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Charvel vs Axis

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  • Charvel vs Axis

    I've always been into two style guitars. One is the Charvel Promods since their relaunch in 2008 and the other are your EVH style guitars- at the top of that heap is the EBMM Axis. I've played them all and that guitar rules! Having said that, a Charvel Promod is an EXCEPTIONAL value! I've used them as a base for experimenting with different pickups and pots and tremolos. The've been a great test best for me. With my last build, a red MIJ Socal, I finally nailed the tone I've been hearing in my head all these years. I put a Dean Baker Act pickup in the bridge and a Dimarzio Area 67' in the neck. And the guitar just wails! I think I'm in love with this pickup, the DMT Baker Act. Its a cross between an Axis/ Fred/ JB pickup. Its compressed but not. Big and ballsy and has grind. High output that sounds great distorted but that's really it. to get it to clean up, I need to combine it with the neck pickup which gives it some added treble and lowers the output slightly. But what it does do, it gives notes and chords clarity. Where the Axis is compressed, the DMT is big and open.

    But that brings me to the EBMM Axis. Its my #1 guitar. I love the neck! The PU's sound awesome and I really have no complaints. And its the best of the EVH models, Fender and Peavey included.

    I recently sold one of my charvels (a MIJ Primer Scream wildcard- it wasn't doing it for me anymore.) and I want to replace it with something cool. I can do another promod or another axis and I dunno. The Charvel really is a test bed for me. It gives me something to do and I like to tinker. But with my last build, I nailed it and don't want to change a thing. So maybe I get a different body wood and mess with the neck PU, but the Baker Act is a total keeper! But then for a few hundred more is the Axis, and its nearly perfect! But as someone who likes to tinker, I don't really need to change anything with the Axis. Its the most perfect stock guitar I've ever played. Decisions decisions.

    How are the mexican promods? I've only owned the USA and MIJ versions. Maybe one of the Ash bodies. I've never owned an ash guitar. I'm just thinking aloud.


  • #2
    Agreed on the greatness of the EBMM Axis. The necks ARE amazing, and the gunstock oil and
    wax treatment helps a lot. Mine's got an insane birdseye maple neck too. Rock on!

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    • #3
      Love my EBMM Axis - my USA Charvel hasn't been out of the case since I bought it. Something up with the Floyd on the Charvel, the bottom E just doesn't stay in tune - doesn't seem to be slipping at the nut either. The build of the EBMM is amazing.

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      • #4
        The Axis has the non floating trem(dive only) which is nice in some regards but try lowering the action on it and youl have to shim the neckpocket. That is not really a big deal offcourse and the build quality is top notch.

        The Mexican Charvels are decent except the setup may need some fiddling, and they might develop some sharp fretends sooner or later depending on your climate but if you like to tinker with your guitars then it doesnt really matter.

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        • #5
          +1 on the sharp fret ends with the MIM Promods. Not sure why it's a problem with these guitars more than any others it seems. Maybe they have to start roasting those necks.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Hired Goon View Post
            +1 on the sharp fret ends with the MIM Promods. Not sure why it's a problem with these guitars more than any others it seems. Maybe they have to start roasting those necks.
            +1 on fret ends being a problem on MIM Charvels and Jacksons-- but the reason isn't so much the workmanship as it is likely the differences in humidity and temp. Those boards shrink like hell when they get north of Texas. No lie- I have the DK24 Super Stock and Steve at CMC had his tech go over it to ensure that the frets were good to go. It was fine until November when all of a sudden, POINK- little razors sticking out!

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            • #7
              I don’t know man. My youngest son plays an EBMM JP16. This is a $2500 guitar. The cheap ass shortcuts that MM took on that guitar really irk me. The biggest one we found is the Floyd Rose “Pro” on it. They use the 1000 Series Floyd Rose “Pro” that is made in Korea. When I replaced his sustain block with a Tungsten block, I noted his original block was Zinc alloy.

              I get that this *is* the correct configuration for a 1000 series FR Pro, I think it is crappy to put that tremolo unit on a high end guitar. I totally get it on a mid price point guitar, IMO that is a shady practice on a high end instrument. Once we figured out what was going on, it explained why he always complained that the JP was “weak” and “nasally”. The tone, sustain and attack of the guitar completely changed (for the better) when we put the tungsten block in.

              We are looking to upgrade his saddles to German made saddles next.

              UPDATE: I spoke to staff at Floyd Rose yesterday regarding the 1000 Series Pro - Wide. Turns out 1000 Series Pro wide should be a Korean made version of the German made Pro, with steel Base plate and saddles as well as a nickel coated brass block that has the same dimensions as an OFR (.42” string spacing on the OFR versus .40” on the German made Pro). The change to a Zinc alloy sustain block was apparently an OEM configuration specified by EBMM.
              Last edited by CaptNasty; 03-17-2018, 07:47 AM.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by vector View Post
                +1 on fret ends being a problem on MIM Charvels and Jacksons-- but the reason isn't so much the workmanship as it is likely the differences in humidity and temp. Those boards shrink like hell when they get north of Texas. No lie- I have the DK24 Super Stock and Steve at CMC had his tech go over it to ensure that the frets were good to go. It was fine until November when all of a sudden, POINK- little razors sticking out!
                Yah, I live in an old house in the tundra and it's super dry in the winter and unbearably
                humid in the summer. Even high end guitars need a twice-a-year truss rod adjustment.
                As for the fret ends, humidity is a major concern, as is the fact that builders don't have
                consistent wood supplies. They often use lumber that isn't properly seasoned. The fret ends may
                have been okay leaving the factory, but humidity can change that...

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