Charvel Model 5

Let me preface by saying that as a 16 yr old budding guitarist, I fell in love at first sight with this thing hanging brand new in Be Bop Music in BR. It was $1000.00 + at the time, well out of my range, but the dream continued till I found one on E-bay last year in a condition I couldn't believe. It was completely stock, so no point in re-stating what everyone else has stated. The double Jackson HBs, FR lic. trem, Jackson tuners and original buttons all in place, worked fine. Mine is Black, with an paint showing an amazing resliance for it's age. Made in Japan by ESP in 1987. Came with original grey chain saw case. HBs sounded "worn out" even with new battery. Only reason no 10 rating here.

Suits old-school thrash/ shred well due the flat out dream of a neck with monster sustain from poplar/ rock maple neck-thru design. I have played many many different guitars this is simply the most perfect neck for me and my style, just enough contour without being too thin...the fretboard is rosewood with a bit of compund radius tweak to it, if I remember correctly. Very fast and smooth for an unbound neck. Jackson HBs changed out to a SD Dimebucker in bridge and SD Jazz in neck, mid tone boost evens out "Scoopy" sound with just quarter turn without mudding up soloing. Clean sound great with Jazz, just a touch of tone to even out brightness. A Heavy metal machine with a full bodied crunch and surprisingly sharp bass response...some noise, but that is intentional for my tone. Run through a Marshall Vstate 100 head into a Crate 4x12 with Hellatones, Digitech RP 2000 effects system. Not quite a Les Paul, but amazing depth of tone for a strat body.

Personally,,I don't think factory action set up is relevant, as any guitarist worth his salt can adjust it and intonation themselves or have it done for them. Same with pickups. How hard was it to get it where I wanted feel and tone wise? A ten when I was done, and IMO, that's part of the joy of playing...getting her right where you want her...and she was more than willing to cooperate. Retarded action without buzzing on low E...however, slight fret out on 13th fret on high E bends. (Again, this is a 20+ yr old guitar) No overt flaes that I could tell, and luthier who replaced pickups/ tweaked neck remarked that it was indeed a VERY well built guitar. Finish and shine amazing for it's age, one small chip near bridge, which I did myself.

The Model 5 is a machine, easily can handle live gigging without missing a beat, I have played many, many shows without going to a backup other than for songs with dropped tuning. I keep it in EADGBE. Tone and volume knobs quiet as a mouse after all these years, and I smoke like a train when I play/ practice. Buttons replaced with straplocks, so hopefully, I'll never find out how it handles a drop. A very heavy solid guitar that just feels quality in your hands. Is it dependable? More so than any human I've met, that's for sure.

No comment, was able to find diagrams and info online. Jackson / Charvel forums very helpful

22 years of playing, and I have come full circle to marry my high school sweetheart. I also play a HEAVILY modded/ customized 2001 Jackson DKMG, '08 Jackson SL3 Soloist, an '87 Gibson SG, and a '94 Les Paul Studio Lite. I wish I had found her earlier and almost "Settled" for a Model 6, but not fond of the H/S/S setup. If it were stolen, I'd kill the thief, his friends and his family...then scan the net religiously till I found another and spend a fortune refurbishing it. I enjoy everything about it, just wich the original HBs had held up better, but favorite aspect is the feel and playability of the neck...nothing has ever come closer to perfect for me. No comparisons made, like I said, it was a long awaited dream in the back of my mind. I do think adding an EMG Afterburner (like the DKMG) to replace the stock mid boost would be fun, and may have it done when I schedule the fret work (may need leveling for 13th frt issue). I love this thing...hard to compare it elswhere, but I am full of personal bias here. But it has stood strong for this many years, and I have no reason to expect it won't conitnue.

1987 Charvel M5.This one was probably made by ESP in Japan and has the same quality feel as guitars of that period bearing the ESP name. Grover Jackson subbed the construction of the Charvel line out to other companies after purchasing it from Wayne Charvel so he could focus on developing the Jackson guitar line. In my opinion the Japanese ESP's are of a much higher caliber than the other Charvel imports and are, in fact, very high quality electric guitars. My M5 has a 24 fret, neck-through design and two humbuckers. The original EMG's have been replaced with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders. The guitar is outfitted with a Kahler locking tremolo system which has been blocked. The neck is very wide and flat. I bought the guitar without a case and had a hard time finding one to fit because the instrumnent is kind of large and the headstock has a wild, backswept angle to it. Volume knob a little too close to bridge and pickup. would rather have to reach for it a little instead of being on top of it while I'm playing.

