Charvel Model 3

Pretty sure mine is an 1988 Charvel Model 3. Had the JT-6 instead of Kahler trem. Electric Blue I guess? I found it in a pawn shop it was in bad shape, lot's of dings and missing pieces. I put it back together and it plays great now!

SSH jackson pickups
JT-6 floyd rose
Super strat body
ok jackson tuners 6 in a line with locking nut above the nut
maple neck with rosewood fingerboard 25.5" scale

It was beat to hell no case and missing parts but I got it for parts but decided to fix it up. I'm glad I did it has a real personality this guitar, rather angry at the abuse and neglect and it wants revenge. I bonded with her right away and wanted to give her a voice to scream with again.

Well it's a Fat Strat with a humbucker and 2 single coils. I like the sound of the stock jacksons. The humbucker is nice and wooly sounding with a bit of bite and the single coils are clean although susceptible to hum. The neck pickup has a nice warm sound and the middle pickup is cool. It only has volume and tone and a 5 way selector.

I don't know what the body is, but it's solid becasue there is a big chip and I can see the wood. It has a real nice sound perfect for blues or rock or older metal. Bang for buck this thing can't be beat.

Whoever had it last was an idiot. I set it all up with new strings and the action is pretty low now with no buzzes. The finish was probably really nice but this one has seen some abuse. It's a great player though so who cares. The JT-6 is not that bad to setup you can find a manual for it online.

It's got the charvel neck, it is like a strat sort of but more 'C' shaped. It's maple with rosewood, with dot inlays. The neck is what makes these guitars so worth owning. I guess it's chunkier than an Ibanez but it suits me perfectly I don't get fatigued and I find chording and playing to be comfortable and easy on this. I'd say they are jumbo frets on it, although I haven't measured them they look big and fat. Real player.

This thing is over 20 years old, it looks like it's been thrown around and beaten on. Neck is still straight and after finding the missing bridge parts it plays like mo-fo. These things will definitely last even if abyused.

nah I asked them about parts they were like ahaha we made this 20 years go sorry go ask somebody else

Well it depends on your style. The SSH config is pretty versatile this guitar can do almost any style, but the stock pickups aren't hot enough for modern metal. And it's just an old 6 stringer so it won't put out earth quaking riffs like a 7 or 8 string but who care get a 7/8 string then.. Despite how it looks it has a real nice jazz sound, as well as a real good blues tone, rock/hard rock and older metal this is where it is at. Made in Japan. I know mine is an 88 because of the neck plate and the gasket, but I'm not entirely if it is a Model 3 or 1 I don't know if the model 1 was SSS or SSH.

my '87 model 3 is strat style SSH setup with original single coils and a PAF pro dimarzio in the bridge. the 2nd position from the bottom on the switch is bypassed. with the singles and the PAF (which is trebley and good for lead)ivcan get almost any sound out of the pickups. i;m not sure what the body body is composed of but the fret board is rosewood on a maple low profile "c" shaped neck. the paint is in exellent condition which is red /W black pickgaurd. the tuners are original Jackson. and the bridge is a double locking kahler that floats like a floyd-rose. finaly the fingerboard is rosewood with a low profile "C" shaped canadian maple neck, which is 22 jumbo frets.

i play mostly metal, but also love experimental type stuff. since the pickups all vary greatly from eachother i can achieve anything from twangy to full on metal tone. currently i am using a peavy valve king 100 head on a line 6 cab. the guitar sounds very good on the valve king especialy with the single coils on the clean channel. they do create a bit of hum on clean but that's easily fixed with an MXR noise gate. the resonance of the wood in the body is awsome it has semmingly endless sustain. the only thing i dislike about all of that is the tiny bit of hum that the single coils create.

the action on the neck is fair. the neck is slightly bowed, but it can easily be fixed i just don't want to risk doing it myself. i suck at setting the neck. anyway... the pickups were in place nice and solid. the only thing wrong with the guitar control wise was that the knobs practicaly turned themselves, which is easily fixed by greasing the pots..

the guitar is a very good gig guitar. although it's a bit heavy for long periods of time. i just back it up with my lighter esp m1000. it's much lighter. i never have to worry about the strap falling off because i added some dunlop strap-locks. also the kahler never gets out of tune, even after diving all the way to the pickguard. the charvel overall is a very stageworthy guitar.

