Charvel Charvette

Bought this puppy back in 87. Plate reads Fort Worth TX, Serial # 00026. 22 frets, strat-style body, S/H Jackson/Charvel passive pickup configuration with 3-way switch, one volume one tone. Originally had a snow white finish, which has since yellowed a bit to more of a cream color. Neck is satin finish maple, with rosewood 22 jumbo frets. It came with a Floyd Rose licensed trem, jackson tuners and locking nut.

This guitar sounds great. I play everything from Country to Metal and it handles it well. Could it be better? Sure, but then again so could any guitar. I used to run it through a Yamaha JX100 twin amp, but lately play it through Guitar Rig 3 and it still sounds good. Not noisy now, but pots did get dirty and had to have them cleaned out a little. it doesn't sound like a Strat or anything, but I like it and I can tailor its sound to approximate anything...

I love this guitar!

The guitar was setup great from the get-go. I had it looked over by a luthier a couple of years ago and had the old "grind and polish" done and everything looked over to refresh it a little. It was banged around quite a bit and took the abuse like a champ! This is really a solid axe! There was an issue with the high E rolling off the fret around position 5-9, but had the nut replaced with a brass one and it is fine now. The screws for the pickup covers did get oxidized after a few months of playing, but that's it.

This guitar was played live for years, came to university with me, was stored in a basement for a year, travelled all over and was played to death. It is SOLID and a survivor! I don't think I could kill this sucker if I tried. The finish did yellow a bit, but I think that's because I played outdoors in the sun quite a bit... Strap knobs are big and hold on well. It is dependable and a workhorse guitar. I would use it without a backup any day, if strings were as dependable as it is!

Never had to deal with them

I've been playing for close to 35 years, and have played all kinds of guitars, from top of the line PRS and Gibsons, Strats Teles, to crappy no name knockoffs, and this guitar is still a fave. I would definitely try to get another one if it was stolen. At the time, money was an issue, so it was purchased as being the best bang for the buck at the time.

I felt I had to write in about my Charvette since they are a rare breed these days, and it was my first electric guitar. I got mine new around 1992. It's white with a black peghead, 22 jumbo frets, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, one Chavel humbucker and one Charvel single coil pickup. One volume and tone control, 3 way p/u switch. Locking Floyd Rose licenced tremolo. Strat body; I assume it's alder or basswood, but I'm not sure. The only reason I give it an 8 is all in all the hardware is a tad on budget side, especially the plastic nut in front of the locking tremolo clamp on the peghead.

As everyone here says, this is an incredibly versatile guitar right out of the box. I play mostly rock to metal, and for a long time this guitar was more than satisfying. I have an old Traynor TS-140 solid state 2 x 12 amp, which adds to the versatility. I use a Dunlop Cry Baby and a Boss OS-2 distortion/overdrive pedal. The only problem with the stock pickups is they were not very sensitive to pick attack, and harmonics didn't come easily. They did have nice tone though, kind of middle of the road that changed well with amp settings.

The action was low on this guitar right off the showroom floor. The whole guitar was perfect in terms of building. The paint is very thick and durable...not great for tone but great for the real world. The frets don't wear down quickly, in fact after many years of playing it (not professionally mind you) I'm just thinking about refretting now; more for luxury though, I'm sure it could go several more years before it really needs it!

Very durable. The only problems I've had are the pickup switch knob breaking, and the Tremolo bridge breaking. The tremolo broke where the screws from the top thread into the aluminum block underneath. The block broke, but it just needed longer screws to reach the threaded portion, so it wasn't a big deal. The only thing about the switch knob is it's not a standard thread so I can't find a replacement. Not a big deal either, I'll replace the switch someday, again out of luxury. All in all you don't have to worry about this guitar not being playable!

I will someday email Charvel about what this guitar is made of, and what model it is, since "Charvette" seems to cover a wide range of features. Charvel doesn't seem to be the easiest company to get info from, but then again they do seem to have their hands full making guitars between Jackson and Fender. Maybe Wayne Charvel is too busy fixing and building custom Fenders to build a support network. Having said all of that, you may never need their warranty anyway with these guitars.

I have modified this guitar a fair bit. I quickly realized that this is a great, inexspensive starting point if you want to personalize a guitar. I have installed a DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge and Fast Track 2 in the neck. I bypassed the tone control for slightly more output (and to be like the Musicman Axis guitars), and moved the volume control to the tone's spot so I wouldn't hit it when playing. Since I don't love whammy bars, I removed the locking tremolo clamp and replaced the plastic nut (which seems to be a one-piece item with the peghead overlay) with a bone one. Since my sister bought me this guitar when I was about 16 and it was my first electric, I can never part with it. These are great guitars, and I feel lucky to have stumbled upon it!

