Charvel 625C Acoustic/Electric

As we all know, it is a laminate spruce top, with rosewood back & sides. I belive it is a 000 body style.Natural finish with gold hardware,beautiful rossette & abalone inlays. Charvel electronics. It is made in Korea. I am not sure of the year, as it was bought used, and the store didn't have any info on it. It did come with a hardshell case, even tho it is not the right size for it, it does work.

As I play mostly 70's classic rock, and lots of blues, I enjoy the sound of this guitar. Unplugged, it has a very bright,tight sound. Some of the high notes tend to get lost tho, think that is a result of the laminate top. Plugged in is another story. I play thru mostly a silverface twin reverb. Staight into the amp,it sounds a little harsh, even after tons of tweaking the EQ. Have tried many acoustic processsors, none to my satisfactory liking. I now use a Digitech GNX3, which lets me get what should be coming from this guitar. I am now able to tweak to some fantastic sounds,especially some David Crosby style music.

I bought this used, so I am not sure how the factory set-up was. The way I got it, the action was,and still is superb. Narrow neck reminds me of an electric, great playability,no buzzes anywhere. The wiring started moving around, so a quick fix was to glue a small automotive wiring clip to the inside,tuck in the wires, no more problem. The electonics seem to vary distinctively between the 2nd and 1st sting. Am not sure why this is, but you have to compensate if you are doing lead work in the lower registers. Battery compartment isn't bad, at least mine does not have the wires connected to it. For a used guitar in this price range, the finish is really nice. The string pegs were shot, so I repaced those with brass 1s,what a jump in sound. Tuners have always worked great, finish is wearing off, but what do you expect when it gets played every day for the last 8 years. The biggest downfall is it is neck heavy playing standing up.

It seems this will withstand some abuse, for this has been my outside yard get drunk type party guitar. Having being passed around alot,(and dropped many times), it has held up well. The finish is holding well, considering how many times it has been out in the heavy night dew. Just in front of the bridge,below the 1st string,the clear seems to have ripples in it. This does not seem to be changing with time at all, so I assume it was a flaw from the factory. The battery slide case broke, and have not been able to find a repacement for it. It still works, but you need a knife to get the battery compartment to come out, so make sure you put a new 1 in before you gig.

As I did not know the year this guitar was made, nor did I ever really care, I was bored 1 day at home, so I wote Charvel for some info. As with any company that has been bought out by a large conglomerate, you,the consumer,dont get crap with it. They have absolutely no info on this model,or anything fron that era,(as Fender probably just wont take the time to look).

I have been playing for almost 30 years. I have owned many Fenders, Gibsons,Yamaha,Ibanezand Guild,(not a Martin yet,sigh). I have used many amps,but prefer with no doubt old Fenders,preferably silverface models. I had an older Yamaha f310 that I used to teach with for my students, and I quit teaching. So I decided to trade it in, just had no idea what I wanted. Went to several stores, and they had about the same trade in price,but nothing on their walls appealed to me,then I found this. Had never heard of them so I took a gamble, and it has paid off in full!

I have owned my Charvel 625C for only a couple months now, but I know it will definately be a keeper. It is black in color and features a transparent finish. The Charvel 625C boasts a jumbo cutaway body style, Charvel tuners, and a fretboard that extends halfway over the soundhole, enabling high notes. More about the fretboard; on the left side, it extends to the edge of the soundhole. It then slants over the soundhole until it extends halfway over it, making the number of frets different on each string. On the low E string, there are 22 playable frets, while there are 24 on the high E. This beautiful instrument is made and Korea and features a Charvel/Jackson 3Band EQ with volume and battery check as well (it requires a 9V by the way) with the output doubling as a strap button.

