To mod or not to mod????? charvel fusion

[charvelsteen]

Hi guys, i have a mij 89 charvel fusion custom in magenta. my question is to mod or not to mod?
The neck and mid rail are good but imo there got nothing on a dimarzio. i have a dimarzio hs4/protrack and megadrive that i could put in. But it would require routing the m/n pickup cavity out to fit them. Chances are it would be a perfect route but sometimes you can get a little chip on the edge where it meets the paint.

i love my fusion and will never sell it so its not a matter of resale value. its just a hard choice to make. I know a lot of guys use hotrails in them but,,i have a few other guitars already with them.

Any thought's????

[DalyTek]

Well, it's your guitar, so you do what you think is best. Personally, I want to keep my Fusion unmolested.
If you're not happy with it, change it. Routing it out will destroy the resale value, but since that's not a concern for you...
If you do opt to route, make sure you have someone who is competent with a router do it. Don't risk a guitar you love to save a few bucks.

Maybe you might also want to explore the options of a stacked pickup?

[charvelsteen]

The dimarzio hs4 is stacked i think, looks like a single coil but has 4 conducter wiring.
fusions seem to go cheap in the states atm, i am in Australia and they never show up on ebay here.

its such a hard choice it would sound really nice with a hs4 in the neck. The rails it came with are good and powerfull there just a bit harsh. my friend has a spectrum and has the same problem,

[DalyTek]

Is it set up with a humbucker in the bridge and single coils in the middle and neck?
I'm confused because you said you'd need to route the hole to accommodate the HS4....

[charvelsteen]

Yeah man HSS setup, the dimarzio hs4 is a singlecoil malmsteen pup

[DalyTek]

Well, the HS4 would go right in the neck position without any routing, so I am lost as to where the problem is?

[charvelsteen]

? charvels cant fit dimarzio pickups unless you custom order a flangless dimarzio from there custom shop. the charvel single coil routes are a oval shapped so the flange on the dimarzio wont fit,,,,im not confused its a charvel fact

here is a charvel fusion notice how the pickups are a oval shape and lack the flange found on dimarzio?

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=ch...1t:429,r:2,s:0

and on this picture of a dimarzio you can see the flange at the bottom which prevents it going into many charvels and jacksons out there

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=di...1t:429,r:5,s:0

[DalyTek]

Oh, you have one of the Strat type single coil pickups with the little V-shaped tab in the center where the wires some out, right?

I see where your problem is then. If it were me, I would just sell the HS4 and then pick up another HS4 without the tab.
Paying someone to route out the neck pickup route would cost more than replacing the pickup.
And also it will look a little wonky having the 2 single coil routes shaped different.

[charvelsteen]

yeah exactly like a strat,
like i said i have a protrack and a hs4 to go in, both with the flange. my luthier would charge 50au each pickup, which is alot cheaper then a custom ordered flangless dimarzio's....so you see my problem now? the fusion plays so well its not funny the dimarzio's would make it el primo

[BayRocker]

I would mod the pickup before I mod the guitar. From looking at the hs-4 it looks like it could be done. And it appears that there are versions that do not have that tab.

[DalyTek]

It still might kill the resale value, but it's for you and you only, so who cares?
I still think swapping the pickup would be a better choice....but....
If the luthier is skilled, he should be able to make that minor route change without any splintering and keep the top looking great.
So, my opinion....IF you trust that luthier's skills, go for it. Sounds like you already love your fusion, and if that's all it takes to make it perfect for you....then do it!

[charvelsteen]

yeah,,,,,u make a good point if i am not going to sell it and i know it will make it better for me so why not? those pesky dimarzio why cant they all be flange less. i do trust my tech he is a master craftier haha

[toejam]

I would mod the pickup before I mod the guitar. From looking at the hs-4 it looks like it could be done.

+1. Just have the tech cut the bottom of the flange off the pickup.

[DalyTek]

They do that because most people who are looking for single coil pickups have Strats. It's one of the most popular guitars out there, not to mention the most copied style. I don't care for them myself, but that's just me haha. My Fusion Pro (and probably yours too) will blow any strat I have ever seen away!

[charvelsteen]

yeah strat destroyer, besides the 24 frets haha