Candy Blue Charvette 300 late 80'ies or early 90'ies, SN 017922.
3 Charvel pickups, one tone, one volume, and one five way switch. Strat neck (22 frets), and a great looking Charvel head. My guess made in Japan, but one of thier better editions. The guitar is solid and heavy, well balance. The paint/finish excellent. Maple neck and Mahogany fret board. Guitar came with a modified sound pod. It is as complete a guitar as you need.

I can play anything I want to on this Charvette. I just got an LP and as good as it is, it demands more attention then my Charvette. I guess, I know the Charvette better. The Crate amp I have is matched to the Charvette, but no the LP. If you like distortion then the Charvel wins. Out of the box, the Charvette proved to be a much better general guitar. The five way switch really helps on the "clangy" sounds and the knobs are easy to learn to contour sound. What is cool about the Charvette is that it sounds as good with hand picking as with a pick--not only that, but it can be hit and produces great blues sound. It's clean sound is the best part. On distorion, this guitar can't be beat.

This was one of my first electric guitars and it was nice then as it is know. The candy blue is not as "candy" anymore due to my "bad". I keept it out and exposed. All the hardware is still as new. However beware of dust.

This guitar has burned 3 Marsahlls, and two Peavy amps. on some very fast bar cords. The guitar is solid, well made, and if you like to jump, it will jump with you.

have had no need to contact customer support, but will for original trembolo.

I got the guitar in 1992. It has become a close friend of mine. I have played the LP, Fenders, and many others over the years, but the Charvette for some reason kicks thier butts. The wieght, the feel and the way the guitar is setup--it's construction fits like a glove. The only thing is that the trembolo level broke just recently, not because of ware, but because of a jerk! The knobs and switches do have a tendency to collect dust, so cleaning it is a must. If I could find another (new)I would pay the money for it. Those who really want a great sounding guitar look for one and you wil not be disappointed--by the way, I have never had to setup the guitar!
Most of my friends have the expensive guitars and are jealous of my Charvette. They look at it and simle. Once then pick it up and play it they smile again--"what is this guitar?

when i got this guitar it had a lisenced floyd but it was a really vintage one it was more like a fender standard bridge but it said floyd rose pats.It also had the crappy set of jackson charvel pickups they were weak they woulden't pickup harmonics or lower notes. I had got this guitar because i had played a charvette just to see how they were and i fell in love with the neck, it is one of those really thin and skinny necks really really fast and smooth. solid body, Humbucker at the bridge and slanted single coil at the neck. After i bought a new REAL floyd rose. and a dimarzio XZN pickup for the bridge it was a machine.

the dimarzio i got for it sounds excellent its the perfect pickup for the guitar.
I put it throught my friends line 6 spider 2 and it sounded amazing.
i used the floyd to make some real nauseating sounds. just excellent

When i got the guitar the last guy who had it had two different gauges of string ( i think it was like half .10 and half .09 it felt so bad but i threw some .09 fender superbullets on it and the difference was like night and day. The body was flawless and the only real problem was that there was a crack in the headstock but the locking nut keeps the crack from being stressed ,you have to look closely to see it. its non progressive.

excellent durability i mean it has a cracked head stock and i plays excellent. the nec has that smooth worn-in feel. I wouldent trade this guitar for eddie van halens origonal frankenstein.

no warrenty.

ive been playing for almost 5 years and ive never played a guitar that felt as smooth or mind blowing as this one i would reccommend getting a charvette they are the best. THE VERY BEST.

thatks for reading- BEN

Straight black finish with a Strat style body. Standard strat style bridge with non-locking trem system, Charvel brand machine heads (very smooth). 22 jumbo frets on a rosewood board. 1 Tone and 1 Vol, 5 way pickup selector. Pickups are passive Charvel S/S/H. Body is very solid (heavy) not sure of wood type. Made in Fortworth TX, 1989.

The original Charvel pickups suit the style of music I play (thrash/death metal) down to a T. There is a warmth and depth to the sound I have not heard elsewhere, excellent for solo and rhythm work. I play on a Randall 150W head with 4*12 Marshall cab and a Beringer rackmount EQ, no effects really and I can get all the range of sound I am looking for. The 5 pickup arrangments allow for varied moods/sound especially for clean picked and strummed work.

A little work was required to set up this guitar, but that was to be expected from a pawn shop. The action is a little hard, but thats the way I like it, plenty of room there for adjustment and a lighter gauge set of strings would make it ideal for lighter or more subtle work. Neck allignment is straight as. The bridge has a small amount of corrosion but I would put that down to the age. I also had to replace the back strap nut as it worked its way out of the body.

This guit is INDESTRUCTABLE! A mate of mine dropped it and not a scratch was left, held its tuning too which is rare for a std bridge setup. It is more than dependable in live and studio situations, I still keep a backup live in case of string breakage. The finish is durable and it has very few noticable defects for its age.