This guitar works great for the worship rock my band performs. I used to use mainly a dMaestro electric guitar, but since I got my Charvel, the dMaestro has become rarer and will probably soon be totally replaced by the Charvel. I also use it as a lead guitar to play blues either solo, or with my friend backing me up on a Fender 12 String. The sound isn't too bright, but is very rich and full. Though I find myself unplugged alot, the guitar can make a large variety of sounds with the 3Band EQ when plugged in. I use a Squier BP-15 Amp most of the time with it, which sounds great, and enables me to mess with the EQ on both the guitar and amp. I can make it sound like a bass when my bro refuses to let me borrow his, and make it sound like an electric using overdrive and distortion pedals. With all EQ knobs cut, it can sound plain acoustic, or i like to boost the bass and midd knobs to 2, and the treble knob to 3 to produce a more modern, "electricy" acoustic sound. Though no guitar is absolutely perfect, I can't really find anything I don't like, so I won't comment. It fits my style perfectly. By the way, it sounds great with D'Addario strings.

OK, I found a small flaw. The bridge is a little high, lifting the strings a little more than an eighth of an inch off the fretboard. It's not too bad (a lot better than my Harmony H1066 on which they're about a quarter of an inch high). You could probably loosen the strings and file down the bridge if you want to. I'm going to leave mine alone for now since it doesn't impair high chords too much, and doesn't impair high notes at all. Though when I bought it used, it sported a little rust on the tuning pegs, a small piece of the finish was chipped by the strap button, and it was in bad need of new strings, I don't think any of these small flaws existed when the guitar left the factory.

This guitar is great for the live playing I do. The hardware is strong and stable and will probably last a life time. The finish on this baby is strong. The chipped finish I mentioned earlier must have been a really bad ding because I accidentally hit it moderately hard before, and nothing showed up. It appears to be an older model because it has one strap button on the saddle, so i tied a strong black shoes string to the end, and have tied it around the headboard under the strings, where it rests comfortably against the nut. Though I usually bring my Harmony with me when gigging, it is only because I keep the Hamony in a separate tuning. So, when we don't do songs with different tunings during gigs, I can just bring my Charvel with me since it is a very dependable guitar. One thing though; if you gig with it, unless you plan to play acoustic or with a mic, I'd suggest bringing an extra 9V with you, or changing it before you gig, just to make sure the pickup doesn't quit out on you during the gig.

I've never needed customer support.

I've been playing guitar for three years and own six other guitars. Of these, my most valued is my Charvel. If I lost it, I'll try find another one, though they're kind of hard to find. If not, I'd probably shoot for a Fender CD60. My favorite feature is the long fretboard, so I can play extra high notes. When I first bought this guitar, it was for the cheap price, but now I'm glad I was able to find a guitar this good at such a low price. I got a free hardshell case with it too, which, though used, is a sturdy and reliable thing. And Arnold would have a hard time breaking the lock on that case! Though I sometimes wish it had certain little things, like a built-in tuner, or 4Band EQ, those things aren't too important (to want more is human nature), and I'm pretty glad with how it is. In conclusion, the Charvel is a great guitar and I'd recommend it if you can find one for a good price.

Transparent finish. Cutaway style body. Laminate spruce top and rosewood back/sides i believe. Extended fretboard. Electronic pickup/EQ. Nice hard finish. Very nice smooth/solid tuners. I've felt tuners on guitars twice the price that don't have tuners that feel this good. Stays in tune extremely well. Intonation is dead on. Harmonics at 5,7,12 frets ring nicely. Came with a SKB hardshell case.

Sound being subjective, I would say this guitar has a nice midrange and bright sparking highs. Lowend is somewhat lacking probably due to the small size of the body. The guitar does not resonate like a dreadnot style guitar but has a very sweet mid-high tone. I would call it a shimmering tone. This makes the guitar very nice for solo work expecially. I haven't played it electronically or many other accoustics electronically as I like micing accoustics, therfore I can't give much info, except the electonics aren't as good as Fishmans.

The action is very nice. I lowered it on mine and it plays as well as any acoustic could. I is very comfortable to play. Neck is just the perfect size.