N/A

overall rating is a nearly perfect guitar. the only thing i had to fix were the pots which only needed some grease. i still need to get the neck adjusted but it will only take a minuet to fix. it doesn't affect the playing very much at all. so long story medium length... sweet guitar period.

I purchased this guitar in 1988 from a local guitar shop. at the time i was looking for a strat type of guitar with a humbucker. i played a number of kramers but they didnt impress me.....i picked up my red charvel and i told me to take it home. And sure enough i did.
Its a Red Model 3 with SSH config and black scratch plate. Nice thick slab of rosewood on the neck and 22 jumbo frets. the profile is a flattened C shape.... extremely comfortable. It originally came with a cheesy Kahler locking trem, which worked fine until it just didnt work any more due to the corrosion and sweat from a million sweaty gigs.

today the guitar includes a Gotoh floyd bridge, Duncan single coil strat pickup (with staggered polepieces) and a Bill Lawrence SL500 in the bridge with switching Tone pot to go to Parallel (single coil sound) mode. All cratch plate screws are now stainless steel.

this guitar has not changed from the last set of mods for 18 years.

With all the mods and upgrades this is really one hell of a guitar.

I have a collection of guitars ranging from Tele to strat to hollowbodies etc.....however this is probably the most versatile and reiable guitar to take on a gig.
I use it with my trust digitech RP12 and VoxAC30.
The strat tones are unbelievable.... very vintage in the neck/middle and Neck only positions. the Lawrence is a bright sounding pickup and complements this guitar extremely well and excellent for lead. I have used it for i dont know how many gigs over the years and is the most gigged of all my guitars.... its sound is just so sweet when i want and aggressive as well.... suitable for just about any gig i can throw at it.

I have to say to other model 3 owners... get the kahler out of there and you will have a guitar that performs and sounds so much better. The GOtoh really improved the tone.

As a very comfortable guitar and DURABLE. stays in tune for months and months.... in fact i can leave it in its case for ages and pick it up and it plays in tune right away.

its a Great guitar which is more than just a metal guitar.... its very comfortable, playable and durable with a pallet of tones, you would have to pay big bucks for.

after all this time... i guess its approaching the age where its starting to become sort of vintage.....the tone is as good or better than the day i picked it up.

As with all guitars that came out of the japanese factories in that era... the finish is still excellent, the action just as it was set...quite low and smooth, and overall. whilst this is no longer a stock guitar, other than the bridge change there has been little structurally changed on the guitar. And after all this time it is still as good as it was 18 years ago.... maybe better

other than the rusty screws which i replaced with stainless.... and the bridge change......for the last 18 years it has been as it is now.....its as durable as ever. i must say that i am anal about my guitars and keep them clean and well looked after.

But as i said before... this is a guitar built for gigs, flexibility. if i had only one guitar to take to a gig, it would definitely be this one. I can truly state that this a durable guitar....trust me i know from experience

never had the need to call them

I own 10 instuments and have a particular liking for 70's and 80's japanese guitars. these guitars have a certain magic about them and they were built better than the production american guitars at the time. I also had a Japanese Strat from that era and it was a killer. the Charvel however hold a special place in my heart because it just keeps on going....built to last and just able produce so many different sounds. if it were stolen i would be heartbroken and would probably buy another.....however how do you replace the 18 years of playing the thing and the feel you get accustomed to....you know... no two are alike.

I have to give the guitar a 10,its been so reliable, a pleasure to play and able to meet the needs of just about any gig.

Pearl white alder body
Bolt on 22 fret maple neck with rosewood fingerboard
S/S/H config Jackson pickups
Vol/Tone control and 5 way selector swithch
Jackson licenced flaoting Floyd Rose tremelo

This was made in Japan in 1987.
All the Charvel neckplates that have "Made in Ft. Worth Texas" (as mine does) were made in Japan.
The serial number runs between 258,000 and 299,000 so it was made in 1987.

THis guitar is versatile for any ballsy rock and roll scenario. I have used it in numerous hardcore / kbd / punk bands, a speed-metal band and even a popwerpop band. Must admit i usually played the humbucker when gigging but for playing Iron Maiden or Metallica like intro's or riffs at home the neck coil sounds great.
I just play at home for fun through a 30 watt practice amp these days and it still sounds heavy, full and crunchy.

