Opinions on my 1989 Charvel 750XL

glpg80 · #1 06-10-2009, 01:07 AM

hey guys, ive been restoring a 1989 charvel that i got at a vintage guitar show about 5 months ago and i need some opinions on ideas that i have for it.

heres the background, traded my 2007 jem vai for this guitar and a 2005 prestige. best thing i ever did, but ive ran into some issues and road bumps ;/

the charvel had to be rewired, new bridge pickup installed, pollished, waxed, and the neck has been taken down to the pure wood since someone tried to put a vieneer wax on it that was so sticky it could have caught flies, and trem work had to be done since it isnt a double locking setup. only the neck locks.

the guitar had been abused when i found it, never restrung, setup properly, or cleaned. and had 10's on it which really messed this neck up in a bad way.

ive got it setup correctly and definately playable, but it plays extremely stiff. it has a killer tone through my 5150 II and i want to keep the guitar, so im going to order a new neck from warmoth i think.. i mean the tone is awsome but i think this neck is what is killing it. please let me know what you think.

here are my other Qs for opinions as well:

1) does ibanez sell the edge pro separately? i love the one on my prestige, id like to put one on the charvel. this would absolutely kill the resale value and i believe i would have to dowel the holes. let me know opinions. before answering, the neck that i would order to go on this guitar would have a 15.5" compound radius compared to the ibanez's 15.74" CR. which the edge pro trem would match the radius of the new neck perfectly. another idea i had was to put a brass block floyd rose in black on it.

2) the neck pickup and center pickup arent strong enough to match the bridge pickup (sh-6) that i put in it. for the center pickup i really liked the tone of the single coil dimarzio pickup that was in my vai. so i would like to put whatever the single coil pickup is in the center of the vai guitars in the center of this one. does anyone know the model of the center pickup of the vai's? can i even order it, and if i can: in black?

3) the neck pickup is a single coil also. but i would like to route it out to a full humbucker size and stick a wolfgang pickup in the neck, or a dimarzio air norton. this will also kill the hell out of the resale value, but it would improve the tone of this guitar tremendously. also, the san dimas body would look professional like it came from the factory this way, there is plenty of room to do the route itself. what do you think?

3) the neck feels like a cheap neck, and also sounds like it is killing the tone of this guitar. it also plays very stiff... maybe it is a bad chunk of rosewood or someone put something in the wood before sealing it with enough wax to do a car. comparing it to my ibanez is a joke. so im hoping the new neck i order for it will bring out the killer tone in this guitar. do you agree?

4) the logo, if i ordered a new neck, would have to be reordered as well. i dont want to cut the logo off the original neck since... well you get the idea im sure. here is my last question:

white charvel logo over AAAA flamed maple natural headstock, or black charvel logo over the headstock?

thanks for reading all of this, and especially if anyone is replying to any one of the questions. i greatly appreciate any comments anyone might give.

here is a picture of the charvel when i first got it and was unwiring it. check out the gobs of wax on the neck. (thats right, wax)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...y/IMG_0548.jpg

here is a pick of the front, and also my ibanez and wolfgang. sorry its the only current pick i have of it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...y/IMG_0582.jpg

and this is the immediate goal that i have for the charvel to do with no fret buzz =D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...IMG_0572-1.jpg

Dino · #2 06-10-2009, 01:31 AM

IDK man, Sounds like a lot of work and expense... You traded a $2599 Jem? I would find that guy who took advantage fo you and piss in his gas tank. The charvel in that condition is worth maybe a couple hundred bucks and the prestige maybe $800 and now you want to buy a new neck $300-$400 Edge bridge $200 pickups $50-$100 each? I'm really sorry but I just think IMHO that you should sleep for a couple days before making any more big decisions.

glpg80 · #3 06-10-2009, 02:22 AM

yes i traded a $2600 guitar. but the resale value of the jems are terrible. mint condition they go $1600-1800. and you are lucky to get anywhere near $1500 if it has any hair line swirls or play time on them. the guitar is just stupidly overpriced and ill never pay that much for a guitar again.