I've played lots of guitars and this guitars feels very solid in it's entire construction. The neck is as straight as a board and I hardly ever humidify it and live in a very dry climate. Amazing. Frets are decent but after 10 years need leveling. Very low mantainence piece. The finish...it's great. I have dropped this thing and banged it many a time and suprisingly there is only one noticeable dent in the thing! There are a lot of micro scratches around the sound hole due to no pick guard but that is to be expected since I didn't put a guard on it. Very hard finish. Built like a tank.

Never needed it. This thing is almost like new and I've owed it 10 years and play it often.

Been playing for 11 years. If it were stolen I probably wouldn't buy another one but would miss it for sure.
It's a great guitar for solo work. Beautiful looks. Solid. Sounds sweet. Awesome value.

This is a roughly OM sized acoustic/electric with a 25 1/2" scale 24 fret neck and cutaway body. Probably laminated spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides with saddle mounted pickup and preamp with 3 band EQ. Cherry sunburst finish on the top with natural on the rest, abalone dot markers and inlay around the binding. Came with a molded hard case and lots of fret buzz.

I play blues and folk/jazz (ala Renbourn, Jansch, etc.) and this guitar seems to be a good update to my 1972 Gurian S3M, which I don't play out anymore. Pickups and EQ aren't the best, but I can change those if needed. The best part of this beasty is it gets a good acoustic sound even though it's laminated construction, which wasn't common when this guitar was built.

I bought this guitar at a yard sale, and the previous owner did everything he could to screw it up--the truss rod was so tight I had to use a cheater bar on the hex key and he cut notches in the top of the saddle to lower the action. A little work with the Dremel tool fixed the saddle, and the actions now 3/32"--4/32" at the 12th fret: it could go lower, but I'll leave it like this for a while to let it get acclimated to being used.

This guitar seems pretty solid as it's probably 10-15 yrs. old and the top's still flat and the bridge hasn't pulled up. Cherry sunburst polyurethane finish is still in good shape, with no scratches or dents. I've read the other reviews which mentioned the quality of the tuners, which I'm willing to change if needed, but I've only had the guitar for four days, so I'll wait and see how the new strings do. This guitar seems good enough to gig with, though if I were getting paid, I'd take a backup guitar.

I've been a guitar repairman for 25yrs. I fix my own guitars.

This instrument is surprisingly good coming from a company known for metal style guitars, gets a nice balanced tone acoustically and has decent sustain and a nice wide neck. A little gaudy for my taste, but I can live with it for $100.00. It's much better suited for fingerpicking than my old Ovation a/e so I'm pretty happy so far. Oh, and nobody will EVER confuse this thing with a martin, heh, heh.

I have owned my 1992 225c Charvel Jackson for 10 years, bought it second hand for $ 550 Australian dollars. I recently traded this for a cort guitar, and I got it back again. It has been a great work horse, and a very solid guitar. I love the thin neck and the pick up doesn;t give too much trouble when plugged in to a Pa or amp. I love the wood grain finish, just an all round great guitar for the price. I will never give it away again.

I haven't had much problem with this guitar, except for the bottom e-string pinging, but after owning it for 10 years, and not much work done to it, it had a new bridge put on and it sounds great. After trading it in and finding out that it had $75 spent to get it perfect for sale, I was surprised, after having it for so long. An all round great guitar for the price.

I have played this guitar at jam nights and also to learn guitar from a teacher over a few years, it lasts the test of time if you look after it. Pretty solid guitar, made pretty strong. The strap buttons have never come loose. Used as a live performance guitar, yes I would. Compared to my Corts Custom Guitar I just bought and payed $1500 for, this guitar doesn't scratch as easy and is made more solid than my light weight Cort. Lets say you can drop this guitar or bang it and this is not a problem.

Never dealt with the company, haven't had to.

I would buy this guitar again, I missed it when I traded it in. I have compared it to a Takamine worth 600 second hand and a Corts Acoustic which I own. It doesn't compare to the sound of the Cort guitar, but body wise more solidly made. I have been playing guitar 12 years. I own a takanine acoustic, 30 year old, A new Model custom cort acoustic and in the past a Yamaha acoustic. For the price you pay for it, and all round cheap guitar for what it is. I like the look of the Charvel/ Jackson 225c model. Ilove the thin workable neck, and I know that this guitar will last the didtance. A good work horse.