I bought this new in 1988 from the Guitar Factory at Hurstville (Sydney) and they set the action as low as possible as i was in a major metal phase at the time. I have had the guitar re-set a few times since but still have it ultra low, it buzzes when played unplugged but once you plug it in, even at a low volume, the buzz is drowned out.
The neck is fast, smooth, clean, and did i say fast?
Finish was immaculate, no flaws and even after 18 years it looks great though it has faded/yellowed a bit and i have replaced pickup screws a few times as they corroded over time.
My one beef is the G string goes out of tune easily if i use the whammy bar or do Johnny Thunders impersonations.
This guitar was definately not made on a Monday morning or Friday afternoon.

This guitar has been gigged hundreds of times, and has stood the test of time. Sydney summers are humid and hot and playing live she has been covered in sweat, beer, even had a ride cymbal and stand fall on her and the list goes on. Funny thing is when you think you have made a real hell of a ding you have a look and it's only a couple of millimetres big... so put a but a bit of clear nail polish on it and she's fine.
No need for strap locks, the strap buttons are hardcore and rarely need tightening.

Never had a drama with this guitar. Hope i haven't jinxed myself!

I have been playing since 1981 (school) and playing live in bands since 1987.
Used to play everything through a 100w 1978 JCM Marshall head and slope front quad and the only pedal i really used was the Boss Super Overdrive for leads though i have a Flanger and Crybaby and have goofed off on tons of types of pedals and there has never been any noize interference between the guitar and pedals.
Other guitars have come and gone over the years (Les Paul Standard, Washburn A10V, a few Les Paul copies) and this is my fave and it ain't going nowhere except to my son. If someone stole it, i would like to wack them over the head with it because they wouldn't get up again - ever! This guitar is heavy and solid. Seriously, I would get another one though if it was nicked.

Bolt on neck (I think Rosewood or Ebony on Maple). Top routed cavity.

Black pickguard on black body. Old, Guitar shaped Charvel logo. Thinner than Fender C profile, but not by much. I like it.

Vol/Tone control and 5 way selector. SSH config. Side input as opposed to top input. Kahler dual locking trem, but no float like a Floyd. Smaller than that also. Very nice.

I have a hard time believing that the body is Alder. It's the first guitar that has actually made my shoulder sore, and I've played a variety of Fenders, a Dean Vendetta, and an old Carvin LP knockoff.

This guitar is versatile. I play experimental rock in the vein of Mr. Bungle, which calls for versatility. I also play blues, jazz, and speed metal, among other things. I use this with a Crybaby, Boss Super Chorus, DOD Phaser, a Dano EQ, a ProCo Rat, and an '80's Fender distortion pedal (not a blender). All go through a JCM-800 4210, which drives a Lee Jackson 4x12 cab loaded with Celestions.

Clean, the single coils sound great. The humbucker is missing something.

Distorted, the humbucker has it, but so does the middle single coil. The con is that with the neck pickup engaged with my Rat or Fender on, there's a very unpleasant feedback. The neck and middle pickups are not wired in reverse polarity, so the 60 Hz hum will not be eliminated.

Still, if you get around the neck pickup, you're golden.

Well, I just bought mine a month ago, and the shop set it up. Did a great job.

The guitar is around 20 years old. It's in awesome shape. The Kahler keeps it in tune, and the frets are nice and big. Nice action, though in drop D, if you go up high on the low D, you're likely to catch some buzz.

All in all, this part is what made the guitar so appealing.

I've played a show with this. Had a backup. Didn't need it.
Everything is around 20 years old and going VERY strong!
Big strap buttons. I don't need straploks on this one.

Never use a guitar on a gig without a backup. Strings breaking are usually the fault of the player, not the guitar, and they break somewhat randomly, unless you have a burr in your bridge.

Haven't dealt with them.

I've had a guitar since '99. Playing seriously since 2002. In that time, I have gone through a bunch of equipment. Currently, I have a '57 RI Strat, Dean Vendetta, a heavily modified Squier Strat with EMGS and all new hardware and neck (my first guitar), and a Fender acoustic electric. Amp is a JCM-800 4210. Used to be a Lee Jackson XLS-500. Before that, was a JCM=900 4501.

