Charvel Model 2

Painted it 'Cuda green, black hardware, maple neck, rosewood FB, Jumbo frets, replaced the crap kahler with a disassembled Kahler Flyer that I converted to a fixed bridge (turned out sweet. I bought it new in '87 and it was pearl white with 1 Jackson humbucker and a Kahler fulcrum with string-lock.. the fulcrum lasted about 8 years before I installed the custom bridge

I swapped the Jackson HB for an EMG 81 and this turned it into a mind melting metal machine... Real heavy low end and infinite sustain, the clean tone is too brittle though. (EMG 81's suck for clean guitar) I've owned it for 20 years now, and aside from the bridge replacement I have had no problems with it.. even taking it apart and painting the body, it went back just the same.. The neck is awesome. I love everything about the neck on this Charvel

With the hybrid Kahler bridge I re-designed for it, I can adjust each strings height on a roller saddle, I removed the sting-lok behind the nut, and I never have tuning problems with this guitar, I did one truss adjustment when I went from .009's to .010's and that is it.. the neck is ROCK solid, and I still have the original frets (dressed them once) I also keep it tuned down a whole step. I use it all the time (at least 3 times a week) along with my other axes

20 years of abuse and it still plays like it did the day I bought it!

I have one of these great guitars, bought it Spring of 87 at the Sam Ash in NYC. It has been my main guitar for all that time to now 2005, and the finish is perfect. anyway, features, very few and what are there are very well made. the one J90 pickup and volume knob, simple design of the strat shape, no pickguard, I love the simplicity of this design. the high quality maple neck, rosewood fretboard and big frets makes this a great playing neck, it is the best I've ever played on any electric guitar, and that's quite a few including flying V's and les pauls, and fenders.

sound is fine for what the guitar is for, rocking out. you can get clean tones and if you use a chorus pedal they sound great. I play that way a lot. the neck and heavy body of the guitar really bring home a nice rich sound.

action is excellent. a neck that plays like butter. I actually have to get mine adjusted slightly because a string or two are out of harmonic tune. but the playability of this guitar is the best.

mine is 18 years old and looking great. if you just take care of them, condition the neck with lemon oil, and polish the body, change strings, etc, they will always look good. the body finish is unblemished. no checking or any discoloration.

never did.

been playing 21 years.
other gear - charvel acoustic/electric 625C, Ibanez 12 string PF10-12. Crate 80 watt amp. boss chorus ensemble pedal.

I love this Charvel, it plays wonderfully, it looks great, it has a meanness in that pickup if you want it to. it has been a great guitar for me for years, and for not much money considering. I remember I was a youngster back then and only could afford the guitar, I didn't have the money for the case, so I carried it home on the bus in a cardboard Charvel box, and kept it in that for a couple months until I could afford the proper case. LOL

It's basic, but that's it's strength. No frills, does what you need. Think of it as a weapon of sonic terrorism, not a wandering minstrels tool of poetry.

Low rating because it's simple, but it is good

It sounds great for rock. That's what it does. Doesn't compare to a Strats clarity, a teles bite and sparkle, or a Gibbos rich smoothness, and with really decent amps it does sound a little cheap but turn the gain up and bash it hard and it rocks.

All pretty good. Pearl white finish nicely done, all parts well fitted.

The headstock developed an alarming forward curve, but this didn't effect the sound or tuning due to the locking nut.
The inserts the trem attaches to tilted forward due to the body being too soft, and i had to remove them, fill the holes and refit, plus the allen bolts in the locking nut are too soft and burr out. However, I abused the hell out of this live, picking it up and throwing it about by the trem arm and it survived. Gigged it hard, treated it with no respect and it kept on going.
tuning stability wasn't too good if the trem got used, especially the G string for some reason. The trem metal was also a bit soft and crappy, but just about survived

never asked

I liked this, and wished I hadn't sold it. Finally replaced it with a Tom Delonge sig Strat, and I actually prefer that so the Charvel isn't missed anymore. basic, unsubtle, middling quality but still fondly remembered.

One Humbucker One Volume Kahler Tremolo--simple as that-figure I'd give a point for each feature

I use this with a peavey 112 Bandit. I have tried it on a Peavey 5150 and Marshall DSL. All I can say is this has got to be one of the most underated guitars out there. I bought it brand new back in '86 for $199.00 and can say it is by all means the best guitar I have ever owned. Low action, incredible neck, the kahler tremolo is in my opinion better than any floyd rose I have ever tried. The pick up is a Jackson stock (passive) and to be honest i couldn't tell the difference between that and the EMG 81. (I compared) Great sustain and rich harmonics.