I must have got the same edition as the last guy, early/mid 90s, mine is amazing and has the same cherry sunburst finish w/ abalone inlays. I got this guitar completely by accident, I was wasting time for some reason in a pawn shop in a little town in IL, and along with big knives, guns, and other crap, he had some guitars and this was one of them. It looked in great shape and at the time I was hot for Charvels so I actually traded a gun I had at home for the guitar. Value about $400. It was worth it, best trade I ever made. I use the guitar a lot more than the gun, although it was a nice S&W 357 longbarrel. Although I was initially disappointed by its inability to stay in tune.

Anyway, this guitar is stunning to look at and very well made (at least these early 90's ones were), and when your friends who play Guilds exclaim at how beautifully this guitar is made, and plays (w/ new tuners, see below), you know you have something.

As for features, you get the piezo electric pickup inside the body, and I am very pleased with the variety of sounds I can get out of it, and it handles distortion well too. Sounds amazing clean with chorus pedal.

The tuners are cheap junk, this was one of those things that due to my not having played much over the past several years, it took me a while to figure out. The guitar at first would never stay in tune. And I had it for 8 years like that, only playing sporadically due to several moves and job, kids, etc. Then I started playing again more recently and got the wild idea this year of putting Schaller tuners on it and WHAM, it's like having a new guitar! It's amazing the difference. Stays in tune, action is perfect, quite low with little to no buzz, so that change was totally necessary and makes the guitar really play up to it's ability.

One feature I'd have liked, would be a strap peg at the base of the neck or on the body to use the guitar standing up more easily.

Great for playing just acoustic, it sounds wonderful. And the ability to plug it in is a bonus. It takes lots of amp settings no problem and sounds played with effects or straight. The sound is both rich in the bottom end and brite on top. Very nice full sound from a guitar made in Korea and selling at this price point.

The action on this one has always been good. It is even better when you take care of it and oil the fretboard and clean the frets, put new tuners and strings on it and it really flies. Plays like an electric neck.

Overall fit and finish for this ornate a guitar is excellent. Backstrip of inlaid wood, abalone inlays in binding and on fret dots and logo, this is a nice piece to look at. The extended fretboard and bound offset headstock in rosewood laminate also add to the ornate appearance. I didn't like the gold tuners so I put on chrome, they look much better IMO.

Mine has two fret glue blemishes on the bottom of the 23rd and the top of the 24th fret, not noticable unless you are are holding the instrument. This is the only flaw in the whole thing.

I keep mine in a hard case, so it is in very good condition. Take care of your stuff.

N/A so far

Overall I love this guitar, now that it has the right tuners on it. The old tuners were dead and it affected my view of the guitar, but that is easily (if not cheaply - $60 for the tuners and $60 to put them on) fixed, and wow what a difference, the guitar has new life. It is my main every day playing guitar in addition to my Ibanez 12-string PF10-12 acoustic and my Charvel model 2 electric.

I'm really glad I was in that pawn shop that day, for no apparent reason. LOL

For the actual features list look at other reviews, I just want to post what I think about this guitar. I have had two of these. The first one I bought in 1994 and absolutely adored it; it had a cherry sunburst finish and beautiful abalone touches. Sounded fantastic. I remember pulling it out of the case and all the guitar-playing buddies around me would stand around and gasp, "Woah." It was everything I could ever ask for in a guitar. Musician's Friend, which is where I got it, had a feature article on this guitar in every catalog for at least a couple years, and rightly so.

Then my 625c got stolen. I loaned it to somebody and he didn't give it back. So I bought another one, with natural finish. This was in or around 1998. I still have it, and to this day I regret this piece of crap more than I enjoy it. It seems that Charvel/Jackson really started cutting some corners on quality control here. First, the action is HORRIBLY heavy. I've adjusted the neck to compensate; still WAY too heavy. The pickup/bridge is also way too high; I sliced it down with a knife. The string pegs all snapped; I replaced them with plastic ones, but they kept popping out every week or so, and it got to the point where I couldn't even put them in when replacing strings because they'd just slide right back out. So I replaced those with long bronze locking pegs, which are in place today but they extend 1/2" from the mounting holes. People think that I have "cool adjustable string mounts", and I have to explain that they're not adjustable, it's just a crappy guitar.