I prefer my les paul for clean, straight into the amp sounds. The Seymour Duncans in the Charvel sound good without any effect , but when I play it I usually throw on a little delay or distortion. If I play through an amp I'll run through an old Morley Diamond Distortion or my Boss Digital Delay. This guitar sounds great when I've recorded it playing directly into my 16 track Zoom, using their on board processing. My taste is diverse, anything from Bach to jazz standards to Led Zeppelin and beyond, but I would use the Charvel mostly in a rock and roll application.

I bought the instrument used so I can't comment on the factory setup. The guitar does, however, play and stay in tune great. It has a real precision feel to it. The guitar is over twenty years old , and the paint job has held up remarkably well. I've played the guitar for several years now and the only thing I've had to replace is the output jack.

Guitar is solid enough to withstand live playing.Very large solid strap buttons. Output jack failed me once, but that happens. This is a fine instrument, but is more of a backup instrument for me.

Hats off to Fender, who didn't own the Charvel company when this instrument was built , but own it now. Prior to purchasing this guitar, I didn't know exactly what I was looking at. I sent a bunch of digital images to Fender in Scottsdale, and in less than one hour they were faxing me back a wealth of information including wiring schematics of the instrument which they had obtained when they purchased the company. They were an incredible help in identifying what it was and how old it was prior to my purchasing it. Very surprising in an industry where people from big companies routinely refer individuals to local dealers rather than trying to assist them. Fender was very helpful in this particular case.

Playing 30 or so years. Have a Gibson Les Paul, the Charvel M5, an old Kramer strat-style, an Ibanez custom shop archtop, a pre- Fender Tacoma DF-21 flat top steel string, and an Alvarez MC-90 cutaway classical. If the Charvel were lost or stolen I would certainly purchase another one if it came my way.

It took quite awhile looking for the exact specs for this guitar, and this is the info from the 1987 catalogue.

Model 5

Bridge System: Jackson Locking Tremolo
Body Composition: Poplar
Neck/Fingerboard Composition: Rock Maple through body
Machine Heads: Jackson SG-38 06
Fingerboard Nut Composition: Carbon fiber
Fret Wire:
Hardness ??? Rockwell C6/Brinell 171
Size - .118 x .114 x 51 x .37
Composition- 18% Nickel Silver
Finish Color: Cobalt Blue
Control Functions: One Volume, One Tone, One Gain, JE-0005 5 Way Switch
Electronics: JE 1000TG Low Impedance Electronics

Pickup Specifications

Model Number: J80C (Two)
Description: High Output, Distortion Class, Humbucking with Ceramic Magnets or accentuated upper harmonics.
Sr (In K Hz): 5.40
Z (@ Sr in MOhms): 4.7
Inductance (in Henries): 7.3
Q (@ Sr): 19.1
Output Level (@ Sr): +51.4dB
Magnetic Structure: Ceramic:
Resistance (In KOhms): 13:00

I've since changed the pickups to Bill Lawrence L500XL and L500 Rhythm Pickups. The neck pickup can be a bit bright on the clean channel, so adjusting the tone is needed. Bill Lawrence L500XL was exactly what was needed for this guitar. I previously had a EMG 81's in it, and it just wasn't working good enough compared to the other gutiars I have.

With the Bill Lawrence L500XL and L500 Rhythm Pickups, it does give the guitar a different sound and does stand out. The neck pickup can be a bit bright when the tone knob is way up.

Currently using this guitar with a Trace Elliot Tramp at home, and a Mesa Boogie Rect-o-verb stack at jamming.

This guitar is so easy to play, the neck is so fast and so easy to reach the high frets with the neck thru, it's so nice.

Never had any probs playing live with it, but always have a backup just incase

....

This is a great guitar from the late 80s, and with these higher end model edtions, the wood is Poplar, so you're getting something a little different than the regular mahogany or alder body sounding guitars. The quest for sound with the right pickups did take a while. I have a Gibson Studio Les Paul with Seymour Duncans, and an ESP M-II with Seymour Duncans, so when I orginally had the EMGs in the Charvel, soundwise it wasn't matching up against the two guitars, but after putting in Bill Lawrence L500XL, this made all the difference in the world, and it's the same pickup model that Dimebag used in his guitars for recording the Pantera Albums,....