Action is the best selling point. trills, hammer ons, pull offs are endless and efortless.

Like I said, I had this thing back in '86. This thing had been abused, banged around, and it keeps going. I never have tuning issues. I got married in 97 and it was in storage and in pieces ( I took it apart to paint as a project but never got around to doing it) and battled against scorching heat and frigid colds. I just put it together last weekend and you know what--its didn't even matter. And I have absolutly no tech skills.

Never had to deal with them

Its funny how everyone comes full circle--when I got married, i fell into the same old sob story so many others fell into, I went into playing hibernation. Last year I started to get back into it and figured I would treat myself and upgrade to a "decent" guitar. I laid out $1,000 for an Ibanez and traded that in for an ESP. Both a good guitars but since I put my Charvel back together I'm going to trade my esp in for something else. Believe it or not they just didn't compare to the Charvel.

Probably made in Japan - has Fort Worth, TX on the neckplate - unable to figure out when it was made based on the serial number. Bought it new in 1988 or 1989 - can't really remember. Stock Model 2, black, 1 pickup, 1 volume, Jackson/Floyd Rose bridge. I love the simplicity of this guitar - for hard rock I rarely fool w/ tone controls anyway with the exception of the neck pickup setting on my Les Paul.

I like the stock pickup - mine is pretty hot and quiet. I was playing hard rock/metal when I bought it and it sounded great.

The neck....absolutely the best neck ever. Thin but not narrow - feels like you can wrap your hands twice around it. The back is smooth without being slick and the action is low and there's no buzz. Unlike a Strat or Les Paul I can play this thing much longer without my fret-hand getting tired. If I were designing the perfect guitar, this would be the neck I'd choose. I can't really comment on the bridge since I can't stand trem bridges. It worked well enough when I played around with it initially - better than the 'classic' fender trem units and an old Kahler bridge I once had -- I prefer a fixed bridge though.

I used this guitar live and for home-studio work -- I've never had a single problem with it other than some of the bridge parts rusting from humidity and some wear/fade on some of the black-metal parts. The finish on mine has been extremely durable - it's black so it always shows fingerprints no matter how much you polish it, but I haven't lost any paint. Overall it's very solid.

Never had to deal with them.

I own a couple of strats and a Les Paul - it's not fair to compare this to them, but I do love the neck. My hands aren't real big so playing the Les Paul is like playing a coffee table, and I've always struggled to get the action and intonation right on my strats. I've never had to adjust the action or intonation on this thing and it's also nice and light for playing live. For the $200 I paid for it new, I can't knock anything about it.

Electric Blue ,strat shape,1 humbucker,1 volume,Jackson trem,RW fingerboard,high quality Japanese workmanship,Gotoh tuners,etc.

Suits my main style well.Mostly hard rock, also capable of bluesy stuff.Rammin' it through VooDu Valve,Zoom 505 2,Art X-treme or Digi RP-50,then into Fender tube 1x12 combo or Penncrest tube 1x12 combo.VERY quiet J90-C pickup. Fairly flat eq , good bass,maybe a bit too many mids.but never gets harsh.

Setup was fine when I bought it new 16 years ago.Not really any flaws,dinged up a little bit after all these years.I'm so grateful I have this guitar after hearing about crap that should sound & work well.The only thing I've done is change strings & spray the volume knob with pot cleaner now & then.NOTE: I also stripped out a screw for the Jackson trem;Jackson sent some new ones,THEN I STARTED USING THE CORRECT SIZE ALLEN WRENCH & HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS SINCE.( Ten years)Used to be a pain to change strings,but I'm used to it now.

These guitars have already proven their toughness on stages for many years.The hardware has been perfect.Little pencil graphite on nut , trem saddles,you're ' red ta go.Strap buttons are solid, a good test has been the weight of this baby: it weighs a ton.DEpended & taken it for granted for a long time.

Dealt with 'em once;they were very helpful.Never had to deal with warranty concerns.

Playing about 25 years. See gear above.Compared it to a Gibson Flying V head to head; the Charvel blew it away.The heaviness can suck after awhile, but I love heavy guitars,so I'll gladly live with that.

Japanese made, 80's, one humbucker, one volume knob, Jackson JT-6 whammy, 22 jumbo frets, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. This is about as bareboned as it gets, which is fine by me. I'm not into single coils, so....