I don't know what happened since I got my beautiful 1994 cherry sunburst model, which earns a 9 for its price, but everything changed in my 1996 second unit, earning a 3. The only reason why I say 9 & 3 and not 10 and 2 is because the 1994 unit had a really clumsy 9-volt battery placement design, making one futz with wires and cables inside the electronics unit, and in the redesigned 1998 model the battery slides out cleanly in a battery holster.

In the cherry sunburst model (1994), the sound was excellent. Very aggressive, which I liked. No problems with it.

In the 1998 model, the EQ was for some reason always very tinny when amplified. Also, the 2nd and 3rd frets on the high B and E strings are apparently too low because I'm getting some horrible twangs from the strings banging against the upper frets. What a nightmare!!

On both guitars, the finish is exquisite, no complaints here. The design and finish on the 625c is what grabbed my attention in the first place, and it is still one of the most beautiful "budget guitars" on the planet.

However, the action on my 1998 model, as I said, is the most horrible action I have ever laid fingers on. Playing that guitar for one night feels like my fingers are bleeding; I look at them and they look like they've been seriously abused.

Regarding my 1998 model: Nothin' like a guitar with string mount pegs that snap in the middle of a live church service. Great fun.

I've never dealt with the company.

I made a short-term, tentative exchange of my Charvel 625c guitar with a buddy who has a similar model--identical except no soundhole. His is just like my 1994 version in terms of quality, so go figure. I had bad luck with my 1998 model, I guess.

I don't know how to rate a model that has shown two completely different results. One was absolutely fantastic. The other one is the worst thing I have ever owned in my life. Go figure.

My 625 was made in the early '90s I'm guessing, and I believe it was manufactured in Korea. The fretboard extends over the soundhole...really more decorative than practical. The top is laminated spruce, natural. It has a piezo pickup, with a 3-slider EQ with volume control. Uses a 9-volt for the preamp. The body is, I think, rosewood, or perhaps a light mahogany...really gorgeous grain. Body is single cutaway mini-jumbo (got to love those oxymorons). the body is deep for an acoustic electric, which helps restore some of the acoustic tone of the guitar when unplugged. Beautiful appointments...extensive abalone inlays on soundhole and top edge. Really classy marquetry strip down the joint on the back. Really a looker, and not a bad player either.

Okay, it isn't a Taylor or Martin...of course not, but the tone is really very good for a laminate top. Best laminate I've ever heard. Better than a lot of solid tops. And I've found the more I play it, the better it sounds, as I learn to adapt my playing to what sounds best on it. So far, I've played it through my Peavey Classic, clean, and through a Fender Deluxe with reverb. There was an awful short in the electronics when I bought it (used at Guitar Center), but I figured it was likely an easy fix, and boy was it. One simple solder on the easy-to-remove control unit on the side, and it was back in action. The electric sound is pretty "electric." adjusting EQ on the amp as well as the guitar helps, but this will never sound as "natural" as a microphone. It does actually work sound like an "electric" if you want it to. Good for jazz and rhythm rock. Maybe someday I'll replace the electronics, but I'm reasonably satisfied with it for now.
Acoustically, like I said, it is the best sounding laminate top I've ever played. Good tone across the spectrum...maybe it doesn't have the overtones of a Taylor, but for $220 I wasn't expecting it to. My previous guitar is an older solid top Alvarez, and the tone of the Charvel is nearly as good.

The neck is great....low action, maybe a little too low on the bass side. Get a little fret buzz if I'm playing it hard, but I'm mostly a fingerstyle player, and so this rarely is a problem. The finish is flawless...everything is gorgeous and clean. Only complaint is the wires to the electronics are hanging loose inside the body. I'll stabilize them someday.