Can't say

I have been playing for 12 years(had this for 8)and this is honestly THE best guitar I have owned (or played for that matter). Given that I bought it on a whim for $400... I am still amazed to this day. If it was stolen I would be shattered, but would seek out a similar one, maybe with 24 frets and a locking trem this time. It is a reliable, versatile and sounds great. Nuff said!

Charvette by charvel splatter. I bought this guitar early january this year from guitar crazy in coogee. I didnt pay anything for it, i traded my epiphone sg special for it. It wassecond hand by the way.

Made somtime early eighties,Japanese model i think, 22 fret, 2 single coil 1 humbucker, charvel/jackson pickups, gotoh tuners, non-locking trem, volume tone and 5-way switch, revese headstock. Exellent!

I play alot of shred, so i needed alot of high gain and ear bleeding tone, which is what this guitar has. The pickups are charvel/jackson so they wouldent be crap!

Ok, when i bought it (second hand)it had a few flaws. The bridge was broken. The inside had coroded and the whammy bar wouldent go in because it had broken on one side. The whammy bar didnt screw in it just fell in the hole so when using it not only did i harve to turn it around and push up on it the lower the pitch, i had to keep the thing from falling in! Now i have just taken the old bridge out and replaced it with a 25 dollar one which will last me until i can get a lcoking trem.

It had a few chips in the body of the guitar which i didnt mind, (i dont have to worry about chipping it, it already is!). The paint job is immaculate and looks awesome, like it is bleeding red and black.

The neck was in great condition, no problemos at all!

The only thing wrong with the 5 way switch was the black part that is stuck on the metal comes off when you pull on it hard! The volume pot broke after about three months but has now been replaced. no problems.

All up the guitar was in great condition for an early 80's charvette. It was better then i expected and the tone is awesome.

This guitar has been around for 20 years, and i think it will last 10 more (but i will probably replace it sooner when i have the money to buy my dream guitar. an ibanez jem.) It is very reliable and it has recently undergone a service. its got the all clear so im happy. The strap buttons were taken off and replaced with a dimarzio cliplock (white) which suits the guitar very much!! I would use it at a gig no problemos but always would take my backup (crappy ashton) just incase i dropped it off a tall building, accidentlay launched it into outerspace or had to sell it before the gig to buy a GENUINE rolex from the guy on the corner. Which probably will never happen!

Very Reliable

Got it repaired, cost me 30 bucks. Its from the 1980's so i think the warrent would have expired by now.

Ive been playing 2 and a half years and i have a 1960s coronet amp which is 5 watt and a fender fm212 amp which is brilliant. I have a d.o.d fx250 overdrive pedal and a zoom g2 milti effects processor. All of which when combined with my amp sound great. I love the paintjob and tone and the thin neck. I Wish it had a locking trem, but i cant afford it right now. If it were stolen i would cry, because its rare. If i ever found the person that stole it i would stab them with the headstock of my guitar (its pointy), but it hasnt been stolen yet. I got this guitar because i had an sg before which wasnt my thing, i became very advbanced very soon, because i practiced all the time, so i needed a better guitar.

Thanks for reading,
Cal

Ok, I have no idea when this guitar was made... early eighties I think. It says fort worth texas on the neck plate, but im guessing its japanese made. 22 fret rosewood on maple neck, solid timber body, tone and volume controls, 3-way selector. Its a H/S configuration, i have replaced the humbucker with a gibson style one and left the single where it is at the neck. I found the original humbucker (jackson stamped) to be very noisy, thus getting rid of it. However the single coil is very warm and has a really deep tone, so it stays for now. Strat style body but about 10 times heavier than any strat i have ever picked up! Its got a floyd rose floating bridge with stock tuners with charvel on the back, looks like it had a locking nut, but someone has taken it off :(

This guitar suits me just fine. I play sabbath, van halen, slayer and jimi hendrix and the guitar covers them all very well. I run it through a big muff and a zoom multi fx and i never have a problem. Now the guitar was a little noisy (i think it had a hard life before i got it, it was all beat up and missing paint), however i fixed this buy screwing the humbuckker to the body and getting rid of the mounting bracket. The best thing about this guitar is the fact its built in the 80's for the 80's. I have a hard time NOT making this thing scream! So if you like pinch harmonics, then this is your guitar!

When i got the guitar it was setup pretty bad, but thats what you get buying second hand. I found it very easy to setup though, so this wasnt a big issue. All routing was fine and I could not find any flaws what so ever. Some rusted screws, but hey! take them out and put new ones in! Good craftsmanship. Im giving it a 10 because it is set up perfectly now.