It suits my style perfectly. I play it through either a Marshall JCM800 2210 or a POD 2.0 for recording. The density of the body makes for a THICK sound. The stock pickup gets disrespected by a lot of people, but remove the pickup cover and it really shines! It's easy to take off, since it's just lightly glued on, but be gentle.

This isn't a guitar you would take to a session where you needed a lot of sounds, but it's suited very well for metal shredding. Thick and creamy.

I bought this one used for $100.00 out the door at a pawn shop a little over a year ago. When I got it, it had VERY heavy strings (probably 13's or so) and was in serious need of some adjustments. I cleaned the fingerboard, polished the frets, and installed a set of Ernie Ball Slinkys in .009. This thing now plays like butter. It's a very fast neck, but it isn't a "speed" neck like you see on an Ibanez. I prefer a bit more wood there and this guitar delivers. I'll give it a "10" in this category after I set it up properly.

Very, very solid guitar. Very heavy, too. I *think* the body is alder, but I can't say for sure. Hardware-wise, it's a rock. My only complaint is that the Jackson trem, the JT-6, is a known dud. The design of the trem is very good, but the quality of metal used is really poor, since the allen heads strip very easily. In fact, I had to break out the needle-nosed vice grips to do a string change. It will eventually be tossed in the trash in favor of an original Floyd Rose. Believe me, the guitar itself is worthy of the investment. I'll give it a "9" instead of a "10," but only because of the crappy trem.

No idea. I bought it used.

I've been playing for over 20 years. This guitar is one of my favorites of all time. Will definitely pick up a few more of these at this price.

Standard Model 2 features. All stock. Late 80's model with the Jackson Trem not the Kahler trem. Stock covered pickup. Was a pearl white, now a pearl nicotine yellow. I just got it so it's new to me. As far as body woods, this mutha is heavy. Feels like a Les Paul.

Sound with the cover on the pickup was pretty cool. After I took the cover off it came alive. I'm using the only rig I can live with tone wise. CRATE GX65, BOSS Metal Zone, DOD delay, Morely Wah. Sounds like an 80's metal shred machine. Thats why I bought it. I would like to change pickups around to find a humbucker that suits me. I'm thinking about trying a JB. I will probably end up with old faithfull, Seymour Duncan Distortion. For now it's good enough.

Due to the fact I bought it from Doc Dryer at Doc's Guitars, he set it up for speed. Killer setup! The finish is old and has some cracks and small chips. I call it the Charvel Closet Classic Model 2. Aged gracefully. The neck is in very good shape and straight as an arrow.

I've had it for a few weeks now and it's held up so far. Hell, it's held up for 15+ years up untill now. Everything works like it just came off the rack.

Jackson/Charvel...............never really talked to them. Doc on the other hand was cool as hell and bent over backwards for me.

I wish i had bought one new. I have always wanted one and even forgot what model it was. Once I got it all figured out I went on the hunt for one and ended up with a killer deal. It's even signed on the back of the body by Warren DiMartini of RATT. That was a bonus feature. Now that my search is over I can dedicate the rest of my time to playing. I'm hoping that J/C does a reissue or something close to the Model 2. The only way this guitar could be improved on is if it were in mint condition. I'm looking at putting in a Floyd Rose and a Seymour Duncan. That would improve it some, but as is it wails.

This is just a solid guitar. It's, an '85, so its second year of production. Japanese made, Japan is second to America. 22 fret, which is so free feeling compared to my gay ass mexican strat with only 21 frets. Jackson bridge. No whammy bar. Until i can hunt one down im just pulling the tremolo up with my right hand. Its floating so you can push it down to bring the pitch up. A nice feature, and it does take a chunk out of your guitar like a lions claw. The trem is locking and ive only had it for a day or two and ive hit the headstock into numerous things and its still in tune. My hardshell case is missing one lock, but most charvels are, because the piece that holds it together is plastic. Mine has a rosewood fretboard, which i normally hate, but the people this guitar was too good. Neck is thin without being to thin. You can go for fast runs, my favorite things to play on it are the extremist by satriani and for the love of god by vai. The laquer on the back of the neck is a thin coat and i actually like it better than a sanded neck. Jumbo frets. Good acces to all frets. One hum, one volume knob.

suits my style perfectly. The jackson humbucker is louder than most pickups. I expected it to be a piece of shit pickup but it has little or no hum, and the notes come out clearly. The clean tone is what really shocked me. This humbucker is in no way rhythmy, but on clean the highs come out high and the lows come out low, not like most pickups where it is just in the middle for every note. Exceeded my expectations by a lot. Its not even noisy on my little crate practice amp, but im using a ds-1. Lots of harmonics, greatly increased harmonics with a sustainer. I did but a duncan jb in anyway, that brought it from an 8 to a ten.