I haven't owned this long, and haven't played it out yet, but I put it through its paces in the bedroom and basement, and I have no complaints. It feels really solid, not like it has to be babied or anything. I would definately be willing to take it to a gig without backup. I got a new hardshell case for it and its ready to rock.

Never dealt with Charvel/Jackson. Since it is a used, discontinued instrument, I doubt it would be much help.

I've been playing since I was 12, 34 years...mostly classic rock, blues and folk rock, singer-songwrtier stuff. I own an Alvarez acoustic, a Fender Strat, a Jazz bass, danelectro DC12, Peavey Classic amp, and an assortment of other things...mandolins, dulcimers, zithers, ukes, etc. Piano and drums too. My basement is jam central for my son's band.
For the price, I would definitely buy it again. Great deal, real bang for the buck. I love the looks...the electronics aren't fabulous, but they are tolerable. I got to say the abalone inlay and extended fretboard are a treat every time I open the case. It's killer, and a joy to play. I wish it had a solid top, but what the heck, I wish I had a couple million in the bank too. It'll do...it'll more than do...until I win the lottery and can buy my Taylor.

Nothing new to add here that has not been writen about the guitar in that last number of posts. As Iwrite this review, take in to consideration that the rating that I am giving this guitar in the various catigories are for generally a 200-300 dollar guitar. For a guitar in this range I give the features a 9. If it were compaired to all guitars it would be a 4.

Lets remember folks, we are talking about a couple of hundred dollars here. It is crazy to compare the sound of this to a Martin, or Takamine. This is my take. I have played a number of guitars and in my estimation this is the best sounding guitar for the money. If you want to get a guitar that sounds better then I think that you are going to have to step up to the plate and spend a $800 to a grand more. I a have found that the sound is great pluged or unpluged. Of course I feed it trough a Korg A3 that can make a lot of things sound good.

It was put together a bit sloppy but it is comfortable to play. One of the strong points of this guitar is the it is VERY atractive.

Once again. It is a couple of hundred dollars. The sadle has cracked a little and the Nut has come loose. other than that its ok

N/A

In my opinion this guitar is just one or two steps bellow the kind of guitar that will 'take care of you from here on out'. I ahve played it for about 8 years now and it has served me well untill the now when I am able to buy my 'life long guitar' which is going to be a Taylor. This guitar does not compare to a Taylor or Martine and it is stupid to try to. If a person is going to pull the triger on an axe for $150-$300 then I dont think that they will be able to find something better. I have been VERY happy with my money spent and I am going to hand it down to my son.

Charvel 625C from ye olde Musician's Friend

Mine is about 10 years old (in 2003). Listen: It gets better with age. I use Martin mediums. To get the true sound of the axe, have a (talented) friend play it acoustically and sit across from them, because the onboard electronics deaden the sound in the direction of the player. I run it through a Roland Jazz Chorus 120, and adjust the EQ to NO treble, 3/4 mid, and full bass on the guitar; take the treble all the way down on the amp.
I took it to Willis Music in Cincinnati after I received it. The luthier dismissed it and did a whack job, so I got my friend Jose Madrigal (who has built several guitars, electric, acoustic, and flamenco) to help. After going through 2 blank saddles we found a satisfactory height. Jose drilled the strap hole, and used a sheet of hard clear laminate from a luthier supply house to create a pick-guard. I myself took the piezo pickup out and discovered a residue of some kind on the underside; I scraped it off, and the bar finally seated correctly, which helped the bass response.
Would like to hear from anyone who has modified the electronics; I'm thinking about getting an extra EQ box so it matches my other guitars when I run it through the PA instead of the Roland.
I've also had to use a spray cleaner in the end plug; clears up strange noises and restores sound quality.
Mine has a nice resonance down in the sound chamber, especially on medium to high notes. Nice on Time In A Bottle, Southern Cross, Pinch Me, Blackbird, Dock of the Bay, even Lay You Down.
Later.
Jeff Gaunce
soloflight@fuse.net