MY charvel is an early 80's model. It has 24 frets. There is 1 volume knob and 2 tone switches. The pickup setup is 2 humbuckers. The original pickups were not bad at all, but i have had a seymour duncan JB put in the bridge and a Duncan Paf Pro in the neck, sounds tons better. The fretboard is rosewood, im not sure the body wood but it is heavy with great sustain. The finish is a ferarri red, beautiful guitar. It has an original floyd rose which i love, they are a pain in the ass but are still awesome. This guitar has some custom Gotoh tuners on it. They are amazing tuners. The neck is so easy to play. I have an Ibanez rg321 as well, i never thought i would find a better playing neck than the wizard but this one is so much easier to play, its amazing. It came with the original charvel chainsaw case as well.ITs also neck through.

THe guitar suits my music style very well. I play neoclassical, classical, power metal, jazz, blues, and shred. The amp im using now with the guitar is a line 6 axsys212 with a pedalboard which consists of a boss super overdrive,super chorus, a Crybaby wah, and a sonic maximizer. There was a little bit of noise on the original pickups, but once i switched out the pickups it went away. At first it was hard to get harmonics out of the stock pickups but now that i got them changed, its easy.

Well, i bought this guitar off of ebay so i cant really tell you the factory setup but i can tell you how it was when i recieved it. The action was mega low, too low actually so i had to adjust that. The pickups were a little low as well. The guitar did have a few chips and scratches but its 20 years old, what do you expect, haha. Nothing was loose or rusted or anything like that though.

This guitar is built very well. Very solid guitar. Everything seems like it will last for a loooong time. The finish on the guitar is already 20+ years old and it looks new still, so i dont think i will have any problems. Strap buttons are very solid, very dependable guitar. I would not use it without a backup though, but that goes for any guitar with a floyd rose, haha.

I havent had to deal with them so no opinion there.

I have been playing for 5 years and this is honestly the best/ funnest guitar ive played. I would deffinately buy this guitar again if it were ever stolen or lost. I love the look of the 80's and this guitar has it. The only thing i hate is the floyd rose at times. My favorite feature is the neck through design. Overall an awesome guitar.

Mine is a late 80's Charvel 5, jap model. 24 fret Thru Neck, twin humbuckers, jackson licensed floyd, jackson active pickups. Im not sure of the woods used. neck is ncie and strat like. I have a Jackson PC 3 and the charvel is much better to play. Came with Charvel hard case.

This guitar suits my playing perfectly. Im into the whole Gary Moore scene, and with a couple of different effects, i can get close to his sounds. Its good for the old rock sound with a long delay. Plenty of crunch frmo the pickups. bridge is good, strat on steroids sort of thing. Neck is warm thick and rich. craacking sound and the thru neck provides good sustain. especially when driven hard. endless. Would get a 10, but clean sound isnt quite as good as my jackson. Played through a Marshall JCM 800 split channel head from the early 80's.

Mine was bought second hand, but was in good cond. frets do have a little wear, but nothing bad. just gives it the worn in feel. All fittings fine. The only flaw i have with the guitar is that it doesnt bow in as well as my old strat -- but find me a guitar that does!!

This guitar would be no problems live. I would not have any issues playing live with it. The hardware is pretty good, only issues is that the allen key bolt for the strings strips. But it is near 20 years old. I'll prob replace the jackson trem with a floyd rose at some point anyway.

N/A

I been playing for about 15 years now, and its a better instrument than my jackson for all out rock. I actually sol it to a friend and kept the jackson, and 2 months later bought it back as i preffered it. Its such a nice guitar to play, feels well in your hand. I wish it had been fitted with an original floyd rose, but the jackson bridge hasnt ever given me any real problems. Stays in tune very well. Id buy another if anything happened to this one.

Mine came with Two EMG's (A Single slanted at the neck & 'bucker at the bridge, I have since replaced the 'bucker with a DiMarzio Steve's Special) along with 2 knobs (volume & control) & a 3-way selector (from what I can tell) a Jackson Floyd Rose locking system. Jackson/Grover Tuning machines, & a great neck-thru. This is the smoothest neck I've ever played on, the jumbo frets fell great & the neck shape is a perfect fit for any hand & all of the 24 frets are accessed rather easily.

This guitar sounds amazing, especially with the DiMarzio in the bridge position. I play everything from Metal to blues to classic rock on this guitar & it suits every single one of my styles, I love its versatility.

The action is very comfortable & it fits me very nicely. The only thing is the knobs sometimes feel a bit loose but this is no big deal. The pickups are placed very well & there are know flaws in the physical specs.