also the jem didnt play or sound like a $2000+ guitar should. i hated that guitar. the tone was sub par with the evolutions in it along with the alder wood, and so was the guitars overall sustain. i tried to return the guitar and see if i could have another ordered, but the store i went through refused. i then tried to sell the guitar for over a year but with no buyers. so i traded it for two awsome guitars. and money wise, which is what you are going off of, i paid $1550 for the jem at the time, plus local sales tax. which included the case. so you are off by about $1100.

i didnt want a guitar that looked great, had a terrible resale value, and was very sub-par in the tone and playability (compared to my prestige). so instead of working on it and decreasing its value even more, i got rid of it.

guitars are tools for tone and are there for playing not for furniture bro it was cool to own yeah but thats not why i posted this topic. the neck that i am thinking about ordering can be removed from the guitar and i can keep it as my own personal neck to be put on any guitar. i mean just because you buy a neck doesnt mean you have to keep it there always and forever, you kno? im just itching for some opinions on what to do before i jump. im still thinking about all of this.

and actually the value of these charvels new in 1989 went 1200-1400 depending on the model and options you chose.

reguardless it has alot of potentional. im a luthier just looking for some opinions on the questions.

take care of yourself thanks for reading.

Dino · #4 06-10-2009, 02:54 AM

Well if you are willing to spend the money and do the work then I vote go for it! I wouldn't do the Ibanez trem though, I would just go with an OFR. Build it into the best guitar and tone for you.

glpg80 · #5 06-10-2009, 03:46 AM

OFR?

oh nvm, original floyd. gotcha. i was actually looking at the new floyd's with the brass block. my wolfgang has a brass block and the tone of the "whah" type sound you get when you bomb it or go down is pretty cool. idk its hard to explain. all the guitars i have ever owned have had trems on them, but the brass block type add a very distinct type mouth moving "wah" tone lol. so yeah ill do that then.

will also save me from having to dowl rod the schaller/kahler hole pattern that it has now. i cant remember which company made the "charvel" tremelo's back then. but yeah i think its the same spacing as an OFR.

the reason i was looking at the edge was because it contours with the compound radii' of the frets which is really cool. but it would look wierd on a charvel ;p

and yeah id do all the work myself. i wouldnt have to pay anyone else. i think i have maybe $45 in the guitar which was getting rid of the wax someone else put on there. i didnt know how to get rid of wax (glue, oils, truss rod issues yea) or whether mineral spirits were safe for necks (bodies yes.. but idk?) but yeah. he ended up having to use sand paper and alot of TLC, so it was money well spent to save me time.

im thinking possibly since you mentioned the money side of it, not to cut out the neck pickup and just find something like a mini......? mini humbucker something. idk what model.

the neck would be an upgrade lol. but yeah charvel's have standard fender spacing in their neck pockets so the neck would be interchangable. and actually i wouldnt be spending any money. im currently selling two 5150 cabinets so the money would come from those.

again, thanks for the replies bro.

Jem7RB MK · #6 06-10-2009, 05:29 AM

err, thats not a 750xl btw, the 750 was neck thru, thats a 475 (possibly Special if it's active) and fyi my 475 special i paid £350 new for thats like $500 ish

Hope that helps

**jim777** · #7 06-10-2009, 02:48 PM

Yeah, Rob beat me to it but that sure isn't a 750xl, it's a 475 in desert crackle. I wouldn't worry about replacing the logo on a toothpaste Charvel, that won't affect value or resale at all (in a negative way, anyway). I also wouldn't worry about "absolutely killing the resale" on a guitar that might bring $400 on a good day in a really nice case.

As with a lot of Japanese guitars from the late 80's and early 90's (this is NOT a San Dimas guitar, not sure where you got that), just because they aren't worth a lot of cash doesn't mean they aren't great guitars. So, do what you want to it and don't worry about affecting its resale value.

Dino · #8 06-10-2009, 03:21 PM

You can save that neck. If you have the gunk off of it, soak in a couple of coats of tung oil, the when its dry(couple days) scuff sand it with a 320-400 grit and then hit it lightly on the buffing wheel. It comes out with a smooth natural finish that is really nice.

