Model 5 identification

[Chinookmark]

Ok, so I've owned for 24-ish years what I have been calling a 1987 Charvel Model 5. Looks like a soloist, small Charvel guitar logo, neck thru, dot inlays, Jackson trem, flat-head screw Kahler-style lock behind the nut, HH pickups, a dark purple-plum color that has faded to brown (black cherry?).

But looking today at google images of model 5's, they all seem to have three knobs and a blade switch. Mine has two knobs and a single 3-position microswitch. There doesn't seem to be any evidence of the guitar ever being repainted (or they did a very thorough job), and there doesn't look like any wood filler or extra holes for switches or knobs in the control cavity.

Any ideas what I have? A custom order? A one-off or small batch of oddball guitars while they were trying ideas? Different year maybe?

[Meista]

Two guesses:
A) 5A with added neck PU, pot and toggle
B) 5FX with modified neck PU and added pot (it already has the 3-way toggle)

Check the exact location of the volume pot.
On the 5A and 5FX it's almost centered underneath the bridge PU, while it's a bit farther off center (to the back of the guitar) on the 5.

Post pics, if you can.

[Chinookmark]

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/144941...6/29277471392/

[Chinookmark]

Maybe a 5A with added neck PU, pot and toggle ?

That seems to be the likely answer. Thanks!

[Chinookmark]

There's a post pending approval with hopefully a pic.

[Meista]

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/144941...6/29277471392/

Definitely a 5A. The volume pot location is a match and the added neck PU isn't oversized like the stock ones.

[rjohnstone]

Yep... you have a 5A that someone modified.

Cool looking guitar.

[Chinookmark]

Thanks. She served me well back in the old band days. I'm surprised what good shape it's in considering the idiot that owned it. But now that I know it's already modified, I don't have qualms about modifying a vintage oem guitar!

[Xabi]

....I don't have qualms about modifying a vintage oem guitar!

Yep, I know what you mean. I have a Model 1 that had a neck pick-up and JT6 trem added to it by a previous owner. I could have lived with that, but they'd made a right mess of the pick-up selector and the locking nut on the headstock. As it had already been hacked about, I didn't see a problem making it into a better guitar. Had it been original, I wouldn't dream of messing about with it.

[Chinookmark]

New pickup day!

So I have never been a neck pickup user. Ocassionally I would use the neck split for a clean sound (which was rare given the metal/hardcore/teen angst style of music I used to play).

Now in my adult life, I am finding a lot of entertainment in sounds other than bridge/all the gain. I've been playing around of my ibanez and strat, and just love the other sounds I can get out of them. Pulled out the ol' 5, but I'm just not digging the neck. Muddy distorted and boomy clean. Split it ok clean, but so noisy with any kind of dirt added. More hum than my Squier. During the last string change, that's when I found I had a Tone Zone in the bridge, but also a DDJ Duncan Distortion in the neck. From what I gather, it's a great pickup, except this was a bridge model in the neck. No wonder it was so muddy and boomy!

[Chinookmark]

I was finally able to make time recently to throw in an Air Norton. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you take four weeks off to have a baby! �� I wired it for series/parallel switching instead of coil split. Hallelujah! After decades of being a bridge only guy, my guitar sounds like it should! Plus now the pickups match color, too!

[Number Of The Priest]

Oh man... put that DDJ in the bridge of something else and let it breathe fire as it deserves!

Tone Zone and Air Norton combo is a classic match in many Ibanez Prestige guitars. Good choice.

[lepard]

Did someone say Charvel Model 5's ? I love the 5A's, have hunted them down over the years more than Model 6's.