This thing is a tank, it is a bit on the heavy side, the hardware has lated quite a long time & is still running very strong. I have trusted this with many live gigs & it never fails me.

Never had to deal with customer support.

I've been playing the thing for about 2 years & it is my favorite guitar, I play EVERYTHING on it. I've been playing for 10 years & I've owned Les Pauls & Strats but for some reason have loved every Jackson-style guitar I've touched, this one especially. I was very lucky to find a guitar like this for so cheap it was practically a gift. The only thing i would change about this guitar is the finish, you can tell it's an '80s guitar because of the sparkle-turquoise finish, but i've grown to love it.

I have a Late 80's Model 5 in black cherry. With the Kahler tremelo. Its a neck thru design with the most seamless heal I have ever seen. The neck is wide and flat (typical of charvels from then) but VERY comfortable in your hand.A beautiful rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays. Built real solid. Nice wide low frets (like a gibson). Active electronics. With a 5 way switch 1 volume and 1 tone and 1 phase knob.2-humbucker setup and the 5 way mixes and matches the various coils. Came stock with a tweed charvel case.

I have played everything from country music (payed the bills) to heavy metal on this. For years I used a Carvin X-100b halfstack with a rockman chorus. The guitar was great for EVERY style I played on it. Full blown metal to country twang with a flick of the switch and a twist of the knobs I could capture just about any tone I wanted just from the Guitar alone. The pickups are really hot sounding... like adding a 12 on your gain. I never could judge and amp with this guitar for that reason. I always reverted back to my Pauls if I need a true judgement of what an amp could do. The guitar has a good balance and weight. Feels solid but you dont mind having it strapped on for hours at a time.

The factory setup sucked. The action was high and the frets uneven when I got it. I lowered the action as far as it would go and still be playable and just went with it.... after 10 years she came into her own naturally. (didnt know anyone I trusted back then to work on my guitars) And now she plays like an absolute dream. The pickups still sound great and the finish is still perfect! The only complaint I have about this giutar is the cheap pots in it. They tend to crack and pop and arent very reliable.

I drug this guitar around for over 10 years and she has stood up well. Built rock solid with a fantastic finish. Has not worn through ANYWHERE yet. I have depended on it for over a decade and wll continue to use it in the future but just not as often.(Taking a backseat to my Les Pauls this time round)

Never delt with them... hope I dont have too!!!

I have been playing for almost 25 years. I Currently own 2 Les Pauls.. an 81 standard Cherry Sunburst and a 2000 wine red Custom and the old trusty Model 5. I plug them all into my Marshall JCM 900 4100 series head with 1960 A & B Cabinets. The Model 5 stands right up next to the "Big Boys" in my mind. I have had well over 100 fine guitars in my lifetime From Fenders to Gibsons and all those in between and around the edges.... the Charvel is simply one of the BEST I have had... Thats why its still with me. If it was stolen I would be crushed!

This is apparently a Charvel Model 5 from the End of the 80s. My guess is it's made in Japan (has a made in Taiwan Jackson licensed Floyd Rose trem so I doubt it's made in USA). It has 24 jumbo frets, neck thru body construction. Fretwork is done excellently, no sharp edges whatsoever. The body parts have also been applied perfectly. I can hold it up to any kind of light, there's no noticing thru the finish that and where the body parts have been attached to the neck.
The guitar has a volume and a tone control which both work nicely. The pick up selector is a three way Gison style selector.
Pickups are a Jackson humbucker at the bridge and a Jackson single coil at neck position. All passive electronoics.
I have no idea what wood this is. It's a medium weight guitar and the neck's probably maple as far as I can judge by a small ding at the end of the headstock.
The finish is burgundy mist and looks awesome if you're into flashy 80s style finishes. Excellently done, can't find any faults. Even near the dings and dongs things still look as if I could get them back to near mint condition.
The body's in the classic 80s superstrat style. Pointy with a deep cutaway for easy access to all 24 frets. Some shaping at the usual places to make playing this guitar more comfortable. Sadly the pup selector is located somewhere a bit lower than but nearly between the volume and tone controls. Difficult to access without messing up volume or tone.
The bridge is a Floyd Rose style Jackson trem. It's made in Taiwan and not one of the strongpoints of the guitar. I like the way the fine tuners are set at the rear end of the trem, no risk of messing up the tuning while palm muting. On the other hand the bits that lock the strings are way more chunky than necessary. Makes resting your palm on the trem a bit uncomfortable. Maybe just because I'm used to something else! The really week point is that the unit is obviously made of cheap die cast metal. Not good for sustain.
Tuners are absolutely ok, nothing special necessary due to the locking nut, which is a strong point. It's one that you can open with a screwdriver. No messing with tiny tools to lock the strings.
Neck scale is the same as a Fender Strat. It's a relatively thick neck which is ok with me but might turn off the Ibanez RG and co. fans.
Came with an original Charvel hard case.