When i got it, it didnt look like it had been put down in 20 years! So i would say yes it would withstand live playing. I droped it once and the heavy prick didnt even go out of tune! The hardware it tough, fullstop. The finish when i got was stuffed. Buckle rash, arm rash and any other rash, this thing was missing paint everywhere. But like i said, this thing had a hard life. I have now re-painted and it looks pretty cool. But if you look after a guitar then you wont have to worry about paint, but i didnt really care about paint, i was more interested in how it felt and sounded. This guitar requires no back up, and if you wanted a backup, get another charvel!

Never need to.

Been playing for 4 almost 5 years now. This is MY first guitar, but i have played my friends guitars before and they dont even compare, not even a real strat! If it got stolen i would be pissed, but i would go and buy another one. Its just a great axe, sounds good, feels good and it screams like a baby being mauled by a dog.

i bought it in 1990.
24 frets
1 volume control
pickup config. h/s/s (passive)
nice cracked red finish
super strat style body
liscenced floyd rose

the stock pick ups were not bad at all. nice humbucker for rock/metal and single coils were nice and clean. eventually the humbucker went microphonic and i replaced it with a seymour duncan jb. this guitar suits my style evev to this day.

this one came from the factory ready to rock. great action. no flaws whatsoever

i've owned this guitar for 15 years and it has never let me down. sure i've changed pots and toggle switches and even a pickup, but this guitar has been to hell and back. it was my main guitar for most of 12 years, gigged regularly, and sadly she is showing her age. i've pretty much retired her now, but i still take her out on backup duty every now and then.

never needed it

been to war with this guitar and we both survived. wish they still made them

My Charvette was made in the early 80s in the USA 24 frets 2 charvel Pickups (one singlecoil one humbucker both passive) light grey finish Floyd rose tremolo

The Guitar is extremely variable you can play any styles on it the single coil sounds just clean, extremely bright unbelieveval sustain in my opinion even better than a strat the humbucker has a great sound for any kind of metal I played it trough an AXL USA 212R and with a Boss MD - 2 Just great sound

The guitar was set up erally good for a more than 20 years old guitar
the finish is amazing no sratches etc
a ligt grey finish looks wonderful

the guitar is build like a rock and I think I could still use it in 20 years
But I would still necer play without backup even when the guitar is great the strings can break

Never dealt with

I dont play for really long but I played enought guitars to see that this guitar is just great it just fits my style I feel great with it
If it would be stolen I would hang myself

About 1980 manufacture I believe, Japanese.
S/S/H Charvel pickups, passive.
Don't know what the body material is. Neck looks like maple with rosewood fingerboard.
Body finish is plain white - and very robust.
Body style is more or less "strat".
Floyd Rose licensed bridge and locking nut.
I got this guitar with a high quality hard case, solid stand and various other bits and pieces (actually I bought it for the case and stand, which were together worth most of what I paid, and I planned to sell the guitar on - but I fell in love with the guitar as soon as I started playing it).

Not sure that I have any style, but this quitar does everything I ask of it.
Sounds great through my Behringer GX210 amp, with or without effects turned on.
Humbucker is excellent - no noise and very nice tone. Single coil pickups do generate a little noise, but this is not usually noticeable.
No crackling from tone or volume controls on guitar (not bad for 25 year old pots.)
I don't usually use the tremelo, but it will give a huge range and still stay in tune.
Body cavities for pickups, controls and wiring are all shielded (using conductive paint and metal foil on the plastic covers).
This guitar does not seem to have a lot of sustain - it does not give me any problems, but this might not suit everyone.

Guitar set up was pretty good when I got it, I have had to make very slight adjustments to intonation and bridge height - probably because I used different strings - but no problems.
Finish was excellent - it was about 20 years old when I got it, but in almost new condition. Frets all smooth - no sharp edges. Finish was still in good condition.
Everything about this guitar looks and feels good quality - better than you would expect for what I thought was meant to be a cheap far eastern mass produced guitar.

Nothing about this guitar looks or feels as if it is likely to fail. I don't bother with any backup when I'm out playing - and I don't expect this guitar to let me down.
The finish seems tough, and tuners, bridge, nut, etc. seem solidly made.
The only weak point is the sharp point of the Jackson shape headstock - but hitting things (amps, keyboards and other musicians usually) with that does not seem to make any difference to the sound the guitar makes. The damage to the guitar is pretty trivial as well, more than can be said for that on the things I hit.

Never dealt with them. But I don't expect much support for a budget instrument that's still performing well after 25 years.

I've been playing guitar for around 20 years (on and off).
I also have an Aria Strat copy (which is nowhere near as good as the Charvette but cost nearly twice as much).
Would I buy another Charvette if I lost it? Definitely.
I love the feel of this guitar - it is well balanced, smooth and easy to hold and play. And of course, I love its clean sound.