This is probably the best feeling guitar i have ever played. I dont know about the factory setup but the squid music setup was perfect. Low action, super fast. Pickup was a little high but it didnt hum. Brigde was routed right, i bought this model because its routed for a floyd but i doubt ill put one in. No finish flaws at all. I dont know how someone can give the finish a 7 because they dropped it or something. Thats not the factorys fault. Anyway, if this guitar wasnt even a guitar, it had been so brutally disfigured it resembled a donkeys genitalia, if it still had this action i would give it a ten. I jad a choice between this, or a USA select Jackson, SL-1. To me, the sl-1's neck is too flat and not straight enough. This, in my opinion is a better guitar.

This is hella durable. I would use it without a backup. I ve been playing on it for like 4 hours straight the last few days and i havent snapped a string. The strap buttons are big so the strap wont fall off. The hardware seems like it will last a while but it didnt come with a trem arm so i guess that isnt so durable... The finish is a thick sort of translucent red. Very very 80's. A charvel is better than a jackson in my opinion, this guitar is still assembled in America, ( i think) so it should last.

never had to, only had it a few days.

haha you guys will laugh and think my review was useless but ive been playing about a year and i own a fender strat, and a carlo robelli strat. I am poor and therefore forced to play through a randall rh100. Its an old one it actually sounds not so bad. Im turning thirteen in febuary and when i turn 14 i get an slo. that is rad. If it were stolen, i would hire the southside crips to beat the person, then i would have jackie chan molest them, and then i would dip them in acid. after that i would fart in their mouth and tape their mouth and nostrils closed. The i would open their mouth and light a match. Thats how in love with this guitar i am. I love the action and the finish. I went to grant guitars and Joel Grant routed the guitar for a neck humbucker and a single coil in the middle. From neck to bridge it goes( all duncans), alnico Pro (Slash), screamin demon (george), jb( everything else) This is actually George Lynch's guitar tech Gerard's guitar. This guitar is perfect for 80's metal(all i listen to), mr. scary is easily achieve (well except for the bar) such as dokken, skid row, warrant, ratt, crue. Ratt licks are great on this guitar. Warren Demartini owns. Anyway i picked it over a new american sl-1, because 80's is the only decade with guitar solos worth learning, and i thought hell, this is what a lot of them played so why not. The neck is better anyway. I like this personally better than the american Charvel. The american i played had a sanded neck though. They felt exactly the same except i like the laquer on the neck. This is the best guitar i have played for under probably 1200 dollars. Maybe more, depends on personal preference.

Same features everyone else has declared - Pearl White finish on a Basswood body, one humbucker, one volume pot, Kahler Fulcrum bridge (as opposed to the Jackson Floyd Rose unit), 22 fret rosewood fingerboard on a maple neck, behind-the-nut locknut, pointy head.

It only does one thing, and with the stock pickup it does it in a reasonable fashion. Convert to a better pickup and it becomes a great straight-ahead rock and metal guitar. A splittable humbucker will double the amount of sounds you can get. :)

Most of these Charvel's had metallic paint, which was of a fairly high standard. The bodies have a nice weight and good forearm/belly cuts. Mine has a surprisingly tight neck pocket. The neck has big frets, and with some adjustments will play very well. The neck carve on these Japanese Charvel's is great - big fingerboard radius and quite a flat back like an Ibanez Wizard neck. They were designed for rock and metal players at a time when that style was very 'in'. The behind-the-nut locknut was always a dodgy design, but if you convert to a Graph Tech nut and use only minimal whammy abuse it stays in tune fairly well. My Kahler bridge is missing the whammy bar and fine tuners though - anyone know where I can get spares?

These guitars were made very well. The only iffy hardware is the Jackson locking trem arm on those guitars which had them, which other reviewers have noted.

This model is long out of production. Never dealt with the company.

I bought this guitar used for about US$75, so I think that's a pretty good bargain. I bought it for a metal project I hope to record later in the year. It needs a restoration, but for a simple guitar designed to do one thing well, it's great. The neck alone is worth the price of admission. Add a decent pickup, have a pro setup done and it will be a terrific bargain shredder.

Does anyone know where Kahler parts can be sourced (I understand they are out of business), or if there is any info on the web about setting up Kahlers? Please email me if you can help.