Using the humbucker through my Roland GP16 and my Marshall Fullstacks this guitar sound just like it's supposed to. Nice heavy rocking sound with excellent range. Doesn't lack anything, bass, mids highs, all there where you need them. No feedbacks. Good for lead and rythm sounds. Clear sound's ok too.

Problem is the single coil! This frankly is a joke. Sounds thinner than the lipstick pup on cheapo 70s Tele copies. Definitely one of the most disappointing pups I've ever encountered. This will probably make me break my usual rule of not modifying a guitars. Utterly useless, distorted or clear.
Due to the problems with the single coil there's not much variety to be had soundwise. Then again, that's not what I expected and not what this guitar was made for.
The Humbucker setting would get a 9-10 rating but the single coil can't be excused!

I bought the guitar used. It came with ridiculously thin strings on it. Made using the trem almost impossible, went out of tune everytime. Changed them for 10s and everythings fine now. I like extremely low action on my guitars and after 1-2 hours that's what I've got. Had to do some work on the frets to get there as the previous owner obviously only played near the nut or around the 12th fret. Pickups were adjusted well. No flaws concerning the craftsmanship.

Only minus is the trem. I doubt the guitar would have sold worse had Charvel invested 20-30 $ more in a sturdier trem unit. That would have gone well with the sustain a neck thru construction can get you.

Apart from the trem, everything on this guitar looks like it can take a beating. It's definitely not a guitar meant only for rehearsal and studio work. Everything looks dependable. I never gig without a backup because strings to tend to tear, but apart from that this guitar will sure do the job!

No experience.

I've been playing guitar for 23 years now. This is my current 40th guitar. I like the looks, certainly everything you expect from an 80s guitar. Compared to other guitars you can get for this price I'd say it's slightly above average. You can get an 80s Fernandes for less that'll be an equally good guitar. But you can certainly pay lots more for less, especially on eBay.

Well, here I go again, singing the praises of Jap-made Charvels. (I swear I don't work for Jackson!) This one is the Model 5, which is another strat-type body, but has deeper cutaways and 24 frets rather than 22. In addition, this one is a neck-thru, and is actually the first neck-thru Charvel I have found in my pawnshopping adventures. What a find this one was! The Model 5 was made around 1988, and was second only to the Model 6 in price and features at that time. This was NOT a cheap guitar, and I'm still not believing that I got it for only $200. This model has two humbuckers with an active Jackson circuit which requires a 9-volt battery. (same as the Model 4 and 6) It also has the Kahler single-locking tremelo system, which is my personal favorite, even though I know I am in the minority in that area. Rather than mini toggle switches, which came on the Model 4 and 6, this guitar has a standard strat-style 5-way switch. You can get many different sounds out of this guitar, but as with my other Charvels, I prefer to crank and shred with the bridge pickup and tone controls on 10. The neck on this model is a bit different than what came on the bolt-on Charvels. It is wide and fast, yes, but it is a little thicker than the bolt on versions. It does have the same jumbo frets that came on all the Japanese Charvels. My Model 5 also has dot inlays, rather than the sharkfin style. I believe this was standard for the Model 5. It came in the original hardshell case, with the original tools, whammy bar, and even the Kahler brochure. It's really cool to find one with all the original stuff still in the case. Everything is in great shape, too.

This guitar suits my 80's shredding style just fine, as do all the old Charvels I own. The electronics are not noisy at all. It is a very versatile instrument, and unless you are looking for a sound that is very elusive, this guitar can achieve most any sound you might like. It is especially good for hard rock/heavy metal, but also fits the bill nicely for mellower, softer music. (did I just say that?) One dislike I have is the 24 fret feature. Now this is just my opinion, but I prefer 22 fret guitars. The frets are very small in the higher registers, and it is sometimes difficult to fret them accurately. But that might not be the case for you. I have tried the guitar out with Marshall stacks, and the POD amp modeler.

I bought this guitar used, so I don't know how the factory set-up was. The action is very low, and it's easy to play fast on this neck. I cannot see any flaws on this guitar at all. The guys who built these things knew what they were doing. Everything on it is tight, tight, tight.

