Charvel Enquiry

[Dak]

Of these four, I guess the H-S-S option would be the first one to go as it has more compromises than the other three. Between the San Dimas and the So Cal, there's nothing to choose so I guess I'd probably go with the So Cal for the Adrian Smith look but between the So Cal and the amber DK24, I just can't decide. If the amber one was in alder instead of mahogany it would be a no-brainer. I guess I'll have to just wait until the lockdown ends here and see if I can find one of each locally to try.

Cosmetically that white So Cal with the black pickguard just pops. I too like it better than the Blue San Dimas. I have noticed that even though I rarely if ever use frets 23 & 24. Fret access to the 22nd fret is better on my 24 fret guitars. That said my partscaster is essentially a So Cal now( Mexican strat body with a floyd and a Pro Mod neck) and I don't think upper fret access is terrible. Not as good as a 24 fret Jackson but useable for sure. I'm not a big lead player though so take that for what it's worth.

[Number Of The Priest]

Is anything ever consistent across the J/C Universe

Not even the rule of "Soloist is always neckthru, Dinky is always bolt-neck" is sacred. Xenophobe owns a neckthru Dinky. https://www.jcfonline.com/forum/equi...inky-strathead

NOBODY STEAL MY IDEA, I'M GOING TO ORDER A BOLT-NECK SOLOIST!

[pianoguyy]

They already have a bolt on Soloist.
One of the imports with the smurf hat.

[Number Of The Priest]

Oh those bolt-on Soloists, I see those frequently. It's almost always an uninformed seller listing an import Dinky as a "Soloist" and listing it for the price of a used USA model.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I've never even stopped to consider the possibility that a Soloist isn't neck-thru or Dinky isn't bolt-on! I used to own a Japanese Soloist and before that I had an Ibanez neck-thru and they were great to play but they put me off neck-thru guitars. The problem was always that neck-thru guitars always seem to be maple neck-thru and I have always found maple to be a terrible wood to get to work with pickups as they never seem to 'pop' in the same way other woods do. My Jackson Soloist came with a JB in the bridge and it was awful. The whole thing always seemed muffled and struggled to cut through. I changed those pickups and put the JB into a Yamaha Pacifica I had lying around and it sounded fantastic in that. When I tried the Pro Dinky at the same time I bought my PRS, that also had a JB in an alder body and it sounded incredible. Even with replacement pickups from Bare Knuckle, it took a few attempts to find something that really worked. I've never had that problem with other woods. Mahogany is more straightforward and alder seems to just 'work' with all sorts of pickups. I think that's one of the reasons I'm drawn to an alder guitar this time. My PRS sounds really good, but it doesn't quite 'pop' in the same way that Jackson Dinky did. Maybe that's because the PRS has a proper maple cap as well as a quilt veneer and this takes some of the zing away. I'm not sure if the Charvel DK24 has a proper maple cap or it's just a quilted maple veneer over mahogany, in which case it will have no tonal impact.

[pianoguyy]

I've never even stopped to consider the possibility that a Soloist isn't neck-thru or Dinky isn't bolt-on!

That's ok, for 20+ years I thought I had a Dinky because it was a bolt on. Dinky is the bolt on, I have a bolt on, I have a Dinky.
It wasn't until I came here and got me some learn'n as to what I actually had.

before that I had an Ibanez neck-thru

The RGT were a rarity, a real gem. I didn't even know they existed until a few years ago when I got a used one. And then a 2nd. And a 3rd.
I blame Steve Vai. He much preferred bolt ons.
But, I gotta tell ya, those RGT models have one hell of a heel. Certainly blows away the old Soloist block. Of course, today, Jackson can do that same kind of smooth heel because they aren't actual neck thru anymore.

[Slartibartfarst42]

The RGT were a rarity, a real gem. I didn't even know they existed until a few years ago when I got a used one. And then a 2nd. And a 3rd.
I blame Steve Vai. He much preferred bolt ons.
But, I gotta tell ya, those RGT models have one hell of a heel. Certainly blows away the old Soloist block. Of course, today, Jackson can do that same kind of smooth heel because they aren't actual neck thru anymore.