Most popular humbuckers come in the mini size so your options are wide open there. No worries about chunking and sctratching up the paint trying to route it out.

glpg80 · #9 06-11-2009, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim777

Yeah, Rob beat me to it but that sure isn't a 750xl, it's a 475 in desert crackle. I wouldn't worry about replacing the logo on a toothpaste Charvel, that won't affect value or resale at all (in a negative way, anyway). I also wouldn't worry about "absolutely killing the resale" on a guitar that might bring $400 on a good day in a really nice case.

As with a lot of Japanese guitars from the late 80's and early 90's (this is NOT a San Dimas guitar, not sure where you got that), just because they aren't worth a lot of cash doesn't mean they aren't great guitars. So, do what you want to it and don't worry about affecting its resale value.

its the body style that i like. close to a san dimas i guess. thinking out loud i appologize.

thanks for the identification guys. actually makes me feel better. because the neck on the guitar sounds like a cheap piece of wood. like the guitar would be capable of so much more if it had the upgraded parts. the neck feels amazing otherwise due to the work that ive done to it. kinda like your ears and playing telling you one thing, but the history of the guitar made it feel like it was all in your head (or a bad day for playing)

yes the neck is the smoothest fastest neck that i have right now. i went from 220, 300, 400, 600, 1200, 3M, conditioned, tung oiled, steel whooled, then back to 600, conditioned, 1200, and 3M, and steel whooled again. stays in tune excellent and it also allowed the neck to breathe to fix any waves it had from people who dont understand what a truss rod is for.

i dare say its faster than my ibanez neck, but the ibanez is no competition i think.

yeah that does blow since NOW i got screwed on the jem. the 475's that charvel made arent plywood right? usually charvel in the late 80's went really big into poplar. by looking at the grain patterns and the colour of the grain from a corner of the cavity i thought it was basswood but now i could be wrong.

also there was a wierd active chipboard in the guitar attached to the volume pot when i first got it. there are 3 knobs to the guitar, ive wired only 2 of them for function and the third is so that i dont have to look at a hole in the guitar, so just a pot used for a grounding really.

but before it was line level boost on the very bottom, mid adjustment in the centre, and volume on top. now its a volume and two tones, only ive got it wired for a master tone for now (ran out of 500k pots.. they are like gold in my town. no one has any lol)

but yeah much appreciated. i feel better now alot knowing all of this wont be hacking up an actual decent guitar money wise although tone wise it actually sounds really good, could be way better hence the ideas.

i have one more question,

was the desert crackle a big ordeal? was it a special type of paintjob by any stance?

Dino · #10 06-11-2009, 02:37 AM

Seems like that was a pretty popular paint style for a couple years there in the late eighties. Just be happy somebody didn't spray it with that fleck textured paint crap from the 90's.

Dino · #11 06-11-2009, 02:39 AM

Imagine how this guy feels now!! would you drive this?

Dino · #12 06-11-2009, 02:47 AM

Wait, I found someone who did it. LOL!

Pink fleckstone!

Jem7RB MK · #13 06-11-2009, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glpg80

yeah that does blow since NOW i got screwed on the jem. the 475's that charvel made arent plywood right? usually charvel in the late 80's went really big into poplar. by looking at the grain patterns and the colour of the grain from a corner of the cavity i thought it was basswood but now i could be wrong.

No definately not plywood my friend, they were mostly basswood iirc, it's been awhile since the old brain had to remember anything Jackson/Charvel

Quote:

Originally Posted by glpg80

also there was a wierd active chipboard in the guitar attached to the volume pot when i first got it. there are 3 knobs to the guitar, ive wired only 2 of them for function and the third is so that i dont have to look at a hole in the guitar, so just a pot used for a grounding really.

Originally, it would have had J50 Bridge and 2x j200 s/coils (active of course) the pots are, Vol/Tone as normal and 3rd was mid boost/cut

Quote:

Originally Posted by glpg80

but yeah much appreciated. i feel better now alot knowing all of this wont be hacking up an actual decent guitar money wise although tone wise it actually sounds really good, could be way better hence the ideas.

the 475 specials are starting to appreciate in price, due to the fact there seem to be very few around anymore in original condition, at least in the uk

Quote:

Originally Posted by glpg80

i have one more question,

was the desert crackle a big ordeal? was it a special type of paintjob by any stance?

Was a standard paint scheme