I have to say that this is one of the nicest, best-made guitars I have ever owned. I have a San Dimas Randy Rhoads Model that I bought new in 1985, and this Model 5 is every bit as nice, I must admit. Everything is as solid and well made as can be. The finish is extremely durable, and is a navy-blue sparkle color. The hardware is very durable, especially the vibrato, being a USA made Kahler rather than the Jackson Floyd knock-off which was made in Taiwan. Those are kind of sucky, to put it nicely. (Trust me, I have several of each kind) I haven't gigged with this guitar, but I have no doubts about its durability, since I own many other examples of Jap Charvels which have been used to gig with, and have held up just fine.

As always, I've never dealt with Jackson. These guitars have long since been discontinued, so you probably can't get any of the parts. However, I have never had anything serious go wrong with any of my Charvels, and have not needed customer support.

Been playing for 22 years. Own over 30 guitars, many amps, ADAT, much more. I can't say enough good things about the old Japan-made Charvels. They are just killer guitars which are being over-looked at every turn. I must stress again that this was not a cheap guitar, and if I remember correctly, the Model 5 was well over $1000 back in the late 1980's. This is the only Model 5 I have found so far in a pawnshop, so I can't say that the market is just over flowing with this particular model. But other similar Charvels are in every other pawnshop I go in to, and they are very inexpensive now. I think too many people want to be in vogue, and so they sell off these higher end guitars for something of lesser quality, and without a pointy headstock. I have noticed a few more websites recently which share my point of view on the Japanese Charvels, so these super cheap prices may not last forever. Better get yours while they are affordable. Who knows what can happen with prices in the future?

Well, here I go again, singing the praises of Jap-made Charvels. (I swear I don't work for Jackson!) This one is the Model 5, which is another strat-type body, but has deeper cutaways and 24 frets rather than 22. In addition, this one is a neck-thru, and is actually the first neck-thru Charvel I have found in my pawnshopping adventures. What a find this one was! The Model 5 was made around 1988, and was second only to the Model 6 in price and features at that time. This was NOT a cheap guitar, and I'm still not believing that I got it for only $200. This model has two humbuckers with an active Jackson circuit which requires a 9-volt battery. (same as the Model 4 and 6) It also has the Kahler single-locking tremelo system, which is my personal favorite, even though I know I am in the minority in that area. Rather than mini toggle switches, which came on the Model 4 and 6, this guitar has a standard strat-style 5-way switch. You can get many different sounds out of this guitar, but as with my other Charvels, I prefer to crank and shred with the bridge pickup and tone controls on 10. The neck on this model is a bit different than what came on the bolt-on Charvels. It is wide and fast, yes, but it is a little thicker than the bolt on versions. It does have the same jumbo frets that came on all the Japanese Charvels. My Model 5 also has dot inlays, rather than the sharkfin style. I believe this was standard for the Model 5. It came in the original hardshell case, with the original tools, whammy bar, and even the Kahler brochure. It's really cool to find one with all the original stuff still in the case. Everything is in great shape, too.

This guitar suits my 80's shredding style just fine, as do all the old Charvels I own. The electronics are not noisy at all. It is a very versatile instrument, and unless you are looking for a sound that is very elusive, this guitar can achieve most any sound you might like. It is especially good for hard rock/heavy metal, but also fits the bill nicely for mellower, softer music. (did I just say that?) One dislike I have is the 24 fret feature. Now this is just my opinion, but I prefer 22 fret guitars. The frets are very small in the higher registers, and it is sometimes difficult to fret them accurately. But that might not be the case for you. I have tried the guitar out with Marshall stacks, and the POD amp modeler.

I have to say that this is one of the nicest, best-made guitars I have ever owned. I have a San Dimas Randy Rhoads Model that I bought new in 1985, and this Model 5 is every bit as nice, I must admit. Everything is as solid and well made as can be. The finish is extremely durable, and is a navy-blue sparkle color. The hardware is very durable, especially the vibrato, being a USA made Kahler rather than the Jackson Floyd knock-off which was made in Taiwan. Those are kind of sucky, to put it nicely. (Trust me, I have several of each kind) I haven't gigged with this guitar, but I have no doubts about its durability, since I own many other examples of Jap Charvels which have been used to gig with, and have held up just fine.

As always, I've never dealt with Jackson. These guitars have long since been discontinued, so you probably can't get any of the parts. However, I have never had anything serious go wrong with any of my Charvels, and have not needed customer support.