1B, 2B, 3B...What is the Difference??

[Flagstaff Fury]

I already own a Jackson PS-5 and now I just bought a Charvel 3B from Amimbari (one of the guys here on the forums) This thing is GUNNA BE AWESOME!!! I was just wanting to know..what is the difference between the 1B, 2B, and 3B? Thanks guys. I am excited to be making my own Jackson/ Charvel collection.

Calvin

[JACKSONFREAK]

Just a guess but maybe the 1b is a single pup bolt on, the 2b 2 pup bolt on and the 3b is a neck thru 2 pup.
Gil

[VitaminG]

yup. Plus the 1 has a maple fretboard & the 3 has active electronics (IIRC)

[Chowderboots]

Yep all true.

1B-bolt on, maple fingerboard, P pickup, passive vol/tone. 2B-P/J pickups, passive vol/vol/tone (correct me if I'm wrong, amimbari or someone), bolt-on, rosewood board. 1B and 2B have the same body shape. 3B is neck through with a preamp, pickup selector, and has larger tuners than all of the others (which I like more). 4B has the same body shape and preamp and pickups as the 3B, but it's bolt on with tuners like the 1B or 2B.

So did you get his red one? You're gonna love it, man.

[amimbari]

one picture is worth 1000 words right?

model 1,2,3,4 ( and now I must take another pic of a model 3 because the red one was sold to F.Fury. )

model 1+2 have a different body than the 3+4.
model 1 is the only one that came with a OEM maple fretboard.
model 3+4 have preamps 1+2 do not.
model 3 is the only NT.

[amimbari]

Yep all true.

1B-bolt on, maple fingerboard, P pickup, passive vol/tone. 2B-P/J pickups, passive vol/vol/tone (correct me if I'm wrong, amimbari or someone), bolt-on, rosewood board. 1B and 2B have the same body shape. 3B is neck through with a preamp, pickup selector, and has larger tuners than all of the others (which I like more). 4B has the same body shape and preamp and pickups as the 3B, but it's bolt on with tuners like the 1B or 2B.

So did you get his red one? You're gonna love it, man.

close.....

not VVT but VBT, and the tuners on the model3 are the large opengear, all others get the small sealed tuners.

[Chowderboots]

close.....

not VVT but VBT, and the tuners on the model3 are the large opengear, all others get the small sealed tuners.

Aah hah. Thanks. Only played one once...I wonder how that passive bass control works?

That's what I meant about the tuners. I love the look and feel of the ones on the 3B! They look perfect on that headstock.

[amimbari]

I forgot one more thing

that is if you look at the knob spacing, the 2,3 are the same, and the 1,4 are wider spaced....

[Chowderboots]

How about that...

[amimbari]

having a picture is always a bonus, cause as long as I have had these things, I never really bothered to look at knob spacing, unless the spacing changed between years somehow. I know the control covers for the 1-2 are smaller than the 3-4 but I always thought it was due to them mounting the preamp inside. Then they used the 3b body with the skinny horns and large control cover on almost every unit made past the 80's ...I dunno, I just play em, I didn't create them, but I'm glad someone did :ROTF:

[Firefyte]

OK....I have read the threads and have learned alot about the different bass models. But I recently purchased a Charvel bass at a yard sale and have no idea which model it is. It has P/J pups (three total) passive volume and tone controls with a 3-way switch between them. It has the large "toothpaste" Charvel logo on the head with a bolt on neck. I took it apart to clean it up and peaked under the neck for the model number. All I found was "L-5" stamped on the neck. It is a great bass. I cleaned it up and adjusted the bridge and added a set of GHS Boomers and it sounds great! The previous owner did not have any info other than to say he paid $600 for it new in 1993...he played it for a couple of years and then decided he liked playing the drums more. He said the bass has been untouched under his bed for the last 15 years. It has two dings on the body that he had touched up and you really can't see them...you actually feel them before you see them. The body is a dark graphite metalic color. The metal neck plate on the back has the Charvel "guitar" shaped logo with serial number 354821. The two center (offset) pick ups and the back (bridge) pickup all have the small toothpaste Charvel name on them. I have played this bass thru Riffworks and it sounds really good considering I only payed $55 for it.

Can anyone offer any info on this bass?

[amimbari]

no offense partner, but one picture would tell a whole lot more than your paragraph that describes just about every unit they ever made.....but as a guess, you have a 89 Charvel 575 Deluxe...

does it look like this one of mine?
forget the fact it has a Kramer neck on it......

[Firefyte]

That's true. a picture would have saved alot of typing. I took this tonight. Is this an 89 575 Deluxe?

[amimbari]

that is indeed a 575, 1989 - 1990 something like that, and new in 93? perhaps if it was sitting somewhere for a while in a case until they finally sold it at whatever store he bought it from. That color to me is very cool as I'm into "off the cuff" colors.

( the guitar players here also play some of the coolest basses I've seen in a long time ), but to save you some time trying to find a full pic here 's a recent one of most of them:


What can I say -- I'm into Kramers and Jacksons

The red one I showed is actually a 2b, but when I got it someone took the blend knob out and put a switch, so it looks like a 575 for a comparison pic.

As far as what yours is, nothing different. poplar body, nice wood maple neck, good electronics j-20 p and j150 j pickups. Think of yours as the predecessor of the ConcertEX because it was, just with a Charvel logo on it . 599.95 when new, well uh, your guy paid retail for it.

today it would fetch 200 or so.

[Newc]

Warrior Bass! :headbang:

How does it balance? Nosedive with a nylon strap when you let go of the neck?

[amimbari]

it is a nice sounding bass, with neck-dive-from-hell --worse than anything I ever played - I wished the body was made out of something a lot heavier than whatever it is, agatha basswood pine I don't know. It's a cheap Chinese copy I picked up for 80 bucks and threw all my spare Jackson parts into it before it was playworthy I have to use my wide strap on it and then I only notice I'm still holding it up still is when I watch myself on videotape.

[Firefyte]

Thanks for the info Amimbari! I had my own doubts about it being bought new for $600.....but I am new to Jackson/Charvels and really wasn't sure what the actual current value was. What I do know is the neck is straight, the sound is great and it is alot of fun to play. So for $55 I am a happy Charvel owner.

That is a really nice collection of Kramer/Jackson/Charvels you have there! Man it is so true......more basses is always better! I currently have three including the 575. I don't play live anymore so I kept my 76 Fender P and my MTD 5 string for home recording. I am really liking the sound of the 575 after I adjusted the action and added the new GHS boomers. I want to tweak around on it a little more to see what it can do. I also like the feel of the Charvels neck.....I have pretty large hands and the neck feels very comfortable to play.


Thanks again for the great info!

[amimbari]

you know what's funny firefyte, there's a 575 in the same color on ebay this week.....missing a knob, but still a similar unit -- you should buy it for a matched-set 149.95 BIN .. ya boy!!!!!