Charvel Charvette P-Bass

1972 [originally dayglow acid green] dual offset EMD active pickups 1 pot one field filter, dunno the body but the neck is rosewood over birch, 21 fret, Ft Worth plant serial number 000066

Barritone [my doing] Haymaker 5 strin .148 base from a 5 string set [threw out the high string] tuned it for death metal shredding, good wicked dreadful sound, love it!

Sounds like I have distort on even when I don't, has a bright clean ring to the strings which makes it great for a lot of my favorite play effects.

Not sure, not original owner. Actions are tight, have to adjust head and kickers for proper gap between strings and neck and pickups...

Perfect fit, good weight, good balance, great acoustics when I was away from electricity even!

Been good to me for a lot of years....

Too old for a warranty.

Not possible to replace such an early model I'm afraid...

The bass was a Japanese made 21 fret, 4 string with a glossy black finish and without a pickguard. It had 1 volume and 1 tone pot... with a standard p bass pickup setup. Don't know the make of the pickups, but they worked just fine. I think it had an maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. With its low action, there was alot of fretbuzz, but it yet it didn't play that fast... a good set of strings would've helped alot though im sure. Looking back, for the price I paid, I could've expected alot more in features, like 2 tone pots over just 1.

Well, I was playing in a metal/punk cover band at the time, and it was more than enough, where I played mostly line bass. My setup included a 100 watt Crate amp, with a distortion pedal and the whole sounded good together. The little I played of ska and jazz, the bass handled just fine in terms of sound but it was pretty stiff and slow action. In a whole, the sound itself wasn't good or bad. The pickups were stock.

When I got the bass, it was about 5 years old and had signs of regular wear, like swirl marks in the glossy finish and a crack by the bottom right edge. The neck was very straight and the frets were in great shape. Tuning pegs held their tune for weeks at a time. The pickup covers were getting a bit loose, even with the screws tightened. Now the action on this bass is really bad, atleast on the set of strings I had: very hard to make clean sounds low down on the fretboard, with lots of buzzing all the time. Playability: 2, but the f & f: 9...

This bass felt like a rock, meaning it was very heavy, but just as solid as one. I played live with this bass, and wasn't afraid to really abuse it. It would take anything... very solid. The hardware is rugged... and the finish was just as tough. The strap buttons were solid too. I never needed to worry about a backup.

Didn't need to bother with them, and at the time, Charvel was already quit making basses and was bought out by Jackson...

A good bass for a beginner if you can get a hold of it cheap... because it will take all the punishment and still meet a beginners needs. When I bought my Ibanez, I could play everything I played on the Charvette twice as fast though. Get some good strings for one and I can imagine it'd be pretty decent.

4 string, 21 frets, Precision style body, pick up and neck, Gotoh tuners. Made in Japan, gloss black coloured body, offset maple neck, rosewood fretboard, Fender style bridge. 1 volume 1 tone.

The bass sounds good unplugged. The original pickups I would rate about 5, but I changed them to EMG P-Bass which are active and sound exceptionally good and their great for recording, but people say Bartolini's sound better through amps. I've got much more control of the tone, it can be really bassy or trebley. I play in a rock band so the sound suits my style.

You get all new wiring and pots with the EMG pups so no problems there. The action was poor when I got the bass used. But I adjusted the truss rod and set up the intonation. The action is anywhere from lower or as low as new basses I see in stores and it plays really well. It stays in tune for weeks at a time. I can drop the tuning down to B E A D that's good enough for me.

I used to let this bass fall over a fair bit when I first got it, it gets a bit more respect now. The finish is still good after 6 years and I bought it used. I only adjusted the truss rod the once. I have gigged without a backup but I'll get a five string soon anyway. My guitarist has gone through a bunch of guitars including an expencive Gibson which cracked it's neck when it fell over once. And I've had this one reliable bass for years and it always sounds good and stays in tune.

I don't need to deal with them. And I've gotten alot ofgood use out of it already.

I've been playing bass for 6 years. I own a 400 watt original issue SWR amp and cabinet. I have a wah and distortion pedal and a tuner. The bass doesn't get a 10 because it's lacking in the feature department, I'd like a five string, 24 frets would be nice, but for what it is it's almost perfect.