent sat down and played one.


are the bodies multi piece.

 

[Chubtone]

There are tons of threads on here about these guitars. We've talked about it so much I think we're all tired of talking about them for a little while. Do the search and you'll see that the opinion on these is pretty darn good.

 

[rupe]

They are a great guitar for the price. If you are ok with taking care of a few "fit and finish" issues, they can made to play as well as their custom shop brethern. Typically they will need a fret level/polish and a set-up to be stellar players. If you are anal about the finish, you may want to do a polish job on it to bring it to the next level of lustre, especially the black models.

They are also a great platform for mods, especially the So-Cal (routed for HSH under the guard). The cheaper Floyd worked fine on all of the ones that I tried (well over a dozen) but it's an easy upgrade to a German Floyd if need be. I love the necks...they did a great job in capturing a bit of the feel of the Charvels of yesteryear (there was so much variance in the old ones that "feel" becomes fairly arbitrary)...this definitely is not a relabled Fender neck profile. The necks are not small by any means, but not big and chunky either...a great medium "C" profile that fills the hand nicely without feeling too big.

If you can do your own work (or don't mind paying a luthier), I highly recommend one.

 

[thiswaythatway]

they play great

however, the non-recessed floyd is a guarantee that I am never gonna own one

Take a saw to it.

 

[Chubtone]

they play great

however, the non-recessed floyd is a guarantee that I am never gonna own one

Take a saw to it.

Yeah! Make it a junior Star body!

 

[SuperStratSlinger]

The colors are cool, but for the $$, i'd rather just have a nice strat.

USA produciton Charvel San Dimas: $1099
USA production Fender Stratocaster: $1199

Does not compute. The Charvels have more playable specs across the board too: jumbo frets, flatter radius, and a Floyd.

 

[Digital Jams]

The colors are cool, but for the $$, i'd rather just have a nice strat.

USA produciton Charvel San Dimas: $1099
USA production Fender Stratocaster: $1199

Does not compute. The Charvels have more playable specs across the board too: jumbo frets, flatter radius, and a Floyd.

Agreed, two different guitars esp the necks.

Getting tired of hearing guys compare them to $2000+ guitars, after $1500 imo you are buying name and fancy woods which is cool but nothing to do with the basic function of the guitar.