I traded a Fernandes '57 Reissue Strat knockoff for this outright. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I tried quite a few guitars at the shop, and this one was the best. Prior to this acquisition, my Dean Vendetta 3.0 with aftermarket DiMarzios was my stage guitar. I bought this intending for it to be a backup, without any thought of it becoming the main guitar. Well... I now walk on stage with this guitar that was tagged at $130.

No regrets, whatsoever. And for $130... I dare you to get a better guitar for the money legitimately.

Bought this brand new around 1988 at a one day only sale for about $275.00 (including the custom shaped grey Charvel case). Guitar was still in the box... had no idea what color it was until I got to the parking lot. Turned out to be an electric blue metallic finish with black hardware which I love! Some dude offered me an extra $100 over what I paid for it cause he got a black one. It has 22 frets, all black hardware, S/S/H Jackson pick-ups, and a locking Floyd Rose licensed Jackson tremlo system. I have absolutely no complaints about this guitar. It's still my main guitar.

This was my first real guitar, and it sounded just fine for what I was doing. I replaced the humbucker with a Seymour Duncan Screamin' Demon last year, and it's now perfect! It has a nice warm sound with endless sustain. I can pull harmonics anywhere on the fretboard. I only wish it had 24 frets.

I never had any problems with it. I had to get it set-up / adjusted a couple of times because of the whammy abuse I put it through... I even broke the original chrome whammy bar, and had to replace it with a black Ibanez bar. The action is beautiful, it never goes out of tune. I wore the frets out, and I'm afraid to have them replaced... don't wanna mess with something so good.

This guitar has been dropped... had beer spilled all over it, banged into walls, mic stands, amps, and it just doesn't break! The finish still looks brand new. I've had many offers from people that want to buy it from me, but I refuse to give it up. It'll probably end up getting stolen from me one day.

Never had any problems with it... never needed to use the warranty or contact the company.

I've been playing for over 20 years now. Influences include George Lynch, Tony MacAlpine, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, etc. I found a beautiful used 24 fret Kramer with a reverse headstock and black Floyd Rose locking tremelo for $85.00 this year that I use as my back-up. I use a VOX Valvetronix 120 watt modeling amp with an Ibanez Tube Screamer pedal... killer sound!!! I'd cry if it got stolen cause I've never seen another like it.

mid-late 80s 22 frets, pearl white 1 vol 1 tone with 5 way pickup selector. s/s/h configuration Jackson pickups.
Maple neck strat style,says Floyd Rose on the locking vibrato came with tweed case

This guitar sounds like a strat, tele or Gibson because of the graet pickups. Gave me an unbelievable fender twang so I loved it.

All guitars need some tweaking so it came set up nice now its nicer.
Pickups were/are perfect. excellent quality in a very affordable guitar.

this guitar has been in my posssion since new about 15+ years.
played out with it way back. Still like new. very solid.
I always use a backup.

dont know never needed them.

Been playing 25+ years walked in to my local music store picked this up on a whim...it played nice plugged it in and loved its versatile pickups...price with taxes and tweed case-$329.00 out the door!
And its still in great condition all these years later showing litle wear for a lot of hours on it. I really was never crazy about the Jackson headstock design but here we are years later its become a classic design! I love this guitar even though I dont play out with it often I will take it as a back up occasionally. I have had a dozen guitars come and go in 25+ years but some like this one I refuse to part with. Great versatile instument.

This review is just a followup to my two previous reviews of each the Model 3 and 3A. I recently had a chance to do a direct comparison of the original Jackson hums in these guitars to a Seymour Duncan JB model and found absolutely no difference. I had read somewhere that Jacksons pickupS were made to be close to the Duncans but of course i thought it was a load of bs. But after the comparison I am convinced and have kept them in. I use both these guitars exclusively now in our gigs, and am very pleased. My model 3 has been custom painted again by a friend at Hot Rod Alternatives in Jamestown, IN. The paint job is a heavy metallic silver and is more durable than any guitar I've seen. There are no signs of wear, no dings or scratches -- and beleive me it has taken a beating! I am getting ready to tear my red 3A down and have him paint it a metallic black cherry/pearl. This guitar has become know as my Mustang -- it is loaded up with actual Mustang Cobra decals off a car that was resting peacefully in a scrap yard after an argument with a tree! To see pics of my two favorite axes in action, check out the Band Pics section on our website -- www.shadesofwrong.com