Mine was just the RGT42 so a relatively basic one. It was a great guitar and I loved it but the Ibanez locking trem in that particular one had its weaknesses. Some Ibanez locking trems are awesome but some were no better that a cheap licensed Floyd. I'm out of touch now with which Ibanez locking trem is on a par with a proper Floyd and which isn't as good and as a result I tend to avoid Ibanez guitars these days. With a Floyd, I know where I am. If it's an OFR or 1000 series, it will be superb and if it's anything else, I will avoid it completely.

I am intrigued by your comment that Jackson neck-thru guitars are no longer really neck-thru. My problem with the RGT and Soloist I had was that they were maple neck-thru and therefore the pickups were mounted onto maple and not the body wood. The guitars didn't really actually have a body as such, it was just body wings attached to the neck wood. As a result, whether the 'body' was mahogany, alder or anything else made little difference because the maple was what was dominating the tone and affecting the pickups. If Jackson Soloists are no longer proper neck-thru designs, what are they? If it says it's a maple neck-thru these days, are the pickups attached to the maple or whatever wood the body is made from? I assume you mean that the design of the guitars now is an extended set-neck that goes a bit further into the body, allowing a very sculptured heel. If that is the case, neck-thru designs no longer have the problem I experienced.

[pianoguyy]

You'll see the debate in this, and many other forums as to what constitutes various terms, like neck thru, set thru, and a set neck with smooth heel.
And then the debate goes even deeper when you add options like a floyd rose vs other trems or non-trem guitar. Or even 5 piece necks.

In this particular case, I was talking about:
Older Jackson guitars used a big block of wood - the thickness of the guitar body. Then the 'wings' got glued on to the sides.
Today, they use a piece of wood only as thick as the neck. It's up in the air as to if they glue a bottom piece and then the side pieces, or if the body is slotted to accommodate the body-lengthed neck piece. But, either way, the fact that it is only a top piece neck thru, once you hit the neck pickup, that wood gets cut off from itself. Which seems to end any tone/sustain benefit.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I thought it was probably something like that. The PRS has a more conventional set-neck but both cutaways are so far up the neck that in many ways, it's a bit like playing an SG. I can play at the 24th fret without any hinderance at all and it really is an ingenious design that I absolutely love. I really don't understand why more guitar manufacturers don't do this because it's so effective. Where I feel PRS let themselves down is in the positioning of the pickup selector switch, which really is catastrophic and makes quick pickup changes mid-solo very difficult. It seems to me that Fender and Gibson have this pretty much perfect so why try something else. Jackson and Charvel cleverly just copy Fender and although there are PRS models that copy the positioning of both Gibson and Fender, the Custom 24 isn't one of those models. The PRS SE Custom 24 really is one of the great guitars for the money overall but after 10 years, I think I just need a change. New guitar, new inspiration.

[Number Of The Priest]

I'm out of touch now with which Ibanez locking trem is on a par with a proper Floyd and which isn't as good and as a result I tend to avoid Ibanez guitars these days. With a Floyd, I know where I am. If it's an OFR or 1000 series, it will be superb and if it's anything else, I will avoid it completely.

Original Edge, Lo-Pro Edge, and Edge Pro tend to round out the Ibanez top three trems.

[Slartibartfarst42]

OK, quick update. I've looked at various guitars and I'm still set on a Charvel and it's between the So Cal HH FR in white or the DK24 HH FR in dark amber. The sensible choice would be the DK24 as for very little more money I get two more frets, a beautiful quilted maple top and far better upper fret access. The DK24 really is the sensible choice, yet I keep coming back to the So Cal. I REALLY like the unassuming and understated look of the guitar because I'm still very keen to have something that doesn't scream 'Metal' and 'I'm a shredder!' You can't get much more unassuming than the white So Cal because at a glance it looks just like a Stratocaster. You don't even notice the Floyd that much because it's black on a black pickguard. I love that about the guitar. I also prefer the 3-way switch with a push/pull compared to the 5-way switch on the DK24, though that is a very minor point. I'm going to go back to the shop a few times to see how I start to adapt to that thicker neck joint before I pull the trigger but I'd say I'm 75% sure I'll go for the So Cal.