Bought this Japanese made Strat shaped s/s/h Kahler locking tremelo gtr. new in '87. It came with a tweed case that didn't hold up as well as the guitar. It was kinda funny...the two singles with a humbucker, locking trem and pointy headstock screamed "80's", but the red finish, Strat shape and tweed case suggested "vintage". The stock single coil Jackson pickups eventually were replaced with DiMarzio HS-2 stacked humbuckers, which eventually had one coil disconnected to make them true single coils. A coil cutter was added to the bridge humbucker. The maple neck (with rosewood fingerboard) is slim and fast.

I don't use the guitar on gigs these days, but did extensively from '93-'96. I was playing modern country, and oldies/classic rock in a 4-piece band with a keyboard player, through a Music Man RD-65 with a JBL. With the DiMarzio HS-2 (with one coil removed) and the coil cut on the humbucker, position 4 (Clapton, Knopfler clean sound)was quiet and sweet. And the humbucker with both coils in sounded pretty good distorted, although I prefer the humbucker sound on my Les Paul Custom. The difference in volume between the two main sounds had me using seperate distortion boxes for each to better balance pos. 4 clean, pos.4 dirty, and humbucker dirty volumes. And what I gained in versatility, became somewhat of a switching nightmare...going from pos. 4 clean with chorus, to dirty humbucking with delay (for the solo),meant hitting two switches on the guitar, and two with the pedals.

The intonation, action, and Kahler tuning stability (in the beginning) were not good. Over the first few years I owned it, various repairmen worked on those problems, and customized it soundwise as well. Fortunately I had a Fender Strat, and L.P.Custom, so I wasn't relying on the Charvel.But 6 years (!) after buying it, I was looking for a change. A gtr. that could "do it all"...and it kinda did !! But it was set up so badly originally, I wonder why I bought it...I'm just glad I didn't give up on it, because it did finally reach it's potential. The finish still looks decent, even though the gtr. is 13 years old, and seen hundreds of gigs.

The hardware and finish have lasted. I wouldn't recommend not bringing a back-up...one time I broke the first string towards the end of the last set..try quickly replacing a broken string on a locking whammy gtr. while your drummer solos on a tune he's never soloed on before...not fun.

Strangely enough I never bothered to get customer service on this gtr., and maybe I should have...

I like the variety of sounds, the way it plays. The Kahler works well, but I'm not into whammy gtrs. too much these days. If it were stolen, I'd be bummed, but I wouldn't have to run out and find another one. It's a good guitar for recording with the variety of tones...but the Strat tones aren't as good as a good Strat, and the humbucker tones aren't as good as good Gibsons. Still, I don't regret buying it and sinking some dough into getting it to work like it's supposed to...

Well, I've done it again. I said in my Model 3A review that if I found another one like it I would buy it. This is the same body and features as my 3A, but the Model 3 is a H/S/S pickup configuration -- all Jacksons. Same 5 way selector, volume and tone control. Also a bolt on 22 fret neck. This one had the same cheezy Kahler trem which I quickly replaced with an Original Floyd. This guitar is also Red with a Black pickgaurd and hardware. Unlike my 3A, I will stick with the factory finish. The body is very heavy like a Les Paul, the neck is Mapel with a Rosewood fretboard -- jumbo frets that are also in need of re-dressing. The tuners are the stock Gotohs for Jackson. Also got a Charvel tweed style HSC with it (matches my other one).

This Model 3 sounds identical to my 3A in the bridge position, however it excells over it in the neck and middle positions. For more on my style and sound, see my Model 3A review.

Again, see my 3A review. Other than the pickup configuration, this guitar is identical to the Model 3A I bought back in 1987.

Haven't played it out yet, but after the Floyd conversion, I have no doubts. Now that I have the best of both worlds (Strat/Les Paul config), I am a happy man!

Same as my 3A review.

I have been playing for 15 years and am a huge fan of the strat style axes. What can I say, I am a sucker for Charvels. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if I run across another one in a store I would be hard pressed not to buy it. Playing guitar is